Christopher Owens has been reading a book on the likely next British Prime Minister. 


By the time you read this, Boris Johnston could very well be the next (and maybe last) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

His success takes in many factors: nostalgia for the British Empire, deference to status, overtures to celebrity culture and actions/comments passed off as Dennis the Menace style mischief to hide the (at times) racist and classist undertones running through his 'gaffes' (who can forget this classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZd-siQ2fuw).

So commentators have been looking back at his time as Mayor of London to gauge how a man notorious for having a low boredom threshold will cope running a deeply divided nation. Thankfully, Douglas Murphy has given us this magnificent read which mainly shows up Boris in ways you might not have considered.

Being an architecture correspondent and blogger, Murphy spends most of the book examining the various 'follies' involving Boris that were meant to boost London in 2012 to coincide with the Olympics. And what he shows is a man who has little in the way of imagination, but plenty of drive to get what he wants done. Especially if the people involved are friends of his.

If you want a perfect example, look at the front cover.

That's the ArcelorMittal Orbit, rather optimistically described as " London's most exciting attraction" by the Olympic Park website. Not only is it an utter calamity to look at (resembling a decommissioned funfair ride), but it also cost nearly £20 million (partly funded through public spending), and has been losing over £500,000 a year since 2012.

All of this despite Boris proclaiming it as a future example of "the perfect iconic cultural legacy" that London has given the world. Clearly, he's someone who thinks 'iconic' means 'immediate.'

Aside from critiquing the final product, Murphy also explores the history of each proposal. The same names crop up time and time age, showing how Boris is fond of cronyism. What Murphy concludes is that Boris masks 'art' as 'property to let' for various countries and corporations to use and abuse. The end result is an even bleaker terrain than what had been there beforehand, both in terms of visuals and sustainability.

Tellingly, a recent report shows that the post 2012 Olympics boom has utterly deteriorated, with the various areas suffering from greater poverty than in 2009, a lower quality of life and even sporting activities suffering.

So much for ping pong coming home then.

Moving through other projects, some realised and some abandoned, Murphy demonstrates that Boris is little more than an opportunist, both in terms of his need to have been seen to do "something" about the housing crisis in London (regardless of whether it was the best idea) and his deferral to the establishment (witness his constant defence of the Metropolitan Police during the Ian Tomlinson affair, describing the criticism as "an orgy of cop bashing").

While this may be an outlook that makes for a lasting political career, it also leads to vanity projects vandalising the skyline and being funded by the taxpayer. If Boris does become PM, it will be entirely appropriate, and for all the wrong reasons.

Read this, and feel your eyes water at the amount of money spent in the name of ego.

Douglas Murphy, 2017, Nincompoopolis: The Follies of Boris Johnson. Repeater Books ISBN-13: 978-1910924570

⏩  Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland.

Nincompoopolis

Christopher Owens has been reading a book on the likely next British Prime Minister. 


By the time you read this, Boris Johnston could very well be the next (and maybe last) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

His success takes in many factors: nostalgia for the British Empire, deference to status, overtures to celebrity culture and actions/comments passed off as Dennis the Menace style mischief to hide the (at times) racist and classist undertones running through his 'gaffes' (who can forget this classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZd-siQ2fuw).

So commentators have been looking back at his time as Mayor of London to gauge how a man notorious for having a low boredom threshold will cope running a deeply divided nation. Thankfully, Douglas Murphy has given us this magnificent read which mainly shows up Boris in ways you might not have considered.

Being an architecture correspondent and blogger, Murphy spends most of the book examining the various 'follies' involving Boris that were meant to boost London in 2012 to coincide with the Olympics. And what he shows is a man who has little in the way of imagination, but plenty of drive to get what he wants done. Especially if the people involved are friends of his.

If you want a perfect example, look at the front cover.

That's the ArcelorMittal Orbit, rather optimistically described as " London's most exciting attraction" by the Olympic Park website. Not only is it an utter calamity to look at (resembling a decommissioned funfair ride), but it also cost nearly £20 million (partly funded through public spending), and has been losing over £500,000 a year since 2012.

All of this despite Boris proclaiming it as a future example of "the perfect iconic cultural legacy" that London has given the world. Clearly, he's someone who thinks 'iconic' means 'immediate.'

Aside from critiquing the final product, Murphy also explores the history of each proposal. The same names crop up time and time age, showing how Boris is fond of cronyism. What Murphy concludes is that Boris masks 'art' as 'property to let' for various countries and corporations to use and abuse. The end result is an even bleaker terrain than what had been there beforehand, both in terms of visuals and sustainability.

Tellingly, a recent report shows that the post 2012 Olympics boom has utterly deteriorated, with the various areas suffering from greater poverty than in 2009, a lower quality of life and even sporting activities suffering.

So much for ping pong coming home then.

Moving through other projects, some realised and some abandoned, Murphy demonstrates that Boris is little more than an opportunist, both in terms of his need to have been seen to do "something" about the housing crisis in London (regardless of whether it was the best idea) and his deferral to the establishment (witness his constant defence of the Metropolitan Police during the Ian Tomlinson affair, describing the criticism as "an orgy of cop bashing").

While this may be an outlook that makes for a lasting political career, it also leads to vanity projects vandalising the skyline and being funded by the taxpayer. If Boris does become PM, it will be entirely appropriate, and for all the wrong reasons.

Read this, and feel your eyes water at the amount of money spent in the name of ego.

Douglas Murphy, 2017, Nincompoopolis: The Follies of Boris Johnson. Repeater Books ISBN-13: 978-1910924570

⏩  Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland.

19 comments:

  1. Christopher , that he is short sighted and an opportunist should be seen a positive given where we are currently at via automatons who constantly fucking meddle in service of some greater need. A need not shared by us.

    It takes a maverick to risk calling the entire mainstream media fake , or to call off plans to attack another country at the last minute. These sorts of things, particularly the fake media tag, are epochal. Things were are told are crucially important like being non deferential about hijabs, aren’t.

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    Replies
    1. Daithi OD

      So is being a pathological liar and dissembler as well as someone who cannot be arsed to keep on top of his ministerial briefs with such serious consequences for other people a "positive given"?

      Is his sense of entitlement inculcated into him from childhood "a positive given"?

      You may find his "piccanninies", "watermelon" and "letterbox" gags funny alright; you don't belong to the communities at the sharp end of his Bullingdonian humour.

      Delete
  2. That this pathological liar and narcissist looks certain to be PM is a text book example of the incompatability of party democracy with representative democracy. Another example is the Magic Grandpa who leads what is now an excuse of an Opposition; he who shares Boris's partial memory, inability to separate truth from fiction; phobia of policy detail and with a blame the BBC, MSM backstop. Happy Days Ahead on the Bendy Boris Bus!

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  3. Boris is a front man for the State hence his kindly promotion by the press. Btw, your man Hunt is the same.

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  4. Boris is a front man for himselfv and nobody else.

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  5. BG,
    whilst I don’t find them funny in and of themselves, neither do I take them seriously. Do you have anything positive to offer those affected communities BG, or do you just have a list of things you would like to censor on their behalf?

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  6. Tell us about the holocaust some more BG. I’m just logging off....

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  7. Me thinks some folk are becoming hysterical at the prospect of not getting their own way.

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    Replies
    1. Rather difficult to get one's way if one does not have a vote to decide which arsehole gets to screw the country over again and agian.

      Delete
    2. As we have seen with your position on reversing the Brexit referendum, directions mandated by a vote, and electoral participation in general is not a matter of principle to you BG. It needs to be the correct outcome before appealing to such ethics.

      Delete
  8. Personally I need Boris to win the leadership contest. The reason is simple, I lived in Birmingham for a while and met a good woman who refused to have breakfast!!! But last week she said "Frankie, if Bojo wins..."...Fingers crossed for Bojo..

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  9. Frankie - you left out why she refused breakfast - maybe she was to buy it and now she is expecting you to!

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    Replies
    1. She is simply playing hard to get or maybe my powers of persuasion need some fine tuning...She is a tough nut to crack but like cookies, she will crumble...

      I seen on FB you and your good woman hit Paris for a few days and gave a talk or two...I was wondering did you or Carrie hit Lidel or have a look around at the price of wine and compare it with prices on the island!!!..Decent bottle of anything for a 2 euro in Paris, same plonl 7 euro or £7....For a few squashed grapes...

      Delete
  10. While in Paris recently I was thinking that it was your stomping ground for so many years of your life.

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  11. Lol AM, get your testosterone checked, you are more interested in the breakfast aspect, I’m more interested in the “if he wins...” part , what’s she gonna do for you Frankie if BoJo Haram wins?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daithi,

      what’s she gonna do for you Frankie if BoJo Haram wins?...


      She is going to have breakfast with me either on the island on in England..

      Delete
  12. Frankie , there better be something implicit in the fact you are having breakfast i.e. spending the night before together ? If not, get her a deliveroo to eat alone, and save your transport fare mate. This is my considered advice.

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  13. Frankie - we didn't try Lidl - not the thing to do abroad when the pretences is being snobby!! I found it a very expensive city

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never done snobbery in Paris..I can be expensive, but once you live there you find how to cut coners, what metro stations have free access, cheapest bars...Leader Price is cheaper than Monoprix and Lidel beats them all...

      Delete