Tele column 21st June 2019

I do not know how many members of the Conservative and Unionist Party live in Inverclyde. The only reason I am curious is that it will be up to them and their fellow members to decide who is the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The front runner is Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson a man who, when it suits him, does not shy away from the limelight and as a political operator that approach has been successful for him. But as PM you need to be available all the time. You can’t hide away when it suits you. And that should worry us all. When put on the spot Boris has been found lacking. He was recently described as “a charlatan, a liar, bigot, peddler of racism, philanderer and serial embarrassment as London Mayor and Foreign Secretary”. And it’s hard to disagree as he has been sacked twice for dishonesty, described black people as “piccaninnies”, compared Muslim women to Bank Robbers and gay men as “bum boys”. During his tenure as Foreign Secretary he compared Francois Hollande, then French President, to a prisoner of war guard. He also suggested that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been training journalists in Tehran. Nazanin is still in custody in Iran. He failed miserably to define the UKs position over the Ukraine and when pushed to resign over Heathrow, he felt is safer to take a trip to Afghanistan. And when it comes to Scotland his opinions and judgement have been appalling. He famously said “a pound spent in Croydon is of far more value to the country from a strict utilitarian calculus than a pound spent in Strathclyde”. And while he was editor of the Spectator he was responsible for publishing a poem that described Scots as “tartan dwarves” who were “polluting our stock” and suggested that Scotland should be turned into a “ghetto” with the inhabitants (described as vermin) submitted for “extermination”. As Boris himself said “I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.” Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson a disaster in waiting. Thank goodness we have an alternative government in Scotland and an alternative path to follow.