Boris is still at it. Only interested in his own ends.

[HappydaysArehere]

As far as I can understand it our incompetent foreign secretary is still after becoming an incompetent prime minister. So he has written a four thousand word article published before the Tory Party Conference. This is no mean feat considering the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment. As prime minister he would probably manage an epic work entitled "Me, Me and Yet More Me" while the country can all "go whistle". After all the people in the Virgin Isles have had to do that while he has indulged himself writing an article which no doubt has hugely lined his already heavy pockets. Unless of course he means to donate his fee to them!

[Carolinesbeanies]

I get the feeling you dont like him OP. So for balance, I think hes brilliant and utterly underestimated by ..well almost everybody. Go Boris

[PebblesFlintstone]

I think people have been overestimating him for years. The Boris for PM ship has most definitely sailed. His complete incompetence as foreign sec has shown even most of those who thought he was a good mayor that he's a liability. Seems like not many in the Tory party take him very seriously either. He's been taken over in the "eccentric Tory we love to chuckle at" role by Rees-Mogg. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he took himself off to the after-dinner circuit by the time of the next election.

[InfiniteSheldon]

I read that thought it was well informed, well thought out and The Plan put down in writing at last great stuff Go Boris. If Trump can win in the US, Bridgette's toyboy in France and Corbyns run Labour I see no reason why Boris can't go all the way either. He looks like a buffoon, acts like a Buffoon but is actually a very astute man. If the pub hadn't been closed down I'd vote for a Boris head on the bar

[RhiannonOHara]

I'm inclined to agree with Pebbles's assessment. I think he over-reached when he made his post-ref leadership bid and I rather think he's done so again. Surely there aren't enough super-hard-Brexiters, with enough power, to give him the support he needs to be leader?

Of course the scary thing is that, if he IS a spent force in the 'funny Tory' slot, it just leaves a vacuum, into which someone else can and will slither.

[Carolinesbeanies]

"If the pub hadn't been closed down I'd vote for a Boris head on the bar"
Gets my vote too Infinite. Im sure the pubs only temporarily closed whilst the 'youre all racist' ranters carry on their crusade.

[PebblesFlintstone]

Could we have that Boris head on the dartboard instead?

[WhollyFather]

I'm not a fan - Boris was a half-hearted remainer for quite a while - but he's an easy man to underestimate, which makes him dangerous. Underneath the floppy hair he is actually very astute, and I suspect he has finally nailed his colours to the Brexit mast.

He wants to be leader and Conference starts in a fortnight. May is proving to be as incompetent as leader as she was forecast to be. More, she is failing hopelessly on Brexit so that failure is where he will attack her, particularly as it is now being suggested she may give way on transition (completely unneccessary) and, Lord help us, paying the EU money we simply do not owe, both of which will go down like a ton of bricks in Manchester.

Boris is also concerned that Jacob Rees-Mogg is a rising star who may overtake him as the voters' favourite Tory fairly soon (he already leads in some members' polls), so it's now or never. Remember not to judge R-M by MN standards, which are somewhat out of line with national norms.

But if you want to get into taking the p*ss out of politicians for uselessness, hypocrisy and generally losing touch with reality, I've got some unbeatable material to work with ... Corbyn... Abbott... McDonnell... the incomparable Lady Nugee ...

[peteneras]

"As far as I can understand it our incompetent foreign secretary is still after becoming an incompetent prime minister."

Really? As far as YOU can understand it? Or is it as far as you can gleen from the newspapers that say so?

Give me a break - come out with something original and preferably with evidence

[HappydaysArehere]

Would like to hear how he has shown real competence. Where is the evidence?

[fakenamefornow]

Ive heard a theory that he's desperate to get himself sacked so that he can wash his hands of Brexit and won't be in the frame when the shit hits the fan. I agree, he's very clever.

[peteneras]

The evidence is all over the place - it's been there for the last 15 months but you and the rest of the remoaners just refuse to see it. That's what you lot were saying when Boris declared he was going to vote Leave in the referendum - that he was only interested in his own ends and he was going after prime minister, Cameron's job. Well, he wasn't as he didn't even go near the ring in the first place to throw his hat in to compete for the job when Cameron's incompetence saw his own downfall. This speaks volumes of Boris' competence and foresight that is obviously absent in many of you.

And he is still as competent as they come today without wavering; insisting that the UK will save £350m each week by leaving the EU. Absolutely nothing wrong with what he says as far as I'm concerned though he's talking in gross amounts - no more different from someone telling me they earn £35K p.a. when they don't after having paid their taxes, NI, student loan repayment and other expenses, etc.

[HappydaysArehere]

Still interested in how he has shown competence as a foreign secretary or as a mayor.

[thecatfromjapan]

There's a lot wrong with his latest £350 million for the NHS claim. There is no £350 million.

I know facts are boring but here anyway.

Boris Johnson treats politics as though it's a 6th form debate, where it's all about winning a game and accruing personal glory. He has no base-level seriousness, honesty or integrity. He really does have something of the con-man about him. Reminds me a lot of John le Carre's descriptions of his (J l'C's) father.

He has never shown integrity. I wouldn't hire him in any position requiring truthfulness, responsibility or money, frankly.

Having someone who appears to have the soul of a con artist as our PM would be utterly humiliating.

[peteneras]

For the third time of asking, maybe it's time for you to show us some evidence Boris' 'incompetence' as:

1. a mayor;
   
2. a foreign secretary.

[Mistigri]

We could start with the garden bridge, and "piccaninnies" and "watermelon smiles" and various other slips of the tongue unbefitting of a diplomat.

We could have a lot of fun with this!

[Mistigri]

metro.co.uk/2016/07/14/11-things-boris-has-said-that-make-him-the-perfect-foreign-secretary-6005960/

Some of these are quite old ("piccaninnies") but some are very recent, like claiming that Obama despised the British because he is "part Kenyan" and writing an offensive limerick about a head of state.

Nevertheless, there are still people whose standards are so low that they don't think this should disqualify him, or who are not offended by his antics because they share his racist views.

[thecatfromjapan]

I thought the refutation of his recent £350m for the NHS claim was proof of his incompetence/mendacity.*

Now I'm wondering what proof is going to be good enough for you!


*Take your pick.

[ElBurroSinNombre]

The head of the ONS (an impartial body) put his head above the parapit to expose Johnson's repeat of the £350m claim as the lie that it is. There is no £350m a week windfall from leaving the EU and Johnson, Gove and Farage et al. must have known this at the time of the referendum. I think he now realises that he is associated with this bogus claim and was looking for a way to cleanse himself, as many people now view him as a liar.

It was a really stupid claim in any case as it assumes that the amount of income a government can raise is somehow fixed. Losses to the economy from leaving the EU will in all likelihood amount to more than £350m a week (at least at first), so the government will actually have less revenue to spend.

I wish he would just disappear, he is a very poor statesman who doesn't master the small detail of his brief. And as mentioned above, he seems to harbour some colonial, racist views. His smear on Barak Obama was disgusting and also a lie (Obama did not have a bust of Churchill removed from the Oval office).

It is amazing, in our class ridden society all you have to do is play the role of an eccentric toff and a large section of the public will love you. First Johnson and nowadays Rees Mogg who would be completely at home in the DUP if he weren't a catholic.