Boris Johnson is foreign secretary

[creighton]

is Theresa May being unreasonable?

[SeaEagleFeather]

May wants to go out with a bang, regardless of where that'll leave us in practical terms, she wants an overhaul of the whole thing

hm, that makes sense if she's not thinking of the practical effects and mainly of protecting herself. I thought she might be thinking beyond that.

I can really see why she'd hand him this role in that case. Hoped that she would be balancing the whole thing - relations with the rest of the world (since we do have to deal with them!) and the home needs. Good-ish relationships with the rest of the world seem in Britain's interests. Specially right now.

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

Ah yes, here we go dohanews.co/tag/boris-johnson/

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

Didn't he manage to offend Arabs and Arab women - something about them all wearing M&S pants?

[Kasalina24]

Boris should apologise to the following countries (for the insults by him).
Uganda
China
France
USA

And to the ethnic minorities in London- for calling them Picaninis.

[RedHareWithBlondeHair]

SeaEagle I happen to think he'd be better suited to Secretary for Brexit. Thing is Boris has done very well for himself by acting the injured party when the whole Gove thing happened. Theresa was always a leaver but stayed a remainer in the event remain won and she'd have to continue in Cameron's government. You must remember that our previous government never for a second thought Leave would win. Now that they have everyone's been thrown sideways. May's thinking is to protect herself first and foremost. May doesn't have a mandate to run the country - Cameron did but May doesn't. May will now try to execute the 'will' of the people i.e. the 52%. This talk of Brexit means Brexit. She will play to the masses. Keeping Boris means a few things; he will become the face of international diplomacy as we're leaving and thus the buck stops with him - if he fucks up he'll render himself unelectable thus cannot enter parliament again with good grace. Being mayor of London was a fun gig but not quite a similar test as being the face of the UK on an international stage. Her thinking is that it'll go one of two ways. We're already receiving reports of what the world thinks of Boris' new role. He is a divisive character and May loves that. Now that we're leaving, May wants to go out with a bang, regardless of where that'll leave us in practical terms, she wants an overhaul of the whole thing.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Perhaps it's actually a noble act to make damn sure that Americans realise what a bad idea Trump would be?

Has boris said anything to the media yet about his appointment?

[SeaEagleFeather]

redhare ... working in government ... can you maybe give a few pointers as to why she put Johnson in Foreign Secretary's position?

Ok, putting him in the role of Secretary for Brexit or International Trade affairs would be worse. But it's two fingers up at the rest of the world and this really doesn't seem the time.

I genuinely cannot see why the need to neutralize him (if indeed he can be neutralized!) overrides the need for some courtesy and a modicum of tact for the rest of the world.

Sideline him from the UK influence yes, but setting him loose to represent the UK in the world ... there must be some reason, but what is it? Have you any idea (and can say?)

[RedHareWithBlondeHair]

bakeoff the terms 'rope' and 'hang' come to mind wrt Jeremy Hunt. What May is essentially doing in this reshuffle is bullet-proofing herself. I work in government so I'd like to think I know a thing or two about this. She has to put some staunch Leavers in prominent positions and she has to change government to her own standards, in other words, though she won't call a general election she wants to make her government seem appear as though it has a mandate. She doesn't want to continue a Cameron legacy.

[JamesTiberiusKirk]

bakeoffcake

Hunt seems to be bullet-proof for reasons that are not immediately obvious.....

[bakeoffcake]

Why has she left Jeremy cunt as health secretary?! Does she hate the Drs too?

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

Completely agree James! New scapegoat and his own bed to lie in.

[LittleLionMansMummy]

Yes that will be 'gallows humour' just now Mint!

[JamesTiberiusKirk]

I figured this was basically May hanging Boris out to dry.

She needed a big beast from the Leave campaign in her Government, so she now has three prominent Euro-sceptics in the key BREXIT positions - they will be exposed if negotiations go sideways.

This keeps Boris in Government but out of the way. He is going to spend the next few years mostly overseas or on a plane, which I imagine is exactly where May wants him. A lot harder to organise a rebellion if you are hardly ever in Westminster. Given Boris' nature, I imagine she is just giving him enough rope...

[LittleLionMansMummy]

It was a joke - y'know, to lighten the mood a little. You're overthinking it Lying. He looks like a prick and he is in fact a prick, if an educated one.

[Diddlydokey]

There once was a man called Boris
Resembled an awful orifice
His talk of watermelon smiles
Has him digging for miles
But now he's in the foreign office?

[MintJulip]

stop making the UK a laughing stock

Oh I dont know....we are known the world over for our wonderful sense of humour?

[JeffreyNeedsAHobby]

Anyone know where Leadsom is? Wondering if she might get Transport as May tries to find women to put in...

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

Little, I was just challenging your silly assumption that getting stuck on a wire has anything to do with cleverness. Unless he constructed it, rigged it to fail and set it running, it doesn't.

You're stating things as fact when they aren't, they're just your opinion. Not just you, so many do it but it's irritating.

[LittleLionMansMummy]

Being educated does not make him politically 'clever'. He's essentially a very well educated journalist masquerading as a politician. He was out-manoeuvred firstly by the public on 23rd May, then by David Cameron on the 24th and now by Theresa May. He is a clown of epic proportions in the political world. I don't give a feck about his educational qualifications, or indeed yours Lying. He is a buffoon in politics who should go back to doing what he was actually pretty good at and stop making the UK a laughing stock.

[Olddear]

Poor Chris Grayling.....no phone call for him yet.

[corythatwas]

She is absolutely ruthless isn't she? Yes to master-stroke, yes to playing the long game, but it is going to do us immeasurable damage in the eyes of the world, it is basically sticking two fingers up to foreign relations, and she simply doesn't care, as long as it strengthens her power.

[ItMustBeBedtimeSurely]

He's not daft. He's arrogant. He doesn't care what you think.

[Olddear]

Boris reminds me of someone I worked with. Brilliantly clever, affable eccentric who liked to be seen as a bit 'off the wall' but underneath all this buffoonery was a deeply, unpleasant racist man who felt superior to everyone.