Boris Johnson should ‘face the music’ and take part in televised debate, his constituents say
Boris Johnson’s constituents have said he should “face the music” and take part in a live TV debate so the public can hear what he has to say if he wants to become prime minister.
The Tory leadership frontrunner was branded a “bottler” and a “coward” by opponent Jeremy Hunt for refusing to face scrutiny after Sky News was forced to cancel a debate between the pair.
The former foreign secretary has faced mounting pressure to answer questions about the police being called to the Camberwell home he shares with girlfriend Carrie Symonds after a loud late-night altercation.
In his constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in west London, many Tory voters told The Independent that his personal life should remain personal.
But while they did not blame him for keeping it private, they did think he should answer questions about his policies if he wants to be Tory leader and prime minister.
1/5 Made-up quote for The Times
Johnson was sacked from The Times newspaper in the late 1980s after he fabricated a quote from his godfather, the historian Colin Lucas, for a front-page article about the discovery of Edward II’s Rose Palace. “The trouble was that somewhere in my copy I managed to attribute to Colin the view that Edward II and Piers Gaveston would have been cavorting together in the Rose Palace,” he claimed. Alas, Gaveston was executed 13 years before the palace was built. “It was very nasty,” Mr Johnson added, before attempting to downplay it as nothing more than a schoolboy blunder.
2/5 Sacked from cabinet over cheating lie
Michael Howard gave Boris Johnson two new jobs after becoming leader of the Conservatives in 2003 – party vice-chairman and shadow arts minister. He was sacked from both positions in November 2004 after assuring Mr Howard that tabloid reports of his affair with Spectator columnist Petronella Wyatt were false and an “inverted pyramid of piffle”. When the story was found to be true, he refused to resign.
3/5 Broken promise to boss
In 1999 Johnson was offered editorship of The Spectator by owner Conrad Black on the condition that he would not stand as an MP while in the post. In 2001 he stood – and was elected – MP for Henley, though Black did allow him to continue as editor despite calling “ineffably duplicitous”
4/5 Misrepresenting the people of Liverpool
As editor of The Spectator, he was forced to apologise for an article in the magazine which blamed drunken Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and suggested that the people of the city were wallowing in their victim status. “Anyone, journalist or politician, should say sorry to the people of Liverpool – as I do – for misrepresenting what happened at Hillsborough,” he said.
5/5 ‘I didn’t say anything about Turkey’
Johnson claimed in January, that he did not mention Turkey during the EU referendum campaign. In fact, he co-signed a letter stating that “the only way to avoid having common borders with Turkey is to vote Leave and take back control”. The Vote Leave campaign also produced a poster reading: “Turkey (population 76 million) is joining the EU”
Brenda Connor, 78, said she could not understand why he refused to take part in a televised debate and that he should just “keep away from his private life”.
Her husband Ron Connor, 80, who recounted a story about Mr Johnson rolling up his sleeves and getting involved at the opening of a local bowls club, added: “I know he wants to be our prime minister and I suppose he’s going to have to face the music some time so I think he needs to make his mind up.”
Meanwhile, teaching assistant Imelda Mullane said the people “need to know what he’s thinking” if he wants to be leader.
“I believe he should get up there and say what he wants even if we’re not going to agree with it I think we need to be able to hear what he has to say,” the 61-year-old said.
Matt Neale said that he believed everyone has a right to a private life, including Mr Johnson and his partner.
But he said “it would be right for him to come out with just a short explanation,” about the incident with Ms Symonds, “to put everyone’s minds at ease”.
The 27-year-old added: “Everyone wants to know what he’s thinking, everyone wants to know as much information as possible.”
Retired British Airways worker John Conway said Mr Johnson was “the best of a bad bunch”.
The 83-year-old added that his MP was probably dodging live debates because “he’ll do himself more damage by appearing than keeping quiet”.
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He said: “Jeremy Hunt would call him a coward because he’s an opponent but it doesn’t mean that Boris is a coward he’s just being very careful that’s all.”
But retired nurse Margaret Blackstone said it would not make the slightest bit of difference to her opinion of the politician if he does or does not take part in a debate.
“He’s a bit of a buffoon at times, I must admit, and I think he doesn’t put his brain into gear before he opens his mouth but I don’t think he does that with a malicious intent,” said the 59-year-old.
On his row with Ms Symonds she added: “He’s inside his own house having a row with his girlfriend; it’s nobody’s business but theirs.
