BBC NewsBorrowing was £17.4bn last month, the second highest October figure since monthly records began in 1993.
The former leader looks back on his time in front-line politics – and has some advice for Kemi Badenoch
Looking back on it all, I was very lucky. When I was first asked to be Mayor of London, I said no. Why would I do that? I had the safest seat in the country, I was enjoying being an MP, why would I want to? But I was told, no, you would win it—and I did. Being Mayor of London was a fantastic experience. We brought real change to the city—policing, transport, infrastructure, and of course, the 2012 Olympics, which was an extraordinary triumph for the country.
The idea of levelling up, the potential of the UK is everywhere, but the concentration of wealth, power, talent, productivity is overwhelmingly still in London and the South East. And in that respect, the UK is unlike many other major economies—we are much more imbalanced. That is why I wanted to take this vision nationwide. The whole country has talent, but we need to make sure opportunities are spread fairly.
I was very lucky. All politicians have those ‘could have, would have, should have’ moments. But actually, I then spent 15 years in frontline politics—whether at City Hall, the Foreign Office, or Number 10. I was able to do a lot of the things I really cared about, so I can’t complain.
They basically thought, well, old Johnson bangs on about it so much, and he seems to have a view about what it should be—let’s give him a go.
Brexit was in deadlock when I took over in 2019. We told the public we were going to deliver it, but we couldn’t, and Parliament wouldn’t do it. We had basically got ourselves into a total jam. So they turned to me, and we got it done.
The problem now is that today, you’ve got an absolutely appalling situation—classic situation engendered entirely by this Labour government—in which the bond markets are starting to demand ever higher yields on British gilts because they can see no clear economic strategy.
It’s a wonderful job. But in politics, it’s a Darwinian process. If you fail to manage your backbenchers, as I probably did, you’re going to come a cropper. You’ve got to have all the things lined up.
People ask me if I’ll ever return to frontline politics, but my chances of becoming PM again are about as good as being blinded by a champagne cork, locked in a disused fridge, or decapitated by a frisbee.
That said, it’s the job of people like me to try to be useful. If I can contribute ideas, if I can help push forward the things I believe in—then that’s what I’ll do.
The only point that the Conservatives need to make, and Kemi needs to make between now and 2028, is that if you want to end this socialist madness, this craven left-wing high-taxing nonsense, there is only one way to do it, and that is to vote Conservative.
I like Kemi Badenoch’s intellectual impatience. I think she’s got a lot of energy. Let’s face it, she’s got a massive opportunity.
People keep asking about Reform UK and Nigel Farage, but my view is, when you’re in a political contest, you don’t talk about your rivals. You talk about yourself and what you can offer the country.
I competed against the party you mention in one guise or another—whether it was UKIP or whatever—for decades as an MP. They didn’t even stand against me in London, I don’t think, and they were on zero per cent or less than 3% when I was PM. Even right at the end, they were nowhere. Don’t talk about them, don’t escalate them.
We should talk about ourselves. What are we going to do? How are we going to fix the immigration problem? What are we going to bring to government? The UK depends hugely on international investment in our debt. The bond markets can see there is no real economic plan from this government. That’s where Conservatives are strong, and that’s where we should be thumping every single day.
