Boris Johnson and British Conservatism

The British Conservative grassroots in 2019 voted Boris Johnson for leader in large numbers because they believe he has the charisma, showmanship and, incidentally, views on Brexit to ensure Britain leaves the European Union. As a result, the Tory rank-and-file members believed their re-born party would win the next general election handsomely.

However, Simon Heffer had serious doubts about the 2019 UK election. Boris is not a lovable rogue, nor is he likely to unite the Conservative party. No one, according to Professor Heffer, should bet on the new Prime Minister shaping the destiny of Britain and her people for much more than a brief, and possibly deeply troubling, interlude.

Simon Heffer is a columnist for The Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, London, and professor of modern British history at the University of Buckingham. He is author of, among other influential books, High Minds: The Victorians and the Birth of Modern Britain and The Age of Decadence: Britain 1880 to 1914.