Tag Archives: boris johnson

Just What Is Really Going On With Rishi Sunak’s Speaking Style?

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Rishi Sunak’s speaking style has attacted some attention since he became the UK’s third (and final) prime minister of 2022.

While he hasn’t received quite the level of criticism aimed at his predecessor Liz Truss and her famously stilted manner, there have been some comparisons to the cringey Will MacKenzie from The Inbetweeners.

As the actor behind the character, Simon Bird, joked to The Times: “I’m absolutely baffled why anyone would see any similarities at all between this privately educated, socially awkward, out-of-touch caricature and … ah. Scrap that.”

Sunak’s first speech of 2023, where he made five promises to rejuvenate the nation, was also subject to some ridicule over its delivery.

Here’s a sneak peek…

The Guardian’s John Crace said Sunak spoke “breathlessly and earnestly. And vacuously”, while The Times’ Quentin Letts dubbed it a “wonderfully terrible” talk where Sunak spoke acted as “wide-eyed as a Girl Guide talking about badges”.

The Telegraph’s Madeleine Grant even said it was like “painting by numbers but with words” or “Count von Count from Sesame Street was moonlight as PM”.

Twitter has also frequently pointed out that Sunak would be the ideal children’s presenter.

But is there a reason why Sunak has such a particular delivery?

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Ges Ray, who teaches people how to speak in public for a living, suggests that Sunak might have deliberately chosen to have more of a “low profile” compared to his predecessors.

Ray notes that Truss adopted the voice of Margaret Thatcher, with her voice dropping in tone and timbre when she took up her place in No.10.

He adds: “Those who watched Boris Johnson noted his ability to adopt the bumbling orator style as a chosen persona, part of his high profile.”

By comparison, he says that Sunak uses an “encourage tone” with “relatively simple and straightforward language”, which allows his critics to categorise him as “primary school teacher, reaching above the noise of the classroom with warm encouragement”.

“Which is the audience that matters? His immediate critics, or the population at large, perhaps more open to the contrast with recent PMs?”

– Ges Ray, speech coach

If the PM wants to change his delivery, Ray suggests he needs to work on “voice tones, gravitas, his physical stature” to improve as a speaker.

But he also asks: “Which is the audience that matters? His immediate critics, or the population at large, perhaps more open to the contrast with recent PMs?

“Could it be – and this is simply personal conjecture! – that with the enormous demands of the greatest of Great Offices of State he has eschewed, and indeed distanced himself from the path of his two immediate predecessors, deliberately choosing not to develop a new speaking style?”

When analysing Truss’s speech during her time in the spotlight, journalist Viv Groskop of the How To Own A Room podcast, explained that there are advantages to being a less conventional speaker.

She told HuffPost UK: “In previous decades we have been used to speakers ― and politicians in particular ― who look and sound more confident than most of us. But often that approach now comes across as stuffy and old-fashioned.

“Now that we are surrounded by TikTok content, TED talks, YouTube and we constantly have people talking at us and trying to get our attention, our perception of what is authentic and worth our time is changing fast.”

But then, we should consider Sunak’s very privileged background, son-in-law to a billionaire and the richest PM ever to take up a seat in No.10.

Some sketch-writers did picked up on Sunak’s slight tone-switch when he started answering journalists’ questions during his speech this week.

Letts noted that a “sparkier, more commanding, combative Sunak” emerged when challenged by the media on his vision.

“He dropped that dreadful Timmy-the-Hamster voice and sounded more like a corporate high-flyer grasping supply-chain problems,” Letts commented.

Does this mean Sunak is still playing with his speaking style? Only time will tell if we’ll ever experience another gem to rival Truss’s “pork markets” again.

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2022 Review: A Look Back At A Year When Politics Went Mad

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Every year in British politics is now almost always weirder than the last. But surely 2022 – which saw the country rattle through three prime ministers – will be peak stupid?

Below is a quick rundown of some, if not all, of the bonkers moments of the last year. May it rest in peace.

January

At the start of the year, Boris Johnson was prime minister and under intense pressure over the partygate scandal. On January 12, he admitted had actually attended a No.10 garden event during lockdown. Having previously insisted no rules were broken in Downing Street.

February – Jimmy Savile smear

Johnson spent the first few days of February doubling down on a discredited smear that Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile. The then prime minister made the allegation during heated Commons debate over the Sue Gray report into partygate. The false claim led Munira Mirza, his policy chief, to resign.

March – Boris’ Russia links

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw the British government rollout sanctions on people close to Vladimir Putin’s regime. Johnson himself came under pressure to explain his links to prominent Russians including former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and Lubov Chernukhin, the wealthy Tory donor and wife of a former Russian minister. Dominic Raab explained it away as the PM simply being “very social”.

April – Partygate fines

On April 12, Johnson was handed a fixed penalty notice by the police for breaking his own Covid lockdown rules. It was the first time a sitting prime minister was found to have broken the law. Despite this, he did not resign.

May – Tractorgate

Tory Neil Parish formally resigned from parliament after he admitted watching porn on his phone in the Commons. Twice. The Tiverton and Honiton MP said it had been a “moment of madness” as he initially was innocently looking at pictures of tractors. Easy mixup.

June – Blue wall blues

On June 23 by-elections were held in the Tory seats of Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield. The party lost the former to the Lib Dems and the latter to Labour. Ed Davey celebrated his party’s victory with a classically stupid stunt. The double by-election loss did little to settle the nerves of Tory MPs about Johnson’s leadership.

July – Bye bye Boris

After a wave of resignations finally triggered by the Chris Pincher scandal, Johnson resigned as prime minister on July 7. Yet the previous day he had been determined to cling on. The farce was captured live on TV as he was told a delegation of cabinet ministers was at that very moment in No.10 waiting to tell him to quit. The group included very loyal Nadhim Zahawi, who Johnson had promoted to chancellor 24-hours earlier.

Johnson’s resignation triggered a months long Tory leadership contest which included so many idiotic moments it has its own list here.

August – The lady’s not for turning

Perhaps the, highlight, of the contest was Liz Truss announcing plans to pay workers living in cheaper areas of the country less than their counterparts in places like London and the South East.

Tory MPs were livid, with one describing it as “austerity on steroids”. Truss complained there had been a “wilful misrepresentation” of the plan by the media. There had not. Quickly U-turning on the proposal, Truss said it showed she was “honest and decisive”. Perhaps the signs were there all along.

September – Trussonomics

Truss hit the ground as prime minister on September 6. Her tenure lasted 49 days, during which time the Queen died, her mini-Budget caused the markets to have a panic attack and Tory poll ratings cratered. In a boost for Global Britain, the race for survival between her and the Daily Star’s lettuce became international news.

October – Rishi v Boris

Rishi Sunak succeeded Truss as prime minister on October 26, having lost out to her in the contest to takeover from Johnson. But over the course of a crazy weekend at the start of the month, Johnson flew home from his Caribbean holiday to try and stage a dramatic comeback as PM. Before then dropping out of the race in the face over overwhelming opposition from Tory MPs.

November – Hancock in the jungle

As health secretary Matt Hancock helped lead the country through its biggest crisis since WWII. In November 2022 he decided it was a good idea to join ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. He promptly had the party whip withdrawn and everyone else had to listen to constant jokes about him eating testicles.

December – normal service resumed?

The final month of 2022 in Westminster was somewhat stable when it came to nonsense, as the government grappled with strikes, inflation and the war in Ukraine. This could signal 2023 will be more serious if not calmer. But let’s not count on it.

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Fresh Blow For Rishi Sunak As Alok Sharma Joins Tory Wind Farm Rebellion

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Alok Sharma has become the latest senior Tory MP to join a growing rebellion against the government’s position on onshore windfarms.

The Cop 26 president has signed an amendment to the regeneration and levelling up bill calling for the current ban on the developments to be lifted.

He joins former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss in backing the amendment, which has been tabled by former levelling up secretary Simon Clarke.

Announcing his decision on Twitter, Sharma said: “Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of renewable power and will help to bolster the UK’s energy security.

“I said in Parliament in July, that where communities are positively welcoming of onshore in return for reduced bills, onshore should be kept on the table So I will support Simon Clarke’s Levelling Up Bill amendment to lift the ban on onshore & let local communities decide.”

The move is a further blow for Rishi Sunak, who has already been forced to back down over a separate amendment to the levelling up and regeneration bill following another Tory rebellion.

More than 50 Conservative MPs have put their names to an amendment which would mean councils would no longer have to follow Whitehall housebuilding targets.

A vote on the amendment was due to take place on Monday, but it was pulled by the government to avoid an embarrassing rebellion.

Labour accused Sunak of “running scared of your own backbenchers”.

Welcoming Sharma’s support, Simon Clarke said: “As a former secretary of state for business and Cop president, Alok Sharma has huge authority on why we should end the ban on onshore wind.

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Johnson And Truss Join Tory Wind Farm Rebellion In Challenge To Rishi Sunak

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The former prime ministers have put their names to an amendment in the name of former cabinet minister Simon Clarke calling for an end to the ban on new onshore wind farm developments.

It is the pair’s first major political interventions since they both left Downing Street over the summer.

Clarke, who was sacked as levelling up secretary by Sunak when he became PM last month, said in a tweet that he was “delighted” to have Truss and Johnson’s support.

He said allowing new onshore wind farms was “a pro growth, pro green policy at a time when we need both”.

Sunak has already been forced to back down over a separate amendment to the levelling up and regeneration bill following another Tory rebellion.

More than 50 Conservative MPs have put their names to an amendment which would mean councils would no longer have to follow Whitehall housebuilding targets.

A vote on the amendment was due to take place on Monday, but it was pulled by the government to avoid an embarrassing rebellion.

Labour accused Sunak of “running scared of your own backbenchers”.

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Labour MP Perfectly Sums Up The Chaos Caused By The Tories This Year

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A Labour MP perfectly summed up the chaos caused by the Tories this year as she grilled Jeremy Hunt.

The chancellor was left squirming as Angela Eagle ran through the astonishing political events of the last 12 months.

Hunt was appearing in front of the Treasury select committee to face questions on last week’s autumn statement, which came just weeks after his predecessor Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget.

Hunt unveiled £55 billion of tax rises and spending cuts as he tried to undo the damage caused in part by Kwarteng’s unfunded spending spree, which sent the value of the pound plummeting and interest rates soaring.

Kwarteng was only in the job for six weeks, having been appointed by Liz Truss after she succeeded Boris Johnson as prime minister in September.

Eagle told Hunt: “Chancellor, this year alone your party has given us three prime ministers, four chancellors, four different versions of the Conservative government and six fiscal events.

“One hundred and forty-seven members of the government, including 32 cabinet ministers, have resigned or been sacked.

“What effect do you think this chaos has had on our economic prospects and our international reputation.”

In response, the chancellor insisted the UK’s economic woes had been “primarily” caused by the war in Ukraine and the global rise in energy prices.

He said: “I wish we hadn’t had that level of instability, but I produced an autumn statement that is designed to restore economic stability and consistency of economic policymaking and I hope we can turn the page on all that instability.”

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Boris Johnson Causes A Stir With Claims About Europe’s Initial Response To Russian Aggression

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Boris Johnson has taken aim at some of his former European counterparts over Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine, claiming not everyone on the continent had the same immediate reaction.

The former PM, who has tried to make his support for Ukraine one of the lasting legacies of his premiership, went a step further in a new broadcast interview with CNN Portugal.

Speaking on Monday, he said Germany, France and Italy all had very different responses compared to him when Russia was closing in on its European neighbour at the end of February.

“This thing was a huge shock,” Johnson alleged on Wednesday. “We could see the Russian battalion tactical groups amassing, but different countries had very different perspectives.”

He began: “The German view was at one stage that if it were going to happen, which would be a disaster then it would be better for the whole thing to be over quickly, and for Ukraine to fold.”

Germany had a substantial dependency on Russia’s fuel exports prior to the war, due to the Nord Stream pipelines which transmitted natural gas from Russia int Europe. However, it has been trying to wean itself off ever since the war started.

Johnson then claimed there were “all sorts of sound economic reasons” behind that way of thinking, but added: “I couldn’t support that, I thought that was a disastrous way of looking at it.

“But I can understand why they thought and felt as they did.”

An aide of Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz has since rebuffed these claims, claiming that Johnson has “his own relationship with the truth”, and said the idea Germany wanted a quick end to the war was “utter nonsense”.

Scholz’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit also told reporters in Berlin: “I think I can say that first-hand, because I took part in talks with the then British prime minister in Munich only a few days before the start of the war. Namely that he always has a very personal approach toward the truth.”

Germany’s economic cooperation secretary Jochen Flasbarth also tweeted that Johnson’s claims were “crazy”.

The former prime minister also targeted France in his interview, claiming the UK’s neighbour was “in denial” over the possibility of a war on the fringes of Europe.

He claimed: “Be in no doubt that the French were in denial right up until the last moment.”

French president Emmanuel Macron led Europe’s attempts to prevent Vladimir Putin’s aggression tipping into war earlier this year, and even went to Kremlin just weeks shortly before Russia ordered the attack.

Then Johnson went after Italy. He told CNN that the Italian government, then led by Mario Draghi, was “at one stage simply saying that they would be unable to support the position we were taking” due to their “massive” reliance on Russian hydrocarbons.

However, Johnson said that once the actual invasion began, a sense of unity emerged.

“What happened was everybody – Germans, French, Italians, everybody, Joe Biden – saw that there was simply no option.

“Because you couldn’t negotiate with this guy (Putin). That’s the key point.”

He added in unusual praise for the bloc that the EU “has done brilliantly” opposing Putin.

“After all my anxieties…I pay tribute to the way the EU has acted. They have been united. The sanctions were tough.”

Interestingly, the prominent Eurosceptic who led the Vote Leave campaign said that if Ukraine wants to join the EU “they should go for it and I think it would be a good thing for Ukraine”.

Kyiv applied to join the EU earlier this year as part of its efforts to move away from Russia’s sphere of influence.

Ukraine has been vocal in its admiration for Johnson – and even tweeted out a suggestion that he return to Downing Street again after Liz Truss’s resignation, but it was quickly deleted.

New prime minister Rishi Sunak made his first official visit to the country last week, and pledged £50 million in defence aid.

Despite the ongoing support from Western allies for Ukraine, Russia has continued its relentless attacks on the nation, leaving entire regions without power as the winter looms.

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Boris Johnson Could Be PM Again In 10 Months, Says Nadine Dorries

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Boris Johnson could return as prime minister in under a year, his close ally Nadine Dorries has said.

The former culture secretary said the mood amongst Johnson’s supporters had been “upbeat” after he abandoned his comeback bid last month.

“He will be back. I don’t know when, I don’t know how, I don’t know whether it will be 10 years or 10 months,” Dorries told The House magazine.

When Liz Truss resigned as PM last month, Johnson flew back to London to challenge Rishi Sunak for the party leadership.

But he dropped out of the contest after conceding Sunak was the overwhelming choice of Tory MPs.

Dorries said there was a “general air in the room” at a party thrown by Johnson to thank his supporters of “people saying he will be back”.

She said Johnson was using his time out of No.10 to “recoup” money spent while in office.

“I used to say that to be a prime minister you need to be rich because it costs you a lot of money,” Dorries said.

“It is part of the role to invite people to Chequers, but you have to pay for every cup of tea served out of your own pocket.”

In what will be seen as a pop at Sunak, the close ally of Johnson added: “So unless you are a multimillionaire, it is a problem.”

As prime minister, Johnson earned £161,401 per year.

During that time he accepted a £15,000 gift of a Caribbean holiday from a Conservative donor who co-founded Carphone Warehouse.

The Downing Street flat was also refurbished at a cost of £200,000, paid for by Tory donor Lord Brownlow.

Since standing down, he has accepted £50,000 in from the family of Tory donor Lord Bamford.

In early October he earned £135,000 for giving a speech in the United States to insurance brokers.

In a recent interview with Sky News, Johnson – who remains an MP – would not be drawn on his future plans, saying only he was “happy doing what I’m doing”.

Earlier this week he delivered a speech at the Cop27 climate change summit in Egypt.

His decision to attend the gathering was widely seen as forcing Sunak to U-turn and also fly to the meeting.

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Boris Johnson To Give Speech At Crypto Conference In Latest Post-Premiership Gig

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Boris Johnson is to continue his burgeoning career away from Downing Street by giving the keynote speech at a blockchain and cryptocurrency conference in Singapore.

The former prime minister, who remains the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, will appear at the International Symposium on Blockchain Advancement on December 2.

The conference is being organised by ParallelChain Lab, a blockchain technology company that “is reimaginging the use of blockchain in the digital economy”.

Dick Cheney, the former US vice president, is also speaking at the conference.

In September, Johnson was paid £130,000 to give a speech to a group of US insurance brokers in Colorado.

The Times reported that the speech was greeted with a standing ovation as he gave his assessment of the situation in Ukraine.

Johnson has also set up his own office, likely to be the vehicle for accepting earnings, registering The Office of Boris Johnson Ltd with Companies House.

Meanwhile, Johnson has confirmed he will attend the Cop27 conference in Egypt, piling further pressure on Rishi Sunak to backtrack on his decision to snub the climate summit.

The ex-PM said he was “happy to go” to Sharm El Sheikh for the United Nations meeting opening on Sunday.

However, Sunak is leaving his own decision to the last minute, having initially ruled out attending before signalling he could U-turn in the face of widespread criticism.

Johnson told Sky News “yes, as it happens” he will be attending, adding: “I was invited by the Egyptians so I’m very happy to go.”

Asked if his successor in No 10 should go too, he said Sunak has a “massive amount to do” with the government’s domestic agenda, adding: “I happen to have a particular interest.”

It came as Johnson said he does not believe Vladimir Putin will use a tactical nuclear weapon in the conflict with Ukraine, as it would be “crazy” to wreak “total disaster” on his own country.

The former prime minister said the act would “immediately tender Russia’s resignation from the club of civilised nations” and plunge the country into a “kind of cryogenic economic freeze”.

He added that he suspects it would trigger an “absolutely hysterical reaction” in Russia itself.

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BBC ‘Urgently Reviewing’ Newsreader’s ‘Gleeful’ Reaction After Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal From Tory Leadership Race

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The BBC has said it is “urgently reviewing” comments made on air by newsreader Martine Croxall following Boris Johnson’s exit from the Tory leadership race.

The presenter was accused of breaching the broadcaster’s strict impartiality rules after she asked if she was “allowed to be this gleeful” during Sunday evening’s newspaper review on the BBC News channel, which came shortly after the former prime minister announced he would not be standing to reclaim his old job.

“Well this is all very exciting isn’t it?” she told viewers: “Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well I am.”

In her first question to her guests, Croxall also remarked: “Can we even show you the front pages just yet, have they arrived? No they haven’t arrived.

“It’s all a little bit, you know, lastminute.com isn’t it? Because all the front pages were probably out of date by the time we received them.”

Croxall also suggested during the programme that her comments could have breached BBC guidelines.

Responding to a guest’s joke aimed at Johnson, she said: “I shouldn’t probably (laugh). I’m probably breaking some terrible due impartiality rule by giggling.”

Her comments – which aired around 90 minutes after Johnson’s announcement – attracted criticism from some viewers and Tory MP Nadine Dorries on social media, claiming they displayed bias.

A statement from the broadcaster said: “BBC News is urgently reviewing last night’s edition of The Papers on the News Channel for a potential breach of impartiality.

“It is imperative that we maintain the highest editorial standards. We have processes in place to uphold our standards, and these processes have been activated.”

The Telegraph and Press Association also reported Martine has been taken off air for an “undefined period”, although the BBC has not officially confirmed this.

The BBC would not verify this claim when contacted by HuffPost UK.

On Twitter, Croxall told one viewer to consider the “context” of her remarks, later clarifying: “The rollercoaster of politics. Fascinating to report on.”

When another Twitter user said they expected her comments were “journalistic excitement and not relief, like most of the viewers”, she replied: “Very much the former!”

On Monday, it was announced that Rishi Sunak had won the Conservative Party leadership contest and will become the next prime minister.

The former chancellor secured the overwhelming support of MPs and will be installed as PM without a vote of the party membership.

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Nadhim Zahawi Mocked For Backing Boris Johnson And Rishi Sunak In The Same Half Hour

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A Tory minister has been mocked for publicly declaring his support for Boris Johnson’s Tory leadership bid and then switching to his arch-rival Rishi Sunak less than half an hour later.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the UK should “get ready for Boris 2.0” in an article published by the Daily Telegraph at 9pm.

But just two minutes earlier, Johnson had issued a statement saying he had decided to pull out of the race.

Nadhim Zahawi's article backing Boris Johnson was published at 9pm
Nadhim Zahawi’s article backing Boris Johnson was published at 9pm

Daily Telegraph

In a remarkable about-turn, Zahawi – who urged Johnson to resign as prime minister in July – then posted a tweet at 9.29pm announcing that he had switched his support to Sunak.

Unsurprisingly, Zahawi was slammed on Twitter for his latest embarrassing U-turn.

The Tory leadership contest is now a two-horse race between Sunak and Penny Mordaunt.

However, Sunak is the red hot favourite, having already secured more than 120 nominations, compared to Mordaunt’s 24.

The deadline for reaching the 100 MP threshold is 2pm tomorrow.

But a source close to Sunak said: “We are not taking anything for granted. Rishi will be continuing to talk to colleagues tomorrow morning before nomination papers go in, and discussing how best to unite the party and take the country forward.”

A Mordaunt campaign source said: “Penny is still running to be the leader of the Conservative Party.

“Penny is the unifying candidate who is most likely to keep the wings of the Conservative Party together and polling shows that she is the most likely candidate to hold onto the seats the Conservative Party gained in 2019.”

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