Boris Johnson: you read it here first

On Friday, I wrote that Boris Johnson was not long for the Tory front bench, being far too colourful for that drab lot. And by Saturday night, he'd been sacked.

What does puzzle me a little is: why the fuss? He was the spokesman on arts, culture and sport - hardly the most high-profile of positions. He's never made a decisive political intervention in his life. In fact, his main claim to wider public fame is being made to look like a bumbling idiot on Have I Got News For You. In fact, this quote from the BBC report is absolutely typical of him:

'He answered reporters' questions after having problems opening his front door, which somebody had apparently locked from inside.'

(I once saw Johnson in the Waitrose car park in Holloway Road, London, failing miserably to get into his own car. Probably left the keys in the supermarket...)

What he does represent is the celebrity end of politics, a self-parody of a politician, which chimes with the anti-political mood of the day. What Boris Johnson actually stands for... who knows.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Boris denies 'misleading' leader