Boris the independent voice for London is a concept increasingly commented on.
His policy of an earned amnesty wasn’t at all popular with his City Hall colleagues and his very vocal opposition to a 50p tax rate for the highest earners is at odds with much quieter and pragmatic opposition from David Cameron and George Osborne.
Today ConservativeHome editor Tim Montgomerie is the latest to draw attention to Boris’s willingness to set his own course and speak out.
Tim’s suggestion that Boris will “style himself as even more of an independent once the General Election is over” has long been the suspicion of many in what passes for City Hall’s press pack.
It’s worth noting that a willingness to speak out for London against his party was one of the early ‘challenges’ set for Boris by his opponents. An honest assessment of his performance to date would have to conclude that he’s lived up to that challenge.
When in a recent letter to the Standard I called on Boris’s political opponents to acknowledge this the private response was pretty scathing. Walking into City Hall a few days later one opposition AM looked close to spitting at me for daring to make the point. Fair to note that Boris has never reacted in a similar fashion despite countless articles questioning his policies and addiction to spin.
