Born Leader

How did Boris Johnson, a man often written-off as an upper class buffoon, manage to win a huge victory at the British General Election? Toby Young, a journalist who has known Boris for 36 years, explains that beneath the jokey, bumbling exterior is a shrewd political operator who knows how to win elections.

At last week’s British election, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party won more seats than at any time since 1983, at the height of Margaret Thatcher’s popularity. Coincidentally, 1983 was the first time I set eyes on Boris when we were both first-year students at Oxford. In the 36 years since — a period of time in which I’ve got to know him reasonably well — he hasn’t really changed.

Born Leader

He was holding ...