Boris Johnson: On being a “Tory tosser” etc.

Here’s a couple of clips of the new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, appearing on Paul Merton’s comical chat show “Room 101” several years ago. What a shame we don’t have some politicians here at home more like this in terms of being amusing and honest almost to the point of recklessness. In addition to Danny Williams, I mean.

Why is it I wonder that our lot are so dreadfully unfunny for the most part? For a nation that’s widely renowned for spawning sharp comic wits, with one or two exceptions, they’re certainly conspicuous by their absence amongst the political class of this country. Is it simply an extreme fear of being inadvertently offensive or is there perhaps some other dynamic at play that escapes me altogether? Surely they can’t really just be as awfully drab and tiresome as they come across on television… can they?