Boris Johnson Should Leave Public Life for Good, Say Voters

Exclusive poll reveals the British public have had enough of the disgraced former Prime Minister

The British public believe that disgraced former Prime Minister Boris Johnson should now leave public life for good, according to an exclusive new poll for the Byline Supplement.

The survey, conducted by pollsters Omnisis, found that 55% of voters believe Johnson should no longer participate in public life, compared to just 27% who disagree.

As MPs prepare to vote next week on the verdict of a Privileges Committee report which found he repeatedly lied to Parliament, even a third (32%) of Conservative voters say he should now leave the national stage.

The survey also reveals that voters now overwhelmingly see Johnson as dishonest.

Despite Johnson’s protestations, Omnisis found that 71% agreed with the Committee that Johnson lied to Parliament, with just 15% disagreeing.

Overall 66% say they would describe the former Prime Minister as “mostly dishonest” compared to just 22% who describe him as “mostly honest”.

The findings come as Johnson takes up a new role as a flagship columnist for the Daily Mail.

The job, which reportedly comes attached to a “very high six-figure” salary, means that Johnson is preparing to remain a significant figure in British politics, despite his decision to abandon his seat in Uxbridge and Ruislip.

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Exposed

As I wrote in the aftermath of his resignation last week, the rise and fall of Boris Johnson has perfectly exposed Britain’s deeply broken political culture.

From its corrupted power structures, which reward failure and dishonesty, to its broken political media system, which prioritises access and patronage over accountability and transparency, the Johnson saga has brutally exposed what our editors Hardeep Matharu and Peter Jukes describe as the “ethical void” at the heart of British politics.

As they set out in their editorial, accompanying our latest edition going out to subscribers soon:

“Johnson the ‘journalist’ who became Prime Minister may be the ultimate example of this enablement in the interests, not of the public, but a privileged few in cahoots.”

Rather than being the end of a shameful chapter in British politics, Johnson’s exit from Parliament merely confirms how much remains deeply wrong with politics and journalism in the UK.