Boris Johnson may be the New Routemaster of British foreign policy
There are telling parallels between the new national government role of London’s former mayor and his most emblematic policy in that post
The rise of Boris Johnson to become foreign secretary and the fall of the New Routemaster, the bespoke London bus he introduced to the capital’s streets, have some illuminating common themes. Both are tales of novelty and nostalgia, of risk and symbolism and of style over substance. Both demonstrate the staying power of a particular idea of Britain and Britishness that Johnson vividly personifies.
Last week, Transport for London (TfL) announced that the last of the so-called conductors who work on six of the routes the New Routemaster serves, will be gone by September. They say this will save around £10m a year, contributing to the efficiency drive required by Johnson’s successor Sadiq Khan. It will also complete the erasing of a signature mark of the “Boris Bus”, the most emblematic policy he pursued in his eight years at City Hall.
Source: Guardian Transport
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