Taking to the lecture circuit is a well-trodden path for former prime ministers (in March last year it was reported that Theresa May had earned over £1 million from speeches since December 2019), and Boris Johnson has quickly followed suit. Having stepped down as Tory leader at the start of September, he’s already visited the US for his first speaking engagement, for which he was paid a reported $150,000 (approx £135,524).
The Times reports that Johnson gave a 30-minute speech, before conducting a 45-minute ‘fireside chat’ on stage with a senior insurance broker as part of the Insurance Leadership Forum in Colorado Springs. He reportedly defended his decisions as PM, such as his backing for Brexit and net zero emissions, and touched on the war in Ukraine, saying he felt Putin would ultimately lose.
There was no Q and A portion of the evening, but Johnson is said to have received a standing ovation from some members of the crowd, before departing to return to a private holiday with his wife, Carrie Johnson, and their two young children, Wilfred and Romy.
BJ and Carrie are living the dream … money for old rope and accolades from the punters … the living is easy …
I’ve never understood why these sums are regularly paid to ex-pollies wherever you go. What does the audience expect to hear other than the old chestnuts they had heard from them while they were in office? One of them at least indulged himself in growing roses. He understood.
Now I loathe Johnson more than most, but it’s the life and he was never going to be homeless on the street when he was thrown out for being an amoral liar, was he?
So, yeah, once they’ve got that silver spoon in their gob it tends to stay there. Of course it shows his lack of principles to exploit the harm he did our country and lies he told to trouser some dosh
But Johnson never had any principles so hardly surprising?
I’m just glad he’s not shaming our country as PM any more, that’ll do
And, who knows, maybe karma will catch up with him one day and he’ll get his just desserts, I hope so
