Bojo at the Mansion House

The London Government Dinner really kicks off the calendar year in London politics. At least this year it was held in the second, not the first, week of January, so many people — including myself — were able to attend. There were fewer LibDems around than last time I was there (about four years ago), which was a sad reflection of the fact that the Labour Party did so well in Council elections in London last May (even though it lost the General Election). But it is good that each year a wide variety of new people do get to see a stunning building, brilliantly maintained and with a collection of pictures that takes the breath away. The main speaker, as is traditional, was not the Lord Mayor of London (whose fiefdom is the City), but his confusing namesake for the whole of this great city, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Boris’s hair was shorter than usual — though still looking as if it had been cut by one of his children with sewing scissors — and his speech was the usual charming ramble; I feel asleep at one point but woke up when he was highlighting the export of chocolate hobnobs to India. Bizarre, certainly, but classic Boris.

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