Boris Johnson’s latest book centres on his view that Winston Churchill, and Winston Churchill alone, ‘made the difference’ in the outcome of the second world war. It opens by describing – and returns several times to – a decisive meeting of the war cabinet in 1940. At this meeting he persuaded reluctant colleagues to fight on, convinced that Adolf Hitler and the superior German war machine could not fight successfully on two fronts.
Entertaining, at times infuriatingly so, and highly partisan but never dull, it almost goes without saying that Johnson’s portrayal of his hero in The Churchill Factor is designed to make the reader draw a parallel between author and subject. From the outset, many of the descriptions of the former prime minister are carefully worded to imply that Johnson is on a par with a man he compares to ‘Colossus’.
Johnson lists a number of Churchill’s considerable failures, from Gallipoli to the abdication crisis and to his contribution to creating the modern Middle East. However, by scoring them for the ‘fiasco factor’ and the ‘Churchill factor’ he makes light of what were undoubtedly major errors of judgement.
Johnson is forgiving of his hero and the high-risk approach he took to both political tactics and warfare. He excuses examples of Churchill’s misogyny and racism (he referred to Gandhi as being a ‘semi-naked fakir’) as being of his time. The reader gets selective insights into Churchill’s personal life – his relationship with a distant mother, his loyalty to his nanny, and his love of his wife, Clementine. Johnson is, however, more concerned with the Churchill ‘brand’ and his role on the world stage.
From his hats, to general dress and cigars, Churchill is portrayed both as an opportunist and a gambler. Johnson writes that, ‘to some extent all politicians are gamblers with events. They try to anticipate what will happen, to put themselves “on the right side of history”, to show off their judgement to the best example.’ He portrays Churchill as driven both by ideology and values. During his time as a Liberal, Churchill, who changed parties twice during his lifetime, contributed to the welfare schemes introduced in the early 20th century and was instrumental in setting up the first labour exchanges. Churchill called it a ‘national evil that any class of Her Majesty’s subjects should receive less than a living wage in return for their utmost exertions’.
To a modern audience, the clearest lasting impression of Churchill is of a great orator and a great leader of his party and country. By the time Churchill became prime minister, in his late 60s, he had had considerable, if sometimes inglorious, experience of high office. Stunts and spin aside, it is hard to identify what major achievements – other than winning – Johnson has had in the role of mayor of London that were not initiated by someone else. He may aspire to be as great a historic figure, but Johnson will have to do more than get publicity for hanging off zipwires if, like Churchill, he is going to be a ‘brick layer’ rather than simply a man holding a brick.
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Fiona Twycross is a member of the London assembly
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The Churchill Factor: How one man made history
Boris Johnson
Hodder & Stoughton | 416pp | £25.00