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Andrew Gimson interviews Boris Johnson about Costa Concordia, UKIP, tax cuts, Plebgate and how to beat Labour

By Andrew Gimson
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Before I could put a single question to Boris Johnson, he launched into an ebullient account of the political situation: “We are now neck and neck with Labour with 18 months to go. The economy turning round. Ship off the rocks.”

The Mayor of London’s favourite new metaphor is the Costa Concordia.  It possesses the Johnsonian characteristics of being dramatic, popular, original, amusing and in questionable taste. A more pedantic objection occurred to me: “It’s a powerful image but the ship isn’t actually moving.”

Johnson admitted that when the new metaphor was launched by him in a speech to the Institute of Directors, it attracted a certain amount of criticism: “My Costa Concordia point didn’t go down well with everyone.”

But he was not prepared to abandon the image just because a few rather touchy people claimed to be offended. That if anything made the metaphor more attractive to him.

Half-way through the interview, while explaining how to get people to vote Conservative, he reverted to it: “I think in the end, I think my Costa Concordia point was good. They [the voters] will not want to have the same people back on the bridge who ran the boat aground.”

To liken the Labour leadership to an Italian captain who steered onto the the rocks, abandoned ship and left 32 of his passengers to perish is unkind. But Johnson is clearly itching to tell the British people that to put Labour back in charge would be madness.

George Osborne

Last week you asked George Osborne a number of questions, he answers a selection of them here.

Aaron (1): In a new Conservative Government, what would be the long term economic policy and intended effects?

The goal of our long term economic policy is to enable rising living standards for everyone. That means preparing Britain to compete in the new global economy with emerging giants like China and India.
We’ve set out a number of ways that we’d do that, including a broad programme of tax reform, a triple-lock on economic stability, and sharing the proceeds of growth between real increases in spending on public services, and lower borrowing or taxes.

I’ve highlighted the need to enhance innovation, not by top-down Government initiatives, but by strengthening the framework for business then getting out of the way. My recent trip to Silicon Valley highlighted the need to update our intellectual property laws and improve education standards so that we can compete in an age where knowledge will be the key driver of success.

Aaron (2): Can you make any suggestions as to the housing market boom - why has there been such an increase? Has it had economic benifits in the wider context? How can we go about ensuring young people can afford to join the ladder?

Unaffordable housing is a key priority for most families in this country. Whether young couples who can’t afford their dream of owning a home, or parents who can see no way for their children to get on the property ladder, the lack of homes we can afford affects us all.

Labour’s response is wrong. Their planning system prioritises building on gardens, hospital grounds and school playing fields, just because these valuable green spaces are labelled “brown field”. And John Prescott’s top-down targets leave little discretion for local communities.

So we’re setting out a new policy direction for housing that will give local communities power over new building, and gives them the incentive to build enough sustainable, beautiful homes, in the right places. We must build the homes we want and need.