Boris Johnson & old age: not forever young
Boris Johnson is currently 59 years old and will be heading towards his bus pass and pension more quickly than he might imagine. In that context, although unsurprisingly, he seems cavalier for a former Parliamentary politician about old age.
On Monday Dominic Cummings repeated a claim he made to Laura Kuenssberg in 2021 suggesting that Johnson resisted an Autumn 2020 lockdown on the basis that it was only the over 80s who were dying from Covid.
Actually its mainly the over 60s (I’m 67 and fully vaccinated) but anyone dying from COVID is a loss not to be casually dismissed, as with other illnesses. People’s longevity was increasing for many years (on average) in the UK thanks to improved material conditions and the work of the NHS. Until that is the austerity years from 2010 since when it has slightly declined.
When Johnson expressed his alleged view his father Stanley was actually 80 (August 2020)and is now 83. Moreover its thought that 38% who voted in the Tory leadership election that Johnson won in 2019 were over 65(by far the largest age group) while in the December 2019 Election 67% of those over 70 voted Tory.
Its not really clear whether Johnson’s plan was, after Brecht, to elect a new Tory membership or simply to get rid of it altogether. Getting rid of the actual Electors presents an even bigger conundrum..
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