Whether or not Boris Johnson ever wants to try to lead the Conservative Party is one of the current great political stories. Journalists search for a story in whether Cameron and Johnson get on, if there is any animosity between the two and pore over every comment made for signs of one having a dig at the other.
All this should not disguise that the Mayor of London has some valuable lessons for the Prime Minister not least in how to set a clear political strategy.
Take the Mayor’s recent 2020 Vision. Never knowingly undersold, the programme for the future growth and development is called ‘The Greatest City on Earth’ and is full of Johnson-type florid language.
However, the document sets out in very clear terms what the Mayor wants and expects from London. There are lists of challenges and then a list of projects and policies to deal with the challenges. The document does set out a vision and a belief in what London should be in the future.
There is no doubt that the list of projects is challenging and there is not the money in place for many of them but the document is enthusing and shows that those leading the city know what they want to do. Unusually it is a vision document with vision.
The comparison with the approach at a national level is stark. Looking at a range of policy areas – rail and energy, most notably – you do not see a vision of the future being set out. This, as I describe in a recent blog, means that Government can be more easily deflected and ends up dealing with issues of detail rather than being able to set out a clear narrative.
Johnson’s approach has a number of clear advantages – it means more effort can be spent on delivery and less trying to wade through a torrent of detail; it ensures that there are clear battle lines and that Johnson has helped to draw them up in the first place putting him in a better position; and it means he controls the agenda.
By adopting a clear approach to communications, Johnson has also been able to undertake some very effective lobbying of central government, particularly where it comes to long term security of funding and more recently extending the reach of his powers over some suburban train operations. Bigger battles though lay ahead especially if, as the recent finance commission report suggests, Johnson wants greater financial powers.
London has become the city that others in the country look at enviously and complain that it is treated too favourably and gets more than its fair share. The challenge that these other cities face though is that London can secure a bigger bang for the Treasury’s buck.
But Johnson’s clear communications and messages also help. London looks and feels more united than some other cities. There is a lack of counter views and whilst active discussions do take place there appears to be a general agreement by a range of stakeholders on the key issues and actions. This strength in depth takes time to build but provides Johnson with the ability to stand up and talk on behalf of London because he knows the support is there. The same cannot be said of other cites (there some notable exceptions to this).
Johnson’s approach to communications and engagement is direct and that is part of the reason why he is seen as a successor to Cameron. He also does not duck the big issues – he has stood up for the financial services sector and has challenged government on immigration and visas and other issues. This gives him a little something special as far as the electorate is concerned – along with sometimes outrageous comments…
This is not, of course, a fair fight. The challenges of government are far more diverse and wide-ranging and the level of scrutiny on Boris is far less than on Cameron but these should not disguise the lessons on offer to the Prime Minister. Johnson leads and he leads from the front. Cameron should take note.