Everyone’s favourite bumbling politician, the Right Honourable Boris Johnson, MP for Henley, has been appointed Shadow Education Minister by the new Conservative leader David Cameron. It’s not the first time Boris has been on the front bench; many of us can still remember the day he was appointed Shadow Arts Minister, only to be sacked later on for failing to disclose details of his personal life - including an extra-marital affair. Hopefully this time he’ll manage to stay in the job for longer, perhaps even making it into the Cabinet itself if the Conservatives win the next general election (something which, until recently, seemed impossible but is now within reach).

Unfortunately the demands of the post mean that Boris will be stepping down from his role as editor of the Spectator, which he has been involved with for over six years. It’s a shame to see him leave the magazine, but I’m sure they’ll appoint a new editor who, whilst perhaps not quite as eccentric a figure as Boris, will do an excellent job of continuing the success it has enjoyed over the past few years.

In the meantime, best of luck to Mr Johnson in his new job, hopefully he’ll give the current Minister for Education, Ruth Kelly (who is MP for Bolton West, not that far away from me) a run for her money over the coming months.

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