Boris Johnson Facts & Worksheets

• Johnson did well in school at Eton, especially in English and the Classics. He was also active in debating and journalism and had close friends from wealthy families, like Darius Guppy and Charles Spencer. He won a scholarship to study Literae Humaniores (Classics) at Balliol College, Oxford, after taking a year off to teach in Australia. There, he joined the rugby team and the controversial Bullingdon Club.
• Johnson worked as a journalist and editor while he was at Oxford. He also volunteered at a kibbutz in Israel and got involved in student politics. In 1986, he became president of the Oxford Union.
• Johnson’s upbringing and education gave him intellectual confidence, social connections, and a public persona that combined classical scholarship with a charming and irreverent style. He went to prestigious schools like Eton and Oxford, where he met future British politicians and got his start in politics and the media.
• Even though he did well in school, he was sometimes criticised for being lazy or strange. However, he was still a well-liked and well-known person among his peers, which is similar to how he would be viewed in public life later on.
• Boris Johnson’s formative years were characterised by frequent relocations, prestigious education, and immersion in political and cultural settings that fostered his intellectual curiosity, social confidence and unique personality – attributes that would shape his political career and public persona.

Early Career

• Boris Johnson got married to Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987 and worked as a journalist until 1994. He started as an intern at The Times, but he was fired for making up a quote. Then he went to The Daily Telegraph, where his funny, unique style appealed to Conservative readers. He became known as a Eurosceptic journalist in Brussels, where he wrote sensationalised ‘euromyths’ that drew criticism from coworkers and politicians and helped UKIP grow. 
• His marriage ended in 1993, and he married Marina Wheeler. They had four kids and moved to Islington, where he became more liberal on social issues.
• Johnson became well-known as the chief political columnist and assistant editor at The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator from 1994 to 1999, but his writing was criticised for being racist and sexist. In 1997, he tried to get elected to parliament but failed. In 1995, he was involved in a scandal involving a friend’s criminal activities, but he was able to keep his job.
• Johnson became well-known across the country after being on the BBC’s Have I Got News for You. This made him more well-known in the media and in public.
• He became the editor of The Spectator in 1999. He increased its circulation and profits and encouraged writers from all political backgrounds to write for it. But during his time as editor, he was criticised for ignoring important issues, making bad political predictions, and letting the magazine publish controversial content, such as racist and antisemitic language.
• Johnson also stirred up controversy with high-profile interviews, like the one with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and with editorials that made people think, like ones about the Hillsborough disaster and the Muslim world.
• This developed Johnson’s public image as a flashy, divisive person whose writing, media appearances and political goals were all connected, paving the way for his future career in British politics.

Member of Parliament

• Boris Johnson started his career in Parliament in 2001 when he was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Henley, a safe seat in Oxfordshire. He won the seat in the 2001 general election. Johnson was an Member of Parliament (MP), editor of The Spectator and columnist for The Daily Telegraph. He also worked on local campaigns and constituency work, but he missed some parliamentary duties and often gave boring speeches.
• At first, he was against some socially liberal policies, but later he supported things like the Gender Recognition Act 2004. His opinion on the Iraq War changed from supporting it to criticising it.
• Johnson’s public image was boosted by his high media profile, which included books and TV appearances. However, there were also scandals, like his affair with columnist Petronella Wyatt, which got him fired from party positions in 2004. He was re-elected in 2005 and backed David Cameron’s bid for leadership. He was named shadow higher education minister, which meant he had to deal with issues like university funding and top-up fees.