"Greased piglet" is an epithet used by former British Prime Minister David Cameron to describe later British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. [1] The term has been applied to Johnson by the British media, [2] [3] [4] international media, [5] [6] [7] [8] as well as political adversaries, [9] [10] and some political scientists. [11] [12]
The term originates from October 2019 when former British Prime Minister David Cameron, in discussing the difficult Brexit talks, said of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people's hands where mere mortals fail". [13]
At the time, Cameron was speaking at the annual October Harrogate Literature Festival in North Yorkshire to promote his book For the Record , when he was asked about his relationship with Johnson and if they had nicknames for each other. [14] [15] Cameron made the comment by way of responding to the question, disclosing what he had texted to a friend who had asked him about Johnson's chances of getting his upcoming Brexit legislation voted through parliament. [14] [15]
The political editor of The Independent John Rentoul, noted that Johnson had himself previously called the former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron a "greased piglet", on separate occasions. [16]
In 2019, The Economist said the term was one of four faces that Johnson portrayed, being the "player, gambler, Machiavelli or piglet", and that the greased piglet "either wriggles through loopholes or else shifts the blame expertly to anyone but himself". [17] In 2022, The New Zealand Herald said the use of the term in relation to Johnson was "due to his legendary ability to evade scandal", [5] while The New York Times attributed the term to him being "a man who could slip out of any tight situation". [18]
In March 2021, British political journalist Andrew Rawnsley wrote of Johnson, "'Getting away with it' has been one of the more consistent features of the career of a man whom other Tories call 'the greased piglet', and quoted a former cabinet minister who told him "Boris has got this Teflon quality. He gets away with things that no other politician would get away with". [19]
In May 2022, Pankaj Mishra, writing in The Washington Post , wrote that the "greased piglet" term had become associated with the myth of Johnson as "a great survivor". The Washington Post wrote "Yet Johnson perseveres, even attracting a myth that he is a great survivor, a “greased piglet,” in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s description, able to slip out of every cage he lands in. On closer examination, Johnson’s survival skills amount to little more than shamelessness. He owes his resilience in disgrace to Britain’s debased political culture and institutions such as the British parliament, the media, the London police, and the Conservative party." [20]
Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield from 1997 to 2019 and was the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019.
11 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 11, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The residence, in Downing Street in London, was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10 in 1682.
To date, forty-seven women and three men have been married to the British prime minister in office. There have also been four bachelor and nine widower prime ministers; the last bachelor was Edward Heath (1970–1974) and the last widower was Ramsay MacDonald. The Duke of Grafton (1768–1770) and Boris Johnson (2019–2022) are the only prime ministers to have divorced and remarried while in office.
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He was previously Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2018 and Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 2001 to 2008 and Uxbridge and South Ruislip from 2015 to 2023.
Pig wrestling is a game sometimes played at agricultural shows such as state and county fairs, in which contestants, try to hold onto a pig. In the most common version, a team of four members chases a domestic pig around a fenced-off mud pit and attempts to place it in a barrel, in a race against the clock. In some events the pigs are greased with lard, vegetable or mineral oil in order to make catching the pig even more difficult.
Sir Julian Richard Smith is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Skipton and Ripon since 2010. He served as Government Chief Whip from 2017 to 2019 and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2019 to 2020.
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which, for the first time, set in legislation a default fixed election date for general elections in the United Kingdom. It remained in force until 2022, when it was repealed. Since then, as before its passage, elections are required by law to be held at least once every five years, but can be called earlier if the prime minister advises the monarch to exercise the royal prerogative to do so. Prime ministers have often employed this mechanism to call an election before the end of their five-year term, sometimes fairly early in it. Critics have said this gives an unfair advantage to the incumbent prime minister, allowing them to call a general election at a time that suits them electorally. While it was in force, the FTPA removed this longstanding power of the prime minister.
Until 2023, British manufactured cars had always been used as prime ministerial cars by the prime ministers of the United Kingdom. The cars currently used are armoured, custom built Range Rover Sentinel supercharged 5.0 litre V8 models and armoured Audi A8L models.
Larry is a British domestic tabby cat who has been Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street since 2011. He is cared for by Downing Street staff, and is not the personal property of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Larry has lived at 10 Downing Street during the premierships of six prime ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.
Theresa May's tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 13 July 2016 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government after the resignation of her predecessor David Cameron in the aftermath of the European Union (EU) membership referendum, and ended upon her resignation on 24 July 2019. May's premiership was dominated by Brexit, terrorist attacks in Westminster, the Manchester Arena and London Bridge, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Salisbury poisonings. As prime minister, May served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party.
Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020. As of 2020, the UK is the only member state to have left the EU. Britain entered the predecessor to the EU, the European Communities (EC), on 1 January 1973. Following this, Eurosceptic groups grew in popularity in the UK, opposing aspects of both the EC and the EU. As Euroscepticism increased during the early 2010s, Prime Minister David Cameron delivered a speech in January 2013 at Bloomberg London, in which he called for reform of the EU and promised an in–out referendum on the UK's membership if the Conservative Party won a majority at the 2015 general election. The Conservatives won 330 seats at the election, giving Cameron a majority of 12, and a bill to hold a referendum was introduced to Parliament that month.
Boris Johnson's tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 24 July 2019 when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Theresa May, and ended on 6 September 2022 upon his resignation. Johnson's premiership was dominated by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis. As prime minister, Johnson also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Minister for the Union and Leader of the Conservative Party.
Boris Johnson has declared his position on many political issues through his public comments. Johnson's political positions have changed throughout his political career. His policies, views and voting record have been the subject of commentary during Johnson's tenure in various positions, including as Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022.
2010s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events in the United Kingdom in the 2010s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format.
The Prime Minister's New Year Message in the United Kingdom is an annual speech made by the prime minister for the start of a new year. It is traditionally released around New Year's Eve and Hogmanay throughout Britain, consisting of a speech which is a few minutes long and usually contains reflections upon what has taken place throughout the previous year. This is then followed by a government-backed preview of what can be expected in the coming new year and the current political state of the nation. Beyond politics, the message also includes sentiments and achievements from throughout the year, and national events that have taken place.
In July 2022, a motion of confidence in the second Johnson ministry was tabled in the House of Commons. The motion, debated on 18 July, was laid by the government itself after it had refused to allow time for a Labour Party no-confidence motion. The Government won the vote on 18 July, but the Prime Minister resigned in September.
In early July 2022, 62 of the United Kingdom's 179 government ministers, parliamentary private secretaries, trade envoys, and party vice-chairmen resigned from their positions in the second administration formed by Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, culminating in Johnson's resignation on 7 July. Johnson's premiership had been considered in danger for months after several scandals, but it was the Chris Pincher scandal that was identified to have spurred on the resignations. Considered the "last straw" for the Prime Minister, the scandal arose after it was revealed that Johnson had promoted his Deputy Chief Government Whip Chris Pincher, who was publicly facing multiple allegations of sexual assault, to the position despite knowing of the allegations beforehand.
The public image of Boris Johnson has attracted commentary throughout his political career. As Mayor of London, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and in various ministerial positions, Johnson has been considered a controversial or polarising figure in British politics.
Andrew Parsons is a British professional photographer who has worked with the Conservative Party and, as a civil servant, in close liaison with the four of the five most recent Prime Ministers: David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Liz Truss.
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