Turning to Flirting: Politics and the Pleasures of Boris Johnson

Working paper


Yates, Candida 2010. Turning to Flirting: Politics and the Pleasures of Boris Johnson. London University of East London, London East Research Institute.
AuthorsYates, Candida
TypeWorking paper
Abstract

Johnson is often cited as the celebrity politician par excellence, whose eccentric yet charismatic persona provides an antidote to the technocratic, managerial style closely associated with New Labour governments since 1997. Johnson’s image is meant to be that of an un-spun ‘Tory toff’, whose brand of English eccentricity is said to appeal to people across party political lines.
I want to argue that alongside the idiosyncratic nature of his political persona, Johnson’s playful performance as Mayor of London also provides an example of a wider, flirtatious turn in British political culture, a phenomenon which has come to the fore as part of the mediatisation of politics in a post-ideological era of postmodern political parties.

Keywordspromotional culture; psychosocial; spin; celebrity politics; Olympic politics; Team GB
Year2010
PublisherUniversity of East London, London East Research Institute
Place of publicationLondon
Web address (URL)http://www.uel.ac.uk/risingeast/essays/2010-02-17.htm
http://hdl.handle.net/10552/1206
Publication dates
Print17 Feb 2010
Publication process dates
Deposited21 Apr 2011
Additional information

Citation:
Yates, C. (2010) ‘Turning to Flirting: Politics and the Pleasures of Boris Johnson’ Rising East, Vol 2 Series 1 No. 2..

Series Rising East Essays
JournalRising East Essays
Journal citation2 (1)
Publisher's version
License
CC BY-ND
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https://repository.uel.ac.uk/item/86283

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