Boris Johnson used to joke that he admired the Mayor in Jaws because – a few people may have been killed – but at least he kept the beaches open. But the Covid enquiry reminds us that he’s closer to Dracula. In the Bram Stoker’s novel., newly qualified solicitor Jonathan Harker is sent to Castle Dracula by his employer Peter Hawkins, who has been buying a London property on Dracula’s behalf. Hawkins claims in his letter of introduction that an attack of gout prevents him from travelling but Dracula is already aware of the substitution (“I bid you welcome, Mr Harker,” he says) and Harker already suspects that the muffled coach driver who brought him to the castle might have been Dracula in disguise. Hawkins’ letter ominously introduces Harker as “full of energy…very faithful.” In  a Westminster context Hawkins appears to be throwing Harker under the bus.  The unofficial silent film Nosferatu merges the characters of Hawkins and Renfield making it clear that Harker’s employer wa...

  Boris Johnson's latest challenge to Ministers to cut 91,000 Civil Service jobs continues a trend that strikes at the heart of Britain. Following on from the National Insurance rise clumsily tagged to "supporting the NHS" on payslips, the 91,000 job cuts will supposedly free up cash to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.  As usual, it appeals to a certain mentality. One that used to think most Civil Servants are sitting in Whitehall, clocking up "Gold Plated Pensions" and now think they are sitting at home, "skiving off" (or alternately working hard churning out meaningless red tape, depending on which axe you're grinding). Like the Ministers themselves, that mentality doesn't actually know what the Civil Servants are doing. It doesn't know that a lot of them work outside Whitehall, and it doesn't know that a lot of them are so lowly paid that they qualify for in-work benefits. To be fair though, the Government has been doing its best to...