If Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat was a 'skip', what do most people live in? – Scotsman comment

The Prime Minister can’t be expected to live in a skip.

Former skip-dweller and Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Picture: Phil Noble/PA)

The Scotsman would like to offer its wholehearted support to this statement by the Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine. As she quite rightly said, the idea that Boris Johnson should be required to live in a large metal container designed to collect building waste is completely and utterly ridiculous.

Oh, wait, sorry, it was a metaphor... Vine, who happens to be the wife of Cabinet minister Michael Gove, didn’t mean an actual skip. Instead what she meant was the flat above 11 Downing Street, which some PM’s prefer to the one above 10 Downing Street because it’s nicer.

The “cash for curtains” affair, as it has been dubbed by some, centres on reports that Johnson spent up to £200,000 on changing the decor, with hushed talk of “gold wallpaper”, which would certainly go a long way to ridding the flat of any skip-like qualities.

He also allegedly received a bit of help footing the bill from some wealthy friends, a claim that is currently being investigated by the Electoral Commission after it concluded there were “reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred”.

Hmm, on reflection, we're not quite sure Vine’s metaphor was a suitable one. If the PM’s flat can be described as a “skip”, thereby justifying the need for a small fortune to be spent on its refurbishment – over and above the £30,000 annual (yes, annual) allowance – what does that mean the vast majority of the British population live in?

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.