Bojo begins with boot camp

In one of his first move as the new Mayor of London, Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (Bojo to you) has avowed to tackle that irritating trend among the youth of London to kill one another. His methods for doing so combine a virile cocktail of volunteer-run youth clubs, old fashioned discipline, and a pellucid vision for the future of the nation's capital.

With former prison governer Ray Lewis at his side, Bojo aims to wage war on the politically correct, namby pamby, version of London's youth management through a series of boot camps and military-style drills. Lewis is the first governor appointed by Mr. Johnson and one of many that commentators feel mark an austerity to the mayor's character that many believed was lacking during the build up to the mayoral election.

The news comes exactly a month after it was revealed that the Prime Minister professed his distaste for the rowdy youth of England and his desire to expose them to the discipline and structure of the Army Cadets. It also comes at a time when it has been revealed that the army is going through a recruitment shortage. It certainly seems that old-school discipline is the new trend in British politics for dealing with the country's discontented youth. But are the new policies really designed with notions of moulding minds for the future? Or do they stand as a veiled way of preparing them to get shot in Iraq or somewhere?

Mr Lewis has previously worked in a Milton Keynes prison and was the founder of the Eastside Young Leaders' Acadamey, which encourages black youth to become leaders in business and law. His motto is: "We see no shortage of young black males in the courtrooms, so my vision is to seek to prepare as many as possible for the boardrooms."

If it works out then Westmonster certainly doesn't have any complaints. We just wonder where Boris is going to find his volunteers to run the clubs. Only a saint or a sadist would be likely to sign up to do so and there don't seem to be too many saints around these days...

Written by Oli Anderson on 6 May 2008 9:47 AM. Permalink