Johnson has been described as a divisive and controversial figure in British politics. Sonia Purnell described Johnson as "the most unconventional, yet compelling politician of the post-Blair era". She added that he was "beloved by millions and recognised by all". Giles Edwards and Jonathan Isaby commented that Johnson appealed to "a broad cross-section of the public", with his friends characterising him as a "Heineken Tory" who can appeal to voters that other Conservatives cannot (a reference to the beer advertisement). Gimson expressed the view that "people love him because he makes them laugh", noting that he had become "the darling of the Tory rank and file".
Johnson appointed his Cabinet on 24 July 2019, describing it as a "Cabinet for modern Britain", with The Guardian branding it "an ethnically diverse but ideologically homogeneous statement of intent". While forming his government, Johnson dismissed 11 senior ministers and accepted the resignation of six others, a purge described by Johnson's ally Nigel Evans as "not so much a reshuffle as a summer's day massacre". The mass dismissal was the most extensive Cabinet reorganisation without a change in ruling party in postwar British political history, exceeding the seven Cabinet ministers dismissed in the "Night of the Long Knives" of 1962, and was dubbed the "Night of the Blond Knives" by The Sun.
More InfoIdeologically, Johnson has described himself as a "One-Nation Tory". In 2012, the political scientist Tony Travers described Johnson as "a fairly classic—that is, small-state—mildly eurosceptic Conservative" who, like his contemporaries Cameron and George Osborne, also embraced "modern social liberalism". The Guardian stated that while mayor, Johnson blended economic and social liberalism, with The Economist saying that in doing so Johnson "transcends his Tory identity" and adopts a more libertarian perspective. Stuart Reid, Johnson's colleague at The Spectator, described the latter's views as being those of a "liberal libertarian". Business Insider commented that as London mayor, Johnson gained a reputation as "a liberal, centre-ground politician".
More InfoJohnson is the eldest of the four children of Stanley Johnson, a former Conservative Member of the European Parliament and employee of the European Commission and the World Bank, and the painter Charlotte Johnson Wahl (née Fawcett), the daughter of Sir James Fawcett, a barrister and president of the European Commission of Human Rights. His younger siblings are Rachel Johnson, a writer and journalist; Leo Johnson, a partner specialising in sustainability at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Jo Johnson, ex-Minister of State and Conservative MP for Orpington, who resigned from his brother's government in September 2019. Johnson's stepmother, Jenny, the second wife of his father Stanley, is the stepdaughter of Teddy Sieff, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer. Having been a member of the Conservatives between 2008 and 2011, Rachel Johnson joined the Liberal Democrats in 2017. She stood as a candidate for Change UK in the 2019 European Elections.
More InfoOn 19 July, Reuters reported that Johnson, as well as his political allies, had been actively supported by the former Russian oil tycoon Alexander Temerko, who became a major donor to the Conservative Party after he fled Russia in 2004 to evade criminal charges. Temerko said he was on friendly first-name terms with Johnson. Temerko reportedly had close ties to the Russian government but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Temerko "has no connection to the Kremlin or the Russian authorities".
More InfoStuart Wilks-Heeg, executive director of Democratic Audit, said that "Boris is politically nimble", while biographer Sonia Purnell stated that Johnson regularly changed his opinion on political issues, commenting on what she perceived to be "an ideological emptiness beneath the staunch Tory exterior". She later referred to his "opportunistic – some might say pragmatic – approach to politics". In 2014, former Mayor Ken Livingstone stated in an interview with the New Statesman that, while he had once feared Johnson as "the most hardline right-wing ideologue since Thatcher", over the course of Johnson's mayoralty he had instead concluded that he was "a fairly lazy tosser who just wants to be there" while doing very little work.
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