ZCZC
BFF-33
BRITAIN-EU-BREXIT-POLITICS-JOHNSON-FAMILY
Mum knows best? Boris says mother backs him on Brexit
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Oct 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – It’s a bitter issue
that has divided families, Britain’s prime minister included. But Boris
Johnson on Wednesday revealed that while he may have fallen out with his
brother and sister over Brexit, at least his mum agrees.
“I know there are some keen students of alleged divisions in my family on
matters of the EU but I want you to know, conference, that I have kept my ace
up my sleeve, my mother voted Leave,” he told the Conservative Party
conference in Manchester, north west England.
Johnson’s father Stanley, a keen supporter of leaving the EU after
initially backing Remain, was seen laughing in the crowd, appearing to mouth
the words: “I did not know that.”
Jo Johnson quit his brother’s government last month over its plans to leave
the EU on October 31 “come what may”.
Their sister Rachel, also a vocal critic of Brexit, has alleged that the
prime minister might be pursuing a no-deal Brexit on behalf of speculators
betting on a weak pound.
“She’s wrong but… I’m not going to get dragged into conversations about
my beloved family,” he told LBC radio.
The family rift has added a Shakespearean subplot to the Brexit crisis
consuming the country, echoing similar household feuds across Britain.
Johnson generally steers clear of talking about his family, and very
rarely discusses his mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl.
She and Stanley Johnson divorced in 1979, and she has battled with serious
mental health problems throughout her life, which saw her in and out of
hospital when the future prime minister was a child.
Rachel Johnson wrote in the Sunday Times that her mother was “32, had
depression and galloping obsessive compulsive disorder… and was finding
things hard, trying to combine her painting and looking after Alexander
(Boris), 10, me, 9, Leo, 7, and Joseph, 2.”
During her career, Charlotte Johnson has painted portraits for actress
Joanna Lumley, author Jilly Cooper and journalist Simon Jenkins.
BSS/AFP/RY/1941 hrs