Britain | Bagehot

Bootlicking: a guide to pre-election British politics

Labour is not yet in power. But the honeymoon has already begun 

The Press on their knees, licking a Starmer boot with a Labour rosette sock.
Photograph: Nate Kitch

Daytime television is a surprisingly dangerous place for a politician. During the 2019 general-election campaign, Boris Johnson was chased into an industrial fridge by an intrepid reporter from “Good Morning Britain”, a chatty breakfast show. In 2012, during a live interview on “This Morning”, a usually lightweight late-morning show, a presenter handed David Cameron, then the prime minister, a list of politicians suspected of paedophilia.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The art of bootlicking ”

From the April 13th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

Crew members during the commissioning of HMS Prince of Wales

Has the Royal Navy become too timid?

A new paper examines how its culture has changed

A pedestrian walks across the town square in Stevenage

A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition

Turkeys vote against Christmas


David Lammy, Britain’s foreign secretary

David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office

Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration


Britain’s government has spooked markets and riled businesses

Tax rises were inevitable. Such a shaky start was not

Labour’s credibility trap

Who can believe Rachel Reeves?