HE’S not fit to rule – that was the overwhelming message as thousands of predominantly young people gathered in Glasgow to protest against Boris Johnson.
Organised by Stand up to Racism Glasgow, the Not My Prime Minister demonstration on Buchanan Street last night brought together people appalled by the Prime Minister’s politics and the fact that Scotland would once again be ruled by a government it didn’t vote for.
Tess Riley, a 23-year-old call centre agent, summed up the frustration of many Scottish voters. “Last night’s vote illustrates that England’s views don’t line up with our own and we can’t keep doing what they’re doing just because we’re technically in the same country right now,” she said. Riley added of the new PM: “Not only is Boris Johnson racist, sexist, homophobic – all those bad things – he’s also highly incompetent as a leader.”
Andrew Dryden, reeling from the “shock” of the UK-wide election result, said the protest brought together a diverse group. “If you look at all the placards here today there are a broad range of things about Johnson that we oppose – from climate change to anti-migrant sentiment, racism, homophobia and just his whole agenda and everything he and the Conservative Party stand for,” he said.
Marketer Lauren Pearson, 23, commented: “I’m here because Scotland has been ignored time and time again in every election and it’s time that we get a say in our future. Johnson is racist, homophobic, sexist. I think he’s just a bumbling idiot and I don’t think he should be representing the UK.”
Kitty Lambton, a 23-year-old designer, added: “I’m hugely disappointed with the election result and think that it’s time that Scotland became independent. Where do I start with Boris Johnson? He’s a racist, he’s misogynistic, he’s classist – he represents everything that’s wrong with the UK.”
Even those that could not yet vote turned out to make their disgust known. Rae MacIver, 14, said: “I think it’s unfair that the Prime Minister that’s in charge of our country is not the Prime Minister that we voted for in Scotland and that he’s deciding our future and England’s deciding our future even though it’s not what we voted for.”
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Student Gabriela Blackwood, 21, added: “I’m here because I don’t think Boris Johnson is a fit Prime Minister to rule this country. He’s racist, homophobic, transphobic, Islamophobic. There’s a record of things he’s said and if anyone else had said them they would not be in power right now.”
Fellow student Magnus Riley, 20, summed up the sentiment among the Glasgow crowd. “I don’t like just about everything about Boris Johnson,” he said. “I think he’s a great representation of everything that’s wrong with the UK establishment and bumbling public school boys who walk into public office based on privilege and their own sense of self-importance.”
Such opinions are not restricted to youngsters. Laurence Grove, a 54-year-old lecturer, stated: “I’m here to give the message that the mainstream media might not give, in favour of Scotland being listened to and in favour of an open society where people are welcome and not pushed aside.”
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