Boris Johnson tops MPs’ meeting wish-list
Boris Johnson, Conservative MP for Henley, editor of the Spectator and media pundit has been voted by MPs as their ideal meeting chair.
The results come in a survey of MPs for National Meetings Week, which is designed to promote an “I love meetings culture”.
In this year’s survey of MPs Mr Johnson came out well ahead of his rivals as the perfect meetings chair due to his “self-deprecating humour …. worldly wit … relaxed style and ability to get things done”.
The other popular chairs were high profile former ministers. Former Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House Robin Cook was commended for his “charm and breadth of knowledge”, former Education Secretary Gillian Shephard is described as “businesslike but fair” and the Iron Lady herself, Margaret Thatcher, is noted as chairing “short, but decisive meetings”.
Also highly commended were the former Speaker Betty Boothroyd for a style that “commands respect” and the current Speaker Michael Martin who “moves things along.”
According to the research, MPs attend an average of 10-15 meetings a week – but do not look forward to half of them and find one in five a disappointment.
As to the occupational hazard of hecklers, around two thirds believe that the best weapon is a humorous put down, whilst the others take a harder line recommending a one strike then you’re evicted approach.
MPs also reported some highly creative excuses for non-attendance and meetings. These include a delegate detained for kerb-crawling when actually he was asking for directions to the conference centre; and a miners’ representative who sent apologies because he was at a sit-in at the bottom of a pit in South Wales.
