Speaker

The speaker of the EU referendum speech is British politician Boris Johnson, who at the time was a Member of the Parliament, and former Mayor of London and journalist, —something which he also reminds the audience of in his address: “Both as editor of the Spectator and Mayor of London I have promoted the teaching of modern European languages in our schools.” (ll. 449-451)

Boris Johnson is a well-known public figure in the UK, but he is also a controversial character, as he has gained a reputation as someone who lacks diplomacy and who often makes offensive remarks. Aligning with this image, Johnson makes various sarcastic remarks in this speech: “…the Chancellor of the Exchequer has to go around personally asking other finance ministers to allow him to cut VAT on tampons, and as far as I can see we still have not secured consent.” (ll. 90-93); “So I find it offensive, insulting, irrelevant and positively cretinous to be told – sometimes by people who can barely speak a foreign language – that I belong to a group of ...