This article is part of a series about Boris Johnson
Political positions Electoral history Public image MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP for Henley Editor of The Spectator Mayor of London Mayoralty 2008 mayoral election London Britannia Airport Santander Cycles New Routemaster 2011 riots 2012 mayoral election London Cable Car 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Summer Paralympics Garden Bridge European Union referendum Brexit causes Vote Leave EU referendum aftermath 2016 leadership election Foreign Secretary Foreign Office under Boris Johnson Yemen intervention Zaghari-Ratcliffe case 2018 Salisbury attack Chequers plan Party leadership campaigns 2019 election polling endorsements reactions Darroch resignation 2022 explored candidacy endorsements Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Premiership International trips Minister for the Union First ministry and term First ministry Suspension of rebel MPs Brexit Benn Act 2019 prorogation Supreme Court case Brexit deal renegotiation revised deal 2019 general election Get Brexit Done Second ministry and term Second ministry departures 2020 reshuffle 2021 reshuffle EU Withdrawal Agreement Northern Ireland Protocol EU trade negotiation cooperation agreement COVID-19 pandemic government response lockdown vaccinations contracts contract controversies Dominic Cummings scandal Partygate Privileges Committee investigation Death and funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Evacuations from Afghanistan Levelling up COP26 Refurb controversy Owen Paterson scandal Rwanda asylum plan Proposed NI increase Russian invasion of Ukraine economic impact British aid to Ukraine Cost of living crisis Conservative Party confidence vote Chris Pincher scandal Government crisis July 2022 reshuffle leadership election House of Commons confidence vote Resignation Honours Bibliography Friends, Voters, Countrymen Seventy-Two Virgins The Dream of Rome The Churchill Factor In popular culture When Boris Met Dave Brexit: The Uncivil War This England Boris Johnson Is a Fucking Cunt Boris Johnson Is Still a Fucking Cunt Boris: The Rise of Boris Johnson Boris v. Ken
v t e

"Greased piglet" is an epithet used by former British Prime Minister David Cameron to describe later British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.^[1] The term has been applied to Johnson by the British media,^[2][3][4] international media,^[5][6][7][8] as well as political adversaries,^[9][10] and some political scientists.^[11][12]

Origin

The term originates from October 2019 when former British Prime Minister David Cameron, in discussing the difficult Brexit talks, said of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, "The thing about the greased piglet is that he manages to slip through other people's hands where mere mortals fail".^[13]

At the time, Cameron was speaking at the annual October Harrogate Literature Festival in North Yorkshire to promote his book For the Record, when he was asked about his relationship with Johnson and if they had nicknames for each other.^[14][15] Cameron made the comment by way of responding to the question, disclosing what he had texted to a friend who had asked him about Johnson's chances of getting his upcoming Brexit legislation voted through parliament.^[14][15]

The political editor of The Independent John Rentoul, noted that Johnson had himself previously called the former British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron a "greased piglet", on separate occasions.^[16]

Meaning

In 2019 The Economist said the term was one of four faces that Johnson portrayed, being the "player, gambler, Machiavelli or piglet", and that the greased piglet "either wriggles through loopholes or else shifts the blame expertly to anyone but himself".^[17] In 2022, The New Zealand Herald said the use of the term in relation to Johnson was "due to his legendary ability to evade scandal",^[5] while The New York Times attributed the term to him being "a man who could slip out of any tight situation".^[18]

In March 2021, British political journalist Andrew Rawnsley wrote of Johnson, "'Getting away with it' has been one of the more consistent features of the career of a man whom other Tories call 'the greased piglet', and quoted a former cabinet minister who told him "Boris has got this Teflon quality. He gets away with things that no other politician would get away with".^[19]

In May 2022 Pankaj Mishra, writing in The Washington Post, wrote that the "greased piglet" term had become associated with the myth of Johnson as "a great survivor". The Washington Post wrote "Yet Johnson perseveres, even attracting a myth that he is a great survivor, a “greased piglet,” in former Prime Minister David Cameron’s description, able to slip out of every cage he lands in. On closer examination, Johnson’s survival skills amount to little more than shamelessness. He owes his resilience in disgrace to Britain’s debased political culture and institutions such as the British parliament, the media, the London police and the Conservative party."^[20]