Boris Dodges Media Appearances in Last Day Before Vote, Accused of ‘Hiding in Fridge’ to Escape Cameras

YEADON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 11: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson carries
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Oliver JJ Lane

This general election is Boris Johnson’s to lose: aware of the power a last-minute gaffe the Prime Minister has been avoiding interactions with the press he can’t control, leading to the strange spectacle on the last day of campaigning of Mr Johnson apparently hiding in a refrigerator.

The confrontation between Boris Johnson and the television cameras of the Good Morning Britain show took place in the pre-dawn early hours in Yorkshire, England, as the Prime Minister loaded ‘Get Brexit Done’ branded crates of milk onto the back of a van ready to personally deliver to local homes.

An unusual stunt, but not out of character — later in the day the Prime Minister baked a meat pie while wearing a Brexit themed apron, and the day before he was filmed driving a Union-flag wrapped construction tractor through a fake brick wall to symbolise his intent to unblock the Brexit process.

But Wednesday’s choreographed stunt got off to a bad start when Mr Johnson was doorstepped by the camera crew. Asking him to consent to an interview with Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan, the unexpected question prompted one member of the Prime Minister’s entourage to loudly express in frustration: “oh for fuck’s sake” live on air.

The Prime Minister then vanished inside a giant walk-in freezer, from which he had been carrying the milk and other comestibles to the van. Moments later, he appeared again with another crate of milk. Television presenter Piers Morgan subsequently accused the Prime Minister of cowardice for declining the impromptu interview, and the British media accused Mr Johnson of hiding inside a fridge to avoid an interview.

After the confrontation, Mr Johnson went on the milk delivery round and took bottles to homes in the local area.

This election is Boris Johnson’s to lose — the polls make a Conservative majority all but a certainty, even if the final-day betting odds see the chances of overall Conservative control falling from 79% to 69% overnight — meaning Conservative spin doctors have implemented a low-risk strategy.

While part of Boris Johnson’s electoral appeal is his somewhat goofy charm — prone to gaffes and misspeaking — this is a two-edged sword so close to the election. Conservatives have minimised the chances for slip-ups by having no major policy launches in the final week of the campaign, and only controlled media appearances.

To that end, the Prime Minister has ducked major media interviews in the final weeks, declining to be interrogated by Andrew Neil as other party leaders have, and avoiding an interview with Piers Morgan. In the meanwhile, social media has been saturated with humorous, voter-friendly videos of the Prime Minister.

Polls open at 0700 on Thursday morning and will close 2200 the same day. Results will trickle in over the course of Friday morning, with a clear picture of who will rule the United Kingdom for the next parliament expected before Friday lunchtime.

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