Video: Boris Johnson: 'Economic equality not possible' Giving the annual Centre for Policy Studies Margaret Thatcher lecture in London the Mayor of London argued that economic equality will never be possible because natural differences between human beings will always mean some people would always find it easier to get ahead than others. He said: "I don't believe that economic equality is possible; indeed, some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses and so on that it is a valuable spur to economic activity."