'I'll put the smile back on London's face': Boris confirms challenge to succeed Ken
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Print
Email
Boris Johnson, the Tories' blond bombshell, has formally entered the race to become his party's candidate for Mayor of London, telling David Cameron he will "get serious" if, as expected, he emerges victorious from the contest in the spring.
As nominations closed yesterday, the colourful Tory MP promised to put "the smile back on London's face". Senior party sources said he had vowed to dispel his image as a gaffe-prone politician and self-mocking TV quiz show celebrity.
While more than 50 Tories have applied, Mr Johnson is the hot favourite. His bid has the tacit support of Mr Cameron, who is remaining neutral in public.
Nine or 10 potential candidates will be interviewed by a panel of London Tories, and a shortlist of between two and five will then be put to a ballot open to all London residents who register to take part, as well as Tory members. The winner will take on Ken Livingstone when he seeks a third term as mayor next May.
One Tory source said: "Boris wants to move on from his Have I Got News For You phase. He has been looking for the opportunity to become a serious politician, and Mayor of London is a great platform."
Mr Johnson's entry into the race is a relief for the Tories, who have struggled to find a big name. But he could prove a high-risk candidate. Some fellow Tory MPs are worried that there could be revelations about his private life or that he may make more gaffes. In the past, he has accused the people of Liverpool of "wallowing" in the death of the Iraq hostage Ken Bigley and described the residents of Portsmouth as "obese drug takers".
Like Mr Cameron, he was educated at Eton and Oxford, where both men were members of the hell-raising Bullingdon Club at the same time.
The looming battle between Mr Johnson and Mr Livingstone would be a high-profile affair. In a pre-emptive strike, the Mayor attacked Mr Johnson's Commons voting record and said: "To put someone in charge of London with such a right-wing record, who has no experience of managing anything practical at all, and who has shown no serious interest in even the most important issues confronting the capital, would not be a joke but seriously damaging for London."
In turn, the former editor of The Spectator branded Mr Livingstone as "King Newt", complained that his "bendy-buses" threatened to scrape cyclists "to a paste" and moaned about the "sweltering armpit discomfort" of the Tube. He listed his priorities as reducing street crime and providing better homes, safer cycling and more comfortable travel on the Underground.
At a City Hall photocall, he was mobbed by the media and escaped on his bike. "It's a riot," he said before pedalling away. "I think it is amazing that people do not want to do this job," he said. "It is an amazing city. I'm thrilled and excited, but we are at a very early stage."
The MP, who resigned from his frontbench post as Higher Education spokesman to pursue his mayoral ambitions, promised to campaign for a "greater London". Steve Norris, who stood for mayor last time, is unlikely to stand against Mr Johnson because he has business commitments. Those seeking the Tory nomination are expected to include Victoria Borwick, a Kensington and Chelsea councillor; Warwick Lightfoot, a former adviser to three Tory Chancellors; Richard Barnes, a London Assembly member; Simon Fawthrop, a Bromley councillor; Andrew Boff, a former leader of Hillingdon Council; and Lurline Champagne, a Caribbean-born former nurse and former mayor of Harrow.
Colourful mayors
* Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana, is a former artist who was once exposed by nude photographs of him and his girlfriend. He said: 'Being the mayor of Tirana is the highest form of conceptual art.'
* Walter Veltroni is Rome's celebrity-loving, designer suit-wearing mayor who once argued with Pope John Paul II over condoms before deferentially ordering the shutdown of the entire city for the Holy Father's funeral.
* Sao Paulo mayor Gilberto Kassab has been heavily criticised by the advertising industry after banning the use of billboard advertising across the city.
* Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now President of Iran, made his name as a hard-line mayor of Tehran until 2005, when he used his popular profile to achieve the top job.
