Town backs Mayor Boris

By Will Davies

MOST senior political figures in Henley have given MP Boris Johnson their full support in his bid to oust Ken Livingstone and become the next mayor of London.

Initially playing down rumours he would stand — before a spectacular about-turn — Mr. Johnson’s political hokey-cokey roused a media storm, and amidst mounting Conservative pressure he finally entered the race to be the Tory candidate for next year’s mayoral election.

The former Spectator editor threw his hat into the ring just before the noon deadline on Monday, and must now wait for his party to draw up a shortlist from over 50 contenders, with Londoners then able to vote for their Tory candidate.

Peter Sutherland, chairman of Henley Conservatives for over 50 years, said he would be ‘extremely sorry’ to lose Mr. Johnson as MP for Henley. “He will be a great loss, not just for Conservatives here, but for the constituency as a whole,” he said.
“If he is elected, I hope we can find somebody equally dedicated. But Boris wants to make a contribution and London is somewhere he can do that.

“Only time will tell if he has the ability and it will be important for him to pick the right advisors. It is very easy to question whether he is up to the job. Ultimately, if he doesn’t get it right after five years, he won’t survive.”

Former mayor and champion of the campaign to save Townlands Hospital, Ian Reissmann, also wished Boris well. He said: “I think Boris would make an excellent candidate.“There is no doubt that if he were to succeed, the town would miss him. When he is around, everything seems that little but livelier. He became very involved locally - the Townlands issue being one such case. He is a very good constituency MP but this is an opportunity for him to show that he can contribute at a higher level.”

A spokesman for South Oxfordshire Conservative Association said: “Boris has proved an excellent Member of Parliament for Henley and the South Oxfordshire Conservative Association would be very sorry to lose him.
“However we recognise the importance of the position of mayor of London and know that he would be an outstanding candidate. We will give him our full backing.

But Henley’s mayor, Terry Buckett, believes Mr. Johnson is far too inexperienced for the job.“If I lived in London, I would be concerned,” he said.

“He would be in charge of a multi-billion pound budget. He has only been MP for six years and the first three or four years were a learning curve for him.”

Cllr. Buckett added: “He also should have sought approval from his constituents before declaring to run. I am concerned that he will not be able to cope with his constituency work during his campaign.
“And if Gordon Brown were to call a snap general election, would Boris stand? I think his attention would be focused on the mayoral election.”

Mr. Johnson was drafted in as the Tory’s high-profile candidate after former BBC Director General Greg Dyke and one time Director General of the CBI Sir Digby Jones, now Lord Jones, both turned down the job.
To allow time to campaign alongside his responsibilities to Henley, the MP has resigned as Tory higher education spokesman and will cut down on his lucrative public speaking engagements.

Mayor of London is widely seen as one of the most powerful jobs in the land, and if elected, Mr. Johnson has promised to ‘bring fresh ideas to the capital and offer a new direction for London.’

“I believe that the mayor of London should keep things simple and direct his or her intellectual energy at the core problems that affect people’s everyday lives,” he said.
“Even the greatest cities have further greatness in them. I will stand for a greater London and for putting the smile back on London’s face.”

The winner is likely to be announced at the end of September.


'I know I'm taking a chance, but someone had to take Ken on'

A personal and frank letter to all his constituents from MP Boris Johnson following his decision to put his name forward for the job of mayor of London

Dear constituents — If you watched the footage of the gigantic media scrum outside the Greater London Authority building this week, you would have seen the MP for Henley trying to explain why he had allowed his name to go forward for the job of mayor of London.

I think I only uttered about 20 words, and then the clamour grew too intense. And just about the only intelligible sentiment I offered was that it would be a terrific wrench to lose my constituency. I meant it, and I mean it with all my heart.

In all the agonising that I have done over the last few days, there has been one consideration that has been uppermost in my mind: that even to contemplate running for mayor could mean that I was letting down friends and colleagues with whom I have worked over the last six years. It could mean sacrificing a life in Oxfordshire that has meant more and more to me and my family.
That is why it is vital that I set on the record now that it has been a joy, a privilege and an education to be the MP for Henley since 2001, and as I have said to anyone who has ever asked, being the MP for this town, and for South Oxfordshire, has been incomparably the best job I have ever had.
The reality, of course, is that there is a large part of me that hopes the job is very far from over. So why have I launched this venture? In the end, I felt I had to make a gigantic choice.

By the end of last week, I was facing huge and growing pressure from all corners of the Conservative Party to take up the challenge, and see if I could winkle King Newt from his lair.

Mayor Livingstone has been there too long, he has squandered untold millions on all sorts of nonsense, and it defied belief that we could not find a powerful voice to speak up for common sense in the administration of the greatest city on earth.

We are entering a fascinating period of British politics, in which the Tories are recovering fast in the South East and in London, and we could not afford to let a huge contest go by default.

Of course I will be fighting hard, and fighting to win, but at the very least we need a vibrant campaign to give heart to Londoners weary of Livingstone.
People will ask how I can continue to serve Henley in the run-up to the election on May 1st and the answer is that I hope there will be — if anything — even more time, since I have cut down on other speaking engagements up and down the country, and have resigned from my job as Higher Education spokesman, so I won’t be continually travelling to far-flung universities.

If I do succeed in ousting Ken, of course, you will need another MP, and with huge sadness I will be on my way. And if I lose — well, I realise that I am taking a big risk, but it seemed to me that someone had to take it.
There is, of course, a long way to go: I have yet to discover whether I have even been shortlisted by the Tories! So watch this space, and please, as usual, send any requests to Wayne Lawley at the Watlington office or at the House of Commons.

With Best Wishes,
Boris Johnson.

Mayor slams regatta rip-off merchants

Hotels and pubs cash in by more than doubling prices

By Angela Brennan and Will Davies

PUBS and hotels cashed in on the flood of Henley Royal Regatta visitors last week, hiking up their prices by as much as 150 per cent.

With over half a million people descending on the town, some hotel rooms more than doubled in price.
The Red Lion charged £385 for a double room compared to its usual tariff of £165. And a room at Milsoms increased from £95 to £250 during Regatta week.

General manager of The Red Lion, Richard Vowell, said: “It was the decision of the previous owners, who had an existing contract with regular guests who come to the Regatta every year.”

Pubs also hopped on the profit-making bandwagon, with the cost of a pint rising by as much as £1 at The Bull. The cost of house wine was raised by 50p to £4. And Pimm’s was being sold for £5 a glass, and £20 a jug.

Edward Rehill visited the White Lotus night club on Saturday night following the Regatta. He said: “I think the club hiked up the prices to capture the Regatta trade. It was £4 for a pint and an outrageous £8 for a double vodka and coke.”

At the Little Angel and Angel on the Bridge price rises were less exaggerated. At the former, the cost of a pint rose from £3.40 to £3.80, and at the latter from £2.90 to £3.20.

The Catherine Wheel, which is normally free to enter, charged a £7 entry fee on Saturday to people they did not know and £3 to regulars. On the same evening the River and White Lotus charged £10.

One pub staff member, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s very expensive, but during the Regatta we can basically charge what we like.”

Eddie Gershon, press officer for the pub’s owners, JD Wetherspoon, said: “The pub charged an entrance fee in line with the approach by every other establishment in Henley, simply to keep numbers to a manageable level.”

Neil Blake of the Henley Partnership thought it was an inevitable result of the law of supply and demand. He said: “I don’t have any experience of it personally, but I can imagine price increases do happen as people are inclined to increase their trade and income.

“You can’t blame them for having a go in a free enterprise, but on the other hand it is anti-social. I suppose people could always vote with their feet and find other pubs to drink in.”

Mayor Cllr. Terry Buckett was both shocked and concerned by the inflated prices.
He said: “I think it’s unfair, especially on the local people. It’s their only social outlet — where else are they meant to go?

“I don’t think it paints a good picture of the town either. It’s not the best way to encourage visitors to come into town and spend money. I mean, seaside towns don’t put up prices during summer.”

Cllr. Buckett felt that in the long run such establishments could be damaging their own trade, as people would be unlikely to return.

He added: “But what can we do about it? If they can get away with it and have a good turnover, they will continue to do it.”

Mayor of London? Maybe, says Boris

Exclusive by Will Davies

MP BORIS JOHNSON could be the next mayor of London.

In a sensational about turn on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson first said that he would not run for the post as had been suggested in a report by the BBC.

Talking exclusively to the Standard, Henley’s MP for six years said that although he was flattered to be considered, there were ‘overwhelming logistical difficulties’ and that it was ‘not really a goer’.
But hours later, he said: “I am ruling nothing out. Being mayor of London would be a fantastic job and anyone who loves London would want to consider the possibility very carefully.

“I want to stress that this idea did not come from David Cameron or from anyone in his office but I have, of course, been very struck by the number of people who have been urging me to run.

“In my case there are huge obstacles — above all my commitment and responsibility to my constituency. It is hard to see how these difficulties could be overcome — but I am ruling nothing out.”

Rumours circulated after the BBC announced the MP was being considered as the possible Tory candidate to take on long-standing mayor Ken Livingstone, who is bidding to win a third term after first taking office in 2000. The election is likely to take place next year.

Peter Sutherland who, as president of Henley Conservatives for over 50 years has worked with six Tory MPs, said: “Boris is the most pleasant, sincere, dedicated and hard-working MP in my experience. If he were to go we would be most disappointed as he is an absolute delight and we’re very lucky to have him as our MP.

“However, with his abilities it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he did stand for mayor of London at some point.”