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.
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.
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