Boris Johnson's parliamentary fate to be decided at Ruislip hustings
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Version 0 of 1. The fate of Boris Johnson's parliamentary comeback will be decided by a few dozen members of a west London Conservative association on Friday night, as he seeks to become the candidate for Uxbridge and Ruislip at the next election. The mayor of London is attempting to return to parliament before a possible leadership contest that is likely to take place if David Cameron loses the election. He decided to "whack in" his application to be the MP for the suburban seat after Sir John Randall, a popular local and longstanding former deputy chief whip, announced his retirement. About 140 local members will pick their favoured candidate after a hustings behind closed doors at Ruislip high school. Johnson is up against three other contenders: the deputy leader of the local council, David Simmonds; Simon Dudley, the deputy leader of Windsor and Maidenhead, who was born in the constituency; and Suella Fernandes, a Harrow-born barrister. The Hillingdon council leader, Ray Puddifoot, who helped draw up the shortlist, has offered some supportive words to the mayor of London, but previously stressed that Johnson was not a shoo-in. "Undoubtedly Boris will be an asset to the national Conservative party should he return to parliament," he told ITV news. "His challenge tonight would be to prove that he would make a good constituency MP as well. He comes with an advantage over the others that he's done it before. He has been a Conservative MP and from all accounts a pretty good one. He certainly comes with a presence." Cameron has insisted that Johnson would be an electoral asset, saying it was necessary to have his "star players on the pitch" in the runup to an election. However, he did not appear to have been given prior warning of his former Etonian schoolmate's decision to throw his hat in the ring. Johnson decided to make the announcement about seeking a return to parliament during a press conference when the prime minister was on his summer holiday. News of his attempted return also prompted fears within the party that the mayor would prove a divisive figure and lead to premature wrangling over who is next in line to succeed the prime minister as leader of the party. During the speech revealing his intentions after years of prevarication, Johnson spoke of his desire to reform the EU or leave the bloc, in comments that appeared designed to appeal to the Eurosceptic right of the Tory party. He had promised not to return as an MP before the end of his term as London mayor in 2016 because it would mean combining the two roles for a year. However, he dismissed criticism by saying London was no longer in recession. |