Stephen Tall

Boris: I’ll spend more time in Oxfordshire now I’m London mayoral candidate

By | Mon 16th July 2007 - 10:40 pm

See if you can follow Boris’s tortuous logic in today’s online Oxford Mail:

Boris Johnson claimed his decision to run for London Mayor could lead to him spending more time in Oxfordshire. The Henley MP, confirming he would seek the Conservative nomination for next year’s mayoral race, insisted he could serve his constituents at the same time as battling it out with Labour’s Ken Livingstone in the capital.

In an attempt to placate local supporters, who had urged him not to turn his back on them, Mr Johnson said he had “freed up” time to dedicate to his constituency. But with signs of a backlash emerging, with one Tory accusing the MP of putting his career ahead of his obligations to his constituents.

Mr Johnson, in an interview with the Oxford Mail, said he was stepping down from the Tory front bench and would be scaling back his lucrative after-dinner speaking engagements.

He said: “I have given up my position as shadow higher education spokesman and I will not be doing any more speeches in Little Wittering. I have freed up some time and I think I’ll be in Henley just as much as before, if not more. I have knocked on the head the other things that were getting into my life.”

However, Boris has yet to convince Pearl Slatter, a South Oxfordshire Tory district councillor:

“I’m terribly disappointed. He’s let us down. We worked very hard to get him elected in a very safe seat. I thought he was different to all the rest, but it seems he’s not, and he’s serving his own career.”

Read more by or more about .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

2 Comments

  • Stuart 16th Jul '07 - 10:49pm

    I read Boris’s book about getting elected. He had clearly never canvassed a single voter before and seemed it utter awe of those who could do it.

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Hywel
    Tim Farron said "most polls suggest we’ll hold or even add to those record numbers of MPs" In fact not one MRP this year has shown an increased number of L...
  • Sarah
    Ed should take the frustration and stagnation of the party as a sign and do the honorable thing. He should announce a leadership election in the new year that h...
  • David Raw
    There's a much bigger question than "Is Ed Davey toast ?" The real underlying question is whether the Liberal Democrat Party can articulate radical convinci...
  • Chloe
    I'm suggesting as Nigel has written on the previous post. Jam tomorrow - possibly , maybe, doubtful given the growth stats. It's fantasy stuff the figures being...
  • PM
    The recent political events in France have come at an unfortunate time for those involved in a renewed push for the UK to rejoin the EU. France has been in i...