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Boris Johnson to run for mayor
Boris Johnson electrified the contest for London Mayor today by announcing that he was seeking the Conservative nomination to challenge Ken Livingstone next May.
Although Mr Johnson, one of the best known and most colourful MPs, will have to go though a primary process along with other Tory hopefuls, he is certain to be adopted as the party's candidate.
Mr Johnson, MP for Henley, said the opportunity of leading the nation's capital was "too wonderful to miss'' and he wanted to put the "smile back on London's face”.
To the huge relief of the Conservative leadership, which had been struggling to find a high profile candidate, Mr Johnson - after weeks of agonising - confirmed he would enter the race hours before the noon deadline for applications.
Tory officials will now whittle down the list of 50 would-be candidates to about 10 front-runners who will be interviewed later this month. A short list of between two and five will go on to an "open primary" in September, with all Londoners on the electoral roll being allowed to vote.
Mr Johnson will remain an MP during the mayoral campaign but has resigned as front-bench spokesman for higher education.
However, he is gambling on Gordon Brown not calling a snap general election next May. If that happened, Mr Johnson would come under pressure to stand down from his parliamentary seat to concentrate on the London contest - and risk losing both if he did not beat Mr Livingstone.
Mr Livingstone, who was elected London's first mayor as an independent and then won a second term after being allowed back into the Labour Party, has already been selected as the Labour candidate.
Although he has previously said he would welcome a contest, Mr Livingstone launched a scathing attack on Mr Johnson, claiming the Tory MP had Right-wing views and would be "seriously damaging for London."
He claimed Mr Johnson did not bother to vote in the House of Commons to defend the Freedom Pass for free travel for older people and had "strongly supported the war in Iraq until this turned into a disaster."
'"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,'' Mr Livingstone said.
But the ferocity of his attack was seen as indication that Mr Livingstone realises that he now faces a serious challenge.
Mr Johnson, a Daily Telegraph columnist, is seen as one of the few Tories with a sufficiently high media and public profile to take on Mr Livingstone.
He held a photo call at City Hall to promote his nomination, but was mobbed by the media and escaped on his bike.
"It's a riot," he said before pedalling away, watched by puzzled tourists.
Fighting through the scrum, Mr Johnson managed to say: "I think it is amazing that people do not want to do this job. It is an amazing city.
"I'm thrilled and excited, but we are at a very early stage."
Earlier, Mr Johnson, 43, told the Evening Standard newspaper: "The opportunity is too great, and the prize too wonderful to miss; and that prize is the chance to represent London and to speak for Londoners.
"London is an outstandingly varied and beautiful place and it deserves a proper debate. I want to bring fresh ideas to the capital and offer a new direction for Londoners.
"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.
"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."
He said would announce detailed proposals later in the summer.
David Cameron had been struggling to find a high-profile candidate to take on Mr Livingstone, having failed to persuade figures including Greg Dyke, Sir John Major and Sir Digby Jones - now a member of Gordon Brown's government - to stand.
Although he has a reputation for gaffes and a complicated personal life, Mr Johnson is one of the Conservatives' most popular and best-known faces, particularly following his appearances on television shows such as Have I Got News For You.
Mr Johnson's father, Stanley, speaking from the family holiday home in Greece where he, his wife, Jennifer, and Boris's sister, Rachael, are staying, said they were "very proud" and sure he could win.
"I think this is the moment for the Conservatives to reassert themselves in the capital and I can't think of anybody better to head that up than Boris," said Mr Johnson senior, who stood unsuccessfully as a Tory candidate at the last general election.
He described Mr Livingstone as an "old-fashioned, dyed-in-the-wool far Left-winger who needed to face a challenge".
"Boris is the one to do that," he added.
Many people had the wrong perception of his son as a "buffoon", but Mr Johnson pointed to his son's columns in the Daily Telegraph, his book and television programme The Dream Of Rome, his painting and his poetry as proof that he was not.