Boris Johnson paved the way for a colourful and potentially memorable contest for the mayoralty of London yesterday when he confirmed that he was seeking the Conservative party nomination to challenge Ken Livingstone.
The Tory MP for Henley hit the ground wobbling with a typically chaotic photo-call at City Hall, where he fled a scrum of photographers on his bike, and an article for the London Evening Standard which was weak on policy but strong on epigrams.
"I have found myself brooding - like all paranoid politicians - on the negative voices, the people who say that the great King Newt is too dug in, that his positions are impregnable, his machine too vast and well-oiled. And having weighed up their warnings, over the past week, I say phooey," he wrote.
Mr Johnson is one of more than 40 candidates to apply for the Conservative nomination, but easily the most high-profile. Steve Norris, twice defeated by Mr Livingstone, said last night he had decided not to stand again. Mr Johnson is likely to be among around 10 candidates interviewed by party figures and one of between two and five candidates to go forward to a primary of London voters. The results will be announced on September 26.
But barring an extraordinary run of gaffes - by no means impossible - few in Westminster expected the selection process to deliver anything other than a Johnson victory. If elected as mayor, he will take charge of a £4.7bn budget and 500 staff. His £137,579 salary would be a little over a quarter of the £468,000 he earned last year from his Daily Telegraph column, MP's salary and other media work.
David Cameron has been desperate to attract a big name ever since attempts to get Greg Dyke, the former BBC director general, to run as an independent foundered when the Liberal Democrats refused to back him as well. Mr Johnson's name, floated from time to time before then, surfaced again a fortnight ago. Mr Johnson ruled himself in, out and in again within the space of 24 hours and has spent the time since then preparing the ground for yesterday's announcement.
He was especially keen to square support from his Henley constituents, for Mr Johnson does not want to give up his seat in case he loses, which with Mr Livingstone as favourite is still the most likely outcome. He resigned as front bench higher education spokesman yesterday but Mr Johnson will be hoping Gordon Brown does not pull a surprise election next year, which would force him to choose between London and Henley.
If elected, he could one day be mayor at the same time as Mr Cameron, his friend from Eton and Oxford, is prime minister.
"David Cameron always said we wanted as many substantial candidates as possible to come forward and Boris Johnson is clearly a substantial candidate," the Conservative leader's spokesman said.
The shadow arts minister, Ed Vaizey, said a contest between Mr Johnson and Mr Livingstone would be "electric". One shadow cabinet member admitted to misgivings but said Mr Livingstone was himself a maverick.
The party has been using Mr Johnson on the campaign trail for some time, especially among students. Posters of Mr Johnson featuring him in a Marilyn Monroe-style Andy Warhol pastiche were snapped up in an instant at freshers' fairs. Mr Cameron has reported that student Conservative associations put their revival down to two words: "Boris Johnson". The high command believes he has the independent, free-thinking star quality which will draw Londoners to him.
He acknowledged he would be "pilloried for being a toff" but insisted his background, with Muslims, Jews and Christians among his great-grandparents, made him a "one-man melting pot". But there remain doubts about his seriousness and Mr Johnson will now have to put forward a policy programme beyond the generalities offered yesterday. Yesterday he criticised the rate of mugging in London, tube overcrowding, traffic congestion and housing shortages, promised to be a champion of arts and culture, and hailed the capital as "the greatest city on earth". But policy proposals would wait for later in the summer.
"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," Mr Johnson said. "I will stand for a greater London and for putting the smile back on London's face."
Mr Livingstone, who is seeking election to a third term and wants to be mayor for the 2012 Olympics, said Mr Johnson had failed to vote in support of Crossrail, voted against amendments which would allow unmarried couples to adopt, and voted in favour of hunting, the Iraq war and Trident.
"He has the 567th lowest record in parliament in terms of the number of votes he bothers to attend, which puts him in the lowest 20% of MPs. To put someone in charge of London with such a rightwing 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," he said.