Browsed by
Category: Boris

Is Boris making a mistake staying on holiday?

Is Boris making a mistake staying on holiday?

Comments 0 Comment

Could his decision hurt him next May? The big riot follow-up story this afternoon is a meeting of Met chiefs with the home secretary, Theresa May, who has just returned from holiday. Quite whether this was her scheduled return date or she’s back early we don’t know – but at least it gives the impression that senior ministers are taking this seriously. Her presence in the capital after a worrying forty-eight hours for many Londoners contrasts sharply with Boris who,…

Read More Read More

Is David Davis planning a second resignation?

Is David Davis planning a second resignation?

Comments 0 Comment

Could this create the vacancy so Boris could return? I’m picking up a vibes from Tories in Yorkshire,  where I used to work, that David Davis is thinking about leaving the commons early next year so he can be his party’s candidate in next year’s election for the Police commissioner of Humberside where, of course, he is currently MP for Haltemprice and Howden. These elections, which have hardly attracted any attention, are set to take place almost all over England…

Read More Read More

Is Boris hoping for a Tory by-election vacancy?

Is Boris hoping for a Tory by-election vacancy?

Comments 0 Comment

Is the mayor scheming to get Dave’s job? What is Boris Johnson up to? With the London Olympics being only a year off he’s hardly been off our screens and even before that he was getting attention putting forward his plan to deal with Britain’s growth challenge. The fact that his proposals were out of kilter with current coalition policy is neither here nor there. Just look at his responses in the final minute or so of the John Snow’s…

Read More Read More

Could this bus really cost Boris the mayoralty?

Could this bus really cost Boris the mayoralty?

Comments 0 Comment

Isn’t this rather clutching at straws? There’s an interesting piece by the normally reliable Sunny Hundal of Liberal Conspiracy under the heading “Here’s how Boris will lose the London Mayoral election”. Sunny’s main case is about the cost of the replacement for that London icon known throughout the world – the Routemaster bus. “Consider this. Last week Boris unveiled the new Routemaster buses..Know what the full cost was? They cost £7.8 million for just five of them. In contrast a…

Read More Read More

Could Boris versus Ken save the taxpayer GBP32m?

Could Boris versus Ken save the taxpayer GBP32m?

Comments 0 Comment

Why not switch mayoral elections to FPTP? On May 3rd next year more than one in eight of UK adults will be able to vote in what is the biggest election before the general election. At stake is a position that arguably has more political power than anyone apart from the prime minister. With Ken bidding to return to his old job and Boris trying to hang on in less than clement conditions for the blues this will be a…

Read More Read More

How important is Ken to Labour’s recovery plan?

How important is Ken to Labour’s recovery plan?

Comments 0 Comment

Will the old bruiser win his job back We’ve not looked at it for some time but one of the key battles next year will be for the Mayor of London. Every single elector throughout the capital can vote in what is a massive election. Boris Johnson won the crown in 2008 at a time when the popularity of the Tories was at a height and Labour was down in the doldrums. Nearly 2,5m people voted, a turnout of 45%,…

Read More Read More

Do we need more Borises?

Do we need more Borises?

Comments 0 Comment

Is outspokenness an underrated quality? Boris Johnson is probably not the most popular figure with Conservative high command just at the moment given his comments about the proposed Housing Benefit changes. Not only has he very publicly gone against the party line but he used pretty powerful language in doing so. It’s not the first time Boris has had to moderate or clarify the colourful language he’s prone to employing. In the past, he’s managed to stir up controversies with…

Read More Read More

Boris leads in first London mayoral poll

Boris leads in first London mayoral poll

Comments 0 Comment

Contender Overall % Inner London Outer London Boris Johnson 45 33 52 Ken Livingstone 27 32 24 Oona King 9 11 7 None 19 24 27 How big a task is this for Labour? With voting due to close on Wednesday in Labour’s election to choose a London mayoral candidate there’s what I think is the very first poll on the 2012 election by ComRes for the London Evening Standard. The numbers show the importance of incumbency and even if…

Read More Read More