Stephan Shakespeare, owner of ConservativeHome.com, responds to yesterday's news that Boris Johnson may run for London Mayor.
The suggestion that Boris Johnson might run for London Mayor will be greeted with almost universal delight. Whether this is delight at the prospect of victory, or of a feast of comedy, is the vital question: would a Boris candidacy be about the future of London, or would it just be a hugely enjoyable romp with Boris the entertainer?
Boris has star quality in abundance. I remember a Guardian front page (when he was doing his hair shirt tour of Liverpool) dominated by a big picture of the back of his head, with no identification in the caption: it was assumed that all readers would immediately recognize the faceless blond mop. We certainly shouldn’t underestimate the power of humour: it makes him real, able to express his true thoughts in a harmless way, ‘authentic’ in a way, and women especially love a man who makes them laugh. I would guess that Boris in any form would win huge support.
But we – and the electorate – must also ask: would he make a good mayor? It is well known that under the surface there lurks a man of exceptional intelligence and understanding. One of his colleagues at the Daily Telegraph once told me he is a genuine genius. The problem is, as anyone who watched his documentaries contrasting the Roman empire and the modern Brussels bureaucracy will know, the funny man and the serious intelligence don’t work well together in a bigger cause.
At least, not yet. I think Boris could well transform into a major political figure. But he will need a ‘Prince Hal Moment’ – like the chilling, impressive scene when Shakepeare’s Henry IV, the new-made king, turns his back on the boozing, womanizing, amusing old friend Falstaff, to assume the mantle of true leadership. Boris must also turn away from the Falstaff within him. He should be able to make us smile, but above all he should make us believe he will be a real mayor, making London a better place to live. If he does, he could be a great force for his party, because his values are truly conservative and he could not only make them attractive, but could activate them in his leadership of the capital.
But if he doesn’t, if he enters the race as a ‘bit of a wheeze’, he could not only find his talent trickling away into the slipstream of minor celebrity, he would also damage his party’s wider prospects: with Gordon Brown successfully playing the ‘substance v empty brand’ card, the last thing the Conservative Party needs now is gestures. I want Boris for Mayor, so long as Boris can look at the buffoon and say ‘I know thee not’.
Related link: Nadine Dorries MP is extremely positive abou the prospect of Boris' candidacy
Absolutely right, but very difficult to achieve. Boris' strength in a Mayoral contest is his wide cross-party appeal; Livingstone (inexplicably) has it, and offering a candidate with similar appeal seems to be the only way to beat him. What will be difficult for Boris is to show his serious side without it appearing to be a) false, and a temporary and unconvincing display to make him electable; and b) contrary to his current appeal. Would serious, statesman Boris lose the cross-party electability that Buffoon Boris has?
If he pulls it off, this could be a master-stroke, if not, it could backfire for Boris and the party.
Posted by: Matt K | July 05, 2007 at 11:09
Very perceptive article. It is a huge opportunity for both Boris and the Party.
If/when he stands in the party selection contest, he should make it a major plank to draw in many of the other (serious) candidates to flesh out his vision and policies - so his campaign gains from the serious thought about London issues that many of them have put in over a much longer period than Boris has been thinking about this. I am thinking particularly of people like Warwick Lightfoot, Victoria Borwick and Andrew Boff; also the GLA member team. That way it is more than just "the Boris show" and from them he might then be able to draw a chief of staff to do much of the heavy lifting if he wins. He can also be the Shadow London spokesman in the House from his selection, a platform that KL no longer has.
We need "Team Boris" for London, not just Boris. If this all came together a lot of us in London would be campaigning for that election as we have never campaigned before. At the very least, it could give KL a hell of a fright.
Posted by: Londoner | July 05, 2007 at 11:09
Good post Stephan - cuts to the heart of the Boris issue.
Ken has turned the mayoralty into show business and our problem is that we have no one who can do show business. Boris could, but before people tick the box they are going to think "I like the man but can he run London?".
In some respects it is a metaphor for the wider party as a general election approaches. "We like DC, but can he run the country?".
Posted by: Kevin Davis | July 05, 2007 at 11:26
Go on. Take a risk. Brown is mr safety play. so boring. we need a bit of boris to liven up the show. he must realise it's make or break time.
Posted by: tapestry | July 05, 2007 at 12:04
Bang on Stephan. Perhaps real political responsibility will make a man of him and convert 'Just William' into Prince Hal.
I do like Londoner's suggestion of Team Boris, especially the inclusion of Warwick Lightfoot.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for providing the financial backing behind ConservativeHome (and I believe 18 Doughty Street)
Best wishes
Posted by: Dontmakemelaugh | July 05, 2007 at 12:12
What I want to know is what BJ would do for Londoners. Too much of the discussion is focused on Mr J's personality. That is not enough for me.
Posted by: bluepatriot | July 05, 2007 at 12:14
Not sure exactly how the Mayor system works but if the candidate will be running with a deputy there could be a great chance to pair Boris with a serious minded 'CEO' type candidate. I agree with Londoner that we should be looking at the team that Boris will be leading rather than his persona, that team could and should include a safe pair of hands. With that combination we would be unbeatable.
Posted by: RobD | July 05, 2007 at 12:20
I think it would be wonderful if we had a Mayor who in most ways would not 'do' anything for Londoners except leave them alone to get on with things.
We would also welcome a Mayor who does not 'do' spending our money so lavishly on Communists, terrorists, special advisers, foreign offices, bureaucracy and 'parties'.
I love Boris, and if he demonstrates that he could just control the clown in him, not kill it, and can discipline himself, politically and personally, then we could win.
Posted by: sjm | July 05, 2007 at 12:28
London is probably the only city that Bojo hasn't rubbished to date,he would be perfect for the job!
Posted by: ACA | July 05, 2007 at 12:31
Clowns belong in the circus, not City Hall.
Posted by: Chris Palmer | July 05, 2007 at 12:36
Get real - Boris is great fun and very entertaining but a leopard doesn't change his spots.
Posted by: Simon Mallett | July 05, 2007 at 12:44
I think Boris would be excellent! I remember being "shouted down" some time back when LBC's Nick Ferrari was contemplating standing and I thought he would be suitably charismatic....since then I'd despaired of us finding a "big" enough character but I think Boris certainly fits the bill - bring him on!
Posted by: Sally Roberts | July 05, 2007 at 12:48
Stephan himself would be a more credible candidate. As a successful entrepreneur and funder in online polling and politics, he would be a strong candidate.
Name recognition would not be a problem, especially as The Globe is close to City Hall.
Are you up for it, Stephan?
Posted by: Shakespeare for Mayor? | July 05, 2007 at 12:53
This is either very brave or very stupid. A decision that Sir Humphrey would call "courageous".
I think BoJo (great name) has a good chance of beating Livingscum. But he would have to give up his Parliamentary seat. London Mayor is not a part time job and to put up a candidate as a part time Mayor is a non starter and instantly gives Livingspart a massive campaigning advantage.
Although he could give up his seat only if he gets elected it initially still sends the wrong message to the voters of London. It sounds like he is hedging his bets and therefore lacks the confidence in his own ability to win.
Does BoJo want to be that courageous?
Posted by: Oddball | July 05, 2007 at 12:54
Er, this is an article by someone who thought Jeffrey Archer was a great candidate for London Mayor. Enough said?
Posted by: enough said? | July 05, 2007 at 14:29
Don't agree there is any need for a personality change or tone down. Boris would unify support across the whole conservative spectrum. With the Lib Dems doing so poorly he might well win. His humour makes him less 'offensive' to lefties who may vote for him purely to have the entertainment of having him around.
Perfect as he is. Also agree we need Warwick Lightfoot and Victoria Borwick on board. Both absolutely outstanding individuals.
Posted by: Henry Mayhew - ukipper | July 05, 2007 at 14:44
Elsewhere some people have said Boris would have to quit his seat in order to run for Mayor. Correct me if I am wrong, but did not Frank Dobson remain as an MP while contesting the first Mayoral election for Labour?
Posted by: Tony Sharp | July 05, 2007 at 14:46
Provided his Association are co-operative, there's no reason why Boris could not remain an MP whilst campaigning, with a promise to stand down if successful.
Henley's not that far from London, and if an MP can cope with the additional responsibilities of being a Minister or even PM, why couldn't he cope with being a Mayoral candidate for 6 months?
Posted by: sjm | July 05, 2007 at 14:56
Would love to know the story behind this. Do youngish Conservative MPs agree to stand down as MP for Henley for a possibly short-term post?
Boris's relationship with the truth seems to be going through a difficult patch again as he denies DC's encouragement. We all have our little flaws. Overall, he will be great. Nobody minds.
Posted by: Henry Mayhew - ukipper | July 05, 2007 at 15:56
The brilliant conservative writer Andrew Sullivan has, in his Sunday Times column on the last election, the best take on Boris:
"The Tories were sub-Dole. The failure of Labour allowed them to pick up seats and
become, once again, a serious opposition party. But that is all they still are: an
opposition with a pathetic 33% of the vote.
"The calibre of their spokesmen also needs looking at. I was astonished, as someone
removed from British politics for a long while, to find that one of the party’s media
stars is Boris Johnson. I knew Boris two decades ago and played an infinitesimal part
in helping him advance in student politics. And there he was on the BBC, a Tory star,
performing the same pathetic schtick he had deployed at university 20 years ago.
"After all this time, I expected perhaps a new maturity, a sense of what he believed in. But he’s still a preposterous, if amusing, ra-ra playing a preposterous, if amusing, rara. My American friends asked about the hair. I explained it’s a prop, the kind of thing a TV personality deploys to cover a lack of material. How, I wonder, can a British voter take seriously a party that presents him as a spokesman?"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/election2005/article520180.ece?token=null&offset=12
Posted by: John Simpson | July 05, 2007 at 16:43
If he stands, he should say that he committed to the electors of Henley to serve them for this Parliament and therefore, provided his constituency party agreed (which, if he has any sense, he is about to establish right now), if he becomes Mayor he would serve out this Parliament. He would commit to give up his journalism (other than articles specifically on the Mayoralty), therefore leaving this well-known multi-tasker with as much time to serve his Henley constituents as before.
He would undertake after becoming Mayor to assess whether it was advantageous for London for the Mayor to have a direct voice in Parliament in order to join with London MPs in demanding proper and fair fiscal treatment of London. If he came to that conclusion, he would the discuss with Henley before the next General Election whether it would be more appropriate for him to continue in Henley or to seek a London seat.
His general line would be that if the Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequor and Foreign Secretary can also do perfectly good jobs as constituency members of Parliament, it is not self-evident why the Mayor couldn't either, particularly as he will have such an excellent team backing him up in Warwick Lightfoot, Victoria Borwick etc.
Posted by: Londoner | July 05, 2007 at 16:55
You are kidding ? So Labour gets not one but TWO electoral occasions to bring out the Jeunesse Bullingdone'e photo. Great idea.
You don't get to play the unmitigated privileged buffoon for 45 years without actually BEING one.
And is he as brainy as he likes to put about under the buffoonery? Public schoolboys with an average brain can be crammed to get into Oxford - it's no proof of anything in their case. His journalistic pieces are totally superficial (not even funny really - just a constant repetition of (slight) variations on the theme of 'Look at me I'm an MP but I'm not taking myself seriously!') - sort of sub-parody of the Private Eye take-offs with none of the perceptive insight that you get from (for example) Matthew Parris (who is actually a lot funnier as well as being more serious).
[Now there's a thought....]
Posted by: RIV | July 05, 2007 at 17:45
'Stephan Shakespeare, owner of ConservativeHome.com'
Did I miss something? Since when?
Boris for Mayor! :P
Posted by: Alan T | July 06, 2007 at 08:26
I don't think a personality change from Mr. Johnson is very likely. Let's get a candidate who can take the job seriously.
Posted by: Marcia Evans | July 06, 2007 at 10:23
I think Boris would have a good chance of winning.
Boris supporters can visit www.boris4mayor.blogspot.com and get their own Boris button for their blog or website.
Posted by: Boris4Mayor | July 07, 2007 at 17:42
I think MayorWatch has it right:
"Londoners Lose If the Tories Run Boris For Mayor
The BBC’s Nick Robinson reports that Tory chiefs are talking up Boris Johnson as potential candidate for Mayor of London.
The suggestion has previously been made by some party activists on Conservative Home where it’s often dismissed as unrealistic - and for good reason.
Boris is a lot of fun on his gameshow appearances and my suspicion has long been that the buffoon-like persona is just a carefully crafted act to help him stand out from the crowd but either way it’s too embeded in the public psyche to make him a credible candidate for such a large job.
Anyone who thinks incumbent Ken Livingstone is sometimes irresponsible in his utterances is hardly going to find what they’re looking for in Boris.
Increasingly it seems the Cameron project will fail to offer Londoners a candidate likely to pose a credible alternative to Mr Livingstone - if this proves to be the case the public, who are entitled at every election to have a choice between equally credible candidates, will be the losers.
This failure also reflects badly on Cameron’s desire for the voters to see him as a realistic candidate for PM - if he can’t attract viable candidates for such a powerful role what does it say about the makeup of any future Cameron cabinet?"
http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/comment/2007/07/04/londoners-lose-if-the-tories-run-boris-for-mayor/
Posted by: James Ford | July 07, 2007 at 18:25
The same people who supported Jeffrey Archer and for the same reason-well known chap,eh-gets on with man in the street eh!-considerable brain behind the buffoonery eh!-have supported Johnson. And what scandals will erupt in the serene marital affairs of Johnson once chosen.
Posted by: anthony scholefield | July 08, 2007 at 21:31
Oh, yes, Boris, the parliamentary candidate in 2001 who oh so loyally punted the Spectator interview with Edward Heath as Heath attacks Hague as "laughing stock" in the middle of a general election campaign.
Ripper! Bonza! Wot Wot. Get lost Boris.
Posted by: Charles Kershaw | July 09, 2007 at 15:51
Boris the Clown for Have I Got News For You. Someone serious for London Mayor, please!!!
Posted by: Graham Fielding | July 10, 2007 at 19:17