Confirmation "imminent" that Boris Johnson will seek re-election as London Mayor

As the link to tonight's Evening Standard in the latest news and blogs states, Boris Johnson is poised to announced his bid for re-election as London Mayor, with Lynton Crosby set to run his campaign again.

The Standard quotes a party and City Hall sources as saying that Johnson is definitely "planning to launch" his re-election bid, with an official spokesman adding:

 “The Mayor has always made it clear that he thinks this is the best job in the world and if it's all going well at a suitable point in his mayoralty he would be minded to seek the people's endorsement to run again. He has signalled in the past that he would come to that decision in the summer.”

Furthermore, a source quoted by the paper explains that Lynton Crosby, the Australian political strategist who masterminded the 2008 victory, will be engaged again:

"Lynton is definitely running the show. He's going to be the head honcho of the whole campaign. When he starts depends on fundraising because he doesn't come cheap... There are donors who have been turned off Cameron for various reasons who may swing their weight behind Boris with one eye on the future.”

It remains to be seen what process the London Conservatives adopt for choosing the mayoral candidate given that there is an incumbent in place. Needless to say, if Boris wants to seek re-election, I cannot imagine him facing a serious challenge.

Jonathan Isaby