Ruling nothing out
Tory HQ rushed to deny my story about Boris. Soon after they rushed to un-deny it. Why? Well, see for yourself when you read Boris standing the story up. Here's his statement - I've put the key bits in bold:
"Being Mayor of London would be a fantastic job and anyone who loves London would want to consider the possibility very carefully.
"I want to stress that this idea did not come from David Cameron or from anyone in his office but I have, of course, been very struck by the number of people who have been urging me to run.
"In my case, there are huge obstacles - above all my commitment and responsibility to my constituency. It is hard to see how those difficulties could be overcome - but I am ruling nothing out."
I'm 
Comments
Good for him, whatever you think of him Boris couldn't do a worse job than Livingstone.
Just seen "The thick of it" last night, couldn't help thinking they got the party wrong for the Ben Swain character - Mr Blinky indeed. Boris has as much chance of winning London as he does Liverpool!
Just as I thought Nick.
This IS a joke!
Excellent!
The only pity is that Ming's lot are so useless at the moment that the resulting bye-election in Henley will be no real test of David Cameron's appeal.
"I am ruling nothing out"? Ah, so he's definitely running then.
When Greg Dyke, former Director General of the 91Èȱ¬, was mentioned as a potential runner for the office of Mayor of London as by-partisan candidate supported both by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats we felt it was a desperate attempt to have somebody who could challenge Ken Livingstone. The possibility of Boris Johnson standing against Ken Livingstone could be merely another chapter in a saga of desperation. If both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems do not have real candidates they should start thinking fast. But I reckon that both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are much more concerned about the possibility of an early General Election in May 2008.
I like Boris and I like Ken.
Ken would get my vote.
Ken I like because he thinks as I wish I thought all the time, I am too weak, I falter. He strikes me as a person out there making the tough choices to make the capital a better place to live.
Boris I like because he is a typical english eccentric, almost stereotypical really, and he makes me laugh with his bumbling wit. He strikes me as a nice person not out to profit from your misery, which is how I view most politicans.
Still prefer Ken to make the tough decisions that need taking, Boris couldn't face being unpopular with anyone, Ken seems to know what needs doing and is doing it despite, as the first poster on here seems to think, that he isn't doing a great job.
Excellent idea. Boris comes over as a buffoon, but would he have got into journalism and politics as he did if he was a fool? Of course he wouldn't.
I think Boris should be given a chance at proving he can run something. If he did this well, who knows ... he could be PM yet.
Boris as Mayor? Sure. Just after they make me Ruler of the known Universe.
C'mon Cameron, get serious or your mob will never get back on the gravy train!
Oh dear, Nick. Two blogs in a row about Boris. Have you run out of ideas ?
Nick, Boris is winding you up ! He has no intention of standing as Mayor, and - even if he did - the Tories would not be mad enough to put forward this eccentric old Etonian as a candidate.
Boris likes the attention,Nick. Don't take him seriously. He's a comedian. I bet he is having a good laugh at your expense.
Boris Johnson for Mayor of London, we shall see. Boris is blatantly an ambitious politician who believes "all publicity is good publicity", merely letting the story run is a result in itself.
Given that he is so gaff prone his selection would make the selection of Jeffrey Archer seem like an inspired move by Bill Hague.
I was recently treated to a public meeting address by Boris at Keele University: I was picking up number one son and his belongings at the end of his first year. Boris did is usual "turn" about how he must not offend anybody today: then immediately listed the places he had offended over the previous year. The subject of his speech was financing higher education, a subject you would expect him to have lots of ideas about, however, that was not the case. His main idea was to make Britain the "Athens of the global economy": which translates to taking as many fee paying non-EU students as possible.
I asked him what had happened to the idea espoused in the 2005 Conservative Manifesto of selling off student loan debt and charging commercial interest rates, therefore, avoiding student tuition. Oh that idea was too difficult to explain on the doorstep so had to go.
Yes Boris is a politician of our time: he can't see farther than the next "sound bite".
Boris as Mayor of London-Please get a grip Nick! The man is a buffoon, just ask the people of Liverpool. Ken is doing a great job.
Can your blog concentrate on serious politics please and not some rumour which will only affect Londoners if it's true.
Thanks!
I personally think that Trevor Hill would make a much better Mayor.
Whilst I agree that Boris is a very ambitious politician, I feel that Trevor Hill has the ears and hearts of the London people at his command.
I would ask that everyone support Trevor's Campaign by joining his group
Quote "Good for him, whatever you think of him Boris couldn't do a worse job than Livingstone" Unquote.
How depressing for poor London if that is the advertisng slogan by any of the candidates for the job and all they may aspire to.
That's not putting the key bits in bold, that's putting the bits which corroborate your claims in bold, and trying to get people to ignore the bits which run contrary to your theory.
This amounts to crude biasing of a quote, and is very disappointing from a journalist of your calibre.
Unfortunately we cannot bold words ourselves, but if I could, then these are the sections I would highlight the following:
From the original story:
"Draft Boris. That's the call that's gone up in the Tory leader's office".
From the following blog entry:
"This idea did not come from David Cameron or from anyone in his office".
Puts a rather different light on things doesn't it.
Scene: - Large and impressive London reception for local and foreign dignitaries..
Action:- Boris, in Lord Mayor's regalia, drops one of his super clangers a la Liverpool.
It is an accident waiting to happen. How can it not happen. It is inevitable. It will be the laugh of the century except for sensitive countries affected. The tabloids already have it written up, in outline, and filed ready for action.
I can't wait.