We were all surprised earlier this year when Labour’s John Biggs declared his intention to carry on as a GLA Councillor for City and East London (the City, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham) while also serving as Mayor of Tower Hamlets. Fortunately, Biggs was spared the exertion, as he was not elected as Tower Hamlets Mayor. However, fools venture where angels fear to tread and where John Biggs had hoped to go – in other words, Boris is now trying to go one better than Biggs and serve as a Member of Parliament and Mayor of London at the same time.
Boris has used the quiet news days of early August to confess that he would like to return to Parliament and would “in all probability” seek to stand as a Tory candidate in next year’s General Election. If he’s set on doing that, you can bet your bottom dollar he’s not going to roll his sleeves up and fight Rushanara Ali for the right to represent Bethnal Green and Bow. He’ll be looking for a safe seat to further his political career.
Boris has been linked with several true blue Tory seats, including Uxbridge and South Ruislip. His latest announcement does not reveal whether these are his seats of choice or whether he has another alternative up his sleeve. No wonder voters are fed up with politicians when they treat us as vote-fodder to secure career advancement for themselves. It’s typical of the Tory Party, which has a local selection system for parliamentary candidates but keeps it sewn up and close to the establishment: it’s rare indeed that a local party committee refuses to endorse a sitting MP or doesn’t oblige when Head Office wants to accommodate a parliamentary hopeful. On the other hand, it has to be said that Labour also has a fine track record of parachuting leadership-endorsed lovelies into Westminster via obliging local parties. Indeed, there are rumours that they are shaping up to use one of the seats in Tower Hamlets for just this purpose in early 2015: watch this space.
Boris presented his announcement as news which a journalist had managed to wheedle out of him at a press conference on EU matters. However, all political parties will want their candidates pretty much in place by the autumn to start an election campaign which will culminate in a national vote next May. Boris had to come clean soon in order to be selected somewhere.
Of course Boris has loads of advisers and experts helping him to run London. Nonetheless, the idea that someone can be a London mayor and an MP at the same time in any meaningful way just makes a nonsense of democracy. Stand for Westminster if you want to, Boris – or even in Westminster, for all we care, but if that’s your choice, get out of City Hall and let Londoners find a full-time Mayor.