The next step on Boris’ journey to the centre of British politics was taken on Friday as the Mayor of London was duly returned as the new Member of Parliament for the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Bozza won the seat comfortably with a majority of 10,705 to return to the House of Commons for the first time since 2008.
It will be a busy 12 months for Boris who has vowed to combine his duties in the Commons with his high-profile role as Mayor of London, having said that he continue with the job at City Hall until his term ends in May next year. With the Conservatives boasting such a small majority, it could involve a lot of late-night dashes to the lobby as every Tory vote will be crucial.
Following the announcement of his victory, Boris said: “It’s been a long and exciting evening and obviously I’m very excited by some of the results that are coming through. Sad about others, but overall it’s been an amazing night for the Conservatives when you consider where we were and what the polls were saying only a few hours ago.
“It’s a remarkable turnaround. I think the people of this country want to go forward with that long-term economic plan for the benefit of everybody in this constituency and across the entire country.
‘To that end, I renew my pledge to work absolutely flat-out. I believe we have a lot to do, folks, but it is clear to me the people of this country have voted for a programme of economic common sense to take Britain forward.”
Boris won 22,511 votes, ahead of Labour’s Chris Summers, a BBC journalist, with 11,816. UKIP candidate Jack Duffin, 23, was third with 6,346, ahead of Liberal Democrat Michael Francis Cox with 2,215.
On a great night for the Conservatives, Boris joined 300 other Tory MPs who won their seats, giving the party their first overall Parliamentary majority in a General Election since 1992. David Cameron’s surprise triumph is great news for the Tories although it does mean that Boris’ leadership ambitions may have to be put on the back burner for a while.
The Daily Mail reports that ‘had the poll predictions proved right and the Conservatives stumbled, it might have given Mr Johnson the chance to wrestle the leadership away from Mr Cameron’ although this now looks extremely unlikely.