Boris Johnson is public favourite for Conservative leadership – poll
London mayor is choice of voters and party supporters to lead Tories if David Cameron stands down
The Guardian, Sunday 10 August 2014 08.44 EDT
Boris Johnson is the favoured candidate to be the next Conservative leader among both the party's supporters and the general public, according to an opinion poll released on Sunday.
A YouGov survey for the Sun on Sunday found 34% of people wanted the mayor of London, who is planning to stand for parliament next year, to take over when David Cameron stands down, with that figure rising to 50% among Tory backers.
The findings will increase the Westminster frenzy that has followed last week's announcement by Johnson that he hopes to become an MP at next year's general election while staying on as mayor.
The poll put Theresa May in second place on 19%.
In an interview with the Sunday Times that may make uncomfortable reading for Cameron, Johnson discusses his own "ruthless energy" and says he took the job of mayor to gain administrative experience.
Johnson's friends said that he is in touch with Tory party officials in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in west London where the sitting MP, Sir John Randall, is stepping down. Three candidates will be chosen by 28 August before the final selection is made by 12 September.
They played down the possibility of Johnson seeking to become leader of the Conservative party, saying he has no plans to challenge Cameron.
But one MP said Johnson has no ambitions to serve under Cameron, and was moving into the perfect position to make a challenge if next year's election does not bring an overall Tory majority.
"He doesn't want to serve under Cameron. It is not his style. But he wants to show what he can do on the biggest stage of all, of course he does," he said.
Ukip Voters 'More Likely To Vote Conservative' If Boris Johnson Was Leader, Lord Ashcroft Poll Finds
More than a third of Ukip voters would be more likely to support the Conservative party if Boris Johnson replaced David Cameron as leader, new polling has suggested.
A survey of 8,000 people by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft found 35% of Ukip supporters would be more likely to jump ship at the election if Boris were leader.
Indeed, the majority of voters in all places apart from Scotland believed the Mayor of London was "different from most politicians and in a good way."
Boris Johnson has been selected as Tory candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the 2015 general election.
Conservative activists selected Mr Johnson - London mayor for six years - as candidate for the west London seat.
Mr Johnson, who announced his intention to return to the Commons last month, plans to remain as mayor until the end of his second term in May 2016.
He said he was "obviously thrilled" to be selected and said he was sure the Tories would win a majority in 2015.
"It will be a tough fight, it will be a long fight, but I have no doubt whatever that we are going to be able to return David Cameron and the Conservatives with an absolute majority in 2015," he said.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Boris Johnson tonight launched an extraordinary attack on Tories who have defected to UKIP, claiming they were the sort of people who injure themselves having sex with vacuum cleaners.
He swept into the Tory party conference tonight, with senior party aides hoping he will do away with the nervous jitters caused by UKIP defections and Labour's poll lead.
The London Mayor addressed a rally of Conservative activists tonight, mocking UKIP supporters and suggesting Nigel Farage should switch to become a Conservative.
Mr Johnson vowed to take on the 'quitters, the splitters, the kippers' who are trying to undermine the Tory party.
And he mocked defectors with an extraordinary sex joke. He told delighted Tory activists:'The EU commission wants to ban vacuum cleaners on the grounds that they are too powerful.
‘If you do not handle your vacuum cleaner correctly, you may end up inhaling the hamster – the budgerigar through the bars of the cage.
‘And I have read that there are some people – probably the type who are thinking of defecting to UKIP – who present themselves at A&E with barely credible injuries sustained through vacuum cleaner abuse.’
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
‘And I have read that there are some people – probably the type who are thinking of defecting to UKIP – who present themselves at A&E with barely credible injuries sustained through vacuum cleaner abuse.’
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
This doesn't strike me as the cleverest thing Boris has ever done...
It's one thing if he wants to ridicule the UKIP leadership, but you don't win back rank and file voters by insulting them...
I think Mr. Johnson made a mistake that politicians frequently make; he got caught up in the moment, playing for applause to a partisan crowd, forgetting that in this day and age anything you say is going to be seen and heard by a much wider audience...
