“The Boris Johnson leadership bandwagon was in full swing last night after the London Mayor finally declared his intention to return to Parliament. Putting an end to months of speculation, he announced he was looking for a seat so he can return to the Commons at next year’s election, reneging on a series of ‘solemn vows’ not to do so. In a pointed snub to David Cameron, on holiday in Portugal, he did not even inform the Prime Minister in advance that he would be making his statement.” – Daily Mail
>Today:
>Yesterday:
“The Sun can reveal that his senior staff secretly rang Tory officials in the North West London seat to discuss their candidate selection process a month ago. BoJo ordered his team into action the moment Tory grandee Sir John Randall announced he was stepping down from the safe seat with a majority of 11,216. Uxbridge is the perfect berth for the capital’s boss, meaning he wouldn’t have to abandon Londoners before his second mayoral term expires in 2016.” – The Sun(£)
“The UK should not be “afraid of in going for an alternative future” if plans to reform the country’s relations with the European Union fail, London Mayor Boris Johnson has said. Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on membership in 2017, following a renegotiation of ties with Brussels. Mr Johnson said the UK could be boosted by a looser association. It follows a report from his adviser saying a UK exit could be “viable”.” – BBC
“Boris Johnson is being lined up to become Business Secretary within a year of the General Election if the Conservatives win in 2015, the Telegraph has learnt. Friends of Mr Johnson believe he will play a key role in facing down the UK Independence Party in the forthcoming election campaign, after he announced that he will run for Parliament. The “assumption” is that he will then be rewarded by Mr Cameron with a Cabinet post, potentially with an over-arching role in charge of infrastructure, after he steps down as Mayor of London in 2016.” – Daily Telegraph
“With his tendency to put his own interests first and his less than punctilious adherence to his word, Boris Johnson may not be everybody’s choice of companion on a tiger shoot – perhaps least of all David Cameron’s. But this paper warmly welcomes the London mayor’s determination to return to Westminster next year. For the Commons has been a duller, more insipid place since he left to pursue his mayoral ambitions in 2008.” – Leader Daily Mail
“Boris is already forming a loose-knit collection of supporters — FOBs, friends of Boris, to engage in mortal combat with the FOGs, friends of George Osborne, should there be a leadership contest. Jesse Norman and Zac Goldsmith are said to be keen FOBs — they have received little preferment under Cameron and bring powerful cadres of MPs in their wake. Alongside them is Nadine Dorries, one of the few Tory MPs to back Boris openly. Boris’s deputy mayor, Kit Malthouse — who has the safe seat of North-West Hampshire lined up at the election — will be a staunch ally in the next Parliament.” – Harry Mount The Spectator(£)
“The government’s chief whip in the House of Lords is to replace Baroness Warsi as a Foreign Office minister, with the right to attend cabinet. Baroness Anelay of St Johns – a former teacher and Citizens Advice Bureau boss – has been in the Lords since 1996. Lord Taylor of Holbeach is the new Lords Chief Whip, No 10 said. Former Conservative MP Lord Bates replaces Lord Taylor as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Home Office.” – BBC
>Today: Jeremy Grier on Comment: Keep calm and carry on supporting Israel, Mr Cameron
“Tory Cabinet minister Sajid Javid today revealed how his immigrant bus driving father taught him the value of money, as he launched an attack on Labour’s tax and spending plans. The Culture Secretary said he learnt about economics at a young age, watching his family struggle to balance the books and realising ‘you can’t spend money you don’t have’. He invoked Margaret Thatcher as he spoke of a ‘greater moral purpose in politics’ to leave the next generation better off.” – Daily Mail
“More than 650,000 savers are preparing to take advantage of George Osborne’s flagship pension reforms over the next five years, providing the Government with a £4 billion tax windfall, the first official analysis of the scheme has revealed. The research has found that under the reforms, which scrap rules that currently force most Britons to buy an annuity, more than 130,000 Britons a year will withdraw money from their pension funds.” – Daily Telegraph
“Anne McGuire, the Labour MP for Stirling and chairwoman of Labour Friends of Israel, said Hamas could not evade responsibility for casualties when it fired from civilian locations. “Neither can it mean that the Israeli government’s hands are tied when it comes to their duty to protect their own civilians.” In private other Labour MPs go further. “My real worry is that we have raised expectations to such a degree that a future Labour government would condemn out of hand any Israeli military action,” said one.” – The Times(£)