Boris Johnson selected to stand for Parliament in Uxbridge and South Ruislip
London Mayor Boris Johnson has been selected to stand for Parliament as a Tory candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
He saw off three challengers to secure the nomination, in a ballot of local Conservative activists last night, winning outright on the first count.
If he wins next year’s election, Mr Johnson will see out his term as Mayor of London until 2016, despite previously making a pledge to not run for Parliament while Mayor.
The Mayor attracted criticism for not attending this year’s Pride parade – the fourth year in a row that he did not attend the event.
Mr Johnson last attended the Pride Parade in 2010, where he became the first senior Conservative politician to announce his support for equal marriage, in an exclusive interview with PinkNews.co.uk
He was forced to apologise last year for making a controversial joke at a Pride in London dinner about gay men taking their husbands up the “Arcelor”.
The Tory politician was previously MP for Henley, from 2001 until 2008, when he stood down to run for Mayor.
Commenting on the victory, he said: “This is Act One, Scene One of a very long process and what I have got to do now is have a lot of talks with people here in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, get to know people, get to know the association better. There’s a lot of digging in to be done.”
