Not so long ago some opposition MPs were hoping the Johnson brothers would be torn apart by a Miliband-type fratricide. Would the Mayor be imposed as an MP on the people of Orpington, where his younger brother, Jo, is currently the Conservative at the helm? And would Jo stand aside willingly?
Happily, this may not need to happen. Before Christmas Richard Ottaway, Conservative MP for Croydon South, announced his intention to stand down at the 2015 general election. At the time Boris ruled out standing again as an MP but speculation refuses to go away that he might contest the seat held by Ottaway since 1992.
There is, of course, a problem. Boris was re-elected Mayor last year and is not due to give up the job until 2016, by which time David Cameron will have been either re-elected as Prime Minister or humiliatingly given his marching orders by the electorate.
So what hope for Boris if the Conservatives are on the wane by the time he retires as Mayor? Would he be called upon to rally the troops and lead a revival of the Right?
Boris has ridden two horses before — he ran for Parliament as a candidate for Henley while remaining editor of The Spectator, and ran for Mayor while he was an MP. Transferring his allegiance from City Hall to Westminster could be tricky even for Boris but Ottoway’s retirement offers a face-saving opportunity. “Richard Ottaway isn’t commenting on Boris and Croydon South,” says his office. The plot thickens.
