Boris defines the ‘new Conservatism’ by being a real human being

Toby Young, our campaign correspondent, says that the candidate’s prospects
in the London mayoral election hinge on his appeal as a great communicator,
and on the hysteria of the Left, which completely misunderstands him

‘Boris is going to be standing here,’ announced a member of his campaign staff, pointing at a red handbag that she had just placed on the ground in front of City Hall. This was on Monday, the day Boris formally announced he’d be running for Mayor, and the assembled hacks looked on in bemusement. Who was this woman? And what planet was she on? Didn’t she realise that the moment the Blond Bombshell appeared he’d be surrounded by a screaming mob of journalists, all clamouring for his attention? The idea that this ‘photo call’ could be in any way controlled was laughable.

The staff member in question turned out to be Jo Tanner, a PR woman who has been given the unenviable task of co-ordinating press and publicity for Boris’s campaign. Until last month she’d done the same job for Nicholas Boles, the Con­servative who had been planning to run for mayor himself, but she’d never encountered anything like this. Sure enough, when Boris eventually showed up — about 15 minutes late — he was pounced on as if he was David Beckham arriving at LAX. (Or should that be Posh Spice?) The ‘photo call’ consisted of Jo trying, unsuccessfully, to manoeuvre the candidate into position, then, when it became clear that he wouldn’t be given the room to pose for any pictures, abandoning that plan and concentrating on trying to clear a path through the mob so Boris could escape on his bicycle.

Predictably, this stunt was described as ‘shambolic’ in the news reports that followed — and, of course, that doesn’t matter in the slightest. A central part of Boris’s appeal is that he’s the antithesis of a typical politician — a bumbling amateur rather than a slick professional.