Steerpike

Stanley Johnson, replete with energy and charming as ever, is touring the country looking for a safe Tory berth to ease himself into at the next election.No takers so far, I’m told, but the wily old bird has devised a brilliant ruse to boost his chances. He’s been dropping hints that his occupancy would last only until May 2016, when Boris’s second mayoral term ends. Johnson Snr would then fall gracefully on his sword, leaving the seat vacant for the blond bombshell to launch his bid for the Tory leadership and Downing Street. The so-called ‘baby lotion strategy’ (Johnson & Johnson) is proving hard for constituency chairmen to resist. One snag is that sister Rachel claims to have devised the ploy for her own benefit and is telling friends that her dear papa snaffled it from under her nose. If sibling Jo retains his Orpington seat in 2015, the Johnsons may become a larger faction in parliament than the Lib Dems.