Here comes Boris! The next Tory leadership fight has just begun

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The View from 22 podcast

[/audioplayer]So Boris has made his great leap. The blond king over the water has revealed his plans to cross the river, return to Parliament and assume what he believes is his rightful destiny — to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The first signs came with his uncharacteristically Eurosceptic speech this week. Yes, he said, Britain could — perhaps should — leave Europe, if it couldn’t negotiate more favourable terms. This set him at odds with David Cameron and sent a ripple of excitement through the Tory grass roots.

Next came the big announcement: he will stand as an MP in 2015. After his speech on Europe on Wednesday, the Mayor dropped the bombshell in his traditional doublespeak: ‘I might as well be absolutely clear that, in all probability, I will try to find somewhere to stand in 2015. It is highly likely that I will be unsuccessful in that venture, by the way. You should never underestimate the possibility of things going badly wrong. But I will try that. But one thing is absolutely clear, I will serve out my mandate here in London.’

Now that Boris is back in the fray, and making Eurosceptic noises, he has an excellent chance of making it to No. 10. A recent poll of Tory members by the ConservativeHome website found that more than three quarters support leaving the EU, if a free trade agreement can accompany withdrawal, or staying in if a beneficial renegotiation takes place.

Although he’s standing next year, Boris has promised he will do right by the voters of London and remain Mayor until his term ends in 2016. People may wonder whether that’s possible. Well, Ken Livingstone did it: he served as MP for Brent East during his first term as Mayor.