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More dirty tricks claimed as mayoral battle hots up
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By
FT
Wednesday,
22 August, 2007
A political battle erupted over the London mayoral elections on Tuesday, after a Brownite pressure group launched a ferocious attack on Boris Johnson, the likely Tory candidate. Mr Johnson responded by accusing Ken Livingstone, the Labour incumbent, of “desperation”.
Compass, a left-of-centre group, issued a dossier on Mr Johnson, using extracts from the high-profile MP’s journalistic features and political speeches to brand him as a rightwing candidate. The group argued that Mr Johnson’s bumbling public persona, honed through chat show appearances, masked Thatcherite views that conflicted with the modernising, softer stance adopted by David Cameron.
"His buffoonery conceals a hard-line rightwing set of views – a type of Norman Tebbit in clown’s uniform,” Compass said. It argued that the Tory leader’s endorsement of a Johnson mayoral campaign would “destroy the false image Cameron has spent the last 18 months trying to create”.
The intensity of the attack reflects the political importance of next May’s London battle, which could coincide with a general election. The candidates are likely to be perceived as political outriders for their party leaders. Compass dubbed the mayoral contest “an incredibly important election for the future of progressive politics ... what is at stake is much more than party tribalism”.
Mr Johnson, the strong favourite of four shortlisted candidates to be selected as Tory candidate, has already come under fire for alleged racism – a charge he adamantly rejects. Doreen Lawrence this month argued that the Conservative MP was “not an appropriate person” to run London, because of his criticism of the inquiry into the murder of her son. New Nation, a weekly black newspaper, last week lambasted Mr Johnson for references in articles to “piccaninnies” and “water melon smiles,” and warned that selecting him as Conservative candidate would be “nothing less than an insult”.
Tory insiders say the fusillade shows how “rattled” Labour is by their likely candidate. A YouGov poll earlier this month put Mr Johnson and Mr Livingstone virtually neck and neck amongst London voters, with the Tory MP trailing by one percentage point only. Mr Livingstone, seeking a third term, has characterised the looming Tory challenger as “the most formidable opponent I will face in my political career. He’s got a high profile. He’s a charming and engaging rogue”.
Mr Johnson, who has said he “loathes racism in all its forms”, on Tuesday called the Compass dossier “a measure of the desperation of Ken and his cronies”. He accused the pressure group of having “gone through 20 years of articles in the hope of finding any phrase they can distort to the point of giving a completely false impression of what I believe”.
The Tory MP will launch his manifesto next month, before a vote to select the candidate ahead of the party’s autumn conference.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
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