Opinion: Boris, alone

Wednesday, 4 June 2008 12:00 AM

Boris Johnson was not in the business of making friends in his first press conference as London mayor.

The Conservative candidate, now comfortably installed in City Hall after ousting Ken Livingstone from office on May 1st, appeared determined to distance himself from both the government and his own party.

Relations with Gordon Brown, who did not ring to congratulate Mr Johnson on his victory in the first week after the election but is perfectly happy telephoning "the electorate", are "cordial but reserved", he told politics.co.uk. Mr Johnson said he planned on making his points to Whitehall "very vehemently in the coming months". There will be no shilly-shallying from the mayor, it seems.

David Cameron might be forgiven for rubbing his hands in glee at this stance. Unfortunately the new mayor made clear he was as determined to steer clear of influence from Central Office. Mr Johnson deprecated the idea of London being a testing-ground for national-level policies: the capital will be no "laboratory, no Petri dish," he boomed. "What I want to do is speak and work hard for Londoners." Having announced his intention to step down as MP for Henley only moments before these comments, the subtext - a break from the past - was clear.

Perhaps worst of all, Mr Johnson irritated the assembled journalists. His predecessor held weekly press conferences but, after much prevarication, Mr Johnson explained he had no plans to repeat them. "Let's see how it works out," he pleaded, to mutterings of discontent. Upsetting journalists is a salutary lesson the new mayor should learn from poor Ken.

Such moves to stand alone might appear more convincing if Mr Johnson were presenting a clear agenda for change in the city. As it is, he appears to lack an overall vision for London.

Many of his policies are at such an early stage they qualify for inclusion in debate on the hybrid embryology bill. How are plans to scrap bendy buses going? "There are plenty of people coming up with good solutions about this." What about minor crime? "We need a zero-tolerance approach." How will you raise funds for the mayor's fund? "I'll be putting the hard word on rich London." All very laudable stuff - but with so little progress in a month, it seems to make sense that holding a press conference every week is not really necessary.

Every new mayor deserves time to get his agenda up and running, of course. Perhaps journalists might be more sympathetic on this if Mr Johnson was not, well, Boris. Nowhere was this more the case when the subject of classical languages came up.

"I would like to see ancient Greek recognised by the government as a foreign language," he said. "Why not? It's wonderful, believe me." On latin, he added: "I'm going to do my best to promote it across London."

There is always something inherently amusing about Mr Johnson's performance; as Gordon Brown told him in the Commons shortly after today's press conference, he is a more significant figure as a writer than a speaker.

The mayor insisted he was committed to green issues and that environmental concerns would be "a number one priority". One of many, perhaps? Fortunately the mayor plans to back his claims with action - "concrete measures", specifically.

It turns out Mr Johnson's awkward trip on the podium, his first public appearance in City Hall, was not his first gaffe. Day one saw him attack the "extremely good" sandwiches he encountered. It turned out these were not examples of the "terrific amount of waste and extravagance" he has brought Patience Wheatcroft in to tackle. "They were a goodwill gesture. I felt quite bad about denouncing them," he explained.

Mr Johnson's greatest strength, his charming harmlessness, means most people will feel bad if they end up denouncing him. Today he appeared a strong figure, independent and ready to challenge those opposing him. But it remains to be seen whether his policies back up this stance.

He must act carefully if he wants to avoid squandering the goodwill he currently enjoys. As Mr Livingstone knows, the mayor's office overlooking Tower Bridge can be a lonely, lonely place.

Alex Stevenson

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