Would It Be A Wise Move For David Cameron To Ask Boris Johnson To Stand For The Clacton Seat?

[anotheoldgit]

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/peteroborne/100284436/why-david-cameron-must-beg-boris-johnson-to-fight-in-calcton/

[Gromit]

It would be a daft move because Boris would say 'No'.

By Elections are unpredictable and voters often use them to exercise protest votes against the Government.

The Clacton seat is unpredictable. In 1997 and 2001 it (or rather its predecessor) returned a Labour Candidate. In 2005 Carswell won by just 920 votes. Boris would want a far safer seat than that.

[anotheoldgit]

Gromit

/// It would be a daft move because Boris would say 'No'. ///

You know that for certain do you?

[Gromit]

Boris is not stupid.

He would not touch Clacton with a barge pole. It is a high risk seat now for the Conservatives.

I do not know for certain, like I do not know for certain that Boris will not choose to stand in Manchester North instead. But common sense dictates that Johnson will pick a safe seat, not a difficult one.

[Zacs-Master]

Look, Boris is being lined up as leader. Let's just accept it.

[ichkeria]

An extremely daft move.
For the reason Gromit gives.
BJ wants back into Parliament. He doesn't want a head-to-head with Farage.
This is melodramatic tosh bloggery.

[Jomlett]

2 days ago Boris Johnson’s office had sought to snuff out speculation that the London mayor will stand for the Tories in Clacton, according to Buzz Feed’s Jim Waterson...In totally unexpected news: team Boris says he'll stick with Uxbridge and won't go for Clacton thankyouverymuch!

[Gromit]

// Look, Boris is being lined up as leader. Let's just accept it. //

It is a brave man who predicts who the Conservatives will choose as their next leader. I would not be surprised if Boris is pipped.

[Gromit]

// Clacton could be the signal for a historic Conservative Party split, comparable to the Corn Laws in the 1840s. //

What! Even the Telegraph raising the spectre of the party splitting! Have they been reading the Guardian?

[Zacs-Master]

'The more successful UKIP is in a general election, the more likely it is that Ed Milliband will win.
Shudder.

[mikey4444]

Wise or not, its an event that I would queue up around the block to get a ticket for !

[ichkeria]

The other thing of course is that Dave doesn't necessarily want BJ back in the Commons so soon.
There is a magnificent put-down of Carswell by Matthew Parris in the Times today:
"The stupid person's thinking man, with a gift for oversimplification"
Wonderful

[Farriercm]

The Johnson clown, has not got the Courage to stand for Clacton, he knows he could easily lose ,and Johnson could not stand that. I dare you Boris, I dare you. I would be ahead of Mikey in the queue for a ticket.

[mikey4444]

Its situations like this that makes politics such a favourite activity for me !

[grumpy01]

As I have written before,although no one has commented as far as I can tell,is how much of the Conservative vote is for Douglas Carswell and how much is for the Conservative party irrespective of the candidate.If Mr Carswell wins the seat then I think it may well encourage others from both sides of the political divide to raise their heads above the parapet.