Boris says awesome things...

Boriswatch first settled itself down on a cold winter’s day in December 2003. It’s been riding a crest of Boris-based fervour ever since, and I’ve been very proud of its achievements, many of which I’ve detailed before. In the last 7 days, Boriswatch has had 70,000 hits, and that’s something of a record.

But, suddenly, there are new kids on the block. As soon as Boris won the mayorship, all sorts of sites have popped up purporting to be Watching Boris. In an effort to spread the love, here are a few that I’ve found. Of course, I need hardly point out that Boriswatch is the original… and dare I say the best?!

1. Evening Standard: Mayor. Now being linked to internally on their site as BorisWatch, this is as comprehensive as you will get on Mayor Boris’s rise. Although there’s so much stuff to look at it’s hard to pick out the truly newsworthy from the merely perfunctory…

2. Boriswatch.co.uk. Yes, I’m kicking myself. If I was any sort of webmaster I’d have bought Boriswatch.co.uk long ago and stopped the owner of Blairwatch attempting to take over the webwaves. “An attempt,” it says, “to enhance the accountability of the new London mayoralty.” Admirable task - shame about the name!

3. Boriswatchers. This, my friends, is as far away from friendly as you can get. Every post has a negative vibe, and the Labourhome t-shirt on the right hand side seals the deal - this is not so much watching Boris as rampantly opposing Boris. 1.2 million Londoners can’t be wrong, now, can they?

4. Bozzawatch. With all the possible combinations of “boris” and “watch” now taken, Bozzawatch dug deep - and used his nickname instead. This site seems more balanced - although the slightly dodgy “favourite sites” keeps me slightly suspicious as to the motives.

5. We’re Watching You Boris So Don’t Screw This Up. A hell of a title, but this site is plainly in its infancy. Still, I’m sure they’ll be more…

Now that Boris is top of the political agenda for journalists of all persuasions, Boriswatch takes a look at what the broadsheets are saying about the new Mayor of London.

Tory paper, the Sunday Telegraph, disscusses (predictably) the wider implications of Boris taking London in terms of national politics. The article quote Boris hinting that tackling crime on public transport will be his number one priority. Bozza’s exact words were “I’ve been elected on a clear manifesto to clear up crime, particularly on the places for which the Mayor is directly responsible, on public transport.” Plans apparently include stopping people drinking cans of Stella (and I’m a regular offender here - so I’ll stop doing it immediately Boris - I promise) on the Underground and putting PCSO’s on tubes.

In the Labour-leaning Obersver, Jo Revill, talks of Bozza’s first 100 days as being a “baptism of fire” and speculates that Boris is consulting Bob Diamond, of Barclays Capital, to head up a new ‘Mayor’s Fund for London’ to spend on community projects. Watch those bankers now Boris, don’t let them palm off any of those dodgy American mortgages on you!

Simon Jenkins devotes his Sunday Times column to matters Boris, pointing out that Blair made the job ‘Livingstone-proof’ - keeping central government control over a number of areas that are of interest to Londoners and the incoming Mayor. Will Jacqui Smith clash with Bozza over his plans to tackle crime in London? Police throughout the UK work in accordance with Home Office policy such as the National Intelligence Model. Boris will need to get Police Chiefs on side if he is to make the Met prioritize on the delivery of his manifesto pledges. Will he have what it takes?

Finally, John Rentoul of the Independent on Sunday, takes a slightly comical look at what a defeated David Cameron might be saying in 2012. “It was all Boris’s fault” he quotes an imaginary Dave C as saying to his missus. It’s all a bit of a wet dream if you ask me, but amusing all the same.

Happy Boriswatching!

We’ve unveiled a new set of t-shirts in the BorisShop, emblazoned with the sheer jollity of Mayor Boris’s arrival. With quotes such as “Bye Bye Ken”, “I Voted Boris”, “Welcome to Borisland and “Next Stop PM”, these t-shirts show you’re proud of the new Mayor!
Click here for the BorisShop (or see the link on the sidebar).

Boriswatch seems to be getting a bit more traffic this morning for some reason. So to keep the punters happy here’s a round up of all the juicy gossip, comment and toy throwing that’s hitting the headlines today.

From Canada, long time Boriswatcher and uber-blogger Raincoaster worries about “cricket louts and derby-topped swarms of bankers … looking for trouble”. She’s not at her best this morning, my guess is that she’s been celebrating through the night on the Sauvignon, coz we all know she fancies the pants offa Bozza! Read more classic Raincoaster on Boris here (highly recommended reading).

Guardian columnist John Harris spits his dummy out here, stating that the electorate are “out of kilter with developments in the real world” because they didn’t vote the same way he did. I’m sure we don’t need to elaborate on the fuzzy logic, but feel free to do so yourselves in the comments!

David Blunketts Sun column from April 30th makes entertaining reading in hindsight. Blunkett warns it wound not be very British of us to kick GB when he is down. Just what version of British political history has he been reading?

Boris gains a crucial ally on the London Assembly in the form of staunch supporter James Cleverley. James was elected for Bexley and Bromley with a massive majority. Meanwhile Tory bigwig John Redwood criticises the PR system that has also handed assembly seats to the BNP, Greens and Lib Dems despite none of them winning in any particular area. Will the minor parties make trouble for Bozza from the back of the class?

Onto a different kind of PR and Public Relations Consultant, Tory and star-blogger Ellee Seymour points out that 7 out of 10 PR agencies predicted a Livingstone victory. Really? Who’d ever have thought PR people talk out of their rear ends?

Any more interesting stuff out there fellow Boriswatchers? Drop the links below!

Having spent all evening Boriswatching down outside City Hall it must be said the immediate aftermath of the election was a bit of an anticlimax - despite the absolutely splendid result.

By midnight a few hundred or so people lined the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of their candidate. Whist Paddick and Berry left via the front door, at just after one in the morning the police informed the crowd that Boris and Ken had left the building.

Perhaps it was the loud baying mob of creatures wearing BNP rosettes that put them off, perhaps they were in a hurry to catch last orders or perhaps the final stage of the handover consisted of Ken showing Boris his secret escape hatch or underground whisky store. Who knows for sure, however the next few months should prove to be an orgy of interest for Boriswatchers.

He’s done it! Undercover word has reached us (7pm) that Boris has won the race to be Mayor of London, scoring a commanding lead over his rival Ken Livingstone. It will be confirmed soon.
This is a new golden era for Boriswatchers everywhere. He has attained one of the highest political positions in the country, and is the powerful Conservative politician in the land.  I’ve been privy to the many, many messages of support coming into Boris over the last few weeks, and it’s clear that many people - even in other countries - will be ecstatic.
I’m off to crack open some much-needed bubbly and celebrate this momentous day. Cheers, Boriswatchers!

Celebrate with a Boris t-shirt!

UPDATE 8.30pm: The Evening Standard, Sky News and The Telegraph have now called it for Boris!

Here is David Cameron’s response to the election of Mayor Boris:

Can we dare to break out the champagne, ladies and gentlefolk? Should we uncross our fingers yet? Boriswatch noticed that the commentators on the BBC election coverage last night were talking as if Boris had won - and it seems that some commentators and bookies have decided the outcome already. AND IT’S A GREAT ONE!
With 40% of votes counted in each of the 14 electoral areas, Mr Johnson has the lead in 9 while Labour’s Ken Livingstone is ahead in five. Here is some of the latest chatter:

UPDATE: Follow ConservativeHome’s Boris-leaning live blogging of the results, or their interactive chatroom. Visit Ken-leaning live blogging at The Guardian.

PoliticalBetting: PaddyPower Pays out on Boris

DemocracyForum: Livingstone has Lost, says Portillo

48News: Boris “ahead in mayoral race”

Kevin Maguire: Mayor Johnson?

Independent - Waiting Game

Telegraph: It all points to a Boris Johnson win

Telagraph: Boris Johnson poised to become Mayor

In last weekend’s Observer, the Pendennis column let slip a little nugget of information. “Earl Spencer,” it writes, “famous for the eulogy he gave at his sister Princess Diana’s funeral, which was written by Boris Johnson…”. JUST A SECOND! Did Boris really write one of the most famous passages of speech in recent times? Does anyone have any confirmation of this? Or is Boriswatch a bit slow on the uptake? Please let us know…

Here, Boriswatch presents 5 reasons why people should vote for Boris Johnson as Mayor of London.
1. Boris doesn’t need the job.
Eh? Alright, I’ll explain. What does the Mayoral race give Boris that he doesn’t already have? Money? Nope - before his decision to stand, he enjoyed huge earnings (at least £500,000 last year, most of which he’ll have to give up should he win). Fame? Nope - Boris is one of the only politicians known by their first name, and who is the most easily recognised politican in the UK. Popularity? Nope - Boris has consistently been the most popular politician over the last 10 years.
The only thing Boris is fighting for is the opportunity to enhance London. He knows what needs to be done, and he’s hoping that Londoners give him that chance. He doesn’t need the Mayoral post - but he eagerly wants to help.
On the flipside, Ken has frequently said that defeat will mean the end of his career - and thereby he slips in a more mercenary reason for keeping his job.

2. Boris speaks his mind.
Politicians have a slimy persona in public life. They are renowned for smoke and mirrors; for squirming out of touchy topics, for saving their careers but eroding the main arguments of the day. Boris is the only one - literally - that is known for raising above that messy quagmire of claim and counter-claim. If he has feelings on a topic, he will say them and debate them. He stands by his convictions. Whenever I discuss him with friends and colleagues, people can see a reassuring breath of fresh air about him. And, even if some people disagree with some of his views, isn’t that better than not knowing whether they’re being taken for a ride?

3. A new Mayor brings new ideas.
Ken is getting past it. Sure, he has had ideas and implemented them - but he’s now played all his cards, scrapped the barrel and the ideas have been found wanting. The Congestion Charge had a marked effect when it was introduced - but 50% of the revenue goes into running the system, and the traffic is now almost as bad as before the charge, and getting worse. The Greater London Assembly have spent millions of London money on over 300 foreign trips in polluting aeroplanes, but Ken still tries to cosy up to the Green Party’s Sian Berry for a few extra votes.

4. He’s proving he’s not a buffoon…
… and surprising the lot of us. The one big, easy accusation from Boris’s opponents is that he is a clown who can’t run a whelk stall. Boris, to be fair, has played up to that in recent years - but he has shed that exterior, exposing the high intellect and common touch that was always lurking within. He’s been described by The Guardian as “one of the shrewdest financial minds in Westminster.” There’s very little joking around, although we all know there’s a moment of mirth never far from his lips. Many believe that the campaign masterminds have not so much banished Boris’s outer clown as coaxed out the big Bozza’s inner self.

5. If you can’t beat them, join them.
Nobody now underestimates Boris Johnson. Ken, in fact, never did. But if you’ve reached this far in the post and still see Boris as a figure of fun in a stall full of whelks, then I can do little more for you. If you can’t see the benefits of Mayor Boris and still think he’s a buffoon, then you are entitled to your view.
Your decision, in that case, boils down to this. Who would you prefer to run one of the largest cities in the world - a clown who thinks he’s an intellectual, or an intellectual that thinks he’s a clown?

As The Telegraph says, For All Our Sakes, Boris Must Win. As The Sun says, we all must Back Boris. He’s a charmer who must win, says the Evening Standard. Do your bit, Londoners - imagine the possibilities!

A light-hearted - if slightly disturbing - website has popped up on the Boriswatch radar this morning. I Dream Of Boris is a site where visitors can submit their Boris-themed dreams. They range for innocent and innocuous to… well, something more carnal. Have a look - although we felt slightly tarnished afterwards.