The “red-wall” Tories may think Boris Johnson is their man, but for a long time Boris Johnson was the Conservatives’ political hero in a very different part of the country – London. With London Conservatives, Johnson claimed a famous victory, becoming mayor of the capital in 2008 and resurrecting a political career which was then at a low ebb. Four years later, against all the odds, he managed to see off a second Labour challenge. I was part of both campaigns as the then MP for Putney.
We were the equivalent of Boris Johnson’s red wall Tories today. Back then he was our talisman.
