"I must be mad ", says Boris Johnson, apropos standing for parliament. Privately, he knew the Tories didn't have a chance of winning the general election. Henley is the third safest Tory seat in the country, but Boris campaigned hard for it. "I want people at the next election to vote for me because I did something for Henley" he says.

According to Boris, 85% of his constituents' concerns he can't do much about. After victory in Henley but defeat for the party nationwide, he now faces four years as a junior opposition backbencher. He still has his day job as editor of The Spectator.

London, Henley, Blackburn 2000-2001

on the campaign trail
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