Onward Tory soldiers
Excerpt from timesonline.co.uk
Boris Johnson pulls off a stunning victory in the London mayoral race. Labour receive their worst defeat for a generation in council elections. Are the Tories now favourites for the next general election
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The 43-year-old Old Etonian, famed for his colourful gaffes and occasionally exotic personal life, admitted many voters might have hovered “a little before putting an X in my box”.
“Let’s get cracking tomorrow,” he concluded. “And let’s have a drink tonight.”
And, oh boy, what a drink it was. After a flurry of television interviews, Johnson was driven upriver to the Tories’ celebration party in the Altitude bar on the 29th floor of Millbank Tower in Westminster.
The party was in full swing long before he arrived. Tory grandees, campaigners, friends and family began pouring into the low-lit room about 6pm, and, with mounting evidence that Johnson had pulled it off, the champagne was flowing.
Party donors spared no expense on the lavish bash - with a grand ice sculpture of the Back Boris campaign as the centrepiece, an all-blonde girl band dressed in black ball dresses, and unlimited oysters and caviar.
As a bashful-looking Johnson strolled into the room with his entourage, to clapping and cheering, there was laughter as the band struck up Jerusalem.
In a brief speech, Johnson paid tribute to his campaign team, and to David Cameron. The Tory leader returned the favour. “There were no quips, even though everyone was elated,” said one who was present. “Both the speeches were serious and straight, with Boris acknowledging Cameron’s role in the night’s suc-cesses, and vice versa.”
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