Boris Johnson selected to run for British parliament in 2015
By Kylie MacLellan
LONDON (Reuters) - The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who is seen as a potential successor to Prime Minister David Cameron, was on Friday selected by the Conservative party to run for parliament in 2015.
Winning a parliamentary seat may be the first step in any bid to succeed Cameron as leader of the Conservative Party - a job that Johnson has coyly denied interest in for years while at the same time fuelling constant media speculation.
Johnson, who previously served as a Conservative lawmaker between 2001 and 2008 before resigning to take up the position of Mayor of London, will run in the May 2015 national election in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency in west London.
The Conservatives won the parliamentary seat in 2010 with a more than 11,000 vote majority.
Johnson, 50, said he was thrilled and honoured to be selected.
"It will be a tough fight, it will be a long fight, but I have no doubt whatever that we are going to be able to return David Cameron and the Conservatives with an absolute majority in 2015," he said.
Some Conservative lawmakers have said Cameron's future could be in doubt if Scotland votes to end is 307-year union with England in a referendum next week.
A YouGov poll in June showed that voters see Johnson as the person who would make the best leader if Cameron stepped down, although the London mayor would not be in a position to do so until he wins a seat.
Johnson, who is serving his second term as London mayor, is one of Britain's highest profile politicians, known for his tousled blond hair and bumbling, eccentric public persona. He achieved international recognition through his role at the forefront of London's 2012 Olympics.
He has adopted a more Eurosceptic stance than the prime minister, appealing to the large contingent within the party which has been critical of Cameron for his handling of the EU, an issue which has divided the party and toppled previous leaders.
Cameron, who has pledged to renegotiate Britain's ties with the European Union ahead of a referendum on membership by the end of 2017 if he wins next year's election, favours staying in a reformed EU while Johnson has said that Britain could thrive even if it left the 28-nation bloc.
(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
