Voting for Boris Johnson as Mayor of London

THE ARGUMENTS FOR

A vibrant city like London needs a larger-than-life figure to represent it, and Boris Johnson's wit and intelligence make him a good candidate.

Crime is regarded as the incumbent mayor's weak point and Johnson has put the issue at the heart of his campaign. He is committed to more police on the street, on buses and in train stations, and making neighbourhood 'crime maps' public.

Despite an improvement in public transport under Livingstone, the double-length 'bendy buses' are unpopular with cyclists and drivers. Johnson has pledged to phase them out in favour of a '21st century Routemaster'.

A Johnson administration would mean an end to the Londoner, the controversial, pro-Livingstone 'propaganda' newspaper, printed by the mayor's office at the taxpayer's expense.

THE ARGUMENTS AGAINST

Johnson's previous persona as a non-politically-correct columnist - he once referred to 'piccaninnies' - undermine his ability to unite London's multi-ethnic communities. (He dismisses charges of racism, calling himself a ‘one-man melting pot’ with Muslims, Christians and Jews among his forebears.)

He is seen by many as a blundering buffoon with no experience of running a large team. It is hard to imagine him taking charge if London were to be hit by a disaster.

Poor grasp of detail is a weak point: Johnson's erroneous claim that putting conductors on buses would cost £8m a year - the real figure is closer to £100m - is the tip of the iceberg.

Johnson has pledged to appoint seven advisors to run the city with him. Only Bob Diamond has been named. A vote for Boris is actually a vote for a panel of anonymous conservatives. ·