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2014: The Year Boris Johnson Came Clean About His Desire To Be PM

2014 - The Year BoJo Stopped Hiding His Desire
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By 

Business reporter, Huffington Post UK

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SINGAPORE - NOVEMBER 28: Mayor of London, Boris Johnson speaks during the FinTech event at the ArtScience Museum on November 28, 2014 in Singapore. Mayor Boris Johnson is on a six day trade mission to the Far East to build on his work to create jobs and growth, and promote London as a major investment destination as he leads a trade mission to Singapore, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. (Photo by Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images)
Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images

Does Boris Johnson want to be Prime Minister? 2014 was the year that, basically, gave all of us the answer.

Normally, the mayor of London has proved himself to be a master of fudging the issue but over the past 12 months his overarching ambition became pretty clear.

Here's how he has deflected the question in the past...

9 Times Boris Johnson Denied Prime Ministerial/Leadership Ambitions
July 2003: "I'm more likely to be decapitated by a frisbee"(01 of07)
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When asked by school pupils in his Henley consistency if he wanted to be Prime Minister, Johnson said: "I have as much chance of becoming Prime Minister as of being decapitated by a frisbee or of finding Elvis."
June 2004: "I'm more likely to find Elvis on Mars"(02 of07)
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"My chances of being PM are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, or my being reincarnated as an olive," he said in 2004.
October 2011: "I really don't want to do anything else"(03 of07)
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Speaking to ITV at the Tory party conference, Johnson insisted that he did not expect to do "another big job in politics" after leaving City Hall, adding: "What I want is to get re-elected."
January 2012: "Of course not, I count Dave as a friend" (04 of07)
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May 2012: "I'll be serving out my term as mayor"(05 of07)
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As he fought to be re-elected Mayor of London, Johnson brushed aside speculation by insisting his mind would be focused on serving out his second term.
May 2013: "Dave will win 2015"(06 of07)
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Goaded by Cameron's former top spin doctor Andy Coulson, Johnson insisted he did not want the Prime Minister to "fail miserably" so he could "ride in on his bike and save party and country" as, he said, Cameron would go on to win.
March 2013: "It's not going to happen"(07 of07)
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Asked in a documentary about whether he wanted to be Prime Minister, Johnson gave his most teasing answer yet, responding. "Obviously if the ball came loose from the back of the scrum – which it won’t— it would be a great, great thing to have a crack at it."But, he added: "It’s not going to happen.”

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg told LBC radio that Johnson would have to "come clean about the fact he is a much more conventional politician than he likes to appear" if he gets back into Parliament, adding that the London mayor was "absolutely fixated with his own political ambitions".

Johnson has become steadily more brazen in speaking about his ambitions, with few now thinking he just wants to be a humble backbench MP representing the safe Tory seat of Uxbridge and Ruislip.

See also: Boris Johnson Led London, Is He Ready To Lead Britain?

Here are ten moments this year when the country's most popular Tory couldn't hide his desire to reach the top.

2014: The Year BoJo Came Clean About His Ambitions
When BoJo said City Hall was a way to boost his CV... (01 of09)
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As he told the Sunday Times, Johnson admitted that he wanted to be Mayor of London as he thought "how could I rapidly acquire massive administrative experience? How can I show what I can do?” (credit:PHILIPPE LOPEZ via Getty Images)
When BoJo basically said he could be Prime Minister(02 of09)
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After being selected as the parliamentary candidate for Uxbridge, Johnson had a funny way of saying that he could still be London Mayor while in Parliament. "I would point out that it is possible to be both an MP and have a very big job such as foreign secretary or prime minister at the same time," he told reporters. (credit:Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)
When BoJo said he wasn't too "flakey" for the top(03 of09)
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Johnson insisted he did "pretty well" in at least one of his shadow ministerial jobs, burnishing his credentials for government in an interview with the Radio TImes."The experience of running London for six or seven years has shown me what you have to do to get things done, and the energy and the application you have to put into it," he explained. (credit:Suhaimi Abdullah via Getty Images)
When he barely tried to dismiss the idea of being PM(04 of09)
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Asked by the Washington Post if it'd be wrong to say he'd "relish" being Prime Minister, Johnson barely bothered to correct his questioner.
When BoJo told us he wanted to be governing Britain (05 of09)
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“I think I understand the business of government pretty well now,' he told the Evening Standard. "And I hope very much at some stage to be doing it."
When BoJo told Dave off for his "reckless" vow to Scotland(06 of09)
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After Scots voted to say part of the United Kingdom, Johnson said that the Prime Minister's promise to hand down extra powers by revisiting the controversial Barnett Formula was "slightly reckless".He told LBC radio: "We can't just go on with a system that even Joel Barnett himself thinks is outdated."I think there is quite a good way of honouring this slightly odd promise and that is to ask him to redesign it. I'd like to see him or someone else have a go."That's my solution for honouring what I see as a slightly reckless promise." (credit:STEFAN ROUSSEAU via Getty Images)
When BoJo went on a world tour(07 of09)
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Johnson ended a six-day tour of the Far East with a major international lecture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in which world leaders like Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak and Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. (credit:Steffan Rousseau/PA Wire)
When BoJo struck this pose(08 of09)
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Standing outside the Petronas Towers in Malaysia, one of the tallest buildings in the world, Johnson gives a rather unsubtle hint about the size of his ambition. (credit:Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
And when BoJo chose to rave at us about a brick(09 of09)
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Realising his ambition was getting too dangerously clear, Johnson tried to dampen speculation with a bizarre speech to the Tory faithful at the party's annual conference, in which he waved a brick about. (credit:LEON NEAL via Getty Images)
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