Voters need a better MP

BORIS Johnson showed his true colours when ducking out of the vote on Heathrow last month, even though he claims to have been consistently against its expansion. Yet, only a couple of weeks later, he threw in the towel as Foreign Secretary ostensibly because of a disagreement with Theresa May but really to plan a leadership bid.

As a writer covering transport, I have followed Johnson’s career closely since he became mayor in 2008 and during my bid to be the Labour candidate for mayor I exposed the scandal of the new Routemaster buses which he introduced at great cost to London taxpayers and which, at the time, did not work properly, putting at risk drivers and pedestrians.

The list of Johnson’s wasteful and costly projects as mayor is long, including the failed Garden Bridge, the ridiculous aerial cableway in East London that few people use and his purchase of illegal water cannons to use against Londoners.

There is much more, notably his disregard for London’s traditions by agreeing planning permission for countless luxury tower blocks that will do nothing to relieve London’s shortage of affordable homes.

The people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip deserve better than having Boris Johnson as their local MP.

That is why I have applied to be Labour’s candidate for the constituency at the next general election. Johnson has no interest in the concerns of local people such as the expansion of Heathrow, the impact of austerity on local services and the problems at Hillingdon Hospital, highlighted by lengthy waits in A&E during last winter’s crisis.

He is far too busy plotting his next move. Unlike Johnson, if elected, I would live in the constituency to ensure that local concerns were at the heart of my work as an MP.

Christian Wolmar Crayford Road