The Olympian who could defeat Boris
Boris Johnson’s hopes of a smooth path back to becoming an MP have suffered a jolt. For he faces a heavyweight challenge in the fight to be selected as the Tories’ parliamentary candidate for the safe West London seat of Uxbridge. opposing Boris is James Cracknell, the 6ft 4in, 15st, double olympic rowing gold medallist. A staunch anti- European, Cracknell stood unsuccessfully in the European elections earlier this year, having turned to politics after retiring as a sportsman.
he almost died from terrible head injuries suffered in a cycling accident on an 18-day endurance race in the U.s.
The happily married father- ofthree, who has also made his name on TV as a dashing adventurer, has lodged his nomination papers for Uxbridge with Tory HQ. if there is an open primary in which anyone on the electoral roll can vote to choose a candidate, Cracknell’s chances will improve considerably.
For he could easily exploit one of Boris’s many weaknesses — namely his fervent opposition to the expansion of heathrow Airport in favour of a new transport hub on what has been dubbed Boris island in the Thames Estuary.
heathrow is one of the main employers in Uxbridge and its expansion would create more jobs locally. Perhaps the London Mayor should back off from Uxbridge and prove his devotion to the Tory cause is stronger than his personal ambition by offering himself as a candidate at the forthcoming byelection against Tory- to- Ukip defector Douglas Carswell in Clacton — a town that would benefit from his airport plans.