06/08/2014 BBC London News

Now, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

Ahmad. So, after spending years evading the

question, Boris Johnson has finally given us the answer. He will try to

stand for Parliament next year while still being Mayor of London.

Although the Prime Minister has welcomed the news, bookies have

tonight cut the odds for Mr Johnson to one day lead the Conservative

Party. But does the Mayor's plan for Parliament compromise his commitment

to London? Here's our political editor, Tim Donovan. It was the best

job around. It needed full attention. There were huge

challenges to deal with. around. It needed full attention.

There were huge challenges to deal with. Yet today official ` it is not

a job on its own that he is satisfied doing. A lots of people

will see this as a gigantic U`turn by the Mayor, because so often he's

played down or even appeared to rule out standing as an MP at this

general election. Well, he's going for it. We are not totally

surprised, but he will pay a price in terms of some people saying, when

can we believe him? He said he wanted a star player back...

Whenever Boris wants to, he'll get a warm welcome from me. The PM has

taken the Mayor at his word. Boris has been committed to Londoners and

London, and that's been demonstrated by the plans he's released around

infrastructure, the work he's doing in rebuilding the economy, and

making sure that crime continues to come down and the investment in the

city. And he is devoted to Londoners now and will be for the next few

years. But his opponents describe the move as like deserting London,

leaving incomplete the work started on signature policies like cycling,

aviation and policing reform. Perhaps most pressing of all,

addressing the acute smorj of housing. There is no question that

from here on in Boris won't be giving London attention. The we are

in the middle of a housing crisis, rents twice the level of that

outside of London. There is no question that London will suffer.

Boris has used the last six years promoting himself and his photo

opportunities. It's the Mayor who is elected in 2016 who is going to have

to move quickly to get stuff off the ground or London will be very

scratchy and difficult. And wasn't one likely problem highlighted by

the events today, speculation about his future eclipsing a big report on

London's economy and Europe done by his own senior economist. Is this

him putting his own personal career ahead of London in London. Was a

secondary consideration? It seems clear to me that the Mayor has had a

very successful time in London. He clearly has important plans in place

for London for the rest of his time as Mayor up until 2016. He also has

a strong team around him at City Hall, so he seems clear to me that

Boris is focused on London. It is a signal that he's leaving before the

job's done? It is a work in motion if you are Mayor of London. It is

object positioning the London economy not just now but for the

long`term. It is positioning himself for the longer term.

The next question to ask is where will Boris Johnson stand for MP?

Well, Uxbridge and South Ruislip is one of the most likely places, so

our political correspondent, Karl Mercer, went there to gauge the

reaction of local people. For 15 years the Randall name has dominated

Uxbridge town centre, for 125 years. John Randall is stepping aside, the

vacancy an opportunity for one of the MPs. When John stood down we

brought these out for Boris. I nearly took 'em out of the window

but this morning it has kicked off again. The one that is really

selling at the moment is Uxbridge, better than it sounds, big being up

the local area. Boris will have to get the bus. There's no tubes here

for the next fortnight. How about this local estate agent, if he is

thinking of moving in, or maybe not. He will have to win over the loexts

The idea of Boris Johnson terrifies me, so poor Uxbridge. He's great,

good fun, listens to people and gets the job done. I love him. Surely

he's got to give up being Mayor to be an MP? No he doesn't. Really? I

would be surprised if he could do both properly. John Randall

disagrees and denies he was nudged aside for blonde ambition. It was

purely my own decision. One of the reasons I decided to announce it

sooner rather than later was that I wanted the speculation out of the

way. The people of Uxbridge will know by mid September if the Mayor

will be the Tory candidate here the next election.

Let's talk to our political editor Tim Donovan. How difficult a job is

this for Boris Johnson to pull off without denting his popularity with

Londoners? I suppose it had been predicted for such a long time,

particularly at Westminster, that it wasn't altogether unexpected and

that may have softened impact. He's shown today that he's very much in

five, as he once admitted, of having his cake and eating it. For many

people that will be a problem. The business organisation, London

Chamber of Commerce, unusually direct today. It said it was a bad

decision and we needed a Mayor that can give London his un`Dwighted

attention. Some, his undivided attention. Is Uxbridge the only

realistic option to him? I think so. Uxbridge presents its own problems.

Take an issue like aviation. Aviation. Boris Johnson wants, the

logic of his plans is to close Heathrow. The local Tory council

wants to keep it open because of the jobs. You can see the hurdles ahead.

That could make an interesting discussion in any selection

There's lots of speculation about what's happening for the weekend.

Ahead of that we've got rain. Tomorrow it looks like a lovely day

for many of us. We've got a few sharp showers near Luton at the

moment. These should ease, but not without the risk of a shower

tonight. With quiet light winds we could have mist and fog as well. A

comfortable night for sleeping. Dry and bright tomorrow with sunshine.

Temperatures down. 24`25 still possible in the strong sunshine. Is

a dry night tomorrow, but there's more rain heading our way. This next

weather system comes in on Friday afternoon. There's a yellow warning

from the Met Office for that. Saturday is quieter and then Tomasz

will tell you more as we look ahead for the potential

will tell you more as we look ahead for the potential of something

stormy to head our way. Good evening to you. There's a lot

of detail to cover in tonight's weather update, so let's snap to it.

This is tomorrow. Lots of warm sunshine. There'll be cloud around

with the possibility of one or two showers. In terms of the here and

now it is quiet and tranquil out there. Light winds by the early

hours of Thursday. Mist forming here and there. Not especially