The former Defence Secretary said he would “be looking for a candidate who endorses a third runway for Heathrow airport because I think that is fundamentally important to the capital and I can’t understand any candidate presenting himself or herself without such a commitment”.
Asked by host Andrew Neil to confirm this meant he wouldn’t be supporting Johnson, Portillo answered “correct”.
Portillo is the first senior Conservative to announce they aren’t backing Johnson’s re-election bid.
His comments came just hours after Labour supporter and reality TV host Lord Sugar told followers on Twitter not to vote for Labour candidate Ken Livingstone.
The peer told his 1.8m followers on the social network site: “I seriously suggest NO ONE votes for Livingstone in the Mayoral elections.”
Livingstone’s campaign later tried to downplay the comments, insisting the pair “aren’t that friendly”.
Candidates for Mayor include Jenny Jones (Green party), Ken Livingstone (Labour), Lawrence Webb (UKIP) Boris Johnson (Conservative) and Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrat). A full list of candidates can be found here.
Candidates standing as London Assembly constituency members can be found here. Candidates for the 11 Assembly London-wide seats can be found here.
test says
Portillo intervention in a nutshell: more media-luvvie ramping for the independent Whitehall Party candidate, then.
Tim Roll-Pickering says
Portillo hasn’t been a senior Conservative for years and says he’s no longer a member of the party (“unless there’s a standing order somewhere”). His lack of support is meaningless.