Boris Johnson campaigns at Uxbridge for His Seat

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Max Colchester and Alexa Corse, Brexit Can Wait -- Boris Johnson Tends to a Crosswalk in Uxbridge; Prime MinisterShe met her end with stoic resignation, Mr Hardman reports. Barnave followed her to the guillotine. Wall Street Journal, Nov 4, 2019 (front page).
https://www.wsj.com/articles/to- ... rimming-11572809361

Quote:

"Since 1902 when the last prime minister [Robert Gascoyne-Cecil] from the unelected House of Lords resigned, every British prime minister has been an elected lawmaker. That means if Mr Johnson doesn't get re-elected in this west London district, he gets kicked out of office regardless of how his Conservative Party fares overall.

"With his majority in Uxbridgejust a few thousand votes, opponents are hoping to orchestrate a decapitation strategy rarely seen in British politics -- boot Mr Johnson from the national stage by beating him on the local one [the general election to be held in Dec 12, 2020]. * * * 'Come to Uxbridge.!You are welcome!' Mr Johnson bellowed in the House of Commons last week, as the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn goaded him saying he should relocate to a safer seat.

"Based in London's commuter belt, Mr Johnson's district, which includes Uxbridge and South Ruislip, has been a solidly conservative seat for years. * * * A majority of residents there voted to quit the EU in 2016.  Mr Johnson won a majority of around 5,000 votes in his district in 2017, the smallest majority for a sitting prime minister since the 1920s.    An upset is still a long shot. Due to their name recognition 'prime minister tend to get a bump in their own seat,' says Lewis Baston, a pollster.

"The West London suburb 20 miles from the city center was seen as a safe landing zone for Mr Johnson, not too far from his north London home and a solid conservative seat. In the UK, candidates don't have to have ties to the district they aim to represent. Mr Johnson was elected in 2015 [Johnson was mayor of London 2008 - May 9, 2016, and foreign secretary July 13, 2016 - 2018 (under prime minister Teresa May)] * * *

Note:
(a) The report is locked behind paywall. There is no need to read the rest, though.
(b) Uxbridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uxbridge
(section 1 History, section 1,1 Toponymy)

"The Wixan were a 7th-century Saxon tribe." Wikipedia.
(c) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr ... _the_United_Kingdom
("Prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the prime minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the prime minister's authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process")
(d) Boris Johnson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Johnson
("Johnson initially denied that he would return to the House of Commons while remaining mayor. However, after much media speculation, in August 2014 he sought selection as the Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip at the 2015 general election, becoming the party's candidate in September. In the May 2015 general election Johnson was elected MP." (footnotes omitted) )

Johnson had been an MP from Henley, Oxfordshire 2001-2008.