London mayor wins No 10 support for new Thames Estuary airport but annoys officials by briefing plans to Daily Telegraph
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Boris Johnson believes the support of his fellow cyclist Steve Hilton was instrumental in winning No 10 backing for a Thames Estuary airport. Photograph: Steve Back / Rex Features
The relationship between Boris Johnson and David Cameron has never been easy.
It has been difficult for Johnson to watch a young upstart at Eton – the prime minister is two years younger than the London mayor – achieve success in two areas where he has failed. Cameron took a first at Oxford (Johnson managed a more modest 2:1, though this was in Greats) and has become prime minister.
Johnson finds Cameron's success difficult to stomach because he regards the prime minister as deeply inferior on the intellectual front. When Cameron started to rise through the ranks rapidly after they were both elected to parliament in 2001, Johnson was heard to remark that the future prime minister was little more than a PR spiv. He, on the other hand, was editor of the Spectator.
There is nothing Johnson can do about his Oxford degree. But he has certainly not given up matching Cameron by becoming prime minister.
This complex background means that Cameron and Johnson circle eachother uneasily. But there are signs of something of a breakthrough in recent months. The mayor's team are genuinely touched by the support from Downing Street, driven by Cameron, for Johnson's re-election campaign in May.
But the London mayor is also delighted that he has signed up the prime minister for his plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. This has not gone entirely smoothly. Downing Street was irritated with Johnson for briefing the Telegraph this week that the prime minister was now supportive but was being blocked by the Lib Dems. Sources say that the way the announcement "plopped out" in the Telegraph has allowed the Lib Dems in government to kill off the idea for the rest of this parliament.
But Johnson is still happy after Cameron made clear that if the Tories were in government alone they would be pressing ahead with the idea. This raises the possibility that the idea could be included in the Tories' manifesto for the next general election.
The mayor's team believe the following factors have helped them win over Cameron and – crucially – George Osborne who were described respectively as "agnostic" and "atheist" on the idea:
• Steve Hilton, the prime minister's policy guru, is a huge fan of the airport. He embarked on a big battle within Nos 10 and 11 before Christmas to win over Cameron and Osborne. But he failed to clear the final hurdle – the Lib Dems who regard Hilton with immense suspicion.
• The departure of Philip Hammond as transport secretary. Hammond, now defence secretary, was not interested in the Thames Estuary airport. He believed the government's policy of maintaining a "hub" airport could be achieved by improving transport links between Heathrow and Gatwick.
• The arrival of Justine Greening as Hammond's successor. Greening is singled out for praise by Johnson's team for her support in calling for evidence on how to maintain a "hub" airport.
• The report last November by the architect Norman Foster (Lord Foster of Thames Bank) into the feasibility of a new airport in the Thames Estuary. This gave Johnson the crucial ammunition to take to Osborne.
• The warning last November by Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, that London's status as one of the top global cities was threatened by poor airport capacity. Osborne is said to hate being outflanked by the IoD.
Johnson was in buoyant mood tonight as he outlined his plans to a meeting of the Tory 1922 committee. Expect him to butter up the Chinese during the London Olympics to persuade them to invest some of their sovereign wealth in a new airport. The Chinese gave Johnson a warm reception when he floated the idea in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics.
The London mayor even coined a new phrase tonight as he described his approach in London as "cost-cutting, one nation Conservatism", according to James Forsyth.