‘Operation Get Boris’: Pro-Corbyn group Momentum will send hundreds of activists to Johnson’s constituency in massive attempt to make him first sitting PM ever to lose their seat
- Momentum activists set to flood Mr Johnson’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat
- They want to make Mr Johnson first sitting prime minister to lose seat at election
- His majority was cut in half in 2017 and Labour believe he could be vulnerable
Jeremy Corbyn supporters will flood Boris Johnson’s London constituency just days before he is likely to win the race for Downing Street as part of a massive effort to make him the first sitting prime minister to lose their seat at a general election.
The Momentum campaign group is planning to bus in hundreds of Labour-backing activists to knock on doors across the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat on Sunday July 21 with more events planned in the coming months.
Theresa May’s successor is due to be appointed on July 24 and Mr Johnson remains the prohibitive favourite in the leadership race against Jeremy Hunt.
But Labour believes Mr Johnson is vulnerable to being ousted after his majority was cut in half at the 2017 general election from almost 11,000 votes to just over 5,000.
However, sources close to Mr Johnson said they believed the concentrated effort to get rid of him was because Labour is ‘scared’ of the former foreign secretary after he beat the party twice in London mayoral elections.
The next general election is not scheduled to take place until 2022 but the Brexit impasse means many in Westminster believe a snap poll in the not too distant future is almost inevitable.
Boris Johnson saw his constituency majority cut in half at the 2017 general election and Momentum believes the former mayor of London in vulnerable
The Jeremy Corbyn-backing campaign group will bus in hundreds of activists to the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat on July 21, just days before Boris Johnson could become PM
Momentum believe that if Mr Johnson is selected by Tory members to take over from Mrs May he would have a smaller majority than any prime minister since Ramsay MacDonald in 1924.
Momentum and Labour believe that replicating an effort like the one seen at the Peterborough by-election in June when the party managed to cling onto the seat could be enough to oust Mr Johnson from the seat he has held since 2015.
Becky Boumelha, a member of Momentum’s National Coordinating Group, said Mr Johnson ‘isn’t fit to hold any form of public office, let alone become prime minister’.
‘At the Peterborough by-election last month Labour unexpectedly beat the Brexit party after Momentum mobilised more than 1,000 activists to knock on doors and make phone calls,’ she said.
‘Now we’re launching a campaign to make sure Johnson goes down in history as the first sitting prime minister to lose his seat.
‘At the last election we slashed his majority in half, and now even Tories admit his seat is vulnerable to a surge in young voters at the next election.’
Research conducted by the Onward centre-right think tank earlier this year showed Mr Johnson was one of a number of senior Tories who could face be kicked out of parliament at the next election.
Momentum believes changing voter attitudes and more younger voters could help Labour win the west London seat.
The group’s bid to get rid of Mr Johnson will also see a social media campaign aimed at persuading swing voters to ditch the former mayor of London.
Ali Milani, the Momentum-backed Labour candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, said: ‘Ever since Boris Johnson was parachuted into Uxbridge and South Ruislip, he’s neglected his constituents and concerned himself only with his own career.’
A source close to Mr Johnson said: ‘If I were Labour, I’d be looking at shoring up my own position.
‘Boris is the only candidate who can defeat Corbyn’s Labour Party at the next election.
‘He beat them in London, twice – no wonder they’re so scared of him becoming Conservative Leader and Prime Minister.’