The Sun comes out for Boris Johnson

The Sun newspaper, which has determined the result of a good many elections in its time, has come out for London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson.

Although it hasn't used its front page to announce the news, its support, offered on the editorial pages, is pretty unequivocal. After attacking Ken Livingstone and praising Johnson's policies on crime and transport, it concludes: "Boris Johnson has the energy and imagination to give this great city what it needs."

This could be a serious blow for rival Ken Livingstone. The newspaper's backing is often an important litmus test for election victories. Its hostility towards Neil Kinnock during the 1992 election was partly blamed for the party's painful defeat. On the day of that general election, it memorably splashed with a picture of Kinnock's face in a lightbulb. "If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights?" it said.

Whatever, the endorsement is very timely for the Tory candidate. Last week, after making a number of serious of gaffes on the campaign trail, among them calling for a borough-wide online referendum on the smoking ban in London, he saw a 14-point lead evaporate.

...If the Sun don't win it for Johnson, he may have to rely on the Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick, who announced yesterday that he would not rule out working with him if the Tory candidate prevailed on May 1.

Although Paddick has said in the past that he won't call on his supporters to back Boris, his willingness to work with the Tory might mean they will do just that. Second preference votes are set to play a key role in the London mayoral election because none of the main candidates are expected to win the necessary 50 per cent share of the vote. Livingstone and Green Party leader Sian Berry have already struck a pact, and are asking supporters to vote for both, with Berry as the No 2 choice. Paddick is unlikely to offer a similar pact to the Labour man, having called him "untrustworthy" in the past.