Boris Johnson says a final goodbye to the Daily Telegraph

“Well, chum, this is the big one. Such I imagine were the words of Hillary to Tenzing Norgay as they gazed at the cloud-swaddled summit of Everest. Those are my feelings as we near the critical last pitches of the London mayoral campaign. We have passed the great cwm of the Tory selection process; we have safely negotiated the tricky south col of Christmas. Now we must make the final push for the top, because the news has just crackled in over the radio that the Labour team are neck and neck. Somewhere on the other side of the mountain there is another expedition, lavishly sponsored by the Trades Unions and Petroleos de Venezuela, and we must make haste. It is time to summon every ounce of energy, every gulp of oxygen, and jettison anything that might encumber our ascent.

“Last week I rifled through my rucksack and found my massive but only half-completed manuscript for a book about the British, already weighing in at several pounds. With a sigh I chucked it over the edge of a ravine. Who knows whether it will ever be found again, or whether the fruits of a lifetime’s meditation on our national character will be eaten by a yak, or used to line the nest of an alpine chough? And though the rate of climb has accelerated in the past few days, I know that the load is still too heavy. The prize is too great, and the cause is too important. That is why I am making the ultimate sacrifice and taking a sabbatical from this column.”

That, of course, is Boris Johnson’s unique way of saying goodbye to his weekly Daily Telegraph column as he enters into being a full-time London Mayoral Candidate: “Yes, after 20 years of happy and uninterrupted conversation with Telegraph readers, I am laying down my pen and – to switch from the Everest metaphor – taking up the sword full time. In four months I will have either succeeded in winkling King Newt from his lair, or I will have failed. I believe his time is up, that we are going to win, and that we deserve to win.

All I can say to you, Boris, is good luck! And if you would like to view more about his campaign, register your support or donate, visit his campaign website. And from today, I shall be running Back Boris banners with the link to the website.