Reuters
Professor Bale comments on London Mayor Boris Johnson’s chances of becoming Prime Minister: “It's one thing to make great speeches at the Olympics, to make a virtue of bumbling through them and making the odd gaffe. But when you are in parliament you cannot afford to make those kinds of mistakes - you have to follow a brief.” Professor Bale, who is author of The Conservative Party: From Thatcher to Cameron adds: “If he can do that, all good, but that would also lead to Boris not being Boris, and he could lose his appeal."