“Churchill with charisma” and “the most brilliant man in politics” were just some of the accolades Boris Johnson was getting from the people of Chester who turned out to see his campaign trail.
Crowds of people, both young and old, couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of the mop-top Tory, chanting ‘Boris, Boris’ as he blustered into the city to support candidate Stephen Mosley in the run up to next week’s election.
There was barely one person who didn’t demand a selfie with him, but good-sport Boris, who even took time to cuddle a baby, took it all in his stride and did his best to try to convince the people of Chester to vote Conservative on May 7.
And the Mayor of London may not be a frequent visitor to the city but he certainly appears to have a healthy fanbase here, as dozens of people were quick to shower him with praise, including Mike Crofton who told The Chronicle he thought Boris was ‘the most brilliant man in politics’.
“He’s another Churchill to me - he’s just one of those people who you could really tell would do a great job in running the country,” he said. “He’s intelligent and self-made, I’m more than confident he’d be a good Prime Minister. I’d like to see him take over the Conservative leadership. He’s Churchill with charisma.”
Kristen Mylor, who sits on Vicars Cross Parish Council, added: “I absolutely adore Boris, he is one of the most brilliant men in the country. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s just so charismatic, full of drive and positivity - he’s dynamic.”
Another resident, Sasha Peake, said she agreed with Boris’ recent comments that voters would find it ‘deeply alarming’ if Labour agreed to a post-election deal with the Scottish Nationalists, in the event of a hung Parliament.
“I was impressed with what he said. I will definitely be voting Conservative. My daughter loves him and is trying to get a picture with him.”
Although the reaction was mainly positive, one passer-by shouted: ‘Go back to Eton’, to which Boris replied ‘yeah, yeah’, and another admitted to not knowing who Boris was, but said he wanted to get a selfie with him anyway.
Chester artist John Donnelly first met the former Spectator editor during a recent visit to Chester Racecourse and began working on a painting of him, which he was able to show him on his latest trip to the city, and get the man himself to sign it.
“The Conservatives have done a good job for me, they’ve given me good opportunities. I’m sure I’ll be voting for them next month.”
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