Monkey must own up to posing perhaps the ultimate #QTWTAIN, but the Times of London, no less, felt the story stood up enough to plaster a picture of a statesmanlike Jeremy Paxman on the front.
The paper said (paywall) the former Newsnight anchor had been approached by a senior Conservative about the possibility running to replace Boris Johnson as the capital’s mayor.
Tory MPs were excited after the broadcaster labelled himself a “One Nation Tory” earlier this year, and believed they could persuade Paxman to turn gamekeeper after a career spent poaching politicians.
Will you be mayor?Will you be mayor?Will you be mayor?Will you be mayor? Will you be mayor?Will you be mayor?Will you be mayor? No
— John Plunkett (@johnplunkett149) November 28, 2014
The story said he was “mulling” the opportunity, though conceded a Paxman mayorality was “not likely”. Asked by the Times whether he would encourage speculation about him standing, he said: “I shouldn’t bother, if I were you.”
Paxman’s former BBC colleague John Humphrys already got a dig in during the paper review on Radio 4’s Today programme. “Dare I say it: he dodged the question,” said Humphrys, on reading Paxman’s quote given to the Times.
Paxman later confirmed he had been invited to talk to the prime minister about the mayoralty, but popped Tory backbenchers’ balloons by saying he wouldn’t take on Boris’s job “for all the eclairs in Paris”.
Still, the idea of the former Newsnight rottweiler being grilled by his former colleagues is intriguing. Would you vote for him? Monkey wouldn’t, even for all the bananas in Paris.
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