Have I Got News For You decides against having Boris Johnson as a guest in April 1998:
- Boris is not brought to the attention of the wider public and made famous as a loveable upper class buffoon. Without this, he isn't asked back again & again and also onto other shows. Without this media profile, he doesn't get selected as Conservative candidate for Henley and also lacks the profile (and material) to do his books. He remains a columnist and Spectator editor, though this means when his repeated affairs come out, they're affairs by a columnist & editor (one with an employee) and not by a beloved public figure who can wave them off.
- Andrew Boff becomes the Tory candidate for Mayor of London in 2008. This could mean he wins an extremely narrow mayoral election against Livingstone; he is a less famous figure than Boris but is also someone it's harder to go after as he's not got a record of gaffs (nor much of a public record at all!) and as an openly gay man is a symbol of the 'new Tories'.
- The Mayor of London is someone who supports the AV vote referendum in 2011. That gives it an extra Big Name supporter, one that could resonate in London and among Conservatives, and one that can loudly say that London uses a non-FPTP system anyway. When it emerges that Cameron did somer dirty tricks with the No side to make the AV referendum a mess for Clegg, it's not a minor story: now Cameron did dirty tricks against his own Mayor and on a closer vote. Cue numerous butterflies.
- Boris is not brought to the attention of the wider public and made famous as a loveable upper class buffoon. Without this, he isn't asked back again & again and also onto other shows. Without this media profile, he doesn't get selected as Conservative candidate for Henley and also lacks the profile (and material) to do his books. He remains a columnist and Spectator editor, though this means when his repeated affairs come out, they're affairs by a columnist & editor (one with an employee) and not by a beloved public figure who can wave them off.
- Andrew Boff becomes the Tory candidate for Mayor of London in 2008. This could mean he wins an extremely narrow mayoral election against Livingstone; he is a less famous figure than Boris but is also someone it's harder to go after as he's not got a record of gaffs (nor much of a public record at all!) and as an openly gay man is a symbol of the 'new Tories'.
- The Mayor of London is someone who supports the AV vote referendum in 2011. That gives it an extra Big Name supporter, one that could resonate in London and among Conservatives, and one that can loudly say that London uses a non-FPTP system anyway. When it emerges that Cameron did somer dirty tricks with the No side to make the AV referendum a mess for Clegg, it's not a minor story: now Cameron did dirty tricks against his own Mayor and on a closer vote. Cue numerous butterflies.