Johnson will defend smallest personal majority for a PM since 1924

Boris Johnson will go into the general election on 12 December trying to defend the smallest constituency majority for a prime minister in nearly 100 years.

Johnson is seeking re-election as MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip, it was confirmed on Thursday.

He won the seat in 2017 with a majority of just 5,034.

No prime minister since 1924 has fought a general election while simultaneously defending such a slim personal majority.

A swing of just over 5% would be enough for Labour to take the seat from the Conservatives and leave Johnson without a constituency.

This kind of swing, if it was repeated across the country, would see Labour on course to be the largest party in a hung parliament.

Johnson has been the MP for Uxbridge & South Ruislip since 2015.

It currently ranks at number 54 on a list of Conservative seats most vulnerable to Labour.

In 2017 there was a swing in the seat from the Tories to Labour of 6.5%.

A similar swing in 2019 would see Johnson defeated.

The seat is being contested for the Labour Party by Ali Milani, who lives locally. As he told the New Statesman:

This isn’t just about unseating Boris. Yes, it would be a historic moment, and we are absolutely up for the fight. But we talk to people about the issues facing their lives – housing, the hospital, GPs, their local schools – as someone who’s their neighbour as well as their representative.

He also made this point when talking to inews:

I didn’t stand to be the Muslim standing against Boris Johnson. I stood because I am the candidate living down the road. I know the lives of people here. I’m a neighbour, not a politician