Mayoralty of Boris Johnson

Johnson in 2014
Mayoralty of Boris Johnson 3 May 2008 – 9 May 2016
Mayor	Boris Johnson
Party	Conservative
Election	2008 and 2012
← Ken Livingstone Sadiq Khan →

Boris Johnson served as mayor of London from 1 May 2008 until 5 May 2016, being elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012. During his mayoralty, Johnson oversaw the preparations and hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics and oversaw the cycle hire scheme. He also with introduced the New Routemaster buses and the Thames cable car, while promoting the proposed Garden Bridge over the River Thames; the project was later abandoned after Johnson left office. Johnson also banned alcohol consumption on much of London's public transport.^[1]

Selected as the Conservative candidate for the London mayoral election of 2008, Johnson defeated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone and resigned his seat as MP for Henley in parliament. During his first term as mayor, he banned alcohol consumption on public transport, introduced the New Routemaster buses and cycle hire scheme, and championed London's financial sector. In the 2012 mayoral election, he was re-elected mayor, again defeating Livingstone. During his second term he oversaw the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the 2015 general election he was elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, a position he held from 2015 to 2023, and stepped down as mayor in 2016. He was succeeded as mayor by Sadiq Khan of the Labour Party.

Johnson left office still popular with the people of London, with 52% of Londoners believing he did a "good job" as mayor while only 29% believing he did a "bad job".^[2] Following his mayoralty, Johnson became a prominent figure in the successful Vote Leave campaign to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union, served as foreign secretary under Theresa May from 2016 to 2018, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022.