LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson is the Conservative candidate for the Uxbridge & South Ruislip constituency in next year’s general election.

Mr Johnson has been looking to re-enter the Commons and was chosen as the Uxbridge candidate by Conservative members in a vote at Ruislip High School this evening.

Speaking after his victory, he said: “We face a tough fight, a long fight but we will return David Cameron to an absolute majority in the House of Commons.”

Pushed on the issue of becoming an MP whilst still mayor, Mr Johnson said: “It has been done before. It is more than possible to hold two of these jobs at once.”

The chairman of Uxbridge & South Ruislip Conservative Association, Cllr Wayne Bridges, said: “Mr Johnson will be very committed [to the constituency].”

He said Mr Johnson had repeated that he is against a third runway at Heathrow, as well as the HS2 rail line through the area.

This will be welcome news to local campaigners who had turned out to make their feelings clear on the rail line.

“The development has no business case any longer,” said Lottie Jones, 45, chair of Ruislip Against HS2. “It would cause huge problems for residents of the area. West End Road could be closed for a year.”

Mr Johnson will still have to win over some sections of the area, however.

Ruislip resident Vicky Warner, 46, told me: “We need a local man for local people. Boris just wants to further his career.”

She was at the event distributing posters publicising the disappearance of Hanwell schoolgirl Alice Gross, who went missing on August 28 near the Grand Union Canal towpath.

Mr Johnson defeated Hillingdon Council deputy leader David Simmonds, Windsor and Maidenhead deputy leader Simon Dudley and barrister Suella Fernandes in a ballot of around 140 constituency members at Ruislip High School.

He won the first ballot, which equates to 50% of the constituency vote.

Boris was previously MP for Henley from 2001-09, when he stood down following his first election as London Mayor - a post he has now held for six years. He has said, if elected, he will combine both jobs until the end of his mayoral term in 2016.

Chris Summers, Labour’s candidate for Uxbridge, said: ““The voters now have a very clear choice – between a ruthlessly ambitious career politician who sees them only as a convenient stepping stone, and a committed campaigner who seeks only to be a constituency MP and who would work tirelessly on casework and campaign for them on local causes, such as HS2, without fearing it would impact on his loftier ambitions.”