In a bid to boost his credentials in the London mayoral race, Conservative candidate Boris Johnson gave a rousing speech to students of King’s. Among other things, the blond bombshell of British politics discussed housing, crime and Oyster cards.

Few politicians are so known well to us that they can be recognised by a single name. But Boris is a politician apart. Uniquely amongst the political class he is well-liked, popular, and considered to have a special place in British politics. On the back of his campaign for London Mayor, Boris paid a barn-storming visit to King’s College where he set out his vision for London.

In a packed lecture theatre in FWB, Waterloo Campus, at an event hosted by the Conservative Society, Boris entertained the crowd in the delightfully idiosyncratic style which has so endeared him to the public at large. Pointing out that Gordon Brown has shirked the opportunity to hold a General Election, he felt that all the political energy of country was now focused on the office “with the second biggest direct mandate in Europe, after the French presidency”.

Although initially confused, as is so often his style, as to whether he was at King’s or some other lesser institution, he set out his three priorities for making London a better city to live in and answered questions from the lively audience.

Surprising many, Boris talked frankly about the housing crisis here in London, for both students and the wider population. He pledged to unlock the £1.7bn available to improve the stock of housing for key workers, and to help many first-time buyers onto the property ladder using shared equity arrangements. However, in contrast to Ken Livingstone, he felt that this housing growth needed to be managed so that we don’t end up simply with towering high rise flats that can ruin communities and ruin the look and feel of London.

His second priority was travel, and in his own inimitable style he pointed out that “saying that the tube is run by the Stalinists in the RMT was an insult to Stalinists since in Moscow the tubes run once every 60 seconds, or less!”. Aware that many people’s quality of life is greatly affected by the experience of their daily commute Boris promised to work to improve public transport to deliver not just a better service, but a greater sense of civility.

Linking in to crime, Boris went on to outline his policy on free child travel explaining that it would be awful to take this beneficial service away from young people. However if people travelling on a free-travel Oyster Card were causing trouble, either through violence, smoking or drinking, then this privilege should be taken away.

While conceding that some crime has decreased in the capital, “It’s a lot harder to steal a car these days, believe me”, the chance of being mugged here in London is greater than in New York. Even though police funding has gone up 80%, police manpower has only gone up 20%.

Boris finished with his overarching principle that he, in contrast to Ken, will seek to deliver value for money rather than just dumping large sums of public money on frivolous activities such as the European Social Forum for Marxist-Leninists. London is the engine of the of British economy and deserves to be properly supported by central government.

Some have called Boris the best stand up comedian in Britain today. Others have called him a bumbling idiot. But having gone through the Boris Johnson Experience, it clear to me that he is a popular, engaging and charismatic politician, who garners laughs by extolling common sense and pointing out life’s absurdities.