Mayor of London Boris Johnson brought back the soapbox as he urged passers by to vote for Conservative candidate for Enfield North Nick de Bois.

The senior Conservative was mobbed by school children as he walked up and down Enfield Town visiting independent stores.

Enfield North is set to be a close run battle on May 7 with Mr de Bois’ majority over Labour’s Joan Ryan a little more than 1,600 at the 2010 election.

Mr Johnson took to the soapbox, standing ever so slightly higher than Mr de Bois, and gave his reasons to vote Conservative in Enfield North.

He said: “Nick [de Bois] has helped not just to make Enfield a safer place but London as well with the introduction of mandatory jail sentences for people carrying a knife.

“I have never known an MP to care so much about the young people in this area and getting them back into work.”

This was Mr Johnson’s second visit in as many weeks to Enfield North to give his backing to Mr de Bois, but he denied it was a sign the Conservatives were struggling to hold onto the seat in Enfield North.

He said: “I think it is dangerous to be complacent but Nick de Bois is a brilliant MP and will fight to claim the seat.”

Mr de Bois added: “The soapbox is a British tradition and who better than Boris Johnson to give bring it back in Enfield.”