Johnson wins cautious votes in leafy London suburb

By Tim Castle

LONDON (Reuters) - The leafy London commuter belt of Chislehurst is the kind of traditionally Conservative supporting suburb that Boris Johnson must win to seize the mayoralty from incumbent Ken Livingstone.

Conservative candidate Johnson has been campaigning hard in London's "outer doughnut" to bring out support that stayed away from his party in the last two mayoral elections in 2000 and 2004.

One-time socialist firebrand Livingstone won both elections by comfortable margins but this time round opinion polls have put both candidates neck and neck, with old Etonian Johnson marginally ahead.

The final result will not be declared till Friday evening, but Johnson's outer London efforts appeared to be paying off on voting day in semi-rural Chislehurst on the capital's south-east edge on Thursday.

Most voters spoken to by Reuters said they had either voted for Johnson or against the Labour party's Livingstone.

Many who had previously voted for the mayor said they had switched allegiance to Johnson this time.

But support for Johnson was in many cases a reaction against Livingstone's eight-year term, with voters saying it was time for a change.

"I think two terms is long enough," said Paul Chapman, 40, a bank employee, who switched from Livingstone to Johnson.