THE last couple of decades have seen the emergence of production-line politicians.

On line and on message, their suits are as carefully spun as their soundbites. They are the safe pair of hands beloved by party bosses everywhere. In other words, they're boring.

They're why we love the mavericks, the speak-as-I find, hang-the-consequences outsiders who resign, redeem themselves, then resign again after one gaffe too many.

I was in London on business earlier this week and the news that Boris Johnson - the term maverick scarcely does him justice - was a candidate to be Mayor of London was causing quite a stir.

Mr Johnson is an MP, author and columnist. Most importantly, he meets the key contemporary test for being famous - he has been on TV. As his media work earns him a reputed £400,000 a year, he is clearly, to use a good old North-East phrase, not as daft as he looks.

Mr Johnson's various political and personal misadventures have frequently occupied all three rings of the media circus. He has managed to offend people in Liverpool, Portsmouth and even Papua New Guinea. This says a great deal for his versatility, if not his tact.

The image of Boris the Buffoon may be ingrained in the public's mind, but certainly one person - Ken Livingstone - was taking him seriously enough to have to hand a detailed and no doubt well-researched critique of his voting record on matters concerning the capital.

Mr Livingstone is himself a master of media management - if at times prone to the same foot-in-mouth syndrome as Mr Johnson. He knows a threat when he sees one. In fact, Mr Johnson's shock of white hair and anyone-for-tennis bellow were probably still on his mind when he nodded off that night. And they say, don't have nightmares!

Of course, most people are canny enough to know the difference between a democratic contest and a TV talent show. When it comes to voting, policies, principles and performance are more important to them than Press cuttings.

In 2002, I sought election in Middlesbrough and Stuart Drummond did the same in Hartlepool. Neither of us were conventional candidates, to put it mildly. We both, however, had a significant public profile.

That proved no handicap to either of us - but being elected mayor of any town or city is about much more than media coverage.

It is about having clear views about a whole range of issues, from transport and regeneration to health and social care. It is then about using a large and complex machine - the council - to turn those views into policies and practices that benefit the citizens we serve. I know that Stuart has done that in a way that has earned him, not just re-election, but widespread respect.

So I am sure that Mr Johnson will appreciate that hard work, not headlines, will count most with the electorate - politics is a serious business. But in the meantime, I think we can all take some innocent amusement in this contest between the Roundhead and the Cavalier, the Red King and the White Knight.

Better still, it might actually stir up people out of their easy chairs and into the polling booths. Democracy has been around a lot longer than showbiz - and what's more, it thrives on audience participation.