Samuel Kasumu is running to be the next Conservative Mayor of London and was Special Advisor to the Prime Minister for Civil Society & Communities under Boris Johnson.
In the summer of 2019, Boris Johnson asked me to join his team inside Downing Street. During my time as a Special Advisor, I worked on many challenging policy areas, including the Government’s response to the Windrush scandal. I also worked closely with the then vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi to ensure that every community had access to the covid-19 jab.
At the start of the rollout, less than 30 per cent of some communities were willing to take the vaccines. By the time I left Downing Street, close to 75 per cent of every group had taken up the opportunity, some significantly more. This was because we ran a unique campaign, led by insights, focused on hyper-segmentation, and the utilising of appropriate engagement tools to speak to different audiences. We were able to deliver this nationwide campaign in less than a year.
Conservative Home readers may remember, that I announced my bid to become the Party’s candidate for Mayor of London on these pages back in September. I did so as I know I can bring the same sort of science from the vaccine deployment campaign to reach the different segments of London’s population, including those deemed hard to reach. London is a place where 37 per cent of the population was born abroad, nearly half are black or Asian, and two-thirds voted to remain in the European Union.
Since starting my campaign to be your candidate for Mayor of London, I have begun to lay out a policy platform that I think speaks to all Londoners, a plan to make London a safer and more united city.
Firstly, and unapologetically, housing will be my number one agenda item. I have pledged to hold the boroughs to account, better utilise the brownfield land overseen by the Mayor of London and Transport for London, and I will improve how we work with our home counties neighbours (and beyond) to build the houses so desperately needed.
Secondly, as someone that has been involved in setting up businesses and supporting over 6,000 entrepreneurs through the late Lord Young’s Start-Up Loans fund, I will establish a new £100 million investment fund targeted at entrepreneurs from under-represented backgrounds. The office of the Mayor of London will be the cornerstone investor, working with the financial services ecosystem to create something truly unique. Those who have innovative ideas but no wealthy parents to support them will know that this Mayor backs businesses and entrepreneurs.
Thirdly, I will focus relentlessly on making London’s streets safe again. I was touched by the endorsement of Richard Taylor, the father of Damilola Taylor who was sadly murdered on the streets of South London. My team and I have been devising a comprehensive crime paper that will focus on improving trust and confidence in the Met, returning to community policing, and creating opportunities as we make London the cyber-security capital of Europe.
The big subject of concern for many in outer London is the expansion of Ulez. I believe Sadiq Khan has no mandate for this irresponsible move. It was not in his Manifesto when he last went to the public, and there are significant questions about the efficacy of his consultation process. He should stop the expansion process right now and put it on the table for debate during the mayoral elections next year.
The truth is it is unlikely Khan will pause his Ulez plans, and, unless it is stopped by the courts, it will go ahead in August, so my team and I have been exploring the best mechanism for reversing the Khan Ulez expansion. A blanket reversal could result in legal challenges, further adding to the significant cost of the expansion – including the scrappage scheme. I do not think it credible for a fiscally responsible Conservative mayoral candidate to simply pledge to write off nearly £300 million as a sunk cost via promising an immediate and blanket reversal.
I believe in direct democracy and delivery of accountable policy pledges more than hollowed promises which only get washed away when in office. This is why I have committed to each outer London Borough being given a chance to vote to reverse the expansion through local referenda within 12 months if I am elected Mayor in 2024. Let’s put the power back in the hands of Londoner’s, and away from the political hot air.
The truth is if we are to win in London next year the litmus test for who you select must be what they tell you. If their agenda is one solely based around things that feel entirely comfortable for Conservative members, then it is probably the wrong plan.
I know I am not the most well-known, and on-message candidate that will play to our base, in order to garner favour. I am in many respects precisely the opposite. I’m an outsider that is independent-minded and willing to speak the truth – even if that means my chances of being selected by members are diminished.
Very soon London Conservatives will have the opportunity to select the candidate they feel is best suited to pull off one of the greatest upsets in modern political history. Someone that can lead the charge in overcoming a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 40 points in the polls, defeating Khan and in doing so laying the foundations for a resurgence for Tories in the capital. I believe that is me. I plan to do this by engaging with all of London in an open and honest way.