If you want to apply to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London it is too late. Nominations closed at 9.00 am yesterday. CCHQ has not published the list of those who have applied. There may well be some who have not made their application public. So far as I understand there is no “celebrity” candidate to emerge – such as Robert Rinder, or Baroness Brady. Nor has Shaun Bailey, our candidate last time, decided to apply again.
But those who have are:
- Paul Scully. The Minister for London and the MP for Sutton and Cheam. He is probably the front-runner and he set out his pitch on this site here.
- Susan Hall. She was until recently the Leader of the Conservative Group in the London Assembly. Running with the slogan “Safer with Susan” we have run several pieces from her in the past and we will be running her pitch later this week.
- Andrew Boff. The Chairman of the London Assembly. He is a persistent candidate and energetic campaigner. Will that finally be rewarded? You can read his thoughts for us on this site here.
- Samuel Kasumu. He is a former Special Advisor to Boris Johnson when Prime Minister – and has set out some of his views for us here.
- Daniel Korski. A technology entrepreneur and the Deputy Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under David Cameron. Read his comment pieces for us here.
- Natalie Campbell. She has worked for the Prince and Princess of Wales and told the Daily Telegraph that she “wants to run the capital like a chief executive.”
- Alex Challoner. He is the founder of Cavendish Communications and promises a “bold vision.”
- Duwayne Brooks. He is a former Lib Dem councillor with strong views on the Windrush Scandal.
- Natasha Asghar. A surprise late entrant. She is the Conservative Regional Member of the Welsh Parliament and Shadow Minister for Transport and Technology.
Their qualifications have been discussed in the Evening Standard and Guido Fawkes.
I am told that eight will be interviewed. That list will not be released officially but is destined to enter the public domain as all constituency association chairmen will be invited to interview them.
Two or three names will then go to the ballot for all members of the London Conservatives to vote for the final choice. They will then have plenty of opportunities to state their case – as hustings for Party members, through media interviews, and articles on this site.