Sir James Cleverly is a former Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Party Chairman and is standing to be the Conservative candidate for London Mayor.
London has shaped almost every part of my life. I was born and brought up here, went to school and university here, joined the Army, started a business and entered politics here. I love this city, and I believe in its future.
A lifetime immersed in the city creates a particular affection for a place. I know well the frustrations that London generates as well as its strengths and the opportunities it creates. But I also know there is nowhere else in the world quite like it.
London is famously a collection of villages, suburbs, high streets and communities that combine to make the greatest city on earth. It is home to world-leading businesses and small family firms, iconic universities, schools and hospitals, extraordinary theatres and music venues, innovators and entrepreneurs who have all built something remarkable.
That is London at its best. Ambitious, restless and always looking for opportunity.
It is also why I refuse to accept the idea that London is a Labour city.
It is a city currently run by Labour. That is not the same thing.
London is full of people who work hard, start businesses, save for a home and want their children to do better than they did. It is powered by aspiration, enterprise and the belief that your future should not be dictated by where you started.
There will be a contest to choose the Conservative candidate for Mayor, and that is a good thing. The job matters and candidates should have to make their case. But whoever takes on Labour must start from a simple conviction: London is worth fighting for.
For too long, it has lacked a champion.
Sadiq Khan has been Mayor for more than a decade. Somewhere along the way the ambition drained out of his mayoralty. Too many problems have been allowed to fester, while Khan has become expert at explaining why things cannot be done rather than getting them done.
A Mayor should be London’s biggest champion.
I know what City Hall can do when it gets the basics right. I served on the Metropolitan Police Authority, working to reduce youth reoffending. I chaired the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and the London Waste and Recycling Board, a job which, despite its name, was not rubbish.
I also started a business here. Entrepreneurs do not need or want politicians telling them how much they admire them while squeezing them for more tax and drowning them in more red tape. They need politicians to make enterprise easier.
London should be the best city in the world in which to start and grow a company. That means reducing unnecessary costs, removing the barriers holding businesses back and having a City Hall that understands that every new cost is another obstacle for someone trying to build and grow a business.
Housing matters for the same reason. Londoners need homes they can afford to buy or rent. Owning your own home should not be a luxury, it should be a realistic ambition for people who work hard and save. Yet too many Londoners now look at home ownership and think it might happen, but only if they are lucky. London does not need more slogans it needs delivery. We need to get homes built, tackle the excessive costs and red tape that hold development back, and make home ownership an ordinary part of life again.
People also have a right to expect the basics. Streets should feel safe. Transport should work. Public spaces should be clean. Competence is not glamorous, but it matters.
As Foreign Secretary I promoted London around the world and saw both the affection it commands and the competition it faces. Other great cities want our investment, businesses, students and entrepreneurs. London has got to remain competitive and needs a mayor who knows what needs to be done to keep it competitive.
When London succeeds, the whole country benefits. Its financial institutions finance growth across the whole of the UK. Its universities, creative industries and technology companies are national assets. We cannot afford to let London drift further.
That is why I have stepped back from the Shadow Cabinet. Serving there has been a privilege, and I know Kemi and the team will continue holding this disastrous Labour Government to account. But to run the most effective campaign possible, I need to be free to speak about every aspect of London’s future and concentrate fully on winning this race.
My mission is to make Kemi Prime Minister, and I can help do that by becoming Mayor of London.
I have travelled across the world and seen many magnificent cities. I would not swap London for any of them.
Loving a city does not mean pretending everything is fine, it does not mean resting on its laurels, what it does mean is knowing how great it can be and refusing to settle for less.
I want London to be safer, more affordable, more prosperous and more confident. A city where ambition is welcomed, success is rewarded, families can afford to stay, businesses can grow and the where the next generation can build a future.
That is the London I grew up believing in. It is the London I still believe in.
And it is the London I want to help rebuild.
Sir James Cleverly is a former Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Party Chairman and is standing to be the Conservative candidate for London Mayor.
London has shaped almost every part of my life. I was born and brought up here, went to school and university here, joined the Army, started a business and entered politics here. I love this city, and I believe in its future.
A lifetime immersed in the city creates a particular affection for a place. I know well the frustrations that London generates as well as its strengths and the opportunities it creates. But I also know there is nowhere else in the world quite like it.
London is famously a collection of villages, suburbs, high streets and communities that combine to make the greatest city on earth. It is home to world-leading businesses and small family firms, iconic universities, schools and hospitals, extraordinary theatres and music venues, innovators and entrepreneurs who have all built something remarkable.
That is London at its best. Ambitious, restless and always looking for opportunity.
It is also why I refuse to accept the idea that London is a Labour city.
It is a city currently run by Labour. That is not the same thing.
London is full of people who work hard, start businesses, save for a home and want their children to do better than they did. It is powered by aspiration, enterprise and the belief that your future should not be dictated by where you started.
There will be a contest to choose the Conservative candidate for Mayor, and that is a good thing. The job matters and candidates should have to make their case. But whoever takes on Labour must start from a simple conviction: London is worth fighting for.
For too long, it has lacked a champion.
Sadiq Khan has been Mayor for more than a decade. Somewhere along the way the ambition drained out of his mayoralty. Too many problems have been allowed to fester, while Khan has become expert at explaining why things cannot be done rather than getting them done.
A Mayor should be London’s biggest champion.
I know what City Hall can do when it gets the basics right. I served on the Metropolitan Police Authority, working to reduce youth reoffending. I chaired the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and the London Waste and Recycling Board, a job which, despite its name, was not rubbish.
I also started a business here. Entrepreneurs do not need or want politicians telling them how much they admire them while squeezing them for more tax and drowning them in more red tape. They need politicians to make enterprise easier.
London should be the best city in the world in which to start and grow a company. That means reducing unnecessary costs, removing the barriers holding businesses back and having a City Hall that understands that every new cost is another obstacle for someone trying to build and grow a business.
Housing matters for the same reason. Londoners need homes they can afford to buy or rent. Owning your own home should not be a luxury, it should be a realistic ambition for people who work hard and save. Yet too many Londoners now look at home ownership and think it might happen, but only if they are lucky. London does not need more slogans it needs delivery. We need to get homes built, tackle the excessive costs and red tape that hold development back, and make home ownership an ordinary part of life again.
People also have a right to expect the basics. Streets should feel safe. Transport should work. Public spaces should be clean. Competence is not glamorous, but it matters.
As Foreign Secretary I promoted London around the world and saw both the affection it commands and the competition it faces. Other great cities want our investment, businesses, students and entrepreneurs. London has got to remain competitive and needs a mayor who knows what needs to be done to keep it competitive.
When London succeeds, the whole country benefits. Its financial institutions finance growth across the whole of the UK. Its universities, creative industries and technology companies are national assets. We cannot afford to let London drift further.
That is why I have stepped back from the Shadow Cabinet. Serving there has been a privilege, and I know Kemi and the team will continue holding this disastrous Labour Government to account. But to run the most effective campaign possible, I need to be free to speak about every aspect of London’s future and concentrate fully on winning this race.
My mission is to make Kemi Prime Minister, and I can help do that by becoming Mayor of London.
I have travelled across the world and seen many magnificent cities. I would not swap London for any of them.
Loving a city does not mean pretending everything is fine, it does not mean resting on its laurels, what it does mean is knowing how great it can be and refusing to settle for less.
I want London to be safer, more affordable, more prosperous and more confident. A city where ambition is welcomed, success is rewarded, families can afford to stay, businesses can grow and the where the next generation can build a future.
That is the London I grew up believing in. It is the London I still believe in.
And it is the London I want to help rebuild.