Today saw two more entrants into the race to be Tory Candidate for London Mayor. James Cleverly (pic) and Richard Barnes MLA join Nicholas Boles, Victoria Borwick and Warwick Lightfoot. James has a campaign website HERE.James tells me: "I has I decided to put myself forward for Mayor of London because I think that I have a chance to rewrite the rulebook with regard to London government, the days of detached, aloof government are coming to an end. People are demanding much more interaction and expect accountability; the internet has a huge part to play in this and having a BLOG gets you into the habit of interacting. When the election comes people will have the choice of someone who is listens and takes their views seriously or Ken who clearly thinks that any view other than his own should be ignored. Who would you choose?”
You can read an interview with Victoria Borwick on the Anyone But Ken Blog HERE.
22 comments:
Coming third in Lewisham (where we used to have 2 MPs) behind the Lib Dems is no qualification to stand for the largest directly-elected post in the country.
Nor is running a small think tank or being a councillor in a safe ward in Kensington & Chelsea.
Credible candidates please!
Remind me again, what was Mr Livingstone doing before that nasty little Putsch at the GLC in 1981?
Seems to me that candidates make their own credibility, but then what do I know - I'm only an armchair politician.
James came second in Lewisham last year, not third. It is worth noting that Moynihan's taking of that seat in '83 owed much to Polly Toynbee being kind enough to split the left vote by standing for the SDP. The seat has only been blue for nine years since 1945.
I think he has the makings of an excellent candidate.
I'd vote for James - he's v. cute! We need more male totty in politics.
Yes, anonymous, he is cute, but if you go to his site, you see he has absolutely no ideas to put forward. He's got so few ideas and so little sense of what needs to be done, that he's asking people to send in suggestions. Sorry, but he doesn't have what it takes.
Victoria Borwick is pledging American style policing on the streets of London. That's a good, hard, effective policy that we know works.
awww bless them.
anonymous 1,
The last time we won parliamentry elections in Lewisham was in the late 80's, nearly 20 years ago!
At the last general election we came third behind the Lib Dems in two out of the three seats, except the one that James stood in. Get your facts in order before you start slagging people off.
"When I say Londoners, I mean all Londoners, not just conservatives, everybody"
Oh wow, Mr Cleverly has proven that he has compassion for the politically disabled.
I'd sooner French kiss a foot and mouth infected sheep than vote for Ken Livingston!Anyone living or DEAD could do the job better than him!!!
Mr Cleverley bears a worrying resemblance to Craig Charles.
We don't want that sort in charge of London, do we?
I see Verity is showing her human side. Just a teeny itsy-bitsy hint of a crack in that cold, inhumane, rampant individualism and vigorous invective.
She thinks James is cute.
Whatever next?
"Victoria Borwick is pledging American style policing on the streets of London. That's a good, hard, effective policy that we know works."
Yes, but not a good, hard or effective candidate so what use is her opinion on the subject?
Moreover, what is the party going to do to prevent Labour and Liberal Democrat activists voting for her tactically in this "primary"?
Having a blog make you a better candidate? Someone might thing you're saying you would be good candidate for something!
It's almost like there might be some decision on who might be a candidate for something in the next 48 hours or something!
what's the point of a London Mayor?
I'm really warming to the primaries we're going to hold, reading some of these comments. If you ever meet James, I defy you not to be impressed by him. He glows with goodness and, while it's terribly easy to sniff at the people who keep the Tory torch shining in the unwinnable parts of London (greetings from Hackney by the way!) it's those very Tories who help to maximise the vote in London-wide elections & who keep thousands and thousands of voters, in unwinnable seats, in the habit of voting Tory. Congratulations to James for having the guts to put his name forward.
virtually anonymous - Noticing that someone looks good-natured and has a nice smile doesn't mean you would vote for them. I wouldn't vote for Clevely, even if I lived in London, which thank God I do not, because he doesn't seem to have a platform. He wants other people to tell him what his platform should be. This is weak.
Having said that, I would still like to see him make a good show of it in the run-up because his presence in the race defuses the lefty auto-chant to the right of "racist".
Verity: So you wouldn't deny what I said about you?
Apparently I can stand in local elections in Prague.
http://www.praguemonitor.com/ctk/?story_id=w37627i20060728;story=More-than-281000-foreigners-can-vote-in-local-elections
And I have a blog - vote for me.
praguetory - All EU citizens can stand or vote in one another's local elections.
Mr archer, I would think that having morals and having guts to put your name forward would be the minimal requirement. It doesn't change the fact that he doesn't look at all competent.
The Tories need Steve Norris.
I think the original anonymous (who was not me) was actually referring to James coming third in the Lewisham Mayoralty this year...
S/he could also have mentioned that James has failed no less than THREE times to even win a Council seat in Lewisham (all in different wards)
Really, if someone can't carry their own borough, should they really be leading a campaign across London?
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