Prospective Tory London Mayoral candidate James Cleverly said on The Guido Fawkes Show last night that he would not abolish the Met Police force if he becomes Mayor, and he has confidence in Mark Rowley as its Chief. Laying the blame for rising crime at the door of Sadiq Khan…
“The Metropolitan Police Force is a really, really good police force. It’s a great police force. Again, like London itself, it is great. It could and should be better. I know Mark Rowley very very well, both from my time originally on the old Metropolitan Police Authority back much earlier in our respective careers, and I also know him very well from my time as Home Secretary. He is a good police officer”.
He further added that while Rowley is a good officer, the force needs political leadership that “has got their back when they do their job properly“:
“The job of the mayor is to make sure that Metropolitan Police is doing its job properly. And on that metric, Sadiq Khan has failed miserably, miserably because he just doesn’t care…”
Watch the full interview by clicking here…
Alex Challoner, who was knocked off the longlist for the Tory London mayoral selection, has backed James Cleverly as voting opens today.
Challoner, who founded Cavendish Communications, made a bid for the Tory nomination with a policy blitz but didn’t make the shortlist of three announced at the end of last month. Challoner tells Guido he now backs Cleverly:
“London needs a champion. It needs someone who can reach every part of the capital and connect with every community in our great city. And it needs a mayor who can unleash London’s full potential. That is why I am backing James to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London.
James spent his life in this city, and he knows that a family in Bexley and a family in Brent want the same things: safe streets, a home they can afford and the chance to get on in life.
The coming election is our party’s best chance of winning in years. It is not just about who will be the next mayor, but it will be a battle of ideas over what London’s future should look like. James has a clear vision for London as a city that is proud of its success, aspirational and affordable, and the engine of the British economy.
Above all, James loves this city. He has the drive to make the capital better for every Londoner, not just a few. James is the only candidate that can take the fight to Sadiq Khan and I will do everything I can to help him win.”
Cleverly for his part said: “It’s great to have Alex’s support and I look forward to working closely with him to make the case for change, and lay out my plan to make London a city we can all be proud of again.” Always nice to get a rival…
Voting opens at midday today and runs for two weeks. The other candidates are Westminster City councillor Festus Akinbusoye and former Richmond Park PPC Sara Gezdari. Meanwhile Khan can’t decide if he wants to do it again…
Sadiq Khan has been fined a total of £340.84 for failing to pay tax on a 24-year old Nissan Micra. A car Lord Khan / Sir Sadiq insists he doesn’t even own…
Court records reveal Khan was prosecuted by the DVLA after the annual car tax expired in September 2025. Somehow the tax bill was sent to a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in East London rather than TfL’s offices. A DVLA investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, Sadiq continues to deny paternity of the poor blue Micra…
UPDATE: The fine has been withdrawn. A spokesman for Khan said: ‘This is a scam, which is a crime. It’s not the first time the mayor has been victim of a scam involving people falsely stating that Sadiq is the owner of a vehicle. Such behaviour is illegal, and the DVLA are aware.”
Westminster councillor and former Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner Festus Akinbusoye has announced his campaign for the Tory candidacy in the London mayoral race. The second to go over the top after James Cleverly threw his hat in the ring over the weekend…
Akinbusoye said this morning:
“I’m a fresh face. I’ve not been part of a government in the past, but I come with solid private sector experience, having set up a small business with the help of the Prince’s Trust… I strongly believe that Londoners will at least listen to a Conservative candidate who speaks their language, who has lived their story, and who is all about delivering for them and getting London working for them again…”
Cleverly obviously walks in with the name recognition and Cabinet experience, although as Guido reported last month, polling from Opinium shows that a “fresh face” might have an advantage…
New YouGov data shows that 56% of Londoners don’t want Sir Sadiq / Lord Khan to stand for a fourth mayoral term. Including almost a third who voted for him in 2024…
Most Londoners also think the capital is a worse place to live than it was a decade ago, even if Khan himself thinks saying so is some kind of right wing conspiracy. He still hasn’t confirmed whether he’ll stand again. David Lammy watches from the shadows, waiting…
Sadiq Khan took nine GLA staff with him – on the taxpayer’s dime – to Japan and Singapore in June to “court investment” from companies. Sources in City Hall say it is well known that Khan is extremely bored in his job, hence all the jollies…
The trip, much like Khan’s others, consisted of him turning up and declaring that London is ‘open for business.’ The GLA said in its justification for the trip:
“The mission was the first Mayoral visit to Singapore since 2014 and to Japan since 2015 and included a delegation of 28 London-based companies from the fintech, cyber and creative technology sectors.”
Carting nine staff around on long-haul flights will cost the taxpayer tens of thousands as well as presumably hurting the environment.
In Singapore Khan said one of his achievements was that he “announced a major new £7m campaign to promote London to international tourists and investors and fight back against harmful disinformation against the capital.” The Met is losing officers thanks to funding reductions, by the way…
Mail commentator Dan Hodges – who was kind to Burnham during the Makerfield campaign – now concludes: “The truth is Andy Burnham doesn’t have a 10 year plan. He’s barely got a 10 week plan.“