Samuel Kasumu, the prospective Tory candidate for Mayor of London has launched his first campaign video.
In the inspirational message Samuel introduces himself to London as the fresh transformative Conservative candidate the city needs. Samuel outlines his new vision for London which can reach all parts of the capital.
Samuel was born in Paddington and bred in Barnet. He is a businessman and an award-winning social entrepreneur. He supported over 6,000 entrepreneurs through the late Lord Young’s Start-Up Loans Scheme and served as a Special Advisor to then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. His work in Government included leading on the cross-government vaccine deployment confidence programme.
Samuel’s campaign has been endorsed by Grant Shapps; Priti Patel; Steve Baker; Nadhim Zahawi; Nadine Dorries; Daniel Kawczynski and Richard Taylor, the anti-knife crime campaigner and father of Damilola Taylor who was murdered in South London in November 2000. Will we see more big names come out for Kasumu…
Content produced by Samuel Kasumu’s Movement for Change
Nominations for the Tories’ candidate for London Mayor closed at 0900 sharp this morning, with CCHQ expected to “sift” the applicants and slim the field down by this Friday. A final shortlist of two or three candidates will be decided on June 4th. Hustings will take place from June 12th to July 3rd, before voting opens to members from July 4th to July 18th. The final candidate will be confirmed on the 19th…
Here are the nine who have publicly declared an interest:
- Paul Scully – Minister for London and Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy
- Susan Hall – Former Leader of the London Conservatives
- Andrew Boff – Chair of the London Assembly
- Samuel Kasumu – Former Special Advisor to Boris Johnson
- Daniel Korski – Deputy Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit under David Cameron
- Natalie Campbell – Co-chief of ethical bottled-water business Belu, former Royal aide
- Alex Challoner – Founder of Cavendish Communications and former adviser to the Tories in the 1990s
- Duwayne Brooks – Former LibDem councillor, joined the Tories in 2018. Longlisted for London Mayor in 2020
- Natasha Asghar – Conservative Regional Member of the Welsh Parliament. Shadow Minister for Transport and Technology
Kit Malthouse has reportedly decided not to stand…
With the London mayoral election now less than a year away (!), second rate Tory hopefuls have started jockeying for position to take on incumbent Sadiq Khan. Guido presents an exhausted racecard.
Out of the gates in a flash, early frontrunner Samuel Kasumu was chomping at the bit to declare his candidacy and has claimed some thoroughbred backers, including Priti Patel, Grant Shapps and Steve Baker. As the former advisor to Boris Johnson nails his colours to the YIMBY mast:
“The Tories are in danger of turning our back on Thatcher’s legacy and our Party’s homeownership principles. It is vital for our future that we continue efforts to get more homes built.”
Time will tell if Kasumu has the stamina.
Next in line to the throne, Susan Hall, optimistically put her name forward to deliver the self-declared “common sense” pitch. Hall is a tough on crime trope, with a pledge to form a new Met Police unit focused on burglars, muggers and thieves. Susan wistfully reflected:
“Not too long ago, London was a safer, happier and more tolerant city. It can be that again. If I am your candidate, we will get there.”
London’s silent majority?
Outside bet Nick Rogers is sculpting a ‘cool’ campaign that promises to “stand up for millennial Londoners”. The Conservative’s spokesman for transport in City Hall has promised a “manifesto for renters” and to axe ULEZ expansion. Former special constable Rogers has adopted the mantra:
“Who better to stand up for millennial Londoners than a millennial Londoner?”
It’s bold, you’ve got to give it that.
‘Boff for London’ left the paddock and joined the pack today. Andrew Boff, London Assembly member since 2008 and former leader of the City Hall Conservatives, is running on a bumper manifesto to make London safer, scrap ULEZ expansion, restore local policing and build homes. Boffin, who ran his own IT support company, eloquently wrote:
“My promise to every London Conservative if they select me is to bring all levels of our Party together in my campaign, so we not only defeat Sadiq Khan but reconnect with people and communities across the capital, winning their trust and keeping it.”
Nawww… anyway, who’s next?
After teasing that he was “considering” and then “still considering” running, Paul Scully has put us out of our misery and entered the gladiatorial arena that is the Tory London Mayor race. The Minister for London is tipped as a favourite with odds sure to shorten at the bookies and is understood to be running on a ticket of housing, scrapping ULEZ expansion, and Met Police bolstering. Bingo!
One time No. 10 aide Daniel Korski is thought to be planning a bid, while Kit Malthouse has refused to deny a potential mayoral challenge. Other names floating around are Shaun Bailey, Justine Greening and Rob Rinder.
Applications close May 24 when the list will be trimmed to 8 before being cut further by a committee to 2 or 3 candidates on 4 June. Voting then opens between 4 July and 18 July. First past the post!
UPDATE: Friend of Stephen Lawrence and former councillor, Duwayne Brooks has been in touch to say he is also in the running. Again.
UPDATE II: Dan Korski will formally launch his campaign at 9am on Tuesday, 16th May.
Sadiq Khan is stepping up his ULEZ propaganda machine. After the Mayor was accused of “channelling Putin” for dismissing those protesting his punitive ULEZ plans as “part of a far-right group”, he’s now stepping up City Hall’s spinning efforts. Sadiq has been spotted using GLA funds to promote Facebook posts defending his ULEZ plans. It’s not like Sadiq to waste money on publicity stunts…
Prospective Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, Samuel Kasumu, has weighed in, saying:
“I’m very concerned about his use of taxpayers’ money for his ULEZ expansion propaganda. The language used by Sadiq Khan last night was divisive and deeply worrying. His dismissing of the very valid concerns of the people he is supposed to serve is further proof that he is unfit for office”.
May 2024 can’t come soon enough.
Reacting to the news of No. 10’s most senior black advisor Samuel Kasumu resigning over yesterday’s racism report, Skills minister Gillian Keegan bluntly told Times Radio “I don’t even know who he is!” Probably not the political eulogy Kasumu was hoping for…
Incidentally, it’s second time successful for Kasumu’s resignation. Back in February he was on the verge of quitting – prompted by the Kemi Badenoch/Huffington Post row – and despite being persuaded back from the brink his resignation letter still got leaked in full to the press. Guido presumes today’s announcement merely asked Boris to refer back to the last one…
UPDATE: No. 10 now claiming Kasumu was always set to go anyway:
“As he previously set out, he will be leaving government in May – this has been his plan for several months…Any suggestion that this decision has been made this week or that this is linked to the CRED report is completely inaccurate.”
