08 October 2015
More Mayor
by J R Thomas
They do things differently over there. The circus and jamboree (latest: Hilary duets on Saturday Night Live) currently in full swing as the two great American parties select their Presidential candidates is merely the most visible of a whole series of contests to select candidates for a vast range of voter-elected officials. What seems to be much less noticed is that we have got one of those going on in the UK too.
London’s mayoral election will be held in May 2016 and the candidate selection process has now been completed by the four main parties. Completed so quietly that most London voters have probably not even noticed it happening. Minimally noisy selection processes for the capital, no caucuses for the birth place of democracy, no repeat of Labour Party leader selection dramas – even in the Labour Party. That may be for a very good reason, of course….
The Tory Party did manage to have a membership poll for the choosing of their candidate. However, ‘no publicity’ was the order of the day and only 9,200 party members voted. It seems like an opportunity lost, given that London is one of the places where the Tories lost ground in the last election and where one might think that a big jazzy selection process for the anointing of a candidate might bring much welcomed publicity and an air of modernity to an arcane party process. The chosen contender, winning over 70% of the votes cast in a list of four candidates, is Zac Goldsmith, son of the late Sir James: old Etonian; slightly eccentric; a Tory MP; very much a maverick – environmentalist, anti-Heathrow expansion campaigner, keen cyclist, and general loose cannon (you might think you have heard this one before). Like the departing Mayor, though, Mr Goldsmith is a proven vote-winner – he has taken his Parliamentary seat of Richmond-on-Thames from being a marginal (4,000 majority in 2010) to over 20,000 in May. Some of that may be demographics – the drift of rich persons in from Kensington and Chelsea may be driving the former Liberal activists and voters out – but there is no doubt that Goldsmith has a very strong personal following.
David Cameron is said not to be very happy about this; he is not keen on Zac’s anti Heathrow noises, especially when reminded by him that Cameron himself promised to block any expansion (now an awkward promise given that the Davies Commission recommended it so strongly). He also does not want to lose any seats given that his majority is a pretty slender twelve and that the Euro referendum is rising kraken-like to bust Tory unity apart. The Richmond seat may look safe, but what Zac has built up personally could very easily wash away down the Thames if Zac decides to put his life and being into City Hall and give up his seat.
On the red side of the mayoral parlour the candidate is Sadiq Khan, also youngish (45), good looking, personable, a Muslim (the second to reach ministerial office) and a London MP. His seat is Tooting, which is pretty marginal, and one which he has probably done well to hold since 2005. He is a lawyer, was a minister under Gordon Brown, was close to Ed Milliband, but nominated Jeremy Corbyn to enable him to run in the recent leadership contest. Labour managed a more impressive selection production than the Conservatives, with 88,000 or so voters participating in a wonderfully complex transferable vote process, with several big name candidates: Tessa Jowell was the favoured runner, with Diane Abbott and David Lammy also well-fancied. In the end though it was Mr Khan, with almost 60% of the final votes, indeed 36% on the first ballot, a clear leader from the start. This seems another victory for the forces of Corbynism sweeping through the party, though Mr Khan favours a dark suit and elegant tie rather than his leader’s loose jacket and slightly random trouserings.
The Liberal Democrats failed to live up to their name when choosing their candidate. Although six candidates came forward, four failed to be listed and one of the two remaining ones then withdrew due to workload issues. The chosen one is thus by default Caroline Pidgeon, long active in London local politics, and indeed leader of the Liberal Democrat Group (which consists of her and one other) in the London Assembly (so at least she knows what the inside of City Hall looks like). She has made some of the early running by calling for improvements to public transport, housing and education in the capital. Not radical stuff, but on such matters are local elections fought and won.
The Green Party has also gone for a local political activist, Sian Berry, a Camden councillor. She is the youngest candidate of the big four parties, and is particularly interested in housing. One to watch, if only because nobody seems to know much about her.
But one everybody knows a lot about is George Galloway, who makes a welcome return (at least for political commentators) for a crack at the Mayoralty. If anything could lead to its abolition, it is the prospect (to more serious politicians) of Gorgeous George winning; but given his long and winding track record, anything might be possible. He is running for his Respect Party and was nominated by, shall we say, acclamation. He will be a much welcomed presence in the election – respect, George, respect.
UKIP have a candidate, Peter Whittle, who has been active in seeking a parliamentary seat, having modest success at Eltham in May with 15% of the vote. He was chosen by a committee of UKIP officials, the party deciding not to have a party convention this time. Mr Whittle is said to be Nigel Farage’s chosen one for the task. Enough said.
At this point we have to apologise to the other six bold contestants who have declared – alas, space simply does not permit – but if they make their mark the Shaw Sheet will ensure that they get the coverage they deserve. We will, though, mark one extra who is rumoured to be contemplating a run at the job – Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster and wit (and former Liberal). In these times of anti-mainstream voter preferences, Sandi might just do rather well. We hope to hear from her soon.
