LIB-DEM MP WILL RUN AS CANDIDATE FOR LONDON MAYOR
The Lib Dem’s Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney has declared her candidacy for the Mayor of London, she announced in her constituency newsletter tonight.
Last week the former Tory Foreign Secretary and Shadow Housing Minister James Cleverley announced he would step down as a MP for Braintree and challenge for Mayor.
Sarah Olney, 49, writes on her latest newsletter:
“December will mark a decade since my by-election win in 2016, and with this 10-year anniversary upcoming, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my time in politics, and what has changed during this period.
“The past 10 years have been a tumultuous time. This week, I faced my sixth Prime Minister in the Commons Chamber – a sign of how volatile the political climate has become.
“The failure of successive governments has led to the public looking elsewhere for political leadership, with parties on the more extreme sides of the debate gaining popularity.
“It is also clear that London has become an afterthought for successive Prime Ministers.
“Funding has been directed away from the capital, our infrastructure has not been modernised, and the housing crisis gets worse year on year.
“This is all while politicians talk down the capital, and speak as if it is a city which needs to pay the price for its relative success
“With the new government’s focus on devolution, I am increasingly being told that the Mayor of London will hold the power to make many of the changes that I seek for our community.
“But I can see in our reduced bus services, depleted policing and the ongoing saga of Hammersmith Bridge, that the Mayor is not interested in delivering for our corner of the capital.
“I have been thinking about what more I can do to effect positive change for our community.
“Current polling demonstrates that the Labour candidate (whether Sadiq Khan or someone else) is likely to win the next mayoral election easily.
“Without a challenge, Labour will be rewarded for their lacklustre complacency and there will be no momentum to push for something better.
“I have therefore decided to seek selection to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London and will officially launch my bid next week.
“My commitment to Richmond Park remains unchanged, and I will continue to advocate and stand up for matters impacting my constituents in Richmond and Kingston throughout the selection process and subsequent mayoral campaign.
“To each reader of my weekly newsletter, I would like to thank you for all of your support over the past decade, and I hope that you will be supportive of me during my mayoral campaign.”