I've dealt with bigger beasts than Boris and Ken, says rival

Siobhan Benita, 40, worked in the heart of British government for 15 years but left Whitehall this month to run as an Independent in the mayoral contest.

The mother of two believes Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone have dominated for too long and that voters are "fed up" with a "two-horse race involving the same two horses yet again".

Ms Benita lives in a detached house in New Malden, with her husband Vincent, an IT manager in a bank, and their two daughters Grace, 12, and Emilie, 11.

Educated at Warwick University, she joined the Civil Service in 1996 and worked in the Cabinet Office during the height of the Blair-Brown years. Despite being tipped for a top Whitehall job, she said she was finding it "increasingly difficult" to have the kind of "impartiality that you need" in the Civil Service.

"I no longer wanted to be the invisible civil servant behind the scenes," she said. "There was definitely a moment after the election where I felt uncomfortable ...  I didn't like some of the policies that were being brought in, I certainly didn't like some of the rhetoric around the public sector."

Asked about her most memorable moment as a civil servant, she said: "I was there in No 10 when Tony Blair left and Gordon Brown came in. The overriding memory I have of that day is just the emotion in the room."

She said her career makes her the perfect candidate to run London. "I've got that fantastic experience of knowing how Whitehall works. The mayor has to be a great leader but part of that is about getting all the right players around the table. What I've done in Whitehall for the last 15 years is exactly that. I know how to bring different government departments together.

"I know how you negotiate with the Treasury, I know how the money flows around the system."

Ms Benita describes herself as an "ordinary Londoner" and said that people like her are sick of the Punch and Judy politics used by the current Mayor and his Labour rival. She said: "I'm disappointed in the tone of the campaign. You just think, 'Come on boys.' It's like children squabbling in the playground. There are such serious issues out there at the moment - you've got to do better than that.

"London deserves a mayor who puts people above party politics."

Ms Benita's policies will include introducing a monthly "Free London" day when Londoners can travel on the city's transport system for free and will also be offered discounts and offers in restaurants and shops.

She will campaign for free bus travel for parents with babies and toddlers - and also wants to tackle the "growing fox problem". And she will continue to highlight the dearth of women in public life.

She said: "Of course I'll be promoting women's issues because I care about them passionately. I've got two daughters of my own. I want them to see more women out there."

Asked about the election challenge, she said: "Since I've had my children everything falls into perspective against that. My biggest challenge for the rest of my life will be bringing them up so they are happy and fulfilled. Is this the biggest thing professionally? Yes. I feel more passionately about this than anything I've ever done."

She added: "My family have been brilliant from the start. We have the campaign meetings here. The kids help bake the cakes for the meetings. My husband's been helping with setting up our website. There wasn't a moment when any of them said, 'Don't do this'."

Ms Benita is confident that she can have an impact in the May 3 election and said she would not be in it "if I didn't think I could win". She added: "My challenge is massive. I know that, I'm not naive. I know all of that but I'm still really passionate about this. I'm still convinced we're going to make a difference."

Ms Benita has faced enough political heavyweights not to be afraid of her better-known opponents. "I've worked with bigger beasts than Ken and Boris. That doesn't daunt me. What I'd like to see is Ken and Boris going up against me."