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Who’s in the frame to replace Boris Johnson as Mayor
Katharine Barney27 Apr 2009
Boris Johnson has revealed he may not stand for a second term as Mayor of London. We take a look at the leading candidates to replace him...
Kit Malthouse, Deputy Mayor for Policing
The establishment candidate: former deputy leader of Westminster council, Mr Malthouse, 42, is either being groomed or grooming himself to be Tory first choice. An accountant and businessman, he is frequently at Boris's side at picture opportunities, closely involved with the key strategy on crime and young people and backs the airport in the Thames Estuary to replace Heathrow.
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James Cleverly, Mayor's Ambassador for Young People
Already asked to stand for Mayor in 2004 - he refused, leaving the way clear for Boris - he has a high profile in City Hall as deputy leader of the Assembly Tories and is a key part of Boris's inner circle.
South-east London born and bred, the 39-year-old is mixed-race, young and a former Army major, telegenic and difficult for Labour to attack as a Tory toff. But his real ambition is a front-bench job in Westminster.
Victoria Borwick, Assembly Member
Has been interested in a senior post at City Hall since its inception when she stood as the running mate for Tory candidate Steve Norris. In 2004 Lady Borwick - her husband is a hereditary peer - was shortlisted again as a candidate but not in the final two. Labour would be almost certain to run a class-war campaign and the cries of "Tory toff" may not favour a Kensington mother with a multi-million-pound house.
Shaun Bailey, Hammersmith Parliamentary candidate
Shattering Tory stereotypes, Bailey was born in North Kensington, where he was raised by his Jamaican mother on a deprived estate. He became a youth worker before setting up My Generation, a charity to address anti-social behaviour, drug abuse and crime.
A rising Tory star and candidate for Hammersmith and Fulham, he has been tipped as a future Home Secretary, but would be likely to relish City Hall.
Zac Goldsmith, Richmond Park parliamentary candidate
A member of the Conservative Party for just four years, Mr Goldsmith, 34, is better known as an heir to his father Sir James's fortune and his views as an environmentalist. Young, handsome and rich, he would have an appeal as a celebrity candidate already campaigning fiercely against Heathrow expansion. But does he have the appetite for a job that Boris starts at 5.30am?
Nick Boles, Tory policy adviser
Boles, 43, beat the cancer which stopped his bid to be Tory candidate for Mayor first time round. Three months as Boris's acting chief of staff was followed by a Central Office job and he is now parliamentary candidate for Grantham and Stamford, home town of Margaret Thatcher. Would the openly gay member of the Notting Hill set give up a likely seat at the Cabinet table for the view from the eighth floor of City Hall?
Andrew Boff, Assembly Member
A glutton for punishment who frequently stands in Labour strongholds, including Hackney, where he now lives. The 50-year-old won the Tory nomination for 2002 and 2006 elections to be Mayor of Hackney. His work rate was faultless but he could hardly triumph in such a Labour bastion. Openly gay, Mr Boff is a libertarian and nephew of Roy "Little Legs" Smith, who worked for London gangsters the Kray brothers.
Reader views (2)
My vote would be for Margaret Thatcher. She would bring London back to its former glory - a place that once had the enviable reputation as one of the safest cities in the world
- Therealbigman, Brixton, 26/04/2009 21:48
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My vote would be for Frank Carson, or Stan Boardman.
Lets have genuine comedians running the country for a change.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 24/04/2009 17:10
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