The race for London mayor is heating up, with candidates positioning themselves ahead of the 2028 election, even as the incumbent Sadiq Khan remains undecided about seeking a fourth term. Khan has said he will make a decision next year, but a range of contenders have already announced their intentions.
Tory hopefuls and Reform's challenge
James Cleverly, the former home secretary, has declared he will seek the Conservative mayoral candidacy. He was spotted riding a Lime bike through London at the weekend, declaring that “London Bridge has got its mojo back” and expressing a “soft spot for Ealing”, where he met his wife, Susie. "I'm going to run as an aspirational, entrepreneurial, forward-thinking Conservative candidate that is in tune with the city," he said, adding that he believed he could beat Khan despite London's left-leaning tendencies: "London is a much more pragmatic city when it comes to voting."
Festus Akinbusoye, a Westminster councillor and Britain's first black police commissioner, is also vying for the Tory nomination. He says he is the right candidate because he is a "fresh face", adding: "I've not been part of a government in the past, but I come with solid private sector experience."
Reform UK has put forward Laila Cunningham, a former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor, who has been canvassing across London since the start of the year. "I'm not stepping aside for the Tories," she told the Guardian. "How many times have they tried to unseat Khan? They have failed." She dismissed Cleverly as "literally the establishment and he's gone from one ministerial job from another", predicting a contest of "two Sirs versus a woman. Sir Khan and Sir Cleverly."
Labour's potential challenger
On the Labour side, MP Dawn Butler hinted at her mayoral ambitions this week with a video of herself walking past a sign reading "a new Dawn for London", captioned: "When London puts up signs saying 'A New Dawn' … what else was I supposed to do?" She has confirmed to the Guardian she would run if Khan steps aside, but Khan did not respond to a request for comment.
Poll shows Khan leading, but right divided
A recent poll by Savanta UK for the Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London puts Labour on 33%, the Tories and Reform UK each on 18%, the Greens on 17%, and the Liberal Democrats on 9%. The Conservatives' path to unseating Khan is complicated by Reform's presence, though Cunningham is confident she can attract some Labour voters: "It is not a left or right divide either, we won nine seats in Barking and Dagenham in the local elections, where the Tories wouldn't dream of winning one."
Cunningham, the daughter of Egyptian immigrants, said she was "not your typical Reform person. People often see me and say they are surprised I am in Reform." She also criticised Akinbusoye's work on Westminster council's licensing committee, which is consulting to restrict "vertical drinking" in pubs, saying: "That says it all. The fact they even call it vertical drinking is a joke."
The Greens have yet to name a candidate, with a party source saying: "We do have a number of people who'd be incredible candidates but no firm name. We feel confident after our latest local election results that Londoners will be excited by our vision for London." Asked whether she would prefer to fight Butler or Khan, Cunningham said: "[Khan's] got incumbency. He may do better. It doesn't make a difference because it's what the party represents, she seems to think he was a great mayor so she seemingly wants more of the same."
