Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has endorsed Sir James Cleverly to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, citing his record on law and order and his ability to deliver on public safety.
In an opinion piece, Philp, who is MP for Croydon South, said making London safer has been one of his primary priorities since entering politics. He noted that since he was elected MP in 2015, crime problems in London have worsened, and claimed that under the last Conservative Mayoralty, crime in London dropped by about 20%. Under Sadiq Khan, London feels less safe than it once did, because it is, he added.
Crime and policing record
Philp highlighted his work as an MP bringing police Live Facial Recognition to Croydon town centre, which he said led to over 100 arrests of wanted criminals in just a matter of months, including those involved in knife-related offences. As Shadow Home Secretary, he has built and committed his party to a plan to take back the streets, including deploying 10,000 extra police officers, introducing hotspot patrolling in the 2,000 highest-crime neighbourhoods, and rolling out more stop and search and facial recognition.
He also mentioned his oversight of the Police Uplift Programme as Policing Minister, which recruited more than 20,000 additional officers. When Cleverly became Home Secretary, they worked together to build on it, and by March 2024 there were more police officers in England and Wales than ever before. Philp added that Sadiq Khan's Met was the only force in the country to miss its recruitment target, falling around 1,000 officers short, and that since Labour took office nationally, the Met lost nearly 1,800 officers in a single year.
Why Cleverly is the right candidate
Philp said he saw up close how Cleverly shared his commitment to keeping streets safe, his passion for giving police the resources and backing they need, and his ability to deliver. He described Cleverly's record of experience as unparalleled, from the Home Office to the Foreign Office, to working with Boris in London politics the last time they delivered for the capital.
Philp concluded that he will vote for Cleverly to be Mayor of London, saying that with James as Mayor and Kemi as Prime Minister, they can take back the streets and build a stronger country.
