Tag Archives: london mayoral election

London Mayoral shortlist

Two candidates have been shortlisted for the selection of our candidate for London Mayor. They are Rob Blackie and Chris French.

London members are invited to a hustings on Sunday 23rd July. Voting will open after that, closing on 9th August. The result will be declared in September.

We have been sent this information about the two candidates:

Rob Blackie advises startup technology companies, working on challenges such as accelerating cancer treatments and tackling climate change. In 2022 Rob founded the award-winning Breaking Putin’s Censorship Campaign – fighting Russian propaganda about the Ukraine war.  Rob is number 2 on the Liberal Democrats London Assembly List for the 2024 elections.

Chris French is a community advocate, working daily with the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sectors in tackling health inequalities in the capital.  A former Met Police Special Constable, Chris is the founder of Lambeth Links, the LGBTQ+ forum for Lambeth and Chair of infrastructure charity, LGBT Consortium. Chris is the Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly candidate for the 2024 elections.

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Sadiq and Zac agree for once: Caroline Pidgeon is “great” and “impressive”

We know that Caroline Pidgeon is making a very positive impact on London’s mayoral race. In virtually very debate, she is judged to be the winner, with even arch-Tory Iain Dale, now of the LBC parish, saying that the two women were eclipsing the men in the debate.

Caroline was featured in the Standard and the first paragraph of that article had praise from her two biggest rivals. They don’t often agree, but they are clearly both bowled over by her talents.

If the mayoral election was decided on a candidate’s grasp of policy, there’s a good chance Caroline Pidgeon would win it. The Lib-Dem hopeful — who has eight years on the London Assembly under her belt — has impressed even her better-known rivals with her inside knowledge of the City Hall empire.

Zac Goldsmith tells me “she’s great”, before glancing at his media adviser and asking, “Am I allowed to say that?” Sadiq Khan agrees that her handle on London policy is impressive.

Those two get more like Stadtler and Waldorf from the Muppets every day and this is about the only thing they agree on. Why would Londoners want either of them when they could have Caroline?

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London elections results open thread

The count for the Mayor of London and the members of the London Assembly is now underway in Olympia, ExCel and Alexandra Palace.

Once again, the electorate have had to cope with not one but three different voting systems.

Mayor of London

There are seven candidates for the Mayor of London, with Brian Paddick standing for the Liberal Democrats.

Voters had the opportunity to mark a first and a second preference candidate on the ballot paper. If one candidate achieves more than 50% of the first preference votes then that person is elected. If, as is more likely, no candidate passes the 50% ...

Posted in London and News | Also tagged , and | 21 Comments

UKIP burn picture of Brian Paddick in Soho

Pink News reports that UKIP supporters burnt a picture of Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Brian Paddick in Soho this afternoon.

How did they find out? Because UKIP press officer Gawain Towler tweeted the picture.

If you look at his Twitter feed, Towler’s attitude undergoes a significant shift.

From justifiying the photo at 3:46 pm

to saying it was all a big mistake and he hadn’t seen the lighter just 43 minutes later.

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The Weekend Debate: Who’d get your 2nd preference after Brian in the race for London Mayor?

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

This Thursday, millions of voters will go to the polls to cast their votes in local elections. And although London is only one of those elections, its electoral size and the colourful prominence of its candidates means it has got the lion’s share of the media coverage.

For the Lib Dems, Brian Paddick has fought a terrific campaign. The former Metropolitan police chief only narrowly squeaked ahead of Mike Tuffrey for the party’s nomination following what Brian himself has acknowledged was a tricky first outing as a Lib Dem candidate in 2008.

This time round, however, he has more than held his own in the televised debates, while his advertising, social media and online presence has achieved real impact. As I reported last month, the Lib Dems’ London fundraising has been a huge success, allowing the party actively to compete at this election in a way that’s not previously been possible.

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Brian Paddick’s Mayoral Election Broadcast – If I were Mayor

This Election Broadcast by Brian Paddick and the London Liberal Democrats has just been shown on the BBC. Even from 400 miles away, it’s blatantly obvious to me that Paddick is the most professional and capable candidate for mayor. What impresses me most is that he is innately liberal in his approach, hence the mention of abuse of stop and search powers. He knows how to keep people safe without trampling all over your civil liberties.

Enjoy!

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Guardian hails Paddick proposals as “properly liberal”, progressive and bold

We’re not so used to the Guardian saying nice things about Liberal Democrats these days, but Dave Hill is full of praise for the London Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the Mayoral and Assembly elections which was launched yesterday, calling it liberal, progressive and bold. This is what he has to say about policing and transport proposals:

Mayor Paddick would give each London neighbourhood its own “plan for policing,” with local residents and businesses having input into policing priorities in their areas. His “Paddick patrols” of community groups and residents associations would act as the “eyes and ears” of the police on

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In other news… Kemp4Liverpool, Duwayne4London, Tod4Winchester, Salmond4Inquiry, and more…

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Liverpool elected mayor candidates announced (BBC News)

Twelve candidates have been nominated to stand as Liverpool’s first directly elected mayor. Nominations closed at midday and voters will go to the polls on 3 May. Among the 12 are four members of Liverpool City Council, including Labour leader Joe Anderson and Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp.

Duwayne Brooks announced as Lib Dem deputy mayor (BBC News)

A friend of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has been named as a deputy to Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick if

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The Weekend Debate: Should election candidates have to declare their tax records?

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The race to be London mayor took a fresh twist this week when the leading candidates pledged on BBC Newsnight to release their tax records. Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick declared himself very happy to publish full details, which appear here on his website:

Brian Paddick has nothing to hide and is very happy to be open and transparent about his income and tax returns as a registered sole trader. His figures show he has never attempted to use any complex

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Brian Paddick to be questioned live on Guardian website TODAY 1-2 pm

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral Candidate Brian Paddick will be answering questions live on the Guardian website between 1 and 2 pm today.

If you have anything you want to ask Brian about what he stands for and what he wants to do for London, head here and put your question in the comments.

We’ll bring you news of how he got on tomorrow.

PS It’s a busy day for the London campaign.  Don’t forget about the tweetathon to launch Caroline Pidgeon’s One Hour Bus Ticket campaign which she wrote about last night here.

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Opinion: We need Homes for London

London faces a severe housing crisis. This problem will only get worse as our population continues to grow. One million more people are expected to be living in London by 2030.

Everywhere I go, people tell me they are concerned about housing – whether it is the long housing waiting lists, unaffordably high private rents or rogue landlords who rip you off. We have young people unable to make their first steps on the property ladder; or under threat from unscrupulous landlords and too many families living in overcrowded housing. For the average Londoner it will take 13 years …

Posted in London | Also tagged and | 10 Comments

Opinion: Jobs and the economy must feature in Brian Paddick’s mayoral campaign

Last weekend, in common with many Team London activists, I was out delivering literature for the upcoming mayoral election.

In a recent Ipsos MORI poll, commissioned by BBC London, some 59% of respondents cited jobs; growth and the economy as the most important issues that Londoners say will help them decide who to vote for in the upcoming mayoral election. This chimes with my own experience of feedback on the doorstep.

Tackling crime (49%), improving public transport (38%) and building cheap homes (37%) were the other top issues.

During the 2008 election, our candidate Brian Paddick, polled a little less than 10% of …

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LibLink: Paddick – we are putting forward an innovative, radical Liberal Democrat agenda for Londoners

The Lib Dems’ London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick was interviewed in The Guardian yesterday. It’s a revealing and candid piece in which Brian makes his pitch for the post the paper describes “an office whose holder enjoys the largest personal mandate in Europe – bar the French president”. Here are some highlights:

On the Lib Dems’ London campaign

“It’s quite obvious where I’m positioning myself and it’s to the left of the coalition,” he says in an interview with the Guardian. “What we are saying to Londoners is this has got nothing to do with national politics. We are putting forward an

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Opinion: Crime, transport and the battle for London Mayor

Just six months ago today London was emerging from its third night of rioting, with a semblance of order only just beginning to take hold as a massive police presence descended on the city. The fear in the streets was palpable. We had been given a brief and terrifying glimpse of what sheer anarchy looked like, the rage and shameless opportunism of London’s marginalised youth provoking deep existential questions about what was wrong with our society.

Yet, as the contest for London Mayor begins to build up momentum, Ken and Boris’ campaigns continue to revolve around the same old topic …

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LibLink: Brian Paddick – London is increasingly policed by force not consent – thanks to its mayors

Lib Dem London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick had a piece on the Guardian’s Comment Is Free website yesterday on what is his undoubtedly his strongest issue – policing.

Here’s a sample of what Brian had to say:

Crime will be far more of an issue in the election of the mayor of London on 3 May because the mayor is now the elected crime and police commissioner for London. He alone sets police priorities and the police budget and he alone will hold the Metropolitan police to account. Far from holding the police to account, to date

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  • Katharine Pindar
    A splendidly vigorous and broad-ranging speech from Ed which we hope will be well reported. It is to be hoped also that Federal Policy Committee will be bringin...
  • Mohammed Amin
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  • Mohammed Amin
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