London voters can now register with the Conservative Party to take part in the selection of our London mayoral candidate. This marks a bold new move in opening up the selection process beyond political party boundaries. Any registered voter in London can take part in the open primary process by phoning the ballot hotline on 0906 555 5050.

London members of the Conservative Party will automatically be registered to take part in the ballot. By phoning the ballot hotline Londoners who are not party members will get their chance to help decide who will fight Ken Livingstone to be London’s Mayor next May.

The shortlist to be the Conservative candidate for the Mayor of London contest are:

Andrew Boff (www.andrewboff.com)

 

Lifelong Londoner and Hackney resident Andrew Boff works as an IT consultant and is the publisher of EASTeight magazine.

Andrew is also secretary of BMTRA, a social enterprise helping to regenerate Hackney by managing London's most successful community-run market - Broadway Market. He also co-founded the Civic Skills consultancy.

In 1990 Andrew led the Conservatives to victory in Hillingdon Council against the national trend. He has also stood in London for the Conservatives as an MP and MEP. In 2004 he stood as the London Assembly candidate for Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest.

In 2005 Andrew won a safe Labour seat on Hackney Council in a by-election and more than trebled the party's vote in that seat in the council-wide elections the following year.

He says: "The way to resolve London's problems is to engage the talents and good will of Londoners by returning to them the power that for too long has been locked up by politicians."
Andrew and his partner registered their civil partnership in December 2005.

 

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Victoria Borwick (www.mayor-for-london.co.uk)

 

 

London-born Victoria has 25 years' experience in business and political campaigning. She is a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea and is chairman of Kensington & Chelsea Borough Community Relations.

She has held senior management positions with P&O and DMG World Media and was director of fundraising for the Conservative Party.
Victoria has worked on the party's previous London Mayor campaigns, and was Conservative mayoral candidate Steve Norris's deputy in the 2000 London elections.

"Londoners deserve better than Ken Livingstone, who has wasted our money," she says. "I am passionate about London and want to see it achieve its potential as the greatest city on Earth. We need to tackle crime, grime and litter, and get London moving again. London is a city of great diversity, which we celebrate, but we need to take on the real issues - the housing crisis and the high unemployment in London. I want to see every Londoner sharing in the wealth generated by the capital's dynamic economy."

Victoria lives in London with her husband Jamie. They have four children.

 

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Boris Johnson (www.backboris.com)

Boris first came to prominence as an award-winning political journalist working on The Times and The Daily Telegraph, where he was assistant editor. In 1999 he became editor of The Spectator magazine and entered politics as the MP for Henley-on-Thames in the 2001 general election.

Since his election to Parliament, Boris has held several key posts starting with being vice-chairman of the Conservative Party. Since then he has been the shadow arts minister and, until he entered the race for London Mayor, the shadow higher education minister.
He says: "The mystery is not why someone would want to be Mayor of London. The mystery is why someone would not want to do the job and to try to make this city greater still. London is, without a doubt, the greatest city on the planet. However, I believe it can be greater still. I'm looking forward to putting a smile back on the face of Londoners."

Boris is married to Marina and they have two sons and two daughters. He has also published six books.

 

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Warwick Lightfoot (www.lightfootforlondon.com)

 

 

Barnet-born Warwick works as an economist in the City and has a long history of involvement in politics both nationally and in London.

He is a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea, where he is responsible for policing and community safety. For much of his 20 years as a councillor, Warwick has specialised in social services helping to make Kensington's social services department one of the best in the country.

Warwick has also worked as a special adviser to both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Employment.
"London is a great city. Its financial markets are out-performing New York and it is the powerhouse of the British economy. But it does not have the public services to match its economic and cultural status," he says.

"Since I first announced my intention to run for mayor a year ago, I have talked to people all over Greater London. They have told me that they want crime to be sorted, value for money and public services that match London's status as a capital city."

 

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• To register to vote the individual must be on London’s electoral role.

• Voters in the primary will be able to attend hustings being held across London at the start of September.

• All calls to 0906 555 5050 cost £1per minute, the typical call is expected to cost £1.50.  Service provided by iTouch(UK) Ltd, EC2A 4PF.

• The line will be open Monday to Friday, 8am-9pm, Saturday, 9am-5pm and Sunday, 10am-4pm.

• Last date for registering is 20th September.

• The ballot will close on 26th September.

• The winner who will be the Conservative candidate will be announced by the end of September.