What do we know about the potential Tory candidates for London Mayor?

The Conservatives have finally come out of their shell and we have some candidates. And what a bunch they are. First up to announce was Ivan Massow, the phoenix-like, risen-from-the-ashes finance entrepreneur who calls Joan Collins his “second mum”; then Stephen Greenhalgh, the Deputy Mayor for Crime and Policing but perhaps better known as a bottom-pinching, free-market ideologue who oversaw the decimation of social housing in Hammersmith and Fulham; finally, it is believed that always-the-bridesmaid Assembly Member, Andrew Boff, has thrown his hat into the ring. Little surprise Conservatives are saying this will be a hard one to win.

Of the three, Greenhalgh appears to have the strongest credentials from the Conservative side. The former leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council and current Deputy Mayor, he has form… oh boy, does he have form. Greenhalgh hates social housing; at least that is what he said in a 2009 paper for think tank Localis. Greenhalgh seems to believe that social housing is bad for communities, bad for society and should be sold off altogether. He tried this policy in Hammersmith and Fulham. The Council sold over 250 council properties in the borough between April 2011 and December 2013 (it should be noted Greenhalgh moved on to pastures new in 2012). Dave Hill wrote an excellent piece on the tragic purge of council properties in the borough.

Greenhalgh epitomes the current generation of neo-Thatcherites who are taking the free-market agenda to extremes that would have made Maggie blush. Let’s make no mistake – it is due to the policies of Conservatives like Greenhalgh that central London living is becoming a possibility for only the most privileged. If politicians like Greenhalgh were to get their way, there would be no more ordinary working people left in central London. Instead all the properties would be sold off to developers for high-end flats.

A vote for Greenhalgh is a vote for another Mayor that will look after the interests of the rich while failing to tackle the root causes of inequality and rising prices.

Ivan Massow has been an important figure in the gay rights movement. He pioneered insurance products for gay clients at a time when insurance companies were offering premiums up to 600% more for gay men. He quite rightly quit the Conservative Party after its continued support for Section 28. He has entered the fray under the slogan that he is a ‘rags to riches boy’ that ‘didn’t go to Eton or Oxford.’ He did share a flat with Nick Boles and Michael Gove and that seems to be the sum of his political credentials. His focus appears to be to win greater powers for London; an issue that pretty much all of the announced candidates support. He also showed a stark lack of knowledge of the Mayor’s actual powers when saying he would consider museum charging. Unfortunately for Massow this is a UK Government issue and not something the Mayor can change. Not knowing the precise function of the Mayor is understandable – it’s hard to look those kinds of things up on the internet – but it certainly damages credibility.

There is a certain appeal in his being a relative outsider that, like me, will not have been neatly formed and sterilised through years at Westminster. However, he seems to lack any real vision for London and any serious political credentials to run this great city.

Finally is Andrew Boff, who it is understood will run, although it is not clear whether he has confirmed. However, given the fact he has run three time previously to be the Conservative candidate, one can assume he must be giving it some thought. Boff is a London representative on the GLA and has made some noise about allowing London to keep its stamp duty; who hasn’t? He has even gone as far as stating that the GLA should have more powers or else be disbanded. Having not announced any policies, it is hard to say much about Boff but looking over his biography, he appears to be an always-the-bridesmaid candidate. He certainly gives his all but his failure to win elections or receive the full backing of his Party for certain positions does make you question whether he would be a good Mayor.

Many Conservatives are saying this is going to be a hard one to win. It’s true that Labour has put forward an impressive list of candidates (despite many of them officially announcing that they will officially announce at a later date). However, it is not helped but the quality of candidate they are putting forward, which offer a just more of the same individuals that have made the Conservatives in Westminster so unpopular with Londoners. Boris has ‘anointed’ Zac Goldsmith MP as his successor but it remains to be seen whether he will throw his hat into the ring.