Margaret Hodge pulls out of race for London Mayor

Margaret Hodge, MP for Barking, has officially ruled herself out of contention for London Mayor. According to political editor Joe Murphy, Hodge has announced the decision in an interview with the London Evening Standard, which will be published later today.

In a series of tweets this morning, Murphy says Hodge will not run – and in a surprising turn, will not back Tessa Jowell for the Labour candidacy, suggesting that London needs a Mayor from a Black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) background. However, she also says that she will not support Diane Abbott in the Labour selection, meaning an endorsement for David Lammy or Sadiq Khan is likely.

Murphy tweeted:

In last week’s YouGov poll, Hodge was third favourite among Labour supporters for the role, with 16%. With Khan unlikely to declare until after the election (if he runs), it could be a while before Hodge throws her support behind any one candidate – and who her supporters decide to back in the meantime could change the shape of the race.

This week’s LabourList survey asks who you would like to see as Labour’s candidate for London Mayor: don’t forget to let us know your views.

We’ll update this post with quotes from Hodge’s interview once it’s up.

UPDATE: The interview is now online, and Hodge seems to give herself a little more room for manoeuvre than Murphy has mischievously suggested. She does say that she would like to see a minority ethnic candidate, but adds a “wait and see” clause that means she is not ruling anyone out just yet:

“I actually think the time is right for us to have a non-white mayor. London is a diverse city but we are poor at representation. But let’s wait and see what the candidates say they can do for London.”

Hodge also makes positive comments about four of the prospective candidates.

On David Lammy: He is “a really important symbol” of modern London and has “an important back-story to tell”

On Sadiq Khan: He is “an assertive fighter” who also has “a good story to tell”.

On Tessa Jowell: She was “incredibly successful at delivering the Olympics” and would be a “good consensual advocate for London”

On Diane Abbott: The Hackney MP is a “feisty woman, but I think she is the most distant from my own politics”.