The eight people vying to be Labour’s London Mayoral candidate

On Wednesday the applications to be Labour’s candidate for London Mayor closed. We now have a list of all the people who have put their names forward to be in the running, and alongside the usual suspects there are a couple of other names in the mix.

There are eight candidates:

–Diane Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington. She says that she’ll be a genuinely independent mayor, not in the pocket of the party leader. Abbott has also said one of her central missions will be to deal with the housing crisis, including being “much tougher” on developers.

-Tessa Jowell, former minister who recently stood down as an MP. Jowell said that she’ll put the housing crisis at the centre of her bid, with plans for a new housebuilding body.

-Keran Kerai, an unexpected candidate. According to his Twitter bio he is a Labour party member in Harrow East and the BBC have reported that he is a writer.

-Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting and former Shadow London Minister and former Shadow Justice Minister. Khan has the backing of Ken Livingstone, Oona King and Margaret Hodge. He’s said he wants to give back to the city that has made him who he is and he  has also spoken about protecting  Jewish people in London.

-David Lammy, MP for Tottenham and former Minister. Lammy has also spoken of his commitment to dealing with the housing crisis in London, in the form of rent controls.

-Dr Neeraj Patil, formerly Mayor of Lambeth (2010-2011). Another unexpected applicants, he was also a councillor and is an A&E consultant.

-Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow East and former minister. He thinks more power should be transferred away from Westminster and thinks passengers should have more power to hold TfL to account.

-Christian Wolmar, a transport expert and writer. Wolmar was the first to announce he’d be standing and is funding his campaign through crowdfunding. Among his proposals include pedestrianising Oxford Street.

Constituency Labour Parties and affiliates have until the 10th June to nominate one of these candidates. Candidates need at least five nominations from Labour constituencies in London and at least one nomination from affiliates (unions, the Co-op or Fabian Society).

The shortlist will be revealed on the 13th June, after candidates are interview by a selection committee comprised by three members of the London regional board and three members of the national executive committee.