Christian Wolmar pledges to sign up 10,000 new supporters after making mayor ballot

The Labour Party announced earlier today that Christian Wolmar was among the six candidates to have made it to the ballot for the Mayor of London candidate selection. This afternoon, he has pledged that over the summer he will sign up 10,000 supporters to vote in this summer’s primary.

Specifically, transport expert Wolmar will be aiming to win support from London’s cyclists:

“Following the General Election, we need to revitalise and reinvigorate the party, and bring in new supporters and fresh ideas. The Wolmar for London policies have the ability to transform London for the better.

“There are an estimated 400,000 cyclists who use London streets every day. As the Wolmar for London campaign has already shown, we can reach hundreds of cyclists during a single rush hour. With our vision for a more affordable, liveable and sustainable city, we are attracting people to Labour who like our ideas.

“We have a fresh and inspired message that appeals to real Londoners. We’re going to splash our bike spoke cards out across London over the summer, recruiting new supporters and members.”

As the only candidate standing in the selection who has not been an MP, Wolmar is seen as something as an outsider in the race – and rumours earlier this week suggested that the selection committee might exclude him from the shortlist. He said that he is “delighted – and just a bit relieved – to have reached this stage”.