Over 300 councillors back Jowell in London Mayor race

Tessa Jowell has received the backing of 305 Labour councillors across the capital in her bid to be London Mayor – as well as the support of Len Duvall, who leads the Labour group in the London Assembly.

Duvall, who has been the Assembly Member for Greenwich and Lewisham since 2000, is also chair of the Greater London Labour Party. According to the Evening Standard, Duvall warned the party against complacency in next year’s mayoral election – pointing to two successive Tory victories as proof. He suggests that Jowell is the smart choice for her ability to win valuable second preferences in the supplementary vote election, saying:

“I don’t agree with everything Tessa has done but if I was going into battle I would want her to be in the trenches with me.”

“If the key is around some of the inequalities that exist then she is the front-runner for me because she understands what the levers are.

“People have got to think carefully about any other candidate in terms of their skills and also how they would attract those second preference votes.”

You can see the full list of councillors here.