Two top Tory MPs ‘in running for City Hall’
THE question of who will be selected as the Tory mayoral candidate to take on Sadiq Khan heated up today as two senior MPs were put in the running.
Former Cabinet Secretary Kit Malthouse refused to deny he would run for City Hall next May, while there were rumours circulating Westminster that Security Minister Tom Tugendhat was being urged to take on the role by senior party members.
Mr Malthouse told LBC: “Naturally you think about these things and have a look at what people might be open to. I will keep my thoughts to myself for the moment. It is a fantastic opportunity.”
Former Education Secretary and Policing Minister Mr Malthouse is a close ally of Boris Johnson and served as a deputy mayor during Mr Johnson’s City Hall administration.
He added that “discussions were ongoing” about the mayoral candidate role.
Mr Tugendhat was also being touted as a potential candidate after impressing during the Tory leadership contest last year, senior sources told the Telegraph. However, the Government minister’s team played down the rumours. Senior Conservative officials are believed to want someone with “star power” to take on Labour’s Mr Khan, who will fight for a historic third term next year.
One Tory source previously told the Standard that “someone like” West Ham vice-chairman and Apprentice star Karren Brady would be a “perfect choice”. TV judge Robert Rinder is also said to have been approached by the party, but he has played down the suggestion. Applications for Tories who want a run at City Hall close on May 24. The party will then create a shortlist of three and a final candidate will be chosen by London Conservative Party members on July 19 — ten months before the mayoral elections. Susan Hall, the former Tory leader at City Hall, Nick Rogers and Andrew Boff along with former Number 10 advisor Samuel Kasumu have all declared they will stand. Minister for London Paul Scully has also expressed an interest. Conservative chairman Greg Hands accused Mr Khan of nearly “a decade of decline.”