CONTENDERS IN RACE TO CITY HALL

ALONGSIDE the battle for London Mayor, another 25 seats at City Hall are up for grabs in next month’s elections.

Labour is currently the largest party in the London Assembly — the elected forum of the Greater London Authority — with 12 seats, one short of a majority.

“The GLA is the governing body of London,” said Linda Kelly, the Conservative candidate hoping to unseat the Labour incumbent in Enfield and Haringey. “It makes a lot of decisions that affect your housing, transport, policing.”

India-born from a family with roots in the Middle East, the Hindi and Hebrewspeaking Ms Kelly is a local government veteran. She has 12 years of experience as a Hackney councillor, mostly for Labour until she switched to the Tories in 2011.

Also aiming to depose a sitting Labour member is Conservative Joel Davidson, who is contesting Brent and Harrow. Elected to Brent Council in 2014, he is from a mixed Jewish-Northern Irish background.

Another challenger is Liberal Democrat Zack Polanski who will be trying to dislodge former Labour MP Andrew Dismore in Barnet and Camden.

Fighting to represent the North-East London constituency is Jonathan Silberman of the Communist League.

At number three on the Labour list, former Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron is wellplaced to return to the Assembly where she has been a member since its inception in 2000.

But at number eight on the Labour list, it would take an extraordinary result for Mike Katz, the Jewish Labour Movement joint vice-chair, to join her. SIMON ROCKER