On Thursday 11th June, a senior Tory dismissed rumours of attempts in replacing Shaun Bailey as the Conservative candidate in the delayed London mayoral election. Bailey, a former youth worker was pitted against Labour’s Sadiq Khan two years ago but has apparently lost support of some Tory donors, who would like to see another candidate gearing for the race next year.
According to the Financial Times, some senior figures wanted an alternative popular face, such as ex-chancellor Sajid Javid to stand against the current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan especially considering the parallels in their heritage and culture.
Dismissing such connotations, business minister Nadhim described Bailey as a "phenomenal candidate" on LBC radio. He said,
"Rubbish story. Sajid Javid is staying in parliament. Sajid has a great contribution to make to parliament. Shaun Bailey is our candidate. He's a phenomenal candidate, phenomenal campaigner and someone who really understands that black lives really do matter.”
A YouGov poll in March this year, showed Sadiq Khan had a clear lead on 49 per cent, and Shaun Bailey trailing behind with 24 per cent of the vote. Others in the mayoral race include Siobhan Benita from the Liberal Democrats while Rory Stewart resigned from the race a few weeks ago. Elections for the Mayor of London are delayed until May 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
