The frontrunner to become Labour’s candidate in next year’s Mayoral election has accused Boris Johnson of being “wholly and solely” focussed on his return to parliament.
Dame Tessa Jowell, the pollsters and bookmakers’ favourite to succeed Mr Johnson at City Hall made the remarks while speaking on Iain Dale’s LBC radio show.
Asked about Johnson’s low profile despite the Hatton Garden raid and the widespread disruption caused to businesses and workers caused by last week’s Holborn fire, Dame Tessa invited the Mayor to call into the show and reassure Londoners he was still working for them.
She told Dale Johnson was now “wholly and solely” focused on his new constituency and a potential post General Election Tory leadership election in which he’s expected to be a contender.
ASLEF shrugged says
Everyone knows that Boris had lost interest in City Hall and was focusing on Westminster the moment he declared himself for Uxbridge & South Ruislip; this is just stating the obvious. Even if he was running in 2016 what exactly would be expected of him; neither the Hatton Garden robbery nor the Kingsway fire are on a par with the 2011 riots but as he isn’t what relevance does this have to the next mayoral election?
Jowell might be the bookies favourite and be doing well in the polls but this isn’t going to endear her with the London Labour grassroots who will eventually select their candidate, nor will appointing arch-Blairite ex-Lib Dem Adonis as her policy guru. With Lammy getting support from property developers who want to build without being encumbered by “affordable” housing Sadiq Khan is looking a decent bet.