Former Transport secretary Andrew Adonis has backed Dame Tessa Jowell’s bid to become London’s next Mayor.
Speaking to the Evening Standard, Lord Adonis said: “Tessa Jowell’s track record of planning and leading the 2012 Olympics shows that she has got that spirit and all of the qualities to be an outstanding mayor.”
Dame Tessa is currently the front runner in the race to be selected as Labour’s candidate and fight next year’s Mayoral election.
In recent polls she’s lead rivals by as much as 12% and is consistently named the preferred candidate of both party members and Londoners in general.
Polls from YouGov also show significant levels of support in other parties – an essential quality for any candidate as City Hall’s election rules require the winner to have the support of 51% of those voting.
Adonis, who was previously rumoured to be considering his own City Hall bid, told the paper: “London needs to raise its game if it is going to tackle the housing crisis and prevent congestion becoming unbearable.”
“Tessa can do that because of her proven track record in establishing partnerships for change around an imperative for the city.”
Dame Tessa said she was “delighted” at the endorsement.
