Cruddas said the party needed “a candidate who will be a top class Mayor from day one, who knows the levers of power, and how to use power in the interests of all Londoners” and called on party members to “unite behind” Livingstone.
Delivering his nomination form to Labour HQ this morning Livingstone said he wanted to regain the Mayoralty “for one overriding reason; I want to do everything I can to protect Londoners from the recession and the effects of the new government’s policies.”
Livingstone dismissed suggestions that as a defeated former Mayor he refrain from standing, telling this site “if you look at the history of British politics it’s about people winning and losing and coming back. The biggest single advantage I have is the experience of how to get things done.”
He also said he was “much more successful in my 8 years as Mayor than I was at the GLC because I had that much more experience.”
Nominations for Labour’s selection close on Friday, currently the only other declared candidate is former MP Oona King.
