Sebastian Coe is public’s preferred Tory candidate for Mayor

Former London Olympics boss Sebastian Coe is the public’s preferred Tory candidate for Mayor of London, according to a new YouGov poll for the Evening Standard.

The vacancy for Tory candidate opened earlier this month after Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed he was seeking election as an MP at next year’s General Election.

With the support of 24% of those asked, Lord Coe is comfortably ahead of his nearest rival, Apprentice star Karen Brady (12%).

Despite his current high polling, Coe looks unlikely to run for the Mayoralty.

In June he pulled out of the race to become the new BBC Trust Chair, saying: “I haven’t the capacity and I now want to concentrate on my current commitments and the IAAF election. As everyone knows, athletics is in my DNA.”

Richmond MP Zac Goldsmith is the choice of 8% of poll participants while Boris Johnson’s policing deputy, Stephen Greenhalgh, was picked by 4%.

Current Deputy Mayor of London Victoria Borwick was named by 3% as their preferred candidate.

Absent from the list of names put to poll respondents was London Assembly James Cleverly, head of the capital’s fire authority and a likely contender for the role.

Public support for Coe is double that for Labour’s top scoring candidate, Dame Tessa Jowell.