Sir James Cleverly: London needs its mojo back

The Conservatives have experienced a surge of confidence in London following recent council takeovers in Westminster and Wandsworth. Sir James Cleverly, a former contender for the party leadership, recently expressed his ambition to lead the Conservatives into the next mayoral election in 2028. Surprisingly, Cleverly dismissed the notion that London is a Labour city, emphatically stating that it is "complete nonsense".

While the current London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, has not confirmed his intentions for the upcoming election, Cleverly is confident in the Conservatives' prospects. Despite the party's six London councils compared to Labour's nine, Cleverly believes that voters now recognize the "untruth" of Labour's manifesto promises and appreciate Kemi Badenoch's policies.

After a series of setbacks, including the Conservatives being 11 percentage points behind Labour in the 2024 mayoral election, Cleverly remains optimistic about the party's future. He highlighted the significant accomplishments of the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the introduction of electric buses, Crossrail funding, housebuilding, and reduced knife crime.

Cleverly directly addressed Khan's leadership, categorizing him as a "disappointment" and praising Johnson's policies. He also addressed the potential Heathrow expansion, suggesting that the mayor's role should be to mitigate negative impacts of such projects while ensuring better international connectivity.