London mayoral candidate Sara Gezdari: Thatcher inspired me

Conservative Party members in the UK are voting on their preferred candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election. Sara Gezdari, aspiring to unseat Sir James Cleverly and Festus Akinbusoye for the Conservative nomination, is seeking to bring Britain's legacy of freedom and strong leadership to the role. Growing up in communist Albania, Gezdari's family lived in a state of "constant fear" as they waited in line for bread and milk rations.

This formative experience, she explains, was shaped by socialism's "mediocrity ideology," instilling in her a desire for a free-market, rule-of-law system.

Having fled to Italy as a teenager, Gezdari went on to study politics at university and came to believe that Margaret Thatcher's values of free enterprise and the rule of law were those she hoped to uphold as a future leader. Now working in investment advisory, Sara Gezdari describes herself as more of a "wildcard" pick rather than an underdog candidate.

Though she acknowledges Cleverly and Akinbusoye as "beautiful personalities", she aims to focus on building trust with voters and following Kemi Badenoch's "greater good" approach to governance.

During her interview with City AM, Gezdari expressed a more critical stance towards London's current mayor, Sadiq Khan, citing his failure to "feel accountable for his failures" and his prioritization of appearance over accountability. She listed his stance on grooming gangs, unlawful speeding fines, and opposition to Palantir's contract with the Metropolitan Police as examples of his shortcomings.

Gezdari also criticized Khan's wasteful spending, particularly his pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, which she argues diverts funds from infrastructure repairs, such as Hammersmith Bridge. Instead, she proposes using private investment and sponsors to finance the bridge's repair.

With London's incoming mayor set to have more financial resources, Gezdari supports using business taxes to offer relief on business rates to firms and to avoid introducing an overnight stay levy for infrastructure investment. While Gezdari remains "uncomfortable" with Heathrow Airport's proposed third runway, she stresses the importance of seeing the new plans before passing judgment on the project.