Senior Tory mayor endorses James Cleverly as challenger to Sadiq Khan

Lord Houchen, the Conservative mayor for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire, joined Paul Bristow in urging voters to support James Cleverly for London mayor, saying Labour’s ten-year rule is not inevitable. He highlighted Cleverly’s experience as a Lewisham-born former London Assembly member and former Home and Foreign Office minister, asserting he knows how to improve safety, affordability and civic pride. The endorsement arrives amid a crowded Tory field that includes businessman Alex Challoner, who proposes installing police at Tube ticket gates, and ex-police commissioner Festus Akinbusoye, both emphasizing law-and-order policies.

Labour’s possible candidates range from MPs Dawn Butler and David Lammy to former minister Steve Reed. Houchen and Bristow framed the contest as a test of delivery versus assumptions about voter loyalty.