Tory bosses: Just three candidates on the Conservative mayoral ballot
Voters will be able to choose among no more than three candidates when the Conservative party holds an open primary later this year to select its candidate for mayor of London.
Applications to be the Tory candidate for London mayor closed yesterday, but the party has not released an official list of hopefuls.
Bookmakers put Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith as the odds-on favourite to win the nomination, but London MEP Syed Kamall, gay rights campaigner Ivan Massow, deputy mayor Stephen Greenhalgh, London Assembly member Andrew Boff, local councillor Simon Fawthrop and former England footballer Sol Campbell have all said that they want to be the Tory candidate for City Hall’s top job.
But voters will only be able to choose from a shortlist of two or three candidates, CCHQ confirmed yesterday, with a selection committee made up of Conservative regional officers, area chairmen and deputy chairmen deciding who gets on the ballot.
Massow told Morning Wire that he disagreed with the process: “They need to select someone who is not politics as usual.”
“An open primary with all of the candidates would have given them a better chance of finding that person,” he added.
A party spokesperson told Morning Wire: “The process has been designed to get as many Londoners involved as possible so they have the best candidate to represent them.”