A new poll has revealed the blueprint for how Sadiq Khan could be ousted as London Mayor as the Labour bigwig eyes a fourth term.
Tqhe Tories could block the Labour mayor’s bid to return to City Hall in 2028, provided they select the correct candidate to take a sledgehammer to Lord Khan’s tenure.
A poll of 2,021 Londoners, carried out by Opinium between July 10 and 17, revealed being a former Conservative minister was not an electoral asset for a mayoral hopeful.
Instead, an individual with business and policing experience would be better to support the Tories’ bid to climb up the polls in 2028.
Although Kemi Badenoch is yet to announce her party’s candidate for the capital, Tories from previous Governments have been touted as possible candidates, including Sir James Cleverly.
Former MP Lord Sebastian Coe, who represented Falmouth and Camborne for five years until 1997, served as William Hague’s Chief of Staff before becoming a life peer in 2000 and is also another possible contender.
But the poll found that Festus Akinbusoye, a Westminster councillor, could be more up Londoners’ street.
A former police and crime commissioner for Bedfordshire, Mr Akinbusoye runs a facilities management business and previously served as a special constable with the force.
Sadiq Khan has indicated he will run for a fourth term as mayor
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Writing in ConservativeHome in April, Mr Akinbusoye painted a frank but optimistic picture of the capital – and insisted its loss over law and order is redeemable.
“I believe all is not lost,” he said. “London can be a far better place to live, do business, and raise a family.
“But restoring it means restoring something specific: law and order on the streets. Visible, efficient, and consistent.
“That cannot happen while those in charge send mixed signals and refuse to invest in the people needed to deliver it – the officers and staff of the Metropolitan Police.”
The Conservative Party is yet to announce their candidate
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The poll compared a series of candidate traits with voters, finding that the London electorate did not chime with a former Tory minister.
The same survey discovered they would support an individual who had not been an MP in the past and had been part of a successful business.
Around 52 per cent of respondents said they would be more likely to back a Tory with experiencing in policing and tackling crime – while 11 per cent claimed they would be less likely to support such a figure.
Meanwhile, only 29 per cent of likely Reform supporters said they would consider switching out their vote for the Tories, while 27 per cent would consider doing so.
From Labour voters, some 20 per cent said they would consider a Tory vote while 21 per cent said they might.
The most significant issues – controlled by the mayor – are policing, crime and housing, while a whopping 51 per cent believe that London is heading in the wrong direction.
“This poll shows that the path to winning London is narrow but achievable, requiring a Conservative candidate with a fresh profile, a business background, policing experience and the ability to appeal across the political spectrum,” a spokesman for Mr Akinbusoye’s exploratory campaign said.
Another possible candidate could be Susan Hall, a serving assembly member and leader of the London Conservatives. However, it is understood she is not set to stand again.
She said: “The background of the candidate will always be secondary to how well they understand the role and the London Assembly.
“We need a mayoral candidate who can connect with voters, who understands how to use the levers of power that will be available to them and who has a vision for a better London.
“We must save London from another four years of useless Labour mayors and our candidate needs to know how they’re going to communicate that mission.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Sadiq Khan has been a woeful Mayor of London. Only the Conservatives have consistently held him to account for his failures on housing, crime and transport.
“We will select our candidate in due course.”