James Cleverly, Festus Akinbusoye and Sara Gezdari are competing to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London. Here’s why that matters, according to Alys Denby

Being a member of a political party may be a minority pursuit, but being a Conservative in London is something closer to masochism. The Party does not publish official figures but its membership is thought to be under 200,000, only a fraction of whom can plough their lonely furrow in this perennially Labour-voting city of 9m people. And this week, this hardy handful of souls is going to the ballot to pick their candidate for Mayor of London.

They will choose between James Cleverly, Festus Akinbusoye and Sara Gezdari. The latter is the least well known, though she has previously run to be MP for Richmond Park. Her pitch is framed around her backstory as an immigrant from Albania. She recalls growing up in a collapsing economy with an AK-47 next to her bed. A bit like her leader Kemi Badenoch, she says that seeing what happens when savings evaporate along with the rule of law taught her the value of freedom, democracy and prosperity – and made her a Conservative. She wants to champion financial services to bring IPOs back to the stock exchange and has criticised the bank tax.

Akinbusoye is a Westminster councillor and former police and crime commissioner for Bedfordshire. Unsurprisingly he cites “crushing crime” and restoring 40,000 police officers to the streets as a top priority, alongside being “pro-fun”. As a “fresh face” relatively untainted by the last Tory government, he believes he stands the best chance of winning under the alternative voting system.

Experience and charisma

By contrast, James Cleverly wants to use his parliamentary experience to his advantage. As a former foreign secretary, he says he knows how to promote the Capital to the world, as ex home secretary he understands the challenges of policing and immigration, and having run the Conservatives’ 2019 election campaign, he says he knows how to win. He’s a charismatic and recognisable figure who would use the platform of City Hall to challenge the government on anti-London measures like the so-called ‘mansion tax’ and ulez. When Burnham punishes success, Cleverly says, London pays.

Whatever your politics, all Londoners should hope that Labour faces serious opposition at the upcoming Mayoral election. Sadiq Khan has failed this city – on house building, jobs, Tube strikes and more. He refuses to stand up to his own party as it seeks to siphon economic activity and influence away from the capital. London’s Conservatives bear a heavy responsibility, let’s hope they choose wisely.