George Galloway announces bid for Mayor of London in 2016 after losing seat at MP
The Respect Party leader lost Bradford West to Labour in the general election
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.George Galloway has announced that he will stand for Mayor of London in 2016.
The Respect Party leader lost his seat in the House of Commons to Labour in the general election earlier this month.
Declaring himself as a candidate on Twitter, he wrote “I'm standing for Mayor of London 2016” and urged supporters to get in touch to help with his campaign.
It had long been rumoured that Mr Galloway would attempt to replace Boris Johnson, who is currently both Mayor and the Tory MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
He appeared to confirm his candidacy in April, telling Sky News: “I won't run for London Mayor if I am re-elected on 7 May. If I am not re-elected I will run.”
Mr Galloway will be facing competition from all sides of the political spectrum, including from Labour’s Tessa Jowell, who launched her campaign with a pledge to build 2,000 affordable homes a year in the capital.
The former culture secretary has been nominated by sixteen of the local London Labour parties to declare so far, while Tooting MP Sadiq Khan is in second place with 12.
London MPs David Lammy, Diane Abbott and Gareth Thomas are among the other Labour candidates running.
Four Conservative hopefuls are looking to succeed Mr Johnson, most famously former England football player Sol Campbell.
Assembly members Andrew Boff and Stephen Greenhalgh could also run for the Tories, as well as Ivan Massow.
There are several other potential candidates who have yet to confirm their intentions, including the Liberal Democrats' Caroline Pidgeon, a London Assembly member.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments