Hughes wants to be Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, staked a claim yesterday to become the next Mayor of London by declaring that he would seek his party's nomination.

Mr Hughes, MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey since 1983, will run against Susan Kramer, the party's candidate in 2000, and Donnachadh McCarthy, a senior London activist. Mr Hughes aims to offer a non-Tory alternative to Ken Livingstone. Allies believe his long experience in the capital makes him a serious threat to the current Mayor in 2004.

Apart from Mr Livingstone, the only other candidate selected to date is Nicky Gavron, who won the Labour nomination ahead of Tony Banks last month. Steve Norris is the favourite for the Tory nomination.

Mr Hughes is seen as the figurehead of the Liberal Democrat left and was for years the party's only MP in London. He decided not to seek the nomination in 2000 because it clashed with his fight against Charles Kennedy for the party leadership.

Mr Hughes said the Liberal Democrats had a great chance of winning the mayoral election. "Ken Livingstone will not be the London 'folk idol' in 2004 which he was two years ago," he said.

"Labour do not appear to have their heart in the fight. The Conservatives do not appear nationally or in London to be making the comeback they would need. Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, are at their highest opinion poll rating ever at this stage of a parliament and are increasingly the effective opposition to Labour across the country."

Ms Kramer won widespread praise for her campaign two years ago when she came fourth, close behind Labour's Frank Dobson. A former City financier and expert on transport systems, she is a member of the board of Transport for London, the body charged with overseeing all non-Tube transport.

The Liberal Democrat candidate will be selected by a one-member one-vote ballot of party members in the London region, with the successful applicant due to be named in March. Whoever wins the selection will take part in a much closer mayoral election than two years ago, when Mr Livingstone ran as an independent and emerged as the clear winner. With his congestion charge due to come into force in February, the Mayor has conceded that his "big idea" to tackle traffic problems in London could damage his popularity. The Tories could be the only party opposing the congestion charge.

Mr Norris, a former transport minister, who came second in 2000, is the frontrunner for the Tory nomination, but 10 other hopefuls have submitted applications for the candidacy, including Richard Ottaway, MP for Croydon South, Nikki Page, a businesswoman who works for John Redwood MP, and Brian Coleman, deputy leader of the Conservative group on the Greater London Authority. The Tory candidate will be selected in February.

The Tories think the 2004 election offers a golden opportunity to make inroads in Labour-dominated London, and with a general election expected just a year later, a victory could act as a springboard for wider success.