Sound the trumpets! Get out the pitchforks! CCHQ is – allegedly – at it again! There is a great hue and cry this morning from London Tories at the final shortlist of names to run for City Hall. Members must pick from one of Daniel Korski, Susan Hall AM and Mozammel Hossain KC to be their next mayoral candidate. This after neither of the two widely-tipped frontrunners – Paul Scully MP and Samuel Lasumu – made the final list, amid accusations that CCHQ blocked one or both men.
What exactly is going on? Kasumu, a former aide to Boris Johnson, posted a statement on Saturday claiming ‘for a number of weeks… certain individuals were seeking the best mechanism to prevent me making the shortlist.’ He claims the reasons given by the chair of the London board were that he was a councillor for a ward outside London, that he lacked experience and boasted insufficient support. Supporters have briefed that his work for Johnson was why Kasumu was ‘blocked.’ Paul Scully meanwhile said he was ‘disappointed’ not to have been selected with one Tory MP suggesting that it was further evidence of those close to Johnson being eased out of the chance to get top jobs in the Conservative party.
Those involved in the process insist that it was more that Scully was tainted by association with the ‘psychodrama’ of the past 18 months, as a regular defender of the government on the airwaves. Hustings start today and run until 3 July, with members able to put their questions to candidates before voting for their preferred choice between 4 and 18 July. The winning candidate will then be announced on 19 July, allowing them ten months to campaign before the election next May.
Best of luck to Korski, Hall and Hossain…
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