The London mayoral elections are not due to be held until 2024 but the race to take on Sadiq Khan has already begun.
Labour’s Mr Khan has been in post since 2016, when he took over from Boris Johnson, and has announced he will be standing for an unprecedented third term in the capital.
The election is set to take place in May 2024, along with local elections in England and Wales, and although nominations do not need to be in until two months before, parties are already putting forward candidates.
Who is standing for London mayor?
Labour Party
Sadiq Khan – nominated
In December 2022, Mr Khan was chosen as Labour’s candidate for the 2024 election after saying: “There’s still so much more to do.”
He admitted the race would be a “very tough election” and denied rumours he would be returning to Westminster, where he was the MP for Tooting for 11 years.
The mayor’s first two terms have not been without controversy and his expansion of the ULEZ (ultra-low emission zone) to all London boroughs in August 2023 is set to become a major battleground for the election.
Several Conservative-run outer London boroughs and home counties councils have taken Mr Khan to court over the expansion.
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After confirming he will be standing, Mr Khan said voting him in again would “send a message to the Tories” about the current state of the economy.
He also criticised the fact a first-past-the-post system will be used for the first time in a London mayoral election, as well as the fact that voter ID will be required.
The two changes “appear deliberately designed to disenfranchise minority communities and disproportionately affect Labour votes”, he said.
Green Party
Zoe Garbett – nominated
In February 2023, NHS worker Zoe Garbett was announced as the Green Party’s candidate after winning the vote against Islington councillor Benali Hamdache and former MEP and Lambeth councillor Scott Ainslie.
The 35-year-old Hackney councillor came second in 2022’s Hackney mayoral race and works in a non-clinical role for the NHS.
She said her focus will be on “addressing inequality and injustice” and said the London mayor must “do all within their power to make the city more affordable”.
Ms Garbett has also promised to address “huge failings” in the Met Police.
Conservative Party
No confirmed nominations yet – applications opened on 10 May and close on 24 May.
But a crowded field of candidates has declared an interest in standing to represent the Tories.
Andrew Boff – declared
The deputy chair of the London Assembly and former leader of Hillingdon Council was the first Tory to say he will definitely enter the internal party contest to take on Sadiq Khan for the Conservatives.
Known for his independent libertarian views, Mr Boff, 64, has unsuccessfully attempted to become his party’s mayoral candidate for every election since 2000, except for 2012 when Mr Johnson stood for his second term.
Duwayne Brooks – declared
The former Lib Dem Lewisham borough councillor, 48, declared his intention to stand as the Conservative mayoral candidate in May.
He became involved in politics after he was attacked alongside his friend Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered by a group of racist youths in 1993, and Mr Brooks was treated as a suspect.
Mr Brooks wants to make sweeping changes to the Met Police, fix crime, racism and education problems, introduce reading groups for schoolchildren, create a school debating competition, and introduce compulsory first aid and social media training.
Susan Hall – declared
A London Assembly member since 2017 and Conservative leader of the assembly until recently, Susan Hall said she has a “common sense plan to fix our great city”.
She has proposed wide-ranging changes to the Met Police, saying it needs “root and branch reform”, and told the Telegraph “basic rights” need to be addressed first as opposed to focusing on “roads [being] renamed”.
Samuel Kasumu – declared
A Welwyn Hatfield councillor and former special adviser to Boris Johnson when he was prime minister, Samuel Kasumu has received the backing of some big names, including former home secretary Priti Patel, energy security secretary Grant Shapps and Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker.
The 35-year-old, who grew up in Barnet, north London, said he would grant boroughs affected by the ULEZ expansion a vote on whether to remain in the zone.
“It is time for a new vision that unites the city and inspires hope,” he said.
Daniel Korski – declared
A tech entrepreneur and former deputy head of policy to David Cameron when he was prime minister, Mr Korski said it was time an “outsider” was given a chance to defeat Mr Khan.
He is also a former war correspondent in Libya and has spent time in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and most recently Kyiv.
Mr Korski also founded the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, helping those who have fled Hong Kong.
He said he would focus on the Met Police, proposing a small levy on hotel rooms to raise extra funding and is opposed to the ULEZ expansion, proposing technology to track the most polluting journeys instead.
Nick Rogers – declared
A London Assembly member since 2021, Nick Rogers spent 18 months as a manager at Waterloo Station, was a special constable in the Met Police and ran to be a Conservative councillor in Lambeth before being elected as a councillor in Tunbridge Wells.
Mr Rogers, 37, said London “urgently needs new leadership”, and has promised to restore faith in the Met Police and reverse the ULEZ expansion.
Paul Scully – expressed interest
The minister for London and MP for Sutton and Cheam since 2015 has said he may throw his hat into the ring but has not officially declared yet.
If he did, he has said he would focus on crime, housing and transport improvements.
Reform UK
Howard Cox – nominated
The founder of FairFuel UK, a campaign group against hydrocarbon oil duty increases, has been selected as the right-wing populist party’s candidate and has promised to scrap the ULEZ altogether – not just Mr Khan’s expansion.
The party was formerly the Brexit Party and its president is Nigel Farage, former leader of UKIP.
Independent
Jeremy Corbyn – rumoured
The former Labour leader could stand as an independent against Sadiq Khan, an ally of his told the Mail on Sunday.
He is said to have been encouraged to stand if he was not readmitted to the Labour Party after being suspended for saying antisemitism in the party on his watch was exaggerated.
In March, he was formally banned from standing as a Labour MP.
The veteran politician could be hoping to replicate the success of Ken Livingstone who won the mayoral election in 2000 as an independent after he failed to gain the Labour candidate vote.
