London mayor battle erupts as Labour and Reform MPs slam Tory hopeful James Cleverly

Senior Labour and Reform UK MPs tore into Sir James Cleverly after he quit the shadow Cabinet to run for Mayor of London.

Sir James' decision to seek to be the Conservative contender for City Hall effectively triggered the start of the mayoral race even though the election is in May 2028.

Announcing his move, he launched a series of attacks on Sir Sadiq Khan.

“Under Sadiq Khan’s Mayorship London’s reputation has been allowed to slip, at home and abroad, while too many of its problems have been left to fester," he said.

He also launched a separate attack on Andy Burnham on Sunday saying the Prime Minister was waging a “war on London”.

But former Cabinet minister Steve Reed, Labour MP for Streatham and Croydon North swiftly hit back: “A senior member of the Tory government that cut London’s police, doubled homelessness and starved London of funding year after year?"Londoners don’t forget.”

In a sign that Sir James will face a battle from the Left and the Right, Reform chairman Lee Anderson responded to the Tory MP's move by posting on X: “Does that mean the Lib Dems will have two candidates standing?”

But there was a groundswell of support for Sir James from Conservatives as he is by far the most heavyweight potential mayoral candidate since Boris Johnson.

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott, MP for Sevenoaks, messaged: “London is an incredible city that deserves a much better Mayor than the one it has at the moment.

“James would be outstanding."

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge posted: "Great news! Delighted James will be running for London Mayor. Looking forward to the campaign.

However, Sir James has not yet been selected as the Tory mayoral contender and party leader Kemi Badenoch has urged other potential candidates to come forward as she seeks the strongest challenger to Sir Sadiq, or whoever is the Labour contender.

Sir James has announced his bid just days after a shock poll revealed Reform were in pole position to challenge Labour in the next contest set to take place in 2028.

The Savanta survey for the Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London, showed Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham could beat her Tory rival to get to the run-off against Labour.

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