Susan Hall selected as Conservative London mayoral candidate

  • Published
Susan HallImage source, Susan Hall
Image caption,

Susan Hall has been a councillor in Harrow since 2006 and a member of the London-wide Assembly since 2017

Susan Hall has been selected by Conservative members to become the party's mayoral candidate for London after winning 57% of the vote.

She was running against only one other hopeful, Mozammel Hossain, after David Cameron's former special adviser Daniel Korski dropped out of the race.

He was accused of groping TV producer Daisy Goodwin at 10 Downing Street in 2013, an allegation he denied.

Ms Hall will go up against incumbent Sadiq Khan on 2 May.

'Offer Londoners a change'

Ms Hall, who has been a councillor in Harrow since 2006 and a London Assembly member since 2017, said: "It is a huge honour to be the Conservative candidate for mayor of London and I am so grateful to everyone for their support.

"Over the coming months, I will work tirelessly to defeat Sadiq Khan and offer Londoners the change we need."

Ms Hall, who describes herself as a "Londoner through and through", ran a hairdressing salon with her husband in Harrow before entering politics.

She said she was the right candidate as she had been "holding the mayor to account for years".

Image caption,

Ms Hall was supported by party chairman Greg Hands and deputy Nickie Aiken

Her three main priorities are to stop the expansion of ULEZ, improve the Met Police and create more affordable housing.

"I want to make sure that the £9bn that the mayor receives from the government is spent properly," Ms Hall said.

The Conservative Party came under criticism from mayoral hopeful Samuel Kasumu, who had failed to make the shortlist of three, after it refused to re-examine the selection process when Mr Korski withdrew, leaving only two candidates.

Mr Kasumu, a former adviser to Boris Johnson, described the current system as lacking "real transparency or mechanisms for accountability".

A spokesperson for London Labour said: "The Conservative candidate for mayor is a hard-right politician who couldn't be more out of touch with our city and its values.

"Londoners deserve better than a candidate who represents the worst of the Tory failure and incompetence over the last 13 years."

Follow BBC London on Facebook, external, Twitter , externaland Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk