Tory Senedd member Natasha Asghar's London mayor bid
- Published
Natasha Asghar says her "passion for London" makes her want to become the city's next Conservative Mayor
A Conservative member of the Welsh Parliament wants to be her party's candidate for mayor of London.
Natasha Asghar, MS for South Wales East, said she lived in London as long as she had lived in Wales and could be a "breath of fresh air" for the city.
The Welsh Conservatives wished her "all the best", but political opponents mocked her announcement online.
Ms Asghar, her party's shadow transport minister in Wales, was elected to the Senedd in 2021.
"Now I know you're probably all thinking to yourself 'why Natasha, why?' " she said in a Twitter video.
"However, I just want to make you all aware that I've lived in London just as many years as I've lived in Wales."
Her decision followed a "lot of deliberating and gentle nudging from residents across London," she said in a press release.
Natasha Asghar says she wants to knock the current London mayor Sadiq Khan "off his perch"
Ms Asghar said after two years "fighting Labour's backwards policies in Wales" she is "ready to take the fight to London".
But Labour Economy Minister Vaughan Gething replied on Twitter, referring to the Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, saying: "To be fair to him Andrew RT [Davies] did a much better April Fool's clip - and he got the date right."
The current mayor, Labour's Sadiq Khan, has said he intends to stand for a third term at the next election in May 2024.
Ms Asghar is the latest in a growing list of Conservatives trying to secure the party's nomination for the City Hall job.
Matthew Evans, the Conservative leader on Newport council, says he was surprised by Ms Asghar's bid for London Mayor
Applications to be the Tory candidate close on Wednesday. Potential candidates will then be whittled down to a shortlist. Conservative Party members will vote for their preferred candidate with the winner to be announced on 19 July.
Ms Asghar's late father Mohammed was also a Tory Senedd member for the South Wales East region, having defected from Plaid Cymru in 2009.
'Massive ask'
Conservative leader on Newport council, Matthew Evans, said he was "quite surprised" Ms Asghar had put her name forward.
The councillor said he did not see it as an issue: "If she feels it's an opportunity for her, that's fine."
But he added her bid was unrealistic. "I'm happy to be proved wrong," he said. "To get the nomination and win would be a massive ask."
Natasha Asghar told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers that the "majority" of Conservative voters she had spoken to in the last 24 hours "are really happy for me", although she acknowledged most were "very shocked".
"I know there's going to be a few disgruntled ones," she said.
She said she would not stand down as an MS.
"I have just submitted the application. At this moment in time it's just a process of having submitted an online form."
She added: "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. But you know what they say - if you don't try you don't get."
"Ambition shouldn't be shunned or seen as a bad thing here in Wales."
A Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: "This is just yet more evidence that the Conservatives see London as a bigger priority than Wales."
A Welsh Conservative Senedd spokesperson said: "Over the last two years Natasha has proven herself to be a great communicator and a fantastic champion of the causes close to her heart.
"We wish her all the best as she enters the start of the process for her candidature."