If Conservatives can win in Enfield then James Cleverly can be Mayor of London
Conservatives have long been told that London is write-off, but victory in Enfield has proved naysayers wrong. Now we must throw ourselves behind James Cleverly for Mayor, says Alessandro Georgiou
Labour had run Enfield for 16 years when voters went to the polls on 7 May. By the end of the next day’s count, we were the largest party on the council with 31 seats to Labour’s 27. A few weeks later, I was elected Leader.
I set this out not to gloat, but because London Conservatives have spent a decade being told, often gently and often by our own side, that this city is finished for us. That the demographics have settled the question. That the arithmetic is hopeless. That the sensible course is to manage the decline and wait for better weather.
We tested that theory in Enfield. It turned out not to be true.
We listened, then committed to things residents could actually check. People were sick of failed low traffic neighbourhoods, so we promised action. They told us their high streets were dying, so we pledged 30 minutes of free parking and stronger trading standards enforcement. They were fed up with fly-tipping and rubbish on their streets, so we committed to bringing back weekly bin and recycling collections.
I have watched Labour’s failure on a bigger stage since Londoners sent me to the Assembly two years ago. After a decade in office, the Mayor treats the businesses that generate the tax base as an inconvenience to be consulted rather than an asset to be defended.
Firms have absorbed higher employer national insurance and uncertainty over business rates. They need a Mayor whose instinct when Whitehall reaches into London’s pockets is to put up a fight. Anyone who spends their week talking to employers, as I do, understands that confidence matters: businesses need reasons to expand here, not another statement acknowledging their difficulties. Those decisions shape employment and prosperity across the capital.
Cleverly knows which levers to pull
That is where James Cleverly’s experience becomes clear. He sat on the London Assembly from 2008 to 2016 and chaired the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. He has run the Foreign Office and the Home Office, two of Whitehall’s least forgiving departments. His recent shadow housing brief concerned the issue that determines whether young Londoners can build a life in this city and not be priced out.
The Mayoralty is a peculiar office: enormous visibility, but delivering results depends on understanding where its powers begin and end, and persuading government to act where necessary. The Mayor who succeeds knows which levers are connected to something and carries the standing to demand the rest. James has spent his career at both ends of that conversation.
We need a Mayor who has represented Britain at the highest level and has the experience to go out and compete for that business
He has also sold this country’s capital abroad for a living, whilst Foreign Secretary. London competes with New York, Paris, Dubai and Singapore for investment, listings and talent. We need a Mayor who has represented Britain at the highest level and has the experience to go out and compete for that business. International standing is useful only if it produces investment and opportunities at home. That should be the test.
I am declaring early because I have learned what an early, disciplined and specific campaign can achieve. Enfield was not won in the final three weeks. It was won across four years of turning up, saying plainly what we would do, and then being held to it.
That is a longer and less exciting road than waiting for the national mood to change. It also requires us to take residents seriously when their priorities differ from those discussed around City Hall.
Enfield does not prove that London will be easy to win. It does undermine the assumption that defeat is inevitable. James brings the experience to make a credible alternative possible. Our task is to build the campaign around it, with the same patience and specificity that worked in my borough.
Cllr Alessandro Georgiou AM, Leader of Enfield Council and a London Assembly Member