James Cleverly: I will fight Labour’s anti-London ‘mansion tax’ Opinion London will be hit the hardest if Andy Burnham lowers the threshold for the ‘mansion tax’ to £1.5m – which only gets you a flat or an ordinary terraced house in many parts of the capital, says James Cleverly Andy Burnham’s Family Homes Tax is yet another attack on London. Last year, Rachel Reeves announced [...]
The battle to be the next Mayor of London has already begun Opinion While Sadiq Khan mulls his future James Cleverly and Reform’s Laila Cunningham are vying for votes in a traditionally Labour city, says Eliot Wilson When politicians often congratulate themselves on surviving until the weekend, voters can be forgiven for losing our long-term perspective. The next election for the Mayor of London will take place on [...]
Sir James Cleverly: London needs its mojo back London Council takeovers in Westminster and Wandsworth have offered the Tories a new confidence boost in London. Sir James Cleverly, once close to becoming party leader, speaks to Maurício Alencar about his ambition to lead the Conservatives into the next London mayoral election in 2028. Unprompted, Sir James Cleverly insists it’s “nonsense” that London is a [...]
If Conservatives can win in Enfield then James Cleverly can be Mayor of London September 16, 2026 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 [...]
Kemi Badenoch’s reshuffle has refreshed the Conservative Party September 1, 2026 Sacking Mel Stride and promoting new faces like Katie Lam – along with appointing a shadow Chancellor who believes in private enterprise, is a signal of intent, says Oliver Dean For roughly two years, Kemi Badenoch had kept the same old team in place. Mel Stride as shadow Chancellor; Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary. [...]
Cleverly announces bid to run for London mayor August 29, 2026 James Cleverly has quit from Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet in order to launch his bid to run for mayor of London. Cleverly, who was the shadow housing and local government secretary, said he would put himself forward for the Conservatives’ candidacy for London mayor. He said the capital needed someone who “is prepared to fight [...]
Burnham accused of imposing ‘top–down’ devolution July 30, 2026 Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda has been slammed over its “top down” approach after the Prime Minister unveiled new plans to share income tax revenue with local leaders. Burnham, himself a former Manchester mayor, said regional leaders in England will begin receiving a “greater share of locally generated revenues” next spring as part of his push [...]
Angela Rayner under pressure to clarify property questions amid hypocrisy accusations September 1, 2025 Angela Rayner is facing mounting scrutiny over her property portfolio, with accusations that she avoided £40,000 in stamp duty and questions around a house valuation in her constituency. These suggestions are made more embarrassing by her dual roles as deputy prime minister and housing secretary. The Times has reported on the “remarkable coincidence” that, at [...]
The silent majority wants more homes August 27, 2025 It’s far too easy for a vocal minority who’ve already got their foot on the housing ladder to pull it up after themselves. A representative planning system will unlock the new homes we need, says Simon Clarke For decades, Britain’s planning system has been run by the same cast of characters: the colonel guarding his [...]
Kemi Badenoch shuffles deckchairs on the Tory Titanic July 23, 2025 Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet reshuffle saw plenty of promotions for yesterday’s men – but the party is on an inevitable course towards an electoral iceberg, says William Atkinson Over the weekend, I re-read London Fields, by Martin Amis. (This paper’s Opinion and Features Editor introduced me to the late author two years ago, and of [...]