Bedfordshire’s former police and crime commissioner has launched his campaign to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2028.
Festus Akinbusoye, currently a Conservative ward councillor in the City of Westminster, previously ran as the Mid Beds parliamentary candidate in the 2023 general election.
He sought to fill the seat vacated following the resignation of controversial MP Nadine Dorries, but was defeated by the Labour candidate Alistair Strathern.
Read: Mid Beds’ new Labour MP says “tonight residents have made history”
Today (Tuesday), he has thrown his hat into the mayoral ring in a contest involving high-profile names including former cabinet ministers Sir James Cleverley and Justine Greening and Lord Sebastian Coe.
The Tories have fallen short to Sir Sadiq Khan in each of the last three elections since Boris Johnson stood down as Mayor of London.
Since 2016, neither Zac Goldsmith, Shaun Bailey nor Susan Hall was able to unseat the incumbent, who won comfortably on every occasion.
But Akinbusoye says his campaign will be different.
No experience
Unlike any of the previous Conservative candidates, the former Bedfordshire PCC has no experience in Westminster or City Hall.
Should he win, he will be a fairly unknown entity to voters, but with the Conservative Party only now stabilising politically after years of turmoil culminating in a disastrous General Election in 2024, a clean slate may be what’s needed to convince voters.
“My proposition to London is this,” Akinbusoye tells the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) confidently.
“I’m a fresh face. I’ve not been part of a government in the past, but I come with solid private sector experience, having set up a small business with the help of the Prince’s Trust.
“I come with lived experience of the issues many people in London face around homelessness and the cost of living, coming here as an immigrant and the son of a cleaner, and, of course, with a background in policing.
“I bring a completely different backstory and professional experience across both the public and private sectors, alongside a very clear vision – to make sure London is an affordable home to stay and raise a family, safe enough to live and work, with opportunities in all our boroughs.
“I want London to work for Londoners, because London works when Londoners work.
“We need a Mayor and a City Hall that actually work for Londoners rather than against them.”
Four parties
Whoever the Tory candidate is must first overcome an election which will likely see four parties fiercely competing for a place in the final two, rather than the two-horse race that it has been since the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) inception.
A recent poll from Savanta shows the Conservatives in third place on 18 per cent of the first round vote, behind Reform UK on 20 per cent and Labour on 33 per cent.
In a thinly veiled message to the Tory faithful, Akinbusoye says that he is the candidate that can “connect with the story of the average Londoner”.
“I strongly believe that Londoners will at least listen to a Conservative candidate who speaks their language, who has lived their story, and who is all about delivering for them and getting London working for them again,” he added.
Last month polling from Opinium suggested the Conservative Party must put up a “fresh” candidate with strong credentials on crime and policing to stand a chance in 2028.
In the polling, 27 per cent of Londoners said a candidate who had previously served in the last Conservative government would make them less likely to vote for the party, compared to 23 per cent who viewed it positively.
Meanwhile, having no ministerial background would see 28 per cent of voters more likely to opt for the party, compared to 20 per cent who would be more reluctant.
Housing crisis
The capital’s housing crisis will be front and centre of Akinbusoye’s bid to win the election, should he get the Tory nod.
“This is not about ambition or ego; it’s personal,” he added.
“I was one of those people who was literally priced out of London when I came here as an immigrant from Nigeria and set up my own business. I had to move 70 miles away from London to Milton Keynes.
“Moving back now and serving as a councillor here, it is 20 times worse for young people. I want to build a pathway for young people to be able to own their own homes in London and stay, rather than getting priced out of the city.”
He says the London Plan – the city’s spatial strategy which local authorities are meant to follow – has caused an exodus rather than stimulating housebuilding.
Safety is one reason for this, and he draws on his experience as the PCC in Bedfordshire to reflect on his policy of focusing on recruiting frontline officers to “crush crime”, but the affordability of homes is another.
Accusing City Hall of failing to work closely with developers to “build the homes that Londoners want, where they want them to be”, he says he would reform the London Plan and set out a “realistic pathway” for renters towards home ownership.
Akinbusoye has also been highly critical of the Mayor of London and Transport for London’s record on fare evasion, which is estimated to cost the network around £200mn every year.
By rolling out more enforcement, he says, fares can be kept “affordable” for Londoners.
With a multi-party battle looming in 2028, several high-profile candidates, including former cabinet minister James Cleverly, are putting their names forward for selection amid suggestions that Sir Sadiq may not stand in their way in a bid for a fourth term.
Running against a lesser-known Labour figure could make life easier for the eventual Tory candidate, though Akinbusoye acknowledged that lessons need to be learned from those who have fallen short in recent elections.
Badenoch boost
The Abbey Road councillor, and deputy cabinet member for enforcement, says all three previous candidates are “good friends” who have been “kind, open and honest about what went well and what could have been done different”.
He also says the current Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, will be a boost to any campaign, claiming the former Assembly Member’s “focus, straight talking, and patriotism will be of great benefit”.
However, the way to win the city over, he muses, will be to focus on London, rather than fight along party political lines.
“My focus will be on making sure London remains a great place for people to live, raise a family, set up a business, and get around,” he said. “I will be the strongest champion for London, whether for a business owner or a young person.
“I’m not going to replay the tactics of the past. My focus is making sure my message gets across to Londoners so they get to know me, not focusing on Sadiq Khan.
“Whether he stands or not, I don’t really care. I only care about making sure Londoners get to know who I am, what I stand for, and what I can do for them, their businesses, their families, and their communities.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We will be selecting a candidate in due course.”
by Kumail Jaffer
Local Democracy Reporter
with additional reporting by Erica Roffe
