News
Cleverly Quits Shadow Cabinet To Run For London Mayor
— 3 mins read
56% of Londoners want Khan to stand down
Sir James Cleverly has quit the shadow cabinet with immediate effect to seek the Conservative nomination for London mayor, setting up a fight for City Hall in May 2028.
The former home secretary stepped down as shadow housing secretary on 29 August. He remains the MP for Braintree and will campaign from the backbenches.
Cleverly told Kemi Badenoch of his decision on Thursday. He told *The Sunday Times* the Conservative leader 'took it very well' and was 'very gracious'.
He is not yet the party's official candidate. He must first win the Tory selection contest, and the party has not chosen its nominee.
Explaining his decision, Cleverly said: 'London's reputation has been allowed to slip, at home and abroad, while too many of its problems have been left to fester.'
He added: 'I know this city. I know the job. I know I can do it. And I know I can beat whoever Labour puts forward.' He also rejected what he called 'the lazy idea that London is a Labour city'.
The poll numbers behind the timing
A YouGov poll of 1,141 Londoners found 56% want Sir Sadiq Khan to stand down before the next election. Just 24% back him seeking a fourth term, The Telegraph reported on 20 August. The same poll found most Londoners think the city is a worse place to live than 10 years ago.
Khan became mayor in 2016 and won a third term by a large margin in May 2024. There are no term limits for the job. He has hinted he will run again in 2028, the Evening Standard reported, with a final decision expected next year.
Reform is already in the race
Reform UK named Laila Cunningham as its candidate in January. The Paddington-born Westminster councillor and former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor defected from the Conservatives and has made crime and visible policing her main themes. Some polling has put Reform level with or ahead of the Conservatives in 2028 mayoral scenarios.
I know this city. I know the job. I know I can do it. And I know I can beat whoever Labour puts forward.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, mocked Cleverly's move on X, GB News reported. Farage wrote: 'James Cleverly will not be the first Tory MP to give up any hope of winning their seat in Essex. They are done for.'
The fight over London's money
Cleverly also attacked Andy Burnham's push to shift power and money from London to the regions. 'Burnham is looking to punish London', he said. 'He sees Londoners as a cash cow. Money is being diverted to prop up his political hinterland and buy votes elsewhere in the country.'
Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, has called for moving government jobs out of the capital and letting regional mayors keep a share of income tax. Whichever way the money moves, it comes from the same taxpayers. The row is over who spends it, not who pays it.
From Lewisham to City Hall
Cleverly was born and raised in Lewisham, south London. He sat on the London Assembly for Bexley and Bromley from 2008 to 2016, chaired the London fire authority, and worked under Boris Johnson as mayor. He became MP for Braintree in 2015 and later served as foreign secretary and home secretary. He lost the 2024 Tory leadership contest to Badenoch.
Badenoch is expected to announce significant changes to her shadow cabinet before the party's annual conference in October.
