Sir James Cleverly has formally launched his campaign for the James Cleverly London mayor contest in 2028, resigning from the shadow cabinet to do so, as a source close to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said he ‘is a formidable politician and will out-campaign Khan’.
The capital is not scheduled to vote for a new mayor until May 2028. Labour incumbent Sir Sadiq Khan has yet to confirm whether he will seek a fourth term. A Guardian report published this month found that 56% of Londoners think Khan should step down and allow a different Labour candidate to stand, according to a YouGov survey. That figure adds pressure on the incumbent ahead of a race in which his party’s grip on the capital will be tested.
Supplementary Vote System Returns for 2028
The 2028 contest will also be fought under a restored supplementary vote system, where voters may name a preferred first and second choice. If no candidate wins more than 50% of first-choice votes, second preferences are counted. The return of that system could complicate the arithmetic for all candidates, including Sir James.
Sir James wrote that he intended to make London ‘a city to be proud of again’. ‘We must rebuild its reputation and make it, once again, the best place in the world to live, work, invest and build a business,’ he added. He accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of treating London as a ‘cash cow: somewhere to tax, regulate, raid and blame’, and said Londoners need ‘homes they can afford to buy or rent’ and that entrepreneurs need to ‘start and grow businesses without being strangled by cost and regulation’.
A source close to Badenoch said she ‘really didn’t want James to leave shadow cabinet’, but believed ‘he will be a big asset in London’. The Conservative Party has yet to formally select its candidate for the London mayoral race.
James Cleverly London Mayor Bid: The Background
Sir James held the posts of foreign secretary, home secretary and education secretary under three prime ministers. He also served as an army reservist and represented the Conservatives on the London Assembly before his election as MP for Braintree in 2015.
According to On London, Cleverly was a member of the London Assembly from 2008 until 2016, during which time he chaired the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority and worked for Boris Johnson while Johnson served as mayor of London. That period gives him a familiarity with City Hall that his campaign will likely seek to highlight.
He unsuccessfully ran for Conservative party leader in 2024, losing out to Badenoch. His announcement follows weeks of speculation that he would step down from the front bench and launch a mayoral bid.
The Scale of the Conservative Challenge
The last London mayoral election, held in May 2024, underlines the scale of the task facing any Conservative candidate. Sir Sadiq beat his Conservative rival by more than 275,000 votes, a swing of 3.2% to Labour. The mayor won nine of the 14 constituencies, including two gains from the Tories, and took 43.8% of the vote share.
Sir Sadiq began his first term in 2016. Should he choose not to stand again, a Labour primary of sorts could emerge, with that YouGov figure suggesting significant appetite among Londoners for a new candidate.
Reform UK has already moved to select its candidate. In January, it announced that Westminster City councillor Laila Cunningham would stand in the May 2028 election. The Conservatives, as yet, have made no such formal announcement, with Sir James’s resignation marking the opening move of what is likely to be a lengthy selection process.
