Plus ca Change! Conservative Candidate Selection for London Mayor

 With thanks to BBC Newsnight.

Speculation has started regarding who will be the Conservative Candidate in the London Mayor election. As per Camilla Tominey of the Daily Telegraph 10 January 2026 "James Cleverly is being lined up as the Conservative candidate for mayor of London.   This video shows what happened  in 2006 when James Cleverly last put forward his name to be a candidate for mayor.   It was at the height of the controversy over David Cameron's "A" List. 

    I had been asked by the Party Board to research the operation of the "A" list which was proving to be very unpopular with the grass roots Party members.  To my surprise I found that the number of women applying to be candidates was approximately 30% and the number of women candidates being selected was also 30%. In my report I stated that the "A" list was not a solution to the problem of few women candidates and research should be done as to why so few women applied.    The report was accepted by the Party Board and David Cameron told me that the "A" List was to be dropped privately with no public announcement.   He went on to say that he only brought in the "A" List because he thought it would get him the women's vote in the Leadership election.