Veterans of the political scene threw their weight behind potential mayoral candidates at the British Property Federation’s annual conference.
Ken Livingstone voiced support for Sadiq Khan, saying: “He is like me in that he is a person who has made his own way up and wants to get things done. He is not one of these nerdy kids who has studied philosophy and politics.”
Livingstone pointed to Cameron, Blair and Obama as people who, in his words, “had never run anything before they got a whole bloody country”.
Steven Norris, former conservative MP and challenger to Livingstone for the mayoralty, supported Zac Goldsmith’s bid, saying he supported his policies on environmentalism. However, he added: “I don’t ultimately care who wins, as long as they think about the things that matter, such as housing and infrastructure.”
Backing Caroline Pidgeon, the Lib-Dems’ Baroness Olly Grender said: “I would like to see a mayoress.” She said Pidgeon had “worked hard on issues like housing and air quality and would address the generational and wealth divide”.
