Tories select Windrush descendant Shaun Bailey to fight Sadiq Khan in London Mayoral election
The former adviser to David Cameron has blasted the current Mayor's record on crime
TORY members have selected a Windrush descendant and former adviser to David Cameron to fight Sadiq Khan in the London Mayoral election.
Shaun Bailey defeated rivals Andrew Boff and Joy Morrissey in the tussle for the nomination to stand in 2020, after a vote by party supporters in the capital.
He has previously attacked Mr Khan’s record on tackling crime, saying that he is “emboldening criminals” by failing to catch enough thugs behind knife attacks in the city.
The 46-year-old has also called for 1,000 extra cops on the streets to stem the flow of violent crime, which has seen it dubbed “Lawless London” this year.
Mr Bailey, who has been on the London Assembly since 2016, is a former youth worker from North Kensington who has twice stood unsuccessfully to be an MP.
In the first round he took 43 per cent of the vote from Tory members in the capital, with London Assembly member Mr Boff on 2,600 and Ealing councillor Ms Morrissey in third on 1,600.
Mr Bailey - once smeared as "token ghetto boy" by controversial Labour MP Emma Dent Coad - defeated Mr Boff in the second round with 53 per cent of votes.
The victorious candidate said today: "Local government is important work and our city is facing real challenges.
"Violent crime is up. Gang crime is up. Knife crime is up. Our transport system faces a £1billion hole in its operating budget. New homes are not being built fast enough.
"After two and a half years of Sadiq Khan, it is clear we cannot afford more of the same."
Tory chairman Brandon Lewis added: "I’m delighted Shaun Bailey has been elected as our candidate. He is passionate about London and has the ideas London needs to continue to be the best capital city in the world."
But Mr Bailey’s campaign to unseat the Labour incumbent, who has announced he wants a second term, got off to a bad start after he was embroiled in a race row overnight.
The revealed he shared a tweet in 2017 which included a message referring to Mr Khan as “mad mullah Khan of Londonistan”.
The Conservative party told the newspaper there is “no way” Mr Bailey would have seen the offensive caption on the picture before sharing the post, as to do so one must click to open it.
A spokesman for Mr Bailey added: “Shaun was completely unaware of their existence, and as someone who has suffered racial abuse himself, there is no way on earth Shaun would ever knowingly have shared something so offensive.”
The row will be a distraction from his plan to become London Mayor, running on a campaign of tackling the city’s spiralling crime figures.
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Speaking to The Sun last month, Mr Bailey said the current Mayor was not doing all he could to tackle the issue.
He stormed: “I don’t think we are helpless, I think he is clueless. The Mayor only talks about prevention because it makes him look good.
“He said it would be a priority for him, but it was around 18 months before he came up with a knife crime strategy. His response is uniting Londoners against him.”
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