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Oona King bids to be Labour's 2012 London mayoral candidate (and what about Diane Abbott?)

The Guardian reported last night:

The former Labour MP Oona King will announce tomorrow her return to frontline politics by declaring that she will challenge Ken Livingstone to become Labour's candidate for mayor of London in 2012.

King will fight Livingstone to become Labour challenger to Boris Johnson. The contest – like the leadership contest – will be decided at the party conference in the autumn.

While reviewing the Sunday papers on the BBC News Channel on Saturday night, I also wondered about the intentions of Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP, Diane Abbott.

Whilst she has claimed over the weekend that she will get the requisite 33 nominations from Labour MPs, I am not so sure she will manage that task.

I do wonder, however, whether her current leadership bid is perhaps a dry run for mounting a more serious challenge for Labour's London mayoral candidacy. Whilst she has a Labour background, she is independent-minded and has a high media profile - both of which are required by successful mayoral candidates.

Just a thought.

Jonathan Isaby

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