Walaa Idris: Candidates like Lightfoot deserve more respect

Walaa Idris is the Chairman of Hans Town Ward in Kensington & Chelsea, and Chairman of her local Resident's Association.

Sometimes I don’t have a clue what’s going on these days. But as a Londoner and someone who follows politics with great interest I feel that the majority of sane and balanced Londoners share the general consensus that our Mayor “Mr. Ken Livingstone” is clearly not the man for London nor is he good for Londoners.

During his management of the capital, it seems that he achieved more bad than good, especially for small businesses and those on low incomes. To him democracy and the democratic process is nothing but a minor inconvenience that he could casually disregard. To him what Londoners want or think does not have a lot of importance or bearing on any matter. He does and shall continue to do as his dictatorship pleases. That alone should give any opponent a vast amount of material to fight him with.

So why are we giving him more than his weight?

Why does it seem as if our leadership is hurdling over themselves to promote him?

At this rate next May the man does not need to lift a figure campaigning, because it has all been done for him.

Last year the Conservative Party had an imaginative idea for selecting its candidate for Mayor of London: hold an open primary. That means letting people come forward hold an open debate and see who the London electors choose. A primary means that the central party machine cannot control the outcome. A candidate emerges who has an attractive set of messages and a political personality that chimes with the voters.

As it happens, we have credible, sound and hard working candidates who will neither jump ship midstream nor change parties when things don’t go their way. These men and women are proud Tories who know that being a Conservative is about caring and compassion. It is about giving people equal opportunity, and more control over their lives. These men and women know and understand that sometime the winds bring with it uneasy changes, but like the oak, they gently sway yet solid they stay standing.

Take Warwick Lightfoot for instance. He has been a London borough councillor for over 20 years. During this time he has specialised in social services and was politically responsible for building up one of the country’s best three stars social services departments. Warwick Lightfoot is a professional economist who has worked in London’s international markets and in the public sector. This is a man who was the adviser to two Chancellors of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Employment. Lightfoot understands public finance; he knows how to get value for money and could be trusted to control spending. Having worked at the Department of Employment, he understands how people living in a rich and prosperous city can get trapped in poverty and unemployment and get left behind. He grew up in a single parent family so he understands first hand the challenges that families face. He was educated at a comprehensive school and appreciates the freedom and opportunities a good and solid education provides.

Our candidates might not have letters preceding their names “yet”; they might not be a “BIG NAME” but they have worked for the Party, their communities, and are more worthy of respect and admiration than the has-been wannabes who will only make us look wishy washy, weak and needy. And probably jump ship half-way through the journey anyway!

Comments

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

A K&C member, wanting a K&C candidate. I don't think so...

[Paul Oakley]

Warwick is a well known and well respected borough councillor. However, the Mayor is an expensive irrelevance. As such, I would recommend Dr Lee Rotherham as our candidate as he would abolish the post. Lee has at least consistently shown an interest in being the Tory candidate unlike the plethora of vaguely famous people who have been puffed for a few days before fading from the scene.

[Francis Maude has killed them all]

Alas poor Warwick - we know him well. Too well. A wonderful likeable chap . . . but no.

Walaa you are brave - and right - to point out that the national party has destroyed the existing candidates. But not just anyone. Francis Maude is to blame. His behaviour on this and just about everything else has been destructive to our unity and our campaigning strength. Quite frankly, he might as well be campaigning for the Labour Party.

We did have a very good candidate in Nick Boles, but Francis Maude's antics have holed his credibility below the waterline. Strange since they are both metrosexuals politically in bed together, but then loyalty was never Maude's greatest strength. What do we do now that Maude has destroyed Boles? I see little choice but:

(a) Find a new candidate not previously announced to take on the job who has credibility (a dwindling pool sadly) and

(b) Axe Francis Maude and get a Party Chairman with someone with judgement who can inspire excitement rather than near universal vitriol.

[Adam]

Walaa, whilst I agree that the party shouldn't be seduced into thinking a big name will win the Mayoralty for it, it doesn't follow that simply being good on paper makes you a good candidate either. We saw Warwick Lightfoot and Victoria Borwick on 18 Doughty Street being given a friendly interview by Iain Dale and they went to pieces. They would be obliterated by Livingstone - sad but true.

[two pence worth]

Strong, media-savvy, big campaigner needed, not an amiable but out-of-his-league eccentric

[Dawn Parry]

Hmmmm. While I agree with you Walaa, that our Party leadership being seduced by famous "big" names is undermining Conservatives' credibility, I cannot agree that Warwick Lightfoot is the man to represent us for the job. I don't know him, but I watched his, and Victoria Borwick's interviews with Iain Dale. Enough said....

The person who gets the job will be someone with bags of charisma, someone Londoners can relate to and someone the camera loves too! This last point may sound shallow, but today image is everything. It's also what has kept us for 10 years in the wilderness.

We can't afford (although very nice people), the appearance of bumbling, toffs fronting our Party anymore, it will be our deathnell.

Ken will walk it unless a shiny, sparkling, switched on individual with bucket-loads of magnetism can be found to oppose him.

By the way, is it a pre-requisite that those running for London Mayor can't pwonounce the letter R ? Check out Iain Dales interviews.