Kemi Badenoch triggers race to pick Tory candidate for 'best shot since Boris' London mayor election

Kemi Badenoch was on Thursday firing the gun for the official race to pick a Conservative candidate for the London Mayor contest.The Standard understands that Tory hopefuls will have less than two weeks to put their name forward.Conservative MP Sir James Cleverly who resigned from the shadow cabinet to stand for Mayor of LondonPAThe deadline to enter the selection process was expected to be September 30.It is understood that a Conservative selection panel will whittle the number of contenders down to two.Hustings are then expected to take place for the two potential candidates to lay out their platforms to run City Hall.Conservative members in the capital will then vote to pick their chosen contender who is expected to be in place before the end of the year.Festus Akinbusoye who is challenging Sir James Cleverly to be Tory candidate for Mayor of LondonFestus AkinbusoyeThe selection is also earlier than when Tory Zac Goldsmith was chosen in October 2015 for the 2016 election.A Conservative source told The Standard: "This shows how seriously we are taking the London Mayoral election in 2028.Read More“It could be our best shot since Boris (Johnson) won in 2008 and catapulted us to power in Westminster. “Sadiq Khan has been an absolutely woeful Mayor of London and the sooner he is replaced the better."Lord Sadiq Khan taking up his seat in the House of LordsPAIf he opts against such a move, a number of Labour MPs are expected to throw their name into the hat to be Labour’s candidate for mayor.Laila Cunningham, Reform UK’s candidate for London MayorGettyReform UK picked its mayoral candidate, former Westminster councillor Laila Cunningham, at the start of the year.Lord Khan has defended his record as mayor, hitting out at people who seek to portray London as a “fallen city”.