2021 Mayor of London Business Hustings
Following a devastating year for the capital, the candidates will set out their visions to kickstart London's economy, which has suffered disproportionately from the impacts of COVID-19. The next London Mayor will need to chart a clear path for recovery: to ensure growth, prosperity and innovation are allowed to flourish amidst deep uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, and build a plan to create a more resilient, competitive and dynamic London economy that can tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow.
The hustings will begin with opening remarks, before turning to questions fielded by Anna Edwards, Co-Anchor, Bloomberg Markets: European Open, Bloomberg Television.
The candidates will take questions from the audience during the hustings, so we encourage participants to submit questions upon registration.
Speakers
Shaun Bailey AM
Shaun Bailey was born in a council house and raised by a single mum. He spent part of his twenties homeless. Now he’s the Conservative Party’s candidate for Mayor of London.
So it’s fair to say he’s not a typical politician — and he didn’t come to politics the typical way. Shaun spent twenty years as a youth worker, getting kids out of crime and into work. He was threatened with machetes and attacks. But he stuck it out and helped countless young people escape crime and make something of themselves.
His youth work brought him to the attention of Prime Minister David Cameron, who asked Shaun to join the team in Downing Street. He was appointed senior adviser on youth and crime, tasked with improving the life chances of young people.
During his time in government, Shaun helped to deliver the National Citizen Service, the largest youth programme in British history. And he helped to expand access to the Army Cadets, a programme that helped Shaun stay on the straight and narrow in his teenage years. As a result of this work, Shaun was appointed an Honorary Colonel of the Cadets for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Shaun has spent the last four years as an Assembly Member in the Greater London Authority. And he’s seen how politicians are failing Londoners. Knife crime has hit record highs. Good homes are more unaffordable than ever. Our transport network is congested. And the cost of living keeps rising.
Shaun is standing for Mayor to give London a fresh start. He’ll work with every resident in every community to build a safer, fairer, more affordable city.
Sian Berry AM
Sian Berry has lived in London since 1997 and has worked as a medical copywriter, PA, website manager, project manager for a digital start-up, author and transport campaigner before being elected to the London Assembly in 2016.
She has been a local councillor in the Highgate ward of Camden since 2014. She was one of the Green Party's Principal Speakers from 2006 to 2007, stood as candidate for London Mayor in 2008 and 2016 and is currently party Co-leader with Jonathan Bartley.
In 2003 Sian co-founded the Alliance against Urban 4×4s, was a driving force behind the Reheat Britain campaign that secured a boiler scrappage scheme in 2009 and worked for Campaign for Better Transport from 2011 to 2015. She is a patron of the British Humanist Association and is a trustee of her local nature reserve.
Rt Hon Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan was born in London and has lived here all his life. His parents moved to London from Pakistan in the 1960s. He was state-school educated in Tooting before studying Law at the University of North London. Sadiq and his wife have two daughters. Sadiq became a solicitor specialising in human rights and was a councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006.
In 2005 Sadiq was elected MP for Tooting. He was appointed Minister of State for Communities in 2008 and later became Minister of State for Transport, becoming the first Muslim and first Asian to attend Cabinet. He was also Crossrail Minister.
In 2013 Sadiq was appointed Shadow Minister for London, and in 2015 he led the Labour Party campaign in London in the General Election.
Sadiq is a big sports fan, especially football, boxing and cricket. He ran the 2014 London Marathon, raising money for the Evening Standard's Dispossessed Fund.
Luisa Porritt
Luisa is a Liberal Democrat councillor in Camden, having been successfully elected in her first ever election in May 2018. She followed that up with a win in the 2019 European elections to become an MEP. Now she is standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate to be Mayor of London in 2021.
On being announced as our mayoral candidate, Luisa pledged: ''I will show what a liberal London can be like - where the 600 neighbourhoods that make up our capital lead the way.
''From putting homes in the heart of the city to reinventing our high streets for the future, we can renew every area in London to become thriving, green, and affordable places to live and work.''
Find out more about her campaign at www.luisa4london.co.uk and sign up as a volunteer.
Luisa joined the party after the 2016 referendum. She has since campaigned passionately for the UK to retain its EU membership. In her first year as a councillor, her motion in favour of a People’s Vote was passed by Camden Council.
Luisa is a fluent French speaker and proud Londoner. A former journalist, she has experience working in both the public and private sectors. She currently manages the UK arm of a French financial communications agency and teaches economic history for a university.
Anna Edwards
Co-anchor, “Bloomberg Markets: European Open”
Bloomberg Television
Anna Edwards is the co-anchor of “Bloomberg Markets: European Open” on Bloomberg Television and a frequent host of “Bloomberg Daybreak Europe” on Bloomberg Radio. Anna has more than ten years experience in business news having previously worked at CNBC Europe and freelanced for CNN in London. Before working in TV Anna was an equity analyst at UBS and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Anna has interviewed business leaders, politicians and key economy figures including Bob Diamond, Sir Richard Branson, Justin King, Paul Walsh, Michael O’Leary, Ben Verwaayen, Alistair Darling, Lord Digby Jones, Christine Lagarde, Bill Gross, Jim Rogers, Paul Krugman, Steven Roach, Nouriel Roubini and many more.