What you need to know about the London mayoral elections

There are immense challenges facing the next mayor of London. He or she will lead London's public health and economic recovery after a year of COVID restrictions, as well as being responsible for keeping the capital moving and making its streets safe. The candidates for the four largest parties in London have now set out their policies on policing, the economy, housing, transport and the environment. What do their manifestos say? Read the full article via BBC News.

100 business leaders back Sadiq Khan for a second term as London mayor

One hundred business leaders today backed Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for re-election. They said he had been a strong advocate for their sector during the coronavirus pandemic. "Sadiq has been the most pro-business mayor ever, standing up for our interests on issues like Brexit and business rates," said Helen McIntosh, president of the South East London Chamber of Commerce. Read the full article via Business Insider.

Mayor of London election: Minor candidates create a race within a race

This year’s mayor of London election has set a record for the most ever candidates – a 20-strong field of career politicians, chancers, grifters, oddballs, cranks, culture warriors and earnest small party hopefuls. The race itself has provided little interest for the public at large, with a Sadiq Khan victory a foregone conclusion at a time when the city has more pressing concerns (i.e. going to the boozer post-lockdown). Read the full article via City AM. 

Two YouTubers, Count Binface and a man who drank his own urine. Who gets your vote as London mayor?

A London mayoral election looms, then. It isn’t “important” in the usual sense of the word – being mayor of London, a position with little actual political power, basically just involves doing sad eyebrows on the news when something bad happens in the city and making unconvincingly jovial hand gestures while opening a school or bridge. But mayor of London is an important role for London itself, giving it the validation it constantly craves. Read the full article via The Guardian.

How YouTubers turned running for London mayor into content

Niko Omilana will not be elected mayor of London next week. But the 23-year-old YouTuber prankster and mayoral candidate, who is polling just behind the Lib Dems and the Greens, is still likely to emerge from the contest as a winner. “Content is his priority,” said Omilana’s manager, Grace O’Reilly, who happily accepts her client has no chance of beating Labour’s Sadiq Khan. “In terms of the cost of his campaign, it’s an investment for him. There’s no profits to be made off the back of it but with the marketing there’ll be a lot more brands interested in Niko Omilana.” Read the full article via The Guardian.