Tory civil war rages as ‘Boris ally’ and minister Paul Scully is SNUBBED in campaign to be party’s candidate to fight Sadiq Khan to be London mayor despite being seen as favourite to win nomination
A Government minister seen as the frontrunner to be the Tory candidate for London mayor has failed to make the shortlist to take on Sadiq Khan.
Minister for London Paul Scully missed out on the final three drawn up by the party ahead of next year’s election.
The Sutton and Cheam MP has been in the ministerial post since 2020 and served under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
He announced his candidacy last month and was seen as the favourite for the Tory nomination.
But the party last night chose three relative unknowns to run-off for the final place.
Former Downing Street adviser Daniel Korski and London Assembly Member Susan Hall will battle it out with Mozammel Hossain, a barrister who did not publicly announce he was running.
Minister for London Paul Scully missed out on the final three drawn up by the party ahead of next year’s election. Former Downing Street adviser Daniel Korski and London Assembly Member Susan Hall (right) will battle it out with Mozammel Hossain, a barrister who did not publicly announce he was running.
Daniel Korski has proposed truning traffic lights off at night and giving the mayor control over criminal prosecutions to boost burglary convictions.
Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, suggested the Tories had avoided selecting Mr Scully to go through to the next round because Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration is ‘toxic’ to voters.
Had Mr Scully been chosen and won the election in may next year, he would probably have had to resign his seat in a by-election, something that the party might want to avoid before the next general election.
He has a majority of 8,361, which puts it in the sights of the Liberal democrats, who came second in 2019.
Mr Scully, seen as an ally of Boris Johnson, had said he would look to follow in the footsteps of the former prime minister in a bid to ‘reach out beyond’ tribal lines if he was selected.
The MP for Sutton and Cheam had vowed to fight Labour mayor Mr Khan’s decision to expand the ultra low emission zone (Ulez) scheme and pledged to build more housing.
In a statement, Mr Scully told the PA news agency: ‘While I’m disappointed by today’s decision, I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to Team Scully, the many volunteers, activists, councillors, AMs and MPs across London who supported my campaign.
‘Your dedication and scale of support has been incredible.’
The contestants will take part in hustings from Monday until July 3 before members are given the chance to vote for their preferred candidate between July 4-18.
The chosen candidate is expected to be announced on July 19.
Mr Streeting said: ‘There’s a very simple explanation for the Conservative Party not shortlisting their Minister for London to be their London mayoral candidate: their Government is toxic.
‘It’s not that they have no confidence in Paul Scully, it’s that they have no confidence in their own record.’
Mr Korski is a former adviser to David Cameron and businessman who has seen his campaign endorsed by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove.
The son of Polish refugees said he was ‘delighted to have made it through to the next phase’ of the selection process.
Mr Khan is vying for a historic third term in City Hall at the May election.
‘Our campaign is about rebuilding the London dream. I’m glad to have received such fantastic support,’ he tweeted.
At the weekend he told MailOnline that the political leader should be given oversight of the Crown Prosecution Service in the same way as it has a role in running the Metropolitan Police.
He said it was an ‘anomaly’ that the mayor has a say in the running of the police force but no say in whether criminals caught by it then face a court.
The idea was previously floated by Boris Johnson when he was London mayor in 2014 but came to nothing.
Mr Korski spoke out after police agreed to start attending all burglary scenes across the UK in a win for a Mail campaign.
In a wide-ranging package of reforms he also called for borough-level burglary reduction targets.
He has also suggested turning traffic lights off at night to save money and energy.
Ms Hall, a former leader of Harrow Council, said she was ‘honoured’ to have progressed.
‘I am the candidate Sadiq Khan fears the most, because I will expose him, defeat him and clean up the mess he has left behind,’ she said.
Mr Khan is vying for a historic third term in City Hall at the May election.
Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands MP said: ‘All three of these individuals have shown great commitment to fighting Sadiq Khan and to bettering London with the Conservatives.‘
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