Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Phillips out of race for London mayor

Andrew Grice
Wednesday 28 August 2002 00:00 BST
Comments

Labour's attempts to oust Ken Livingstone suffered a setback yesterday when Trevor Phillips withdrew unexpectedly from the race to become the next Mayor of London.

Mr Phillips, the chairman of the Greater London Assembly, had been expected to throw his hat in the ring to become Labour's candidate for the election in two years and was seen as a front-runner to win the nomination.

His withdrawal is a blow to the Labour high command, which is searching for a heavyweight candidate to oppose Mr Livingstone after rejecting his application to rejoin the Labour Party last month.

Mr Phillips, a Blair loyalist, said he had decided not to seek the nomination because it would not be best for his family, the party or Londoners.

"Unlike most of the other Labour names in the frame, I have a young family, with children passing through a particularly vulnerable phase of their lives," he said. "I would never knowingly vote for a man or woman who put ambition ahead of family. I do not want to be such a candidate. The moment will arrive when politics can come first but that moment is not now."

The 48-year-old former television presenter stressed that his decision related only to the 2004 election and hinted he might be a Labour candidate in 2008.

In the next electionMr Phillips is expected to support Tony Banks, the MP for West Ham, if he seeks the Labour nomination.

The only candidate to declare so far is Nicky Gavron, the Deputy Mayor. Mr Phillips took a sideswipe at her yesterday for failing to advance the Labour case when criticising Mr Livingstone on television, and then arriving at City Hall the following morning "to take his orders". Ms Gavron said: "I'm surprised to hear the news. Trevor has obviously thought hard about the decision. I look forward to continuing to work with him on the GLA and on the campaign."

Mr Phillips also attacked the Mayor's congestion charging scheme, saying it was just a "road tax" that would hit the less well-off hardest while failing to punish polluters. He proposed charging businesses £4.50 a week for each of the 120,000 parking spaces provided for executives.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in