It’s not been an easy ride for our team of Time Out journalists and volunteers, but after four weeks we’ve done it: successfully raised the £10,000 minimum required to stand for Mayor of London. We’ve also collected the 330 signatures of registered voters from 33 boroughs (ten per borough) every candidate must supply. Great, lets stand for Mayor of London then…
Well, actually, let’s not. This campaign was never just about Michael Hodges becoming Mayor, it was about putting your concerns on the Mayoral agenda and fighting an electoral system that is inherently unfair and undemocratic. That’s why we opened up the pages of Time Out, and this website, so you could help us shape what is truly a people’s manifesto. Your manifesto. To be honest, we were staggered by how much passion, verve and imagination you mustered for this particular cause. We also learned that you don’t necessarily want grand or radical policies but the small and simple things which, if implemented, would improve life in this city immensely.
Every turn of this campaign seemed to reveal uncomfortable truths about London democracy. Gathering the required signatures was hard enough for us, a well-staffed weekly magazine, but for ordinary Londoners wishing to stand as independent candidates, it’s almost impossible. Political parties get access to the electoral rolls for every London borough. They also have teams of party workers who are paid to go out and chase the signatures. Is this any way to run a genuinely democratic city?
We are proposing an early day motion in the House of Commons, which will call for an end to discriminatory barriers that prevent Londoners like you contributing to the running of your own city. So, although we have qualified to enter the race, we are withdrawing from the official election, but fighting on against the system that’s let you – and London – down.
The Time Out Mayoral campaign stops but the people’s manifesto lives on. And to ensure it does, we will be putting its key demands to each of the main candidates over the coming weeks.
We hope they listen to you. To find out more, and to get involved, visit the Time Out site.
Gordon Thomson, editor of Time Out, and Michael Hodges, Time Out Mayoral candidate
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