More than a dozen other British cities are looking to follow suit.Īn extended Ulez, charging drivers £12.50 per day to bring older vehicles into London, will have “a desperate impact on a lot of vulnerable people”, says Kasumu. Kasumu’s priorities include housing and crime, but he says the key election battleground will be Khan’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez) policy, and his plans to extend it to all 32 London boroughs in August. They have seen him in action as Boris Johnson’s most senior race adviser in Downing Street – a post he quit two years ago in the wake of the Government’s racial disparity report, which concluded that Britain was not “rigged against ethnic minorities”, a subject we will return to. There is no shortage of Tory heavy-hitters who regard Kasumu as the best chance of stopping Khan from winning a historic third term: Priti Patel, Grant Shapps, Steve Baker and Nadhim Zahawi are among those who have thrown their weight behind him. The winner, chosen by Party members from a shortlist, will be announced on July 19. He is not lacking in confidence or an infectious belief that he can win, yet he never comes across as arrogant.īefore he can think about taking on Khan, he must first beat eight other Tories to the nomination, including front-runner and Minister for London Paul Scully, Duwayne Brooks, the former Lewisham councillor and friend of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, and two members of the London Assembly. It may sound cocky, but Kasumu is laughing as he says it. “We need to win in London and hold on to the mayoralties in Tees Valley and the West Midlands,” he says, “because if you can show you’re able to win in all those areas, all bets are off. Kasumu, 35, wants to be the Conservative candidate in the London mayoral election in May 2024, and if he is selected – and goes on to beat Sadiq Khan – he believes Sunak’s chances will dramatically improve. You might not have heard of Samuel Kasumu, but if Rishi Sunak manages to win a record fifth term for the Tories next year he might well be a big part of the reason.
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