London’s Liberal Democrats have named a shortlist of two contenders to be their new candidate for London Mayor following the withdrawal of original choice Siobhan Benita in July.
Party members will select between Luisa Porritt, who has just become leader of the Lib Dem group on Camden Council, and businesswoman Geeta Sidhu-Robb.
Both women have strong pro-European credentials, with Porritt recently serving as a London Member of the European Parliament and Sidhu-Robb as vice chair of the Peoples’ Vote campaign. She now chairs its successor, Democracy Unleashed.
Sidhu-Robb is the founder and chief executive of Nosh Detox, a company that sells food health and well being programmes. On the company’s website she describes the collapse of the property development company she ran with her husband and going on to built Nosh Detox from scratch after a spell as a yoga teacher. Born in Malawi, she moved to the UK at the age of 15 and has previously been a lawyer.
Porritt was elected to represent Camden’s Belsize ward in 2018, gaining it from the Conservatives after a recount. She has previously worked as a journalist, a university teacher in London and in public relations. Porritt told the Ham & High last month that she was “seriously considering” seeking the London Mayor candidacy.
The contest for the nomination will last for a month, with the winner announced on 13 October.
Update, 14 September 2020: Geeta Sidhu-Robb has now been suspended by the Lib Dems and removed from the shortlist.
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