London mayoral election update

On 7 May 2020, Londoners will head to the polls to elect the next Mayor of London. As the capital continues to be the international gateway into the UK and the home of European business, strengthening London’s business environment will be essential to, not only London’s prosperity, but the prosperity of the UK as a whole.

Since 2019, the CBI has been engaging with members and mayoral candidates (and their campaign teams) to highlight the business agenda for the next mayoral term. And demonstrating how business can help support the Mayor of London with their ambitions for the capital, helping to build long-term solutions to long-term problems, protect and grow London’s competitive advantage and solve the capital's most pressing social issues.

Recent developments and next steps

Following extensive member consultation between December 2019 and March 2020, the CBI will publicly launch our Programme for prosperity - The business agenda for London, on Thursday 19 March.

The London Programme for prosperity is being shared with candidates and we will look to discuss our policy proposals in further detail, highlighting the role of London’s business community in supporting the Mayor to secure London’s status as a progressive, world-leading city. The CBI will continue to engage with candidates and their teams, throughout the election.

London Council engagement

As part of our plan to ensure that the priorities of business are represented during the election, the CBI London Council has welcomed candidates to discuss their priorities and commitments. This has provided an intimate opportunity to listen to candidates, share business’ concerns, and directly ask questions.

Speakers to date have included:

• Shaun Bailey, Conservative candidate
• Siobhan Benita, Liberal Democrat candidate
• Sian Berry, Green Party candidate
• Rory Stewart, Independent candidate.

Get involved

If you have additional comments on the policies raised within the Programme for prosperity that you would like us to discuss with candidates, please get in touch with Katy Recina, Senior Policy Adviser for London.

We also want to demonstrate the ways in which business is already helping to address many of the issues that London faces. If you would like to provide case studies for our social media campaign – which will take place in the run-up to the election – please contact Katy Recina.