Sian Berry vowed to bring a new kind of politics to City Hall prioritising ‘fairness’ for Londoners if elected mayor tomorrow.
The Green mayoral candidate, who is vying for third place behind Sadiq Khan and Zac Goldsmith, pledged to run a positive campaign that would make Londoners lives better.
Ms Berry, who is the only candidate to have previously run for mayor, said her policies are firmly grounded in experience that other candidates lack.
She said: “With me, London would look a lot fairer. I would start straight away empowering Londoners — bringing their voice to City Hall, so I think they would feel immediately that they would have more of a stake in the city.
“People don’t vote for us now because of our green policies alone, they vote for us because we have the right policies for social justice, for transport, for housing.
“The other day a boxer came up to me and said he was voting for us. People from all different communities; Muslims, Sikhs, working class white people, all of them — there’s really no typical green voter anymore.”
Ms Berry’s ‘fairness’ principle underpins her whole campaign, including how she defines a Londoner.
She said: “I think you’re a Londoner from about three weeks in frankly — once you get the hang of the buses then you’re a Londoner in my eyes.
“If someone wants to come from Hong Kong and buy a home and live in it, that’s fine — but I think the rule needs to be you live in it.”
Ms Berry, who has spoken out against the dangers of Brexit, took the opportunity to defend the role of immigration on London’s thriving economy.
“UKIP do a terrible disservice, they blame everything on immigration, it’s really very poor indeed,” she said.
“London has thrived on immigration over the years, even the most downtrodden people who have come here, who have fled wars, have contributed hugely to London — we need to be putting in policies that welcome people and encourage them to thrive in London.”
She also pledged to dismantle the Metropolitan Police ‘boys’ club’ image by making it 50% female.
She said the change would overhaul the way London is policed and attract talented people who are put off by its ‘boys’ club’ reputation.
Ms Berry, who would have control over London’s police service if elected, wants to add 8,000 women to the force to bring the existing number of female officers up from 29% to 50%.
