James Cleverly leaves Conservative shadow cabinet for London mayor bid

James Cleverly has resigned from Britain’s Conservative shadow cabinet to seek his party’s nomination for mayor of London, ahead of the election scheduled for May 2028.

Cleverly, the MP for Braintree and a former home and foreign secretary, had been serving as shadow housing, communities and local government secretary. He told the Sunday Times that his resignation would take effect immediately and said Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch had responded graciously when informed of his decision.

His entry gives the Conservatives a high-profile contender for City Hall. Cleverly argued that London’s business, entrepreneurial, arts and cultural sectors align with Conservative priorities and rejected the idea that the capital is inherently a Labour city. He is expected to present his case to party members around the Conservative conference in October.

Labour’s Sadiq Khan is midway through his third term as mayor and has not said whether he will seek a fourth. Khan won the 2024 contest with 43.8% of the vote, defeating Conservative candidate Susan Hall. If he does not run in 2028, Labour MP Dawn Butler is among those expected to consider entering the race.

Cleverly previously ran for the Conservative leadership but lost to Badenoch. His departure from the shadow cabinet reshapes the party’s front bench while opening an early phase of campaigning for a mayoral election still nearly two years away.