A former Independent candidate for Mayor of London who came close to beating the Liberal Democrats is planning to stand again - this time as a Lib Dem.
Former civil servant Siobhan Benita was the big political surprise of the 2012 mayoral contest when she amassed an extraordinary 83,914 first-preference votes.
The haul put her only 8,000 votes behind official Lib Dem candidate Brian Paddick, on 91,771 – and she attracted twice as many as Ukip who managed 43,000.
Ms Benita’s campaign was boosted by an endorsement from the former head of the civil service, Gus O’Donnell, known as GOD.
Speaking to the Evening Standard she revealed: “I’m having another go because it is unfinished business.
“I did much better than people expected, coming very close to some of the main parties. I always knew I would run again.
“Whenever anyone asked me then why I would do such a crazy thing, the honest answer was ‘why wouldn’t you want to be Mayor of London? It’s one of the best jobs in the world.’”
Ms Benita, 46, is married with two daughters at university and works in London for Warwick University.
She joined the Liberal Democrats the morning after the 2016 referendum and vowed to campaign for a fresh referendum. “I genuinely believe there is now a space for, and a need for, a different kind of politics which is what I wanted to bring. The other two parties are tearing themselves apart and we need other people to come forward and fill the space in the centre.”
Up to half a dozen potential Lib Dem candidates will throw their hats into the ring before nominations close at the end of this month.
Asked if GOD would be on her side again, Ms Benita said: “I think Gus will be watching very closely how it goes.”
She said Sadiq Khan was “doing well in some areas but in others there have been warm words but no delivery”.
A member of the Youth Violence Commission, she said Mr Khan had failed to bring in “a joined up approach” to tackle underlying issues.
She said the three potential Conservative candidates were Brexiteers and out of step with Remain-backing London.
Lib Dems are due to pick a candidate by end of November.
