A Tory politician and former mayoral hopeful at City Hall has announced he is standing down at the next London-wide election.
Nick Rogers, who represents Hounslow, Kingston and Richmond on the London Assembly, said on Thursday he had made the “tough decision” not to stand for re-election in May 2024.
“It’s the coming together of a number of thoughts, but ultimately it’s a very personal decision. It’s about what I want to do with my life going forwards,” said Mr Rogers, who was elected to City Hall in 2021.
“People in the Assembly and in London know me in the last few years from London politics, but I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old in one way or another,” he added.
“I’ll be 38 at the next election. There are lots of other things that I would love to do but which I can’t do if I am in politics, so I think it’s time to change the focus of things. I’m still a committed Conservative, and I’m still a party member.”
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Mr Rogers began a bid earlier this year to be the Tory candidate against Mayor Sadiq Khan, promising to “stand up for millennial Londoners”. But three weeks ago, he pulled out of the race, and endorsed Minister for London Paul Scully MP instead.
“A lot of the same thought processes that led me to pull out of that campaign are the ones that have led me to this decision as well, so the two are connected,” said Mr Rogers, who also spoke about what he wants to do once he leaves City Hall.
“I have a list on my phone called ‘non-political projects’. There are some creative projects there – I used to do creative writing, so I want to bring that back up again.
“I want to go into the private sector and do something there, probably around transport work.
“And there are a couple of projects I want to work on with my husband, so there are a few things.”
Mr Rogers said he will continue his work as the recently-elected chair of the Assembly’s transport committee, as well as serving his constituents and giving his support to Mr Scully’s campaign.
The Conservatives are expected to conclude the shortlisting of their potential mayoral candidates to a group of two or three on Sunday, June 11.
The party’s London membership will then vote for their favourite contender from among that shortlist, with the candidate announced on July 19.
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