Rory Stewart withdraws from London mayoral race due to coronavirus crisis

6 May 2020, 10:28

Rory Stewart has pulled out of the running to become Mayor of London, in the contest which has been delayed for a year.

The former Tory cabinet minister, who was standing as an independent candidate, said it was impossible to continue campaigning due to the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

He told the Evening Standard that it had been an “agonising decision” to quit but that he could not ask his team of volunteers to keep going for another year.

He said he would not be able to beat the "huge machines" of the Conservatives and Labour over a protracted two-year campaign.

“The point about an independent campaign is it needs to be a sort of quite quick insurgency where you really build excitement over a few months,” he said.