Why I'm backing Mike Tuffrey to be our Mayoral candidate.

I will be voting for Mike Tuffrey to be our candidate in the forthcoming Mayoral elections.

I was all set to write a detailed and reasoned argument why I've come to that conclusion - and then Dave Hill in The Guardian essentially wrote everything I was going to say in one pithy and well written piece (albeit perhaps with some home truths we'd rather not read).. I urge you to go and read it yourself, but to pick out one key phrase:

I know the precise and experienced Tuffrey would hold his own in any platform dust-up with Boris and Ken

However, I do beg to differ with Dave on one key point. I will not be hoping Mike comes in 'as a good as possible third'. I will be fighting to help him win.

And Mike possesses two things that together give him a better chance than our other hopefuls.

Firstly, a long and faultless political record of fighting for Londoners.

And secondly, he doesn't have the 'celebrity' status of Ken or Boris.

It is obvious why the first is an advantage - but why the second? Because it gives Mike a narrative the others can't use. There's little point in trying to 'out-celebrity' Boris or Ken. But there's clearly a story in being the candidate who has shunned the limelight to concentrate on working for the people who elected you.

Over and above all this of course I have looked at Mike's policies and decided he's the candidate that best represents my views. But the chance to stand out from the crowd and say something different than our opponents is the icing on the cake

I know the 'let's try and win' strategy is not endorsed by all. But I still believe if you're going to enter a race you should do all you can to win that race. And Mike Tuffrey is the best candidate we have to maximise our vote.