Prospective Mayor of London, David Lammy, addressed supporters in Stratford today to help boost his campaign.
The Tottenham MP detailed his manifesto outside Stratford station before taking questions from members of the public.
He outlined his plans to increase the number of social and council homes, which would be funded by a bonds scheme similar to that used to fund Transport for London.
He also detailed his plans for introducing more night schools and a cap on rental prices.
The visit was part of the Labour candidate’s 20 in 20 tour, aiming to visit 20 London boroughs in 20 days.
He said: “I had a conversation about going to night school and I spoke to a man before that about social housing.
“It’s the same issues that keep coming up all over London.”
Mr Lammy spoke about how growing up in a single-parent family next to the Broadwater Farm estate – notorious for the 1985 riots – meant that he was in a better position to understand the situations faced by ordinary Londoners more than his political rivals.
He joked that he was “not Boris Johnson” before listing things the current mayor has wasted money on, including water cannons.
Speaking afterwards about why he chose to campaign by addressing passers-by on a soapbox, he said: “I feel very comfortable and inspired.
“It’s good for people to see politicians in public.”
During the question and answer session, which saw Mr Lammy give his opinion on issues such as immigration and travel costs, one member of the audience came up with a new slogan.
“We shouldn’t have a mayor for London, we should have a mayor for Londoners,” he said.
Mr Lammy was supported in his campaign by East Ham MP Stephen Timms and a group of supporters from all over London who handed out flyers to passing shoppers.
In order to get into City Hall, Mr Lammy will first have to defeat Diane Abbott, Tessa Jowell, Sadiq Khan, Gareth Thomas and Christian Wolmar in the Labour primaries this summer.
The successful candidate will then challenge the other political parties in next year’s election.
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