Former Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy is preparing for a second run for Mayor of London, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been told.
The senior Labour figure, who was in government under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, held a fundraising dinner on Wednesday, September 9, via a party affiliate organisation.
While the money from the tickets, which ranged from £80 to £150, went directly to the hosts, SME4Labour (Small and Medium Enterprises for Labour), party sources told the LDRS the event was a testing ground for a run at City Hall should Sir Sadiq Khan decide not to run for a fourth term.
At the event, Mr Lammy addressed the rumours directly, suggesting that the fundraiser was not to drum up support for a Mayoral campaign but to raise the resources to defend his own parliamentary seat at the next election. However, the MP for Tottenham has still not explicitly ruled a 2028 run out.
Rumours have spread around Mr Lammy’s prospects ever since he left government in July, when the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham entered Downing Street.
Mr Lammy appeared alongside Sir Sadiq during a visit to West Reservoir in August.
The former Assembly Member has tried for City Hall once before – ahead of the 2016 election – but lost out to the current Mayor in the Labour Party’s selection process.
Some in the party have downplayed his chances, even if he officially announces his candidacy bid. He will likely have to fight a fierce contest with other London MPs including Dawn Butler and Rosena Allin-Khan.
A source said: “I am not sure he can even count on support from his local party in Tottenham for his future ambitions in London.”
However, others in Labour are more supportive, saying he has the credentials to go for the role if the Mayor announces he will not seek a fourth term in office.
“I expect he’d go for it as soon as Sadiq announces he will stand down,” one source predicted. “He’s out of government now so it makes sense. Lammy has been very impressive since he was first elected.”
Mr Lammy did not respond to several requests for comment.
