http://hometownheroesrun.com/lib/principles-of-soft-matter-dynamics-basic-theories-non-invasive-methods by Robert Johnston, @robertj55

With the selection of the party’s London Mayoral candidate imminent, the team at Liberal Reform want to ensure party members are able to make an informed choice.  So, we invited each of the candidates to discuss their experience, campaigning priorities, and policies.  Liberal Reform is not backing any one candidate and the purpose of the interviews is to allow people to compare the responses they give to a set of questions on liberal issues affecting the people of London. The topic is obviously focussed on London but as the UK’s capital city the issues have a wider significance as many are shared by other metropolitan areas and decisions in London can set a national precedent. In alphabetical order, you can find each candidate interview below:

Although neutral on the candidates Liberal Reform is committed to London as a liberal city and therefore it is important to get the candidates’ views on the same list of issues. The topics discussed with all candidates are:

  • The candidate’s own background and experience
  • Their campaign strategy
  • How they would address housing & homelessness
  • Their views on transport: both public and privately-run services (including the often controversial subject of Uber and private hire services)
  • Their views on crime in London and what needs to be done
  • How they see Brexit impacting on London and its international status
  • The environment and how they would tackle issues such as air quality and waste as well as London’s impact.

While letting the candidates speak for themselves, it’s interesting to see many of them taking a more pro-competition angle when it comes to ride-sharing and private hire than the Lib Dems have been known for previously. The scale of London’s housing crisis, and the resulting need to take-up new approaches to finding space to build new homes was also a theme across most, but not all, interviews. All agreed on the need to tackle crime, and make Brexit central to our campaign. What’s also noteworthy is the mix of experience among the candidates.

The interviews were carried out by Liberal Reform board members Aria Babu, Andy Biggs and Dan Carr. The editing was kept to a minimum to provide brevity and clarity. You can also get access to the whole set via the Liberal Reform website.

You can see the individual interviews for each candidate at the following locations:

Siobhan Benita

Rob Blackie

Dinesh Dhamija

Lucy Salek

The hustings for London Mayor will be held tonight from 6.30pm to 9pm at Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, Kings Cross, London WC1H 9BJ and we hope that these interviews will help those who can vote to make an informed choice for a liberal London. Voting opened today and will close on 21 November.

Dr Robert Johnston is a Liberal Reform Board Member, member of the Association of Liberal Democrat Engineers and Scientists and Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

This post originally appeared on Lib Dem Voice.