Mayoral candidate expects to pull off ‘the biggest upset in political history’ amid opinion poll failure
By Joe Talora, local democracy reporter
Mayoral candidate Brian Rose says he expects to pull off “the biggest upset in political history” on May 6 by becoming the Mayor of London.
The former Wall Street banker, who had been running as an independent before launching his own political party, has been touring the capital in a campaign “battle bus” and says he has a “deeper relationship” with Londoners than other politicians.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service at a campaign event in Westminster today, Mr Rose said that “the polls and the mainstream media… don’t know how to quantify” him.
He said: “I honestly think we’re going to pull off the biggest upset in political history.
“I meet so many people on the streets that are with us, that know our policies.
“I think the problem is, the polls and the mainstream media, they don’t know how to quantify a candidate like me.
“I’ve been in people’s lives for ten years here in London.
“Some people know my whole story, they’ve seen my documentary films, they’ve seen me interview people that have literally changed the course of their lives.
“I think I have a deeper relationship than most politicians in the city that show up three weeks before an election.”
Mr Rose has denied any claims that his mayoral run is a PR exercise and said that he launched the London Real Party to show “a long-term commitment to local politics” in the capital.
“It’s one thing to be a flash in the pan and run for mayor and we see a lot of people doing it, even self-admittedly, for PR reasons.
“But we wanted to show that we have a long-term commitment to this city,” he said.
In addition to running for mayor, Mr Rose will also appear on his party’s list for the London-wide London Assembly seats on May 6 alongside three other candidates from the London Real Party.
Mr Rose’s mayoral campaign has failed to make an impact on opinion polls, having polled only as high as three per cent, still two per cent below the share of votes needed for a candidate to retain their £10,000 deposit.
Despite this, Mr Rose said: “I think we’re going to shock people on May 6, I really do.”