Tories select ex-Apprentice adviser to lead fight to regain Westminster

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

A marketing and IT professional who advised on Lord Sugar’s TV show The Apprentice has been selected as the new leader of the City of Westminster Conservative Group.

Paul Swaddle, who represents the Regent’s Park ward, was chosen by Tory councillors to replace former leader Cllr Rachael Robathan, who stepped down from the role in December.

Cllr Swaddle, who was elected to the council in 2018 having moved to London three years earlier, said he aims to hold the Labour administration to account and return the Conservatives to power in 2026.

Westminster had been Tory for more than 50 years before turning to Labour for the first time in 2022, seen in part due to the failed Marble Arch Mound project.

Asked what the group’s priorities were in its bid to retake the local authority, Cllr Swaddle said: “[People] are worried about crime and the lack of police presence. They’re worried about making sure our most vulnerable are cared for properly.”

Towards the top of the group’s list, Cllr Swaddle added, was transport. Specifically, ensuring it works “for everybody in Westminster”.

“That means we need e-bike schemes that actually work, that don’t litter our streets and mean the elderly can’t cross the road,” he said. “It means we don’t punish people just because they have a car.

“Residents also said they need to see clean streets, and we’ve seen in reports this week that there’s been a 64 per cent increase in fly-tipping in Westminster.”

Cllr Swaddle, who was previously a councillor in Wokingham in Berkshire, receiving an OBE in 2011 for services to politics, is currently co-owner and chief executive of the app development company Pocket App. He was also recruited as an adviser for the 2015 final of The Apprentice.

Cllr Caroline Sargent, who represents Abbey Road, was selected at last week’s group meeting as deputy leader.

Pictured top: Cllr Paul Swaddle (right) and Cllr Caroline Sargent. (Picture: City of Westminster Conservative Group)