Ken faces challenge by his deputy

Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron has announced her intention to stand against Ken Livingstone for the job of Mayor of London.

Ms Gavron last night applied for selection as the official Labour candidate after Mr Livingstone lost his bid to be re-admitted to the party.

She will compete against London Assembly chairman Trevor Phillips and former Sports Minister Tony Banks for the nomination, she said.

She told the Evening Standard that she made the decision after receiving the backing of colleagues from across the London Labour party.

Ms Gavron, who represents Enfield and Haringey on the London Assembly and is known as the ?quango queen? because of the number of bodies she sits on, said she would portray herself as the ?unity candidate?.

If she wins the Labour Party?s nomination, she will also call on electors to give their second preference votes to Mr Livingstone, should he stand as an independent candidate again.

Ms Gavron, who supported Frank Dobson?s failed mayoral bid in 2000, said of her decision to put her name forward: ?A lot of people over the last few weeks had suggested it.

?Now, because of the events of yesterday, I?m considering it. I am willing to go ahead but I have got people to consult first.

?I come with a very wide, across-the-board support, otherwise I wouldn?t even consider it, and I think I could run a campaign which would be unifying rather than divisive.

?There?s a job to be done. The platform on which I would campaign would be one that unifies Labour. I would be about maximising Labour support in London, getting as many seats as possible and not letting the Tories in as Mayor.?

At present there are nine Labour and nine Tory members on the London Assembly, with three Greens and four Lib-Dems.

She added: ?As a woman I have a different style. I would run much more of a conventional political campaign. I wouldn?t get involved in personality attacks. It?s imperative that Labour values continue to form the basis of London government.?