London Mayoral election: The cultured, gay Ukip man who is after Eurosceptic Londoners’ votes

Battling for votes: Ukip candidate Peter Whittle in Romford market
Glenn Copus
Pippa Crerar18 April 2016
WEST END FINAL

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On first impressions Peter Whittle is not what you might expect from a Ukip mayoral candidate.

His clipped English accent is softened by years spent working in media and television in California.

He is highly cultured, confessing to spending his pocket money on going to the ballet as a teenager.

He is gay, and provoked gasps of surprise at the first mayoral hustings by suddenly announcing it.

Whittle, who runs a cultural affairs think tank, is seen as being on the “sensible” wing of the party.

Ukip’s poll ratings mean it gets more of a hearing than before.

Yet he is unhappy that many people still believe London is not a naturally Ukip city, and points to the party’s increased share of the vote at last year’s general election.

What he does not add is that it was still way below the rest of the country.

While Whittle’s chances of winning are low, many expect Ukip to take a seat on the London Assembly, so he could end up at City Hall anyway.

He laughs off suggestions that Londoners would be better off voting for Eurosceptic Tory Zac Goldsmith, who has a chance of winning, if they want to leave the European Union.

Top five policies

Leave the EU and take back control of borders to ease pressure on housing and infrastructure

Encourage boroughs to prioritise people who have lived in London for five years for social housing

Give Londoners a final say in major planning decisions through binding referendums, if five per cent of locals want one

Support intelligence-led  stop-and-search

Introduce a 90-minute  multiple-journey bus ticket

“Zac is part of a pro-EU party. Also migration is a huge concern for Londoners. I talk about that all the time and haven’t heard Zac do so once,” he said.

He has his eye on former Labour supporters as well, saying: “This hard-Left which is critical of England, the tone they give off, many people don’t find sympathy with.”

He is unwilling to make deals over second preference votes, and says that he has not thought that far ahead.

Whittle is back on Ukip terrain when he cites the “demand-side” problems that arise from 100,000 people arriving in London each year.

“A big change has occurred. People see migration and membership of the EU as being linked and they’re absolutely right to think that,” he said. “If we’re going to get control of the housing situation and the strains on infrastructure you have to have a properly managed immigration system and you can’t have that if you’re in the EU.”

Like his rivals, he believes the housing crisis in the capital is urgent. But he claims there is “no question” immigration is to blame, and says their pledges to build thousands of homes will “never be met”.

The security threat faced by Londoners also comes back to the EU. “What has happened with the migration crisis is that the free movement of people across Europe has also resulted in free movement of people who want to do us harm,” he said.

Whittle criticises Labour’s fares freeze pledge as a “promise made to be broken”, because the transport network desperately needs investment. He would ditch “vanity” projects including the Garden Bridge and Thames cable car instead, and tackle “bloated” pay at Transport for London.

He also wants to hand more control of neighbourhood policing to councils and give Londoners a final say on major planning decisions through binding referendums.

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