The Progress 1000: George Osborne and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw named as most influential Londoners

Revealed: the Evening Standard's annual list of London's top 25 progress makers
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James Ashton17 September 2015

Chancellor George Osborne and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw were today named as the two most influential people in London as the Evening Standard’s annual assessment of the capital’s power players produced joint winners.

Our panel of editors, critics and experts which compiled the list judged that Mr Osborne’s leadership of the economic recovery and the financial firepower he has sunk into London’s infrastructure put him on top.

The Chancellor was tied with Robshaw, who will lead out England’s rugby team in the World Cup this Friday with hopes high that the tournament can recreate the Olympic glory London basked in three years ago.

Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s most senior executive in Europe, and Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne also feature as new entries in the top 25 most influential Londoners.

Mr Osborne said: “I’m very flattered and I could not be in better company. Chris and his team are superb role models for everybody in the country and for every Londoner.”

Mr Robshaw said: “I am really honoured that the Evening Standard voted me joint top Londoner with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. There are so many people in this city who’d be deserving of this award and I’m very proud to accept this on behalf of them.”

On Wednesday night the full list of 1,000 was released and you can see who won a coveted place in our list.

The top 25

1=    Chris Robshaw  England rugby captain

1=     George Osborne Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State

3     The Queen

4     David Cameron Prime Minister

5     Boris Johnson London Mayor

6     Thomas Heatherwick designer

7     Nicola Mendelsohn  Facebook vice president

8     Terry Morgan Crossrail chairman

9     Eddie Redmayne actor

10     Theresa May Home Secretary

11     Mike Brown Transport for London interim commissioner

12     Tony Hall BBC director-general

13     Mark Carney  Bank of England governor

14     Benedict Cumberbatch actor

15     Zac Goldsmith Conservative  mayoral hopeful

16     Sadiq Khan Labour mayoral candidate 

17     Nick Jones Soho House entrepreneur

18     Damien Hirst artist

19     Jeremy Corbyn Labour leader

20     Sam Smith singer

21     Carey Mulligan actress

22     Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe Metropolitan Police commissioner

23     Alice Gast Imperial College president

24     Mo Farah World champion runner

25    Ella Woodward food blogger

The ninth annual edition of The 1000 celebrates “progress makers” — the people who have made an impact in redrawing our city’s skyline, infrastructure and interiors.

The full list — featuring leaders from the fields of music, business, science and technology — will be unveiled at a party tonight in Canary Wharf’s new Crossrail station.

The Progress 1000 has three headline sponsors: Canary Wharf Group, Citi and Crossrail. The book featuring the list of leading Londoners is sponsored by housebuilder Berkeley Group.

Evening Standard editor Sarah Sands said: “Tonight we celebrate progress, the impulse which makes a city world class. Our progress makers are the people who keep London on the move today and have a vision of how we stay out in front tomorrow.”

Third in the list is the Queen, who last week became our longest-reigning monarch and who has seen an unprecedented era of progress in London.

Seven politicians feature in the top 25 — including David Cameron in fourth place and both front runners to be voted London’s new mayor next year, Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan. The outgoing Mayor Boris Johnson, who has returned to Parliament as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, is ranked fifth to reflect the significant influence he still wields over the capital and internationally. Placed sixth is Thomas Heatherwick, who has designed the Garden Bridge that will span the Thames between Temple and the South Bank from 2018.

In eighth spot is Terry Morgan, who as chairman of Crossrail has overseen the £15 billion east-west rail link that opens in three years’ time.

Also high-ranked is runner Mo Farah who won double gold at the world athletics championships in Beijing.

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