Who is Reform UK candidate for Mayor of London Howard Cox?

The role is currently held by Labour's Sadiq Khan who is aiming for his third term which would make him the longest-running Mayor of London.

But, Khan faces competition including the likes of Reform UK's candidate Howard Cox who was selected by the party in November 2023.

Howard hopes as Mayor he'll be able to "Get London Moving" but who is Howard Cox and what are his policies?

Who is Reform UK Mayor of London candidate Howard Cox?

Howard is most famed for being the founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign which aims to freeze fuel duty for "motorists, bikers, van drivers, cabbies, and truckers."

Although previously a Conservative voter, the Reform UK candidate said that he could no longer "support a party that I simply don’t recognise."

The businessman-turned-politician shares he has 50 years of experience "running and advising small businesses" along with successful campaigning skills.

The Reform UK candidate adds that he has "no deep-seated political agenda, just a genuine impassioned desire to get rid of a disastrous Mayor."

Reform UK London mayoral candidate Howard Cox at the party's campaign launch in Westminster, central London. FairFuelUK founder Mr Cox is running as the Reform UK candidate in the 2024 mayoral race and insisted he can beat Sadiq Khan. (Image: PA)

What are Reform UK candidate for Mayor of London Howard Cox's policies?

The Mayor hopeful summarises his aims for London as getting rid of the ULEZ, cutting down crime and to "ditch" Sadiq Khan.

Expanding on his policies, the Reform UK candidate wants to "ditch LTNs (Low Traffic Neighbourhoods) and 20mph zones to get "London Moving Again".

He adds that he wants to "extensively increase policing visibility 24/7 to cut crime and make streets safer for all but specifically for women."

Plus, Howard aims to increase affordable housing and ensure 5G and stable wifi is available in all of Greater London.

Lastly, the candidate wants to "incentivise drivers and internal combustion engine users to adopt clean fuel technology without using cash grabbing restrictive policies that hit the least well off the hardest."

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Controversies

In 2022, The Guardian reported that Howard was involved in a potential conflict of interest case over concerns he was heavily involved in the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) fair fuel research.

Environmental research group DeSmog investigated the camping and found Howard was one of two directors of a company called Ultimum who were involved in the all-party group report.

The report argued that the government should drop the proposed ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 (which has now been moved to 2035), however, Howard's commercial interest was not listed.

Howard told the Guardian that he rejected any conflict of interest and supported fuel additives and said he did not see it as a money venture.

Who are Reform UK?

Reform UK was originally the Brexit Party. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the right-wing party fared poorly in the polls.

However, following the collapses of the Boris Johnson and Liz Truss administrations towards the end of 2022, things started to tick up.

Reform's standing in the polls began rising, as both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats struggled against a surging Labour.