Zac Goldsmith
- His first name is actually Frank
- His mother goes by the illustrious last name Vane-Tempest-Stewart
- He lived in California for two years, working for the think tank Redefining Progress
- In 2013, he said “I’m not going to stand as a candidate for mayor of London” at a HuffPostUK Conservative party conference fringe event
- His sister Jemima is European editor-at-large for Vanity Fair, the fashion magazine
- He balloted his own constituency, Richmond Park, to find out if they want him to run for mayor
Sadiq Khan
- He’s the son of a bus driver (just kidding, you knew that)
- Sadiq used to be Chairman at Liberty, the civil liberties pressure group
- He also used to be a Visiting Lecturer at the University of North London (now part of London Metropolitan University)
- He won the “Newcomer of the Year Award” at the 2005 Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards
- He was the campaign manager for Ed Miliband’s 2010 leadership bid
- Despite distancing himself from Jeremy Corbyn’s policies lately, Sadiq was one of the 35 MPs who nominated him for the leadership
Siân Berry
- Siân has previously stood as the Green candidate for the London mayoralty – in 2008
- She has a Masters in Metallurgy and the Science of Materials from Trinity College, Oxford
- She previously worked as a website manager at Imperial College London
- In 2010, she was one of 55 signatories of an open letter expressing opposition to Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to the UK, published in The Guardian
- She was part of Sack Boris 2012, an independent campaign to increase turnout in progressive areas of London to help defeat Boris Johnson in the 2012 Mayoral Election
- She’s written quite a few books, including one on recycling projects – Junk for Joy!
Caroline Pidgeon
- Caroline is the former deputy leader of Southwark Council
- In the 2013 New Year Honours, she received an MBE for public and political service
- She has been a Trustee of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education since 2005
- She was a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority between 2008 and 2012
- She graduated from the University of Wales Aberystwyth in 1994
- Her last name also describes small to medium-sized grey birds found predominantly in urban areas
Peter Whittle
- Peter is the UKIP Spokesperson for Culture
- His father was a delivery driver at Smithfield Meat Market and his mother was a civil servant at the Ministry of Defence in Woolwich
- He founded the think tank New Culture Forum in 2006, which describes itself as “challenging the cultural orthodoxies dominant in the media, academia, education, and British culture”
- He has written five books, including Being British: What’s Wrong With It?
- Previously, he worked as a television producer and director of programmes for British and American TV
- He has spoken about LGBT issues on a number of occasions
