As you may have heard, the City of London Corporation have confirmed that the nomination period for candidates to stand in the Bishopsgate Council elections on the 20th March has now closed, and with no other candidates formally registering and meeting the criteria set out in law, I will be re-elected unopposed at the Wardmote taking place at the Parish Hall of St Botolph Without Bishopsgate on 19th March at 12.30pm.
Having worked hard over the past year as part of the Bishopsgate Ward Team to engage as wide an audience as possible and to support and mentor fresh new talent, our hope is that this demonstrates broad support for our team. Each of us bring different skills and experience to the role and we are delighted to have two new Councillors, Simon Burrows and Karina Dostalova, complement our existing team, which includes Simon Duckworth, Shravan Joshi, and Tom Sleigh.
While this means there won’t be an opportunity for you to cast your vote this year, we do not take your support for granted. We believe in active engagement, accountability, and making sure your voices are heard. That’s why we are committed to working on the issues that you have told us matter most, including:
The City as a Global Centre to Live, Work, Visit, and Study:
- Keeping the City at the forefront of global finance and technology, while boosting emerging sectors.
- Leading on sustainability – reducing our carbon footprint, protecting open spaces, and ensuring the City plays a global role in environmental responsibility.
- Strengthening the City’s cultural, leisure, educational, and philanthropic impact—supporting world-class institutions, events, and our position as a hub for charitable and impact-driven investment.
For People in The City:
- Ensuring quality housing—investing in council homes, improving maintenance, and reducing homelessness and rough sleeping.
- Improving health and wellbeing—tackling rising suicide rates, addressing sexual health concerns, providing high quality sports and recreation spaces, and supporting lifelong learning to close skills gaps.
- Raising education standards—expanding City-sponsored schools, aligning curricula with workforce needs, and promoting mentoring, apprenticeships and lifelong learning.
For Bishopsgate:
- Enhancing public spaces—cleaning up streets, managing e-bikes, creating more green community areas and preventing and reducing crime.
- Strengthening the business and visitor experience—supporting innovation and local SMEs, improving signposting for visitors, and fostering a stronger sense of community.
- Supporting sustainable growth – attracting international investment, backing infrastructural upgrades, ensuring responsible licensing, and helping businesses achieve UN sustainability goals.
The Role of a Councillor in The City
This role goes beyond that of a typical local London Councillor. We sit on multiple committees overseeing a vast range of activities, from managing investment assets that fund our Police Force’s national leadership on economic and cyber crime to shaping the City’s cultural offerings, open spaces, and philanthropic efforts that benefit all of London. Additionally, we serve an ambassadorial and ceremonial function, helping to promote The City as a global trading and investment hub.
We want to be a team that listens, responds, and acts in the best interests of our community. Over the coming months, we’ll be keeping in touch with updates on our progress, and we’d love to hear from you, your neighbours and colleagues. If you’d like to help us or speak to us as part of our Bishopsgate People initiative, please let us know.
Whilst our campaign has focused on the voting population in Bishopsgate, we welcome the opportunity to communicate with all of those with an interest in this wonderful area. Anyone can sign up to receive our monthly newsletter here: https://www.bishopsgate.london/
I would also like to put on record, my personal thanks to Andy Mayer and Wendy Hyde who step down as Bishopsgate Councillors at this election. Both have served the City of London for the past 8 years with distinction, leading a wide range of improvements.
It is a privilege to serve in public office and I pledge to continue to do my very best to represent this fantastic ward of Bishopsgate for another 4 years.
