Ron Mushiso Chosen as Local London Assembly Candidate
Picked by Tories to represent South West constituency
Cllr Mushiso (left) with the former South West AM Tony Arbour
June 28, 2023
The Conservative Party has chosen Ron Mushiso to be its candidate in next year’s London Assembly elections in the South West London constituency.
The seat which covers the boroughs of Hounslow, Richmond and Kingston is currently held for the Conservatives by Nick Rogers but he announced his intention to stand down earlier this month.
Cllr Mushiso, who represents Chiswick Gunnersbury ward, was fostered in Chiswick and has campaigned on issues such as social care and youth services. The former professional rugby player now works as a school PE Teacher. He helps organise regular litter picks in his ward and has opposed Cycleway 9.
It is understood that he will not be standing down from his seat on Hounslow Council prior to the election.
He will face a tough challenge to hang onto the seat which will be contested again on 2 May 2024 at the same time as the Mayoral election. Last time out in 2021 in a three-way contest with the Liberal Democrats and Labour, Nick Rogers held on with less than a third of the vote.
Prior to that election the seat had been held for the Conservatives by Tony Arbour since its inception in 2000. Mr Arbour said, “I’ve known Ron Mushiso as a Party member and campaigner long before he was elected councillor. His long service in the community and his proven track record makes him the ideal candidate to represent us.”
Mr Rogers put himself forward to be the Conservative’s candidate for London Mayor but withdrew to endorse Paul Scully who, in turn, failed to make the short list.
Explaining his reason not to contest his Assembly seat he said, “It’s the coming together of a number of thoughts, but ultimately, it’s a very personal decision. It’s about what I want to do with my life going forwards.
“People in the Assembly and in London know me in the last few years from London politics, but I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old in one way or another.
“I’ll be 38 at the next election. There are lots of other things that I would love to do but which I can’t do if I am in politics, so I think it’s time to change the focus of things. I’m still a committed Conservative, and I’m still a party member.”
The Conservatives have a short-list of three candidates for London Mayor including Daniel Korski who is facing accusations that he sexually harassed a woman while working at 10 Downing Street. Mr Korski tweeted his congratulations to Cllr Mushiso after the announcement of his selection.
The Conservative party membership will vote on its candidate for Mayor with the result to be announced on 19 July. The two other candidates are Mozammel Hossain and Susan Hall.
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