James Cleverly with wife Susannah and sons Frederick, three, and Rupert, 16 months LC2843-01
For the second instalment of News Shopper's
interviews with Lewisham's wannabe mayors, CHRIS JOHNSON speaks to Tory hopeful James Cleverly on what he would change in the borough if he becomes wins the vote in the May elections ...
The Tory candidate for Mayor says he is hoping the electorate will use their vote "Cleverly".
And 36-year-old James Cleverly believes he has a "strong chance" of election success in less than three months' time.
Born and bred in Lewisham, the Territorial Army major says he knows what is best for the borough and wants to make changes.
If he wins power, he says he would take
action on the beckoning closure of the Ladywell Leisure Centre, which will provide the site for a new secondary school.
He said: "The Labour Party would like to think the doors are shut on this decision and they have it in the bag. But until they are literally bulldozing the place, the battle is still on."
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Mr Cleverly wants to see the leisure centre stay open at least until a new one is built as part of the £250m town centre redevelopment.
And he believes there are other areas which would be better for a new secondary school, such as Brockley or New Cross.
The Lewisham resident has also unveiled one of his key manifesto commitments to have a referendum on the borough's directly-
elected mayor system.
He wants to do the job for up to two years before holding a referendum on whether the people of Lewisham support the concept.
He said: "I didn't used to be a huge fan of the system as I think it centralises too much power to one individual but I would like to see if I could make the system work."
‘We need more facilities to keep youths occupied.’
JAMES CLEVERLY
The married father-of-two has a strong conviction about what local government should be.
He says he believes there has been too much focus on grand, headline-spinning ideas over the past four years and it is time to take
"effective steps" to address the "little things".
He said: "I think the regeneration of the town centre will be fantastic, but it is only a small part of the area.
"What about the small boarded-up shops and the traders who need our help?
"I want to encourage people to shop in Lewisham, rather than going elsewhere to places such as Bluewater. A good start would be to improve the expensive parking system."
And for the youngsters in the borough, Mr Cleverly thinks more needs to be done to keep them entertained and out of trouble.
He said: "Dishing out ASBOs is just putting a plaster on the problem.
"We need more facilities to keep the youth involved and occupied."
BORN AND BRED IN LEWISHAM
Born on September 4 1969, in Lewisham Hospital.
Educated at Colfe's School before going to Thames Valley University to study hotel and catering management.
Stood as Conservative parliamentary candidate for Lewisham East in 2005 General Election and finished 6,751 votes short of beating Labour's Bridget Prentice.
Lives in Lewisham with wife Susannah and sons Frederick, three, and Rupert, 16 months.
Has been a member of the Territorial Army for more than 10 years.
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