Hockney quits as nominations close

11:17am Friday 28th March 2008

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Poor media coverage on smaller parties has seen One London's mayoral candidate Damian Hockney pull out of this year's election race.

Mr Hockney maintained the larger political parties were being given too much media coverage, preventing smaller parties such as his from getting heard.

The 51-year-old complained that smaller groups were "effectively barred" from certain types of campaigning.

"We are barred from TV advertising and we are barred from getting the message across above a certain level of spin," he told BBC London 94.9.

"As a smaller group, we are effectively barred from writing by means of the laws, for example, to every single voter in London.

He also argued that the mayoral race was "a media election, fought just in the media".

He said: "It is not being fought on policies, It is being fought on a smear and counter-smear campaign between the two major candidates, and within that, the media gives patsy coverage in order to achieve this balance."

Hockney's withdrawal comes as nominations for the May 1 elections come to a close today (March 28).