A TikTok-led independent candidate says he is “not a politician” but “Lewisham” as he runs to become the borough’s next executive mayor.
Next month, Lewisham residents will take to the polls to elect their new executive mayor, deciding whether the borough will continue under its current Labour leadership or move in a different direction.
Ex-Apprentice star Kayode Damali, a lifelong Lewisham resident, has thrown his hat in the ring as an independent candidate for mayor.
Mr Damali told the News Shopper: “Lewisham flows through my blood.
“I genuinely think mine might be blue for Lewisham borough because I was born here, grew up here, everything about Lewisham is me, and everything in me is Lewisham.
"It’s a place where I fell in love with, and no matter where I go around the world, it’s always been my calling being in Lewisham."
Mr Damali attended St Mary’s on Lewisham High Street and secondary school in Forest Hill.
He said his decision to run comes from years of wanting to improve the borough, shaped by his experiences growing up.
He said: “I lost a friend to knife crime at 17. Before that, the girl I was with at the time had her brother murdered.
“It was very commonplace to have friends either stabbed, shot, or go to prison. It was very normal.”
He added: “I didn’t want to just leave Lewisham how it is. I wanted to at least try and do something. I wanted to leave it better than I found it.”
Mr Damali is running his campaign on a TikTok-powered, social media-first platform, aiming to engage residents directly rather than through traditional party politics.
The ex-Apprentice star says Lewisham needs a “reset” and hopes to make the mayoral election the most widely discussed in the borough’s history.
Mr Damali has previously founded local initiatives such as Lewisham iCONS and remains active in the community through parkrun events.
He also criticised what he sees as career-driven politics.
He said: “If I don’t win this election, I have no desire to run somewhere else.
"For me, it’s Lewisham or nothing."
Since the London Borough of Lewisham was created in 1965, the council has been controlled by Labour for most of its history, with Labour administrations from 1965 to 1968, 1971 to 2006 and again from 2010 onwards, apart from a period of Conservative control between 1968 and 1971 and no overall control from 2006 to 2010.
He added: “I’m not a Green, I’m not a Labour, I’m not a Tory, I’m not a Reform, I’m not a Lib Dem.
"I’m Lewisham first.”
The London Borough of Lewisham has often landed low in the rankings of best places to live by various outlets.
On the borough’s reputation, Mr Damali said perceptions depend on perspective.
He said: “You can argue it’s more amplified now due to social media, but it’s not any more different than it was in the 2000s when I grew up.
“Even if it is justified, then what are we doing about it?”
Looking at the council, Mr Damali said he would take a different approach to leadership.
He explained: “We are Lewisham Council first. “I don’t want to hear in meetings ‘we are a Labour council'.
“No, we’re Lewisham Council. The people of Lewisham first.”
One of Mr Damali’s priorities will be, he said, transparency and accountability.
Mr Damali said he feels the council minutes are not “digestible” to anyone and “nobody understands it”.
He added: “How can the council be held accountable if we don’t even understand the language?
“We need to have the seconds, like BBC bitesize summaries.
“If Year 7s don’t understand it, then it’s too complicated.”
He also pledged to hold regular public sessions where residents can question him directly, saying he would be in Lewisham town centre each month where the public can ask him anything.
On his priorities, Mr Damali said restoring community pride would come first.
He said: “We need to restore Lewisham pride again.
“When we have that pride, everything else falls into place.”
He added that safer streets, housing, and transport would follow once the council itself is functioning effectively.
Asked how he would celebrate a win, Mr Damali said: “We’re definitely having a party with everyone invited.
“It’s not just for me, it’s for everyone in Lewisham.
“I want to thank people and get everyone together to celebrate, and it would all be on me.”
The full list of candidates is:
Sylbourne Sydial – Conservative
Amanda De Ryk – Labour
Liam Shrivastava - Green
Jay Coward - Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Kayode Damali – Independent
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