Former Arsenal and Tottenham defender Sol Campbell to run for Mayor of London
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Former Arsenal and Liverpool Sol Campbell has announced his bid to run for London Mayor next May for the Conservative party.
Campbell's name has long been in the running to be a Conservative candidate for the job but now he has officially confirmed his intentions.
The former England international will take part in a hustings event with rivals to become the Tory candidate who will challenge for the job that will be vacated by Boris Johnson.
Speaking to the Sun, Campbell said: "I'm going in with my eyes wide open. I know I'm not going to be a frontrunner."
"But I look at people who have been in politics for five, 10, 15 years, and muck up, you see them muck up and think 'You guys are supposed to be pro!'"
"People that have gone to Oxbridge, had thousands spent on their education, and I mean they are royally mucking up."
"I bring something new to the table. This is a whole new road for me, something I can get my teeth into, but I just felt it was something I had to do."
"I come from a working-class background, it wasn't easy for me at all, but I worked hard. And now it's about giving something back."
The Conservative Way Forward group confirmed Campbell would take part in its mayoral hustings next month.
A Conservative Way Forward spokesman said: "We are delighted that candidates like Sol Campbell are throwing their hat in the ring, and coming to debate the future of London at our hustings on 4 July. It's decision time. The starting gun has been fired. Other candidates now need to decide: are they in or out?"
Campbell will be going up against financial entrepreneur Ivan Massow, current deputy mayor Stephen Greenhalgh and London Assembly member Andrew Boff.