Cleverly vows to cut London house prices by £100,000 and fight Burnham's 'war on London' as Tory conference begins

From the Newshound archive · first published 4 October 2026.

Sir James Cleverly, the Conservatives' expected London mayoral candidate, has pledged to slash the price of new homes in the capital by £100,000 if elected, warning that 600,000 people fled London in a single year. The 57-year-old former foreign secretary and home secretary said the exodus of young talent is "unsustainable" and that he is ready to take on Andy Burnham directly.

Cleverly also vowed to oppose any push to rejoin the EU, arguing Labour's Brussels plans would "kill off London's tech sector."

Around 420,500 people moved from London to other parts of the UK in the year to mid-2025, with a further 183,000 leaving for abroad.

Cleverly described Burnham's agenda as a "war on London" and signalled Brexit will be a central battleground in the 2028 mayoral race.