A new political party has been launched today/Tuesday to give voters a ‘real, independent’ choice in the mayoral elections – and with a swipe at other leading candidates in the contest.

Broadcaster Brian Rose today revealed his party – the London Real Party – will field candidates in the Greater London Assembly elections, while he remains second-favourite in the race to be the city’s next Mayor.

Nominations close at 4pm, by which time candidates have to pay a £10,000 deposit – forfeited if they win fewer than 5 per cent of votes – and supply the signatures of 66 voters, two from each of the 32 London boroughs plus the City of London.

Rose, whose London Real channel has more than 5million subscribers and has generated half a billion views, said: “The London Real Party gives Londoners a real choice for change in what I believe will be the most important vote for our city in generations.

“Its manifesto is audacious and offers long-term solutions as well as short-term opportunities for London and its citizens.

“As Mayor, I plan to tackle the crime epidemic by putting 10,000 more officers on the streets; get London back to work by scrapping the congestion charge and introducing new incentives for businesses; and building 50,000 affordable homes by Christmas. Crucially, all these plans are costed and deliverable.”

Rose says his party stands for the same values as London Real and its host, including entrepreneurialism, innovation and inclusivity.

He was scathing about the other headline candidates for the mayorship, adding: “In Sadiq Khan, London has been saddled with a mayor who aspires to adequacy, and whose ambitions for the city are a poor shadow of his own political ambitions.

“As for Shaun Bailey – the Conservatives have thrown him to the wolves, and appear happy to let Labour carry the can for the appalling crime, transport and housing crises that are facing our city.

“That is why it is imperative that Londoners have a genuinely independent option at this election, someone who is free from the constraints of the rotten two-party system and who has the real-life experience to lead London out of the pandemic and rebuild its battered reputation.”

Rose, 49, a former banker, was born in San Diego in the US, and is married with three children. He says he loves the city so much that he has made it his home, become a British citizen and named his company after the capital.

He has recently launched an advertising blitz across London, deploying over 50 premium digital out-of-home placements in 20 London boroughs, including iconic sites at Holland Park roundabout, Westfield Stratford and Hammersmith Flyover, with his digital campaign also delivering over 214 million impressions in the last month alone.

His battle bus has now covered 3,500 miles across London boroughs, with the mayoral candidate vowing to have his bus out on the road every day between now and May 6, saying, “It is imperative that politicians listen to the electorate, which is exactly what I can do from my Digital Battle Bus.”

Odds on Rose are currently as low as 7/1 with bookmakers, placing him second-favourite ahead of Conservative Shaun Bailey.