Former Conservative candidate for London Mayor Shaun Bailey has resigned as chair of a second London Assembly committee. Bailey stepped down from his role as chair of the Assembly’s police and crime committee last month after it emerged he attended a party thrown by his campaign staff during lockdown in December 2020. Sources at City Hall have confirmed today that Bailey has now also resigned as chair of the Assembly’s economy committee.
It comes as the Conservative Party leadership faces growing backlash after details emerged this week of a “bring-your-own-booze” party held at 10 Downing Street in May 2020 when the country was still under strict lockdown restrictions. At least eight separate parties are reported to have been held by government staff between May and December 2020, in addition to the 14 December party held by Bailey’s campaign that led to four members of his team being disciplined.
Despite his resignation as chair of the police and crime committee last month, City Hall Conservatives insisted that Bailey would “continue to speak up for Londoners”. However, the runner-up in last year’s mayoral election has not appeared at any Assembly meeting since a gathering of the transport committee on 14 December and has not spoken publicly since 15 December 15, when he told television channel GB News “it will take more than this [scandal] to stop me”.
The leader of the Tory London Assembly Members (AMs) Susan Hall said earlier that day that her group was “deeply disappointed” to learn of the Bailey campaign team’s party, and he faced criticism from AMs from other parties, including the Green group’s Caroline Russell who said it was his duty to “think about” his position as “an elected person in public life”.
Bailey’s former campaign political director, Bexley councillor Adam Wildman, has left Bexley’s Tory group since the emergence of a photograph of the event in which he appeared.
Bailey and the Assembly Conservative group have been approached for comment about today’s development.
Additional reporting by Dave Hill.