Andrew Boff
| Andrew Boff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Conservative Party in the London Assembly | |
|
In office 2012–2016 | |
| Preceded by | James Cleverly |
| Succeeded by | Gareth Bacon |
| Member of the London Assembly as the 2nd Additional Member | |
|
Assumed office 1 May 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Sally Hamwee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 14, 1958 |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Residence | Barking Riverside |
| Profession | IT consultant |
Andrew Boff is a British politician and a Conservative member of the London Assembly, elected in the 2008 election. He is a London-wide member, representing all thirty-two boroughs and the City of London.
Andrew Boff is a supporter of the "Yes to fairer votes" campaign. He was the Conservative representative at a Yes! event in London on 3 May 2011.
Political career
Early career
Active in politics since the 1970s he was a Young Conservative branch founder whilst still at school and in 1976 proposed the legalisation of cannabis at a Young Conservative national conference. His mother Elsie was already a councillor when he was elected a councillor in Hillingdon in 1982 and he was Leader of the Council between 1990 and 1992.[1] In 1992, he stepped down to run for Parliament, defending the marginal Hornsey and Wood Green constituency, but he lost the seat to Labour's Barbara Roche.
Boff ran in the safe Labour seat of London South Inner in the 1994 elections to the European Parliament and was placed seventh on the Conservative list in London in the 1999 election. He failed to be elected both times.[2]
London Assembly
He contested the Conservative nomination for the London mayoral elections in 2000, 2004, and 2008. He came second in 2000, behind Steven Norris,[1] and came second once again in 2008.
He was placed first on the Conservative top-up list for the London Assembly in 2008, comfortably winning a seat. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2016. He ran for chairman of the Assembly in 2010, with the backing of the 11 Conservative members, but lost to Liberal Democrat Dee Doocey, who received the backing of the 14 other members, including Richard Barnbrook.[3] After his re-election to the Assembly Andrew was elected as the GLA Conservative Group Leader.
Hackney politics
He has run for office numerous times in Hackney, where he now lives. He received the Conservative nomination for the elections in 2002 and 2006 to elect the Mayor of Hackney, but came second both times. He was the Conservatives' London Assembly candidate for the North East constituency in 2004, but came third, behind the candidates from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.[4] He achieved more success being elected to Hackney borough council, winning the supposedly safe Labour seat of Queensbridge in a by-election in 2005, before losing it again in the next year, albeit with a vote count three times greater than that at the previous full election, in 2002.
Boff ran for Mayor of Hackney for a third time in 2010. A booklet containing election statements from every candidate was distributed to every voter in the borough, but excluded Boff, due to the council's confusion over whether the statements he made about the cost of the mayoralty were legally admissible.[5] By the time they decided that they were, it was too late to print, and the council compounded this by telling voters that enquired that Boff wasn't running.[6] In the end, Boff fell to third place, behind the Labour incumbent and the Liberal Democrats.
Personal life
He is an information technology consultant and is openly gay.[1][7] Boff is a libertarian,[8] and an outspoken proponent of direct democracy, having prominently publicised the issue at London mayoral hustings and on ConservativeHome.[9]
Footnotes
- 1 2 3 "Andrew Boff: Making an Impression". BBC News. 16 December 1999. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ↑ "London". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ↑ Hill, Dave (13 May 2010). "London Assembly: committees and chairs". The Guardian.
- ↑ "London Assembly results". Guardian Unlimited. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ↑ Lydall, Ross (4 May 2010). "Tory falls foul of mayoral bid rules". Evening Standard.
- ↑ "Bish Bash Boff in Hackney". Private Eye.
- ↑ Grew, Tony (29 July 2007). "Interview: However he voted against the scrapping of the anti gay clause 28 when a Conservative Councillor in Hillingdon. The Tory who wants to boff Boris". Pink News. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ↑ White, Michael (10 September 2007). "Tory mayoral hustings – live". London: Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
- ↑ Boff, Andrew (14 August 2006). "Andrew Boff: "To give London's voters the power to propose binding propositions on the executive or to recall the Mayor."". ConservativeHome. Retrieved 2008-04-12.