Rory Stewart is hoping voters won’t sleep on what he is offering in his campaign to be London Mayor – by going round their house to stay with them.
The Independent candidate today launched his Come Kip With Me initiative, asking Londoners to get in touch to offer him a place to stay. In return, former Tory Penrith MP Stewart has promised to come round with a “sleeping bag and a box of chocolates”.
In a video announcing the plan, Stewart said: “Please have me to stay. It’s weird but the way that Mayors get to know their cities is by literally walking through every one of the 32 boroughs.”
Today I'm launching #ComeKipWithMe – asking Londoners to invite me into their homes and show me the city through their eyes. I want to know your concerns and your ideas. And I promise to bring a sleeping bag and a box of chocolates!
Sign up: https://t.co/jtrLIw7i2G pic.twitter.com/TC7Vfg5tNk
— Rory Stewart (@RoryStewartUK) February 11, 2020
Stewart, of course, would know that better than anyone else – in the days before his political career took off, he embarked on a two-year walk across Afghanistan that he turned into best-selling book The Places in Between.
His walks around London have already inspired a campaign where tackling rough sleeping is being billed as a priority. Stewart has pledged to halt rising rough sleeping numbers and halve the number of people sleeping on the streets by the end of his first term, if elected in the May vote, in 2024.