Guest post from mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita

BritMums tends to be apolitical, at least when it comes to political parties. But last week we were part of a roundtable discussion that included Siobhan Benita (pictured), the independent candidate for London mayor. The discussion was about entrepreneurship and role models, a category which – whatever your politics – Siobhan fits in nicely. She was very interested in hearing about blogging mums so we invited her to guest post.

Her campaign is getting noticed. The journalist Simon Jenkins of The Evening Standard has described her the “only spark of originality” in the mayoral race. The Independent reports that even with few staff and little coverage (she was excluded from the Newsnight mayoral debate), she’s getting people excited and making waves. Not bad for someone who left her civil servant job late last year to embark on a new political career. Londoners will go to the polls on Thursday.

I have lived in London all my life – my mum came here from India when she was 10 years old. I’m a mum of two beautiful girls. We live in Kingston (sixty per cent of Londoners live in the outer boroughs like me) and I love raising my family here in the capital. It is by any measure a fantastic city.

I am aware, however, that there is another, less joyous side to London. It’s a side where people don’t have equality of opportunity, can’t find work, don’t have a place to call home and where they are trapped in poverty. As Mayor, I will place much more emphasis on improving social mobility, creating opportunities, preventing crime and improving London’s education system.

Unlike the other candidates, I have produced an education and youth manifesto because I want every child in London to have the best possible opportunities. The way in which we educate our children isn’t working. London needs 167 new primary schools by 2015, just to meet the current projected shortfall of some 70,000 places.

But it’s not just numbers of places that’s an issue; many parents have simply lost faith in the standard of education their children are receiving. That’s why so many parents feel pressured into paying for expensive tutoring which is fast becoming a ‘hidden tax’ in the hope of getting their children into better schools. Other parents are abandoning the state education system altogether.

I’m proposing that the Mayor should have overall responsibility for London’s libraries. Not only would this help in modernising London libraries, but by cutting out the bureaucracy of having 33 different boroughs running their own libraries, we could save an estimated £80 million.

Education is only part of the solution; we need to think about how we treat young Londoners and ensure that we’re giving them an opportunity to have their voices heard.

During the campaign, lots of mums have told me that it’s the day to day issues that they care about most, the things in their local areas that they want fixing. That could be anything from litter and dogs’ mess to urban foxes, dangerous dogs or poor street lighting. I would require every borough – within the first six months of my mayoralty – to provide me with a list of the top five issues that their residents care about most. I promise I will hold boroughs to account each year for improvements in these areas. The Mayor does have to make some big decisions on infrastructure and investment affecting London’s future but they should also look after the small things that affect Londoner’s everyday lives.

I have lots more ideas and polices to share, from the creation of a season ticket for part time workers, to lobbying companies and businesses to offer more flexible working. As a full time working mum I know how frustrating and hard trying to balance the demands of work and home can be. I will work to ensure a better life for families across the city.

I don’t want women to vote for me because I’m a woman. I want them to vote for me because they think I’m the best candidate.

— Siobhan Benita