Mayor of London candidate Laurence Fox visited Romford Market on his campaign trail.

Arriving at midday on April 14 in his bespoke campaign bus, Mr Fox spoke to traders and voters his team had pre-arranged visits with who, along with the rest of London, will be casting their ballots on May 6.

Laurence-Fox-visits-Romford-ahead-of-the-election

Running on a Free London pledge, the Reclaim Party founder vows to end lockdown "now and permanently" if elected.

This is a desire shared by Jackie Fairburn of Robins Pie & Mash, who told Mr Fox that the recent lockdown has been "crippling".

Romford Recorder: Owner of Robin's Pie & Mash, Jackie Fairburn, described the recent lockdown as 'crippling'.Owner of Robin's Pie & Mash, Jackie Fairburn, described the recent lockdown as 'crippling'. (Image: Cash Boyle)

Sympathising with the fact that Jackie's shop can currently only do takeaway orders, Mr Fox argued that "there is no point half opening anything".

A number of cycle lanes introduced during Mr Khan's tenure has hugely impacted one of the shop owner's - who did not want to be named - brother-in-law and father-in-law, both of whom are black cab drivers.

Mr Fox promised to address a situation which, in his view, has thrown these drivers "under the bus".

The Free London candidate had another supporter in Andy Brace, owner of Worldwide Signings in Romford Shopping Mall.

Andy spoke to Mr Fox about his dislike for "political correctness", with the latter arguing that what used to be "manners" has morphed into "having to think before you say everything".

Romford Recorder: Trader Andy Brace told Mr Fox that he believes respect has been lost from London in favour of a culture of 'political correctness'.Trader Andy Brace told Mr Fox that he believes respect has been lost from London in favour of a culture of 'political correctness'. (Image: Cash Boyle)

The candidate spoke exclusively to the Recorder about his other election promises.

Among these is the imposition of New York-style policing, described by Mr Fox as "broken window policing which tackles crime from the bottom up".

He believes Sadiq Khan has not properly tackled low-level crime, further arguing that knife crime isn't punished strongly enough: "If you carry a knife around you should regret it."

Romford Recorder: Laurence Fox welcoming supporters onto his campaign bus.Laurence Fox welcoming supporters onto his campaign bus. (Image: Cash Boyle)

Plans to build 250,000 new homes also feature in Mr Fox's manifesto - a target he aims to achieve through changing the use of office space and undertaking a "full Green Belt audit".

His overarching ambition is to make Londoners feel "proud to be part of such a special place to live": "I want to celebrate difference without stoking division."