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Daniel Korski has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya and now wants a run at London mayor, promising to scrap the ULEZ expansion and tax tourists to pay for more police.
By Josephine Franks, Sky News reporter @jos_franks
Daniel Korski is selling himself on the idea of the “London dream” in his bid to become the city’s mayor.
The Tory London mayor hopeful is the son of refugees who fled Poland during the political crisis of the late 1960s.
Born in Denmark, he moved to the UK in 1997 and says he “lived the London dream” when he arrived.
Here, Sky News looks at Mr Korski’s career and campaign priorities as he seeks to replace Sadiq Khan.
Party: Conservative
Campaigning priorities: Scrapping ULEZ, introducing a tourist tax to pay for more police
Notable achievements: Awarded a CBE in David Cameron’s resignation honours
Political background
Mr Korski studied at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Cambridge before entering a career in diplomacy, politics and technology.
He served as David Cameron’s deputy head of policy from 2013 to 2016 and before that was an adviser to Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell.
He was a vocal remain supporter in the Brexit referendum, helping to run the Stronger In campaign.
Last year, he worked on Tom Tugendhat’s unsuccessful bid for leader of the Conservative Party. Mr Tugendhat has backed his bid for mayor.
He has never held a position of elected office.
Technology, diplomacy and warzones
Mr Korski’s career has spanned business, technology and politics.
He is the co-founder and CEO of PUBLIC, which supports technology firms to work with the public sector.
He was previously adviser to the vice-president of the European Commission and has worked for the UN and the UK Foreign Office in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen.
He also worked as a war correspondent from Libya, where he reported for The Spectator.
Mr Korski has been a vice president of the Jewish Leadership Council since 2019.
Campaigning priorities
Mr Korski says he wants to introduce a new tourist tax to pay for more police.
He also wants to build denser housing in central London using land owned by Transport for London, and streamline planning permissions.
He has called for the ULEZ expansion to be scrapped and said “smart” road user charging could be introduced instead, tracking the most polluting vehicles and charging accordingly.
The Tory mayoral candidate for London is expected to be announced on 19 July, with the London mayoral election taking place on 2 May 2024.
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