- So I posted a video last night
talking about the fact
that according to William Hill,
the bookmaker here in London,
one of the big bookmakers,
which they placed bets on all sorts of things,
from sports to world events, to elections, it turns out,
had ranked us as number third
in the London mayoral election.
And this is the highest ranking of an independent candidate
in the history of the race for mayor.
So we were pretty blown away at world headquarters.
You know, 10 days after announcement
that we would be ahead of everyone else,
the only two ahead of us
are those in the traditional parties
of Labour and Conservative.
And so I mentioned it to you all last night
on a video and a post,
and a lot of you thought that the odds were still too long,
and you went in to place some bets
at the silliness of 100 to 1 that they had thrown out there.
I myself was gonna put a chunk of money on it
this morning too.
And I saw a couple of messages
in the comments last night saying,
Brian, they'll only do two pounds 50,
they'll only honour that and I'm trying to wait for more size
as we would say in the city when I used to trade.
And then this morning I woke up and they backed it up
all the way to 50 to 1.
So according to the bookmakers,
our odds of becoming the next mayor of London
doubled overnight.
So now we are a clear, clear number three.
And I'm sure as more of you go to place your bets,
it'll move even further and further.
But look, this is not about making money,
and I'm not encouraging you to gamble on anything really,
but I guess that's effectively what we're all doing.
We're gambling on a new future,
we're gambling on the fact that an independent candidate
who isn't a career politician,
who hasn't spent the last 20 years in government,
and their only choice
is to spend the next 20 years in government
by getting elected and elected again
with their vested interests and their corporate ties.
You know, you are betting that someone independent like me
can come in with fresh ideas,
with an entrepreneurial point of view.
And with someone who has been very honest with you
and objective over the past seven months,
by putting out real messages,
uncensored, unscripted, unedited content from sciences,
scientists, doctors, nurses, Nobel Prize winners,
professors and meriters at great universities,
even four-star generals.
We've been pushing that content out,
and I think a lot of people out there
really resonate with our platform,
which is, get London back to work.
We gotta get the whole city back to work
as soon as possible.
The next thing, we gotta put our health first,
we gotta start making prescriptive manoeuvres
to make sure that we are the strongest citizens
on the planet.
Next, we've gotta put science first.
Let's start using the science as opposed to,
let the politicians use their science against us.
And let's really put in these protocols.
The hospitality industry,
it's one of the safest places to go,
the gym industry,
one of the safest places to go.
1.7% of transmissions,
hospitality, 3.3% of transmissions.
They really have their businesses keeping us safe
and yet we're closing these sectors down,
it makes no sense.
And then I wanna put education first as well
and make sure we get our kids back to school.
Right now with the lack of testing being available,
a lot of kids and teachers are self isolating,
and a lot of our schools are effectively closed right now.
One in 10 schools is now partially closed
because they can't get the tests they need.
This is unacceptable.
And this is why I think there's so many people
that are rallying around this.
And finally, is that I believe that this is something
we're all gonna do together.
This isn't about me being mayor,
this is about us coming together as a collective,
listening to each other,
and making sure that we serve the 9 million citizens here
who are in London.
And I honestly think we can show the world
what a world-class city looks like.
I really think we could show the New York cities
and Los Angeles, and Paris and Madrids
and Cape Towns of the world
exactly how the citizens can rally around things,
can come together,
can get back to work,
can do it safely,
can protect those vulnerable,
get our kids back to school.
And I think once we do it, everyone will do it.
And so I'm really excited.
I'm humbled, I'm honoured.
And again, I am here to serve you,
that is my job.
And I appreciate all the support,
the comments you're giving me.
I mean, really, I've just never felt so empowered by you.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
Again, I can't do this without you.
And when we do this,
and when we all move into city hall in May,
this will be when our work starts,
and this will be about serving the citizens
and doing what is the right thing to do for everyone.
So that's my pledge,
that's my plan.
Again, place your bets,
because this is gonna move again probably overnight.
And it's fun to watch,
and again, it's just great validation.
The world is listening,
they hear your voices.
I appreciate you so much.
And all I have to say is onwards.
We've got 6 1/2 months left.
Let's take it to them and show them that we are here
to take London in a new direction.
Thank you very much.