Natalie Campbell thinks Prince of Wales is 'cool'; and 'underrated'
A former aide to the royal Fab Four who supports a four-day work week has decided to become mayor of London.
Natalie Campbell said she wants to run the capital as an executive, not a politician, with an emphasis on enable people to «thrive», not just «live and make ends meet».
The 40-year-old is likely to be seen as an outsider in a run for mayor given her limited political experience, and incumbent Sadiq Khan and London minister Paul Scully have already made their mark.
But she has a stellar résumé, including work for the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
She is also no stranger to either Westminster or City Hall, having served on the Public Service Commission and on the Business Support Board under chaired by Mr. Khan.
Ms Campbell, Co-Director of Ethical Belu Bottled Water and Chancellor of the University of Westminster, was Director of Insight and Innovation at The Royal Foundation when it was jointly run by the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
She then founded Sussex Royal, a charity founded by the Duke and Duchess when they separated from the general fund. The new organization was later closed as the couple prepared to start a new life across the Atlantic.
The award-winning social entrepreneur told The Telegraph she wants to be mayor of London because she is «almost uptight». ” due to a “lack of plan” for the capital, which she warns is still reeling from the Covid pandemic.
She wants to focus on running the city “in a CEO hat” using existing London housing fund, building more homes for both purchase and rental, and canceling the controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion.
She also advocates a four-day work week, which she has tested in her business career, and said she would «absolutely» offer firms financial incentives to increase flexibility.
Prince William is «underrated»
Reflecting on his work with members of the royal family, Ms Campbell called the Prince of Wales «underrated», praising him as «tough», «down to earth» and overall a «good guy».
«It's really strange when you see articles only about the family, no one really talks about him, no one cares what he wears, he does not receive love and appreciation,» she said.
«I always I think if people only knew what a nice guy you are, and if people only knew how cool and down to earth and just real you are, I think things would be different. . But no one ever says that.”
She recalled “coming to Kensington Palace in pink suits” when she worked with the prince on his environmental projects.
“I’m a girl from North West London, at the time I had half my head shaved, I have tattoos on my neck and I rocked in Kensington Palace in pink suits, perfectly comfortable. , no one blinked an eye,” she said.
“We talked, and the great and kind asked him questions about something, and he always said:“ Well, in fact, Natalie is an expert in this.
“These are things that people just don’t see because they only happened behind closed doors, but it just showed the feeling of the fact that he doesn’t have all the manners and graces – he is completely affable.”
She said she was also working on the Duchess of Sussex's charity cookbook to help the community affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy. She said the «joy» of being involved in the project was «indescribable», partly due to her own connections to the field.
When asked what it was like working with the Duchess, she replied: «What people saw… in terms of the warmth of feeling in the kitchen when we worked with these women, it was all true and sincere.»
Ms. Campbell worked for five years as commissioner in Whitehall for hire.
She dismissed the notion that the civil service needs reform or that officials are «snowflakes», calling them the «architects of society».
“I think it’s shortsighted of politicians to throw out a reform word and say that civil servants are lazy, that they are snowflakes, because in every case of a civil servant I have met this is not at all my experience,” she said.
One Nation Tory
She said she would describe herself as a One Nation Tory emphasizing personal responsibility.
“I& #39;I am of Jamaican descent and was raised by my grandparents, so the values at home were generally conservative is personal responsibility and then giving back to your local community," she said.
“If I think about the Tory party now, I tend to be a one-nation conservative. So this idea of personal responsibility, caring for the environment, life chances, all of those things absolutely resonate with me.”
But she said she would try to drain the politics from City Hall.
“ I think we've seen with politicians that ultimately what they do is politics. And they spend a lot of time coming up with statements that come in groups of three, and they spend a lot of time competing with each other,” she said.
“London doesn’t need a politician, it needs a CEO.”
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