Caroline Allen: my final top tip for the Green's Assembly List

It's selection fever in the Greens at the moment. You'll hear from this blog very soon on the London Mayoral selection but I wanted to give you my final top tip on the London Assembly race, Caroline Allen.

When I sit back and think about what I really want in an Assembly candidate, the quality I'm most looking for is that I can trust them.

I don't simply mean political integrity - although this is a quality I prize very highly, and I would not back a candidate that lacked it - but I also mean can I rely on them to be a decent, hard working candidate that's there for the party?

It means they are disciplined enough that even if he or she fancies going into a self-indulgent rant or pursuing their own agenda they remember they are representing others, not just themselves. They need to be capable of restraint at the right times. They need to be sound.

Often this means people who are making a sacrifice to run, rather than simply indulging their egos. Not that there are any of those in the Greens.

One of my first impressions of Caroline was when we were taking different sides on a particular issue. I was impressed by the professional and political way she handled the disagreement and when the issue was decided she moved on without rancour. This left a very good impression with me, and one that has been reinforced many times since then.

Caroline has a sharp analytical mind and understands policy. Not just understands what our policies are (which is useful) but also what policy is for. It's a quality rarely talked about, but absolutely invaluable.

I'm endorsing Caroline Allen because I know that if she was selected to the Assembly list she would bring cast iron self-discipline to the team. I know that we could trust her with the responsibility because she understands the need for basic competence in everything we do.