- guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 1999 13.09 BST
Susan Kramer, 49, pledged to stage walkabouts in every high street in London to raise her profile to the level of Ken Livingstone and Lord Archer, who are campaigning to become Labour and Tory candidates. During her walkabouts she will be accompanied by her cat, Dick Whittington.
Ms Kramer, who is married with two grown-up children, was unveiled as candidate by the new party leader, Charles Kennedy, at the National Theatre after winning support of 62% of party members in the capital in a ballot.
"I'm going to take this campaign to the streets," Ms Kramer said in answer to how she would compete against household names. "From now until election day I will walk every high street in London."
Party strategists acknowledge they have no hope of winning next May's election because it will be held under the alternative vote electoral system which will favour the large parties. However, Ms Kramer, a transport expert, will use the campaign to attack the government's handling of transport in the capital.
She said: "Sorting out London's transport will be my number one priority."
By choosing a candidate so early in a straightforward ballot, the Liberal Democrats hope to contrast themselves with the Tories and Labour, whose leaders are frantically looking for ways to block Lord Archer and Mr Livingstone.
Ms Kramer was educated at St Paul's girls school, Hammersmith, west London, and at Oxford. She lives in Barnes, with her husband, John, with whom she runs Kramer and Associates, a company that has helped privatise transport systems in eastern Europe.
