'I can’t believe Labour have failed New York like this!’
The Tories were forced to delete a video attempting to highlight crime levels in the capital after it featured a scene from New York, instead of London, in an embarrassing communications blunder.
The video posted on X was removed from the official Conservative Party page after it showed footage from Penn Station, New York when crowds fled after apparent gunfire.
Black-and-white clips with eerie music and an American accented narrator laid out the ‘Life Under Labour’ video aimed at attacking Sadiq Khan as the mayor of London and accusing him of increasing crime rates in the city.
The video also claimed Sadiq Khan had “seized power”- despite being democratically elected by voters twice – and warned about supposed, “squads of ulez enforcers dressed in black, their faces covered with masks terrorising communities”.
According to the Tories campaign, under Labour London is the ‘crime capital of the world’ ‘FACT’, despite the world population review ranking London the 14th safest city in the world in 2024.
A source close to Sadiq Khan said: “It’s true to form for the Tory campaign. It’s a deeply misleading attack, intentionally talking down London from a candidate who appears to have no love for the city she aspires to lead.”
Adam Bienkov reacted on X: “On the day the Government warns about misinformation and deep fakes threatening our democracy, the Conservatives release this video claiming London has become the “crime capital of the world” under Sadiq Khan, which is illustrated by scenes from… the New York Metro.”
Another X user wrote: “I can’t believe Labour have failed New York like this!”
It joined a series of bizarre videos on the Tory Party website setting out a dystopian future under a Labour government, which many commentators have quipped back looks quite like ‘our dystopian present’. While one of the images used for the website shows a derelict row of houses in Peterborough, a council not even run by Labour.
Others warned against this type of campaigning, as John Amaechi OBE wrote on X: “It should matter to people who call themselves Conservatives that this video is littered with lies. It should matter to anyone who says they appreciate democracy when governments use propaganda designed to demonise.”
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues
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