‘Fortunately, London saw through her vitriolic and personal attacks and massive lies… What an embarrassing tweet.’
Sadiq Khan won an historic third term in City Hall, beating his main rival, Conservative Susan Hall, by 276,000 more votes, and winning in nine of the 14 constituencies in the May 2 mayoral elections.
Hall’s campaign to be London mayor attracted criticism, described as a ‘narrow and negative’ focus on ULEZ and crime. When criticising Khan’s record on crime, the councillor for Harrow claimed to have been a victim of pickpocketing on the underground. It later emerged her purse had been found wedged between seats on the Jubilee line with her £40 still intact.
Labour even called for an investigation into the fake driver fines that littered the capital, claiming that the London mayor was planning on introducing a pay-per-mile scheme, something that he had previously ruled out. The black and yellow penalty notices were created as part of Hall’s mayoral campaign.
The Tory candidate has also faced criticism over her social media activity. Campaigners raised concerns about her suitability for the role after footage emerged of her suggesting the Black community has “problems with crime.” During the contest, Hall was also accused of struggling to answer even the most basic questions.
Following the Tories’ crushing defeat, Paul Scully, Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam, who ran to be his party’s mayoral candidate in 2023, criticised Hall’s campaign, labelling it as “negative” and showing “no aspiration” for the capital. The party has ‘got to do better’ in London, said Scully.
Despite the cross-party criticism of Hall’s campaign, James Cleverly praised the Conservative candidate.
“Thank you @Councillorsuzie for standing and campaigning so passionately on behalf of Londoners. The vitriolic and personal attacks never got you down,” the Home Secretary tweeted.
The tweet sparked ridicule, with onlookers pointing to the irony of Cleverly’s comments.
“Fortunately, London saw through her vitriolic and personal attacks and massive lies… What an embarrassing tweet,” was one comment.
“Miserable failure and a campaign marked by relentless personal attacks. She is a disgrace,” was another post.
“Hall’s campaign was an absolute disgrace of division and dishonesty. It was her own vitriol and personal attacks that lost it for her. Graceless and bitter concession speech. Nasty through and through,” was another comment.
This is not the first time that James Cleverly has defended Susan Hall. On BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in September, the host referred to how, in 2019, Hall reposted a post from Katie Hopkins which referred to Sadiq Khan as the mayor of ‘Londonistan’ and a later tweet in February 2020, in which Hall liked a tweet depicting Enoch Powell, with the words, “it’s never too late to get London back.” Kuenssberg asked Cleverly if he was conformable with the comments and whether they represented the views of the modern Conservative Party. Dodging the question directly, the Home Secretary still managed to suggest that Hall had the backing of most senior Tories.
“I know Susan and have worked with her for a long time. She is just like most of us in the Conservative Party. She is comfortable working with people of all ethnicities, and is passionate about making London safe and prosperous,” he said.
Following the May 2 mayoral election, Hall sparked ridicule for claiming she ‘so nearly’ defeated Sadiq Khan despite having lost by a record margin.
(Image credit: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street)
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