Today, I went out in Uxbridge, west London – where I've kicked off my campaign to listen to Londoners.
I decided to start my official campaign amongst real Londoners, not in a cosy Westminster room filled with Labour MPs like Sadiq Khan did.
It was here in Uxbridge that Londoners sent a message to Sadiq Khan, a warning shot over ULEZ and his war on motorists – we said we will not be silent anymore.
For eight years Sadiq Khan has ignored Londoners. But I am listening.
Susan Hall is vowing to listen to Londoners
PA
I have been out to every corner of our city, to find out more about what Londoners need to see at City Hall.
And many of the stories I’ve heard have been simply extraordinary.
One of the people I spoke to is a shopkeeper in Soho. Right in the heart of London.
His staff were threatened at knifepoint, and when he reported it to the police, they did little to help.
So many Londoners have told me that this isn’t just a one-off.
It’s becoming normal. Part of life in the city we call home, part of life in the city Sadiq Khan leads, a city where crime has been allowed to spiral out of control.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Sadiq Khan spoke openly about his plans for UlezPAA few weeks later I spoke to a lovely young woman, still living with the impact of being grabbed by the neck and dragged down an alley on her way home.
She was lucky to escape, thanks to a good Samaritan who stepped in.
It was luck that saved her. But luck isn’t a strategy for public safety. Yet in Sadiq Khan’s London, it seems to be all we’ve got.
She said she doesn’t see much point in reporting crimes to the police, because they don’t take them seriously.
That’s the maddening nonsense we have to deal with.
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall accused him of "treating Londoners like walking cash machines"PAWomen make up fifty per cent of the population – we will not be ignored.
Later in the campaign I had to opportunity to speak to the women’s safety campaigner, Georgie Clarke. She was sexually harassed on the Underground, and all she got when she reported it to Transport for London (TfL) was a leaflet.
Madness. When she reached out to the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, he ignored her. Just like he ignores everyone else.
Every door I knocked on, something became painfully clear to me.
Everywhere I go, the story was the same. London is being ignored.
We are being forgotten by a Mayor who no longer cares. The ULEZ expansion is absolutely hammering our City.
Susan Hall will battle it out to replace Sadiq Khan at the next electionPAThe ULEZ expansion is absolutely hammering our City. I met a cafe owner who is seeing her customers vanish, and a funeral director who has had to hike up prices for grieving families to cover the charge.
My inbox is overflowing with messages from Londoners saying they’ve had enough. From Londoners who are crying out for a change.
Sadiq Khan’s London is a place where the police are a shadow of what they should be, where affordable family homes don’t get built, and where policies like ULEZ expansion are shoved down our throats with zero consideration for the people they hurt most.
He’s not listening, and frankly, it looks like he couldn’t care less. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
I’m listening and I will put things right. As Mayor, I will get a grip of crime, scrap the disastrous and unfair ULEZ expansion on day one, and build more affordable homes.
My campaign is built on the voices of real Londoners. I will ensure that the voice of Londoners is front and centre in every decision we make.
My plan is written by Londoners, for Londoners. This election is a clear-cut choice. Keep being ignored by Sadiq Khan, or vote for a Mayor who listens. On May 2, that decision will lie with you.