Susan Hall get control of our streets back 120124
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OPINION: It's high time we get to the bottom of Khan's countless failures
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As the London Assembly reconvenes following our annual meeting this week, I am honoured to be returning as Leader of City Hall Conservatives – the Group of eight Conservative Assembly Members who work to hold the Mayor of London to account.
With this position comes great responsibility—to be the voice of Londoners who have been let down, time and again, by Sadiq Khan's administration.
The resumption of business at City Hall marks a renewed focus on scrutinising the Mayor and his team. After years of mismanagement and misplaced priorities, it's high time we get to the bottom of Khan's countless failures that continue to impact the lives of ordinary Londoners, from watching crime waves ripple through their communities to the services they pay for collapsing.
As Conservatives, we’ve been at the forefront of exposing some of Khan’s greatest failings and preventing him from creating more.
We rained hell down on the Mayor when he proposed to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to Outer London, which has impacted some of the worst off during a Cost of Living crisis, whilst also having a negligible impact on air quality.
We forensically unearthed and exposed the Mayor’s plans to introduce a pay-per-mile driving scheme in London, and forced him to U-turn on that idea. And, we’ve exposed Khan’s terrifying record on police and crime, which has seen crime soar and police stations closed.
As Assembly Members, we work hard to stand up for Londoners, but we must be more vocal in representing their concerns and scrutinising the Mayor.
Chief among these concerns is the staggering £260million worth of police cuts that the Mayor is overseeing. Let that figure sink in: a quarter of a billion pounds slashed from our police service while crime remains a pressing concern across our capital.
These cuts could result in up to 1,700 officers and staff facing redundancy- a loss of up to 1,700 dedicated professionals who keep our streets safe, potentially lost because the Mayor refuses to find the money in his £21billion budget to keep Londoners safe.
When questioned about these cuts, the Mayor typically deflects, blaming central government while conveniently forgetting his own responsibility as the Police & Crime Commissioner for London. The buck stops with him, not Whitehall.
Equally troubling is the ongoing issue of fare evasion on the Transport for London network. Estimates suggest TfL loses upwards of £100million annually to fare dodgers - money that could be reinvested in improving services, increasing accessibility, or even keeping fares lower for law-abiding passengers.
Yet the Mayor's approach to this problem has been lacklustre at best and negligent at worst. We need robust action on fare evasion, with increased presence of ticket inspectors and enforcement officers across the network. Every pound lost to fare dodgers is a pound that honest Londoners will ultimately have to make up through higher fares or reduced services.
The Mayor's approach to antisocial behaviour also requires urgent attention. From aggressive begging to drug-taking in public spaces, many Londoners feel increasingly unsafe in parts of our city. Our Conservative team at City Hall will always support our police to make targeted interventions coupled with proper enforcement where necessary.
Khan's administration often appears more concerned with virtue signalling and divisive identity politics than addressing these bread-and-butter issues that affect Londoners' daily lives. The Mayor consistently demonstrates that his priorities are not aligned with those of ordinary Londoners.
As we return to City Hall, my Conservative colleagues and I bring renewed determination to hold the Mayor to account. We will scrutinise his decisions, challenge his wasteful spending, and provide a strong opposition voice that represents the millions of Londoners who feel forgotten by this administration.
Our approach will be constructive but firm. We are prepared to work with anyone who wants better for London, but where Sir Sadiq continues to fail - on crime, on transport, on housing, on the basics of running our great city - we will be relentless in our scrutiny. The same goes for his Deputy Mayors - they're all on watch.
The coming months are crucial for London's future prosperity as we battle with the consequences of Labour crashing the economy.
As Leader of the City Hall Conservatives, I pledge to be a tireless advocate for all Londoners who want safer streets, reliable transport, family homes, and a city administration that focuses on delivering essential services rather than headline-grabbing gimmicks.
The Mayor may have made it to another year at City Hall, but that does not grant him a free pass. We are back at the GLA, ready to hold Sadiq Khan to account for his record and his promises. Londoners deserve nothing less.
