Sadiq Khan blasted in attack ads for ‘ruining’ London and ‘constantly blaming everyone else’ for the capital’s problems as race for City Hall heats up
- Race for City Hall is heating up ahead of London mayoral election on May 6
- Attack adverts have accused current mayor Sadiq Khan of ‘ruining’ the capital
- Came as Tory candidate Shaun Bailey campaigned alongside Boris Johnson
Attack adverts have accused Sadiq Khan of ‘ruining’ London as the race for City Hall heats up ahead of the capital’s mayoral election on May 6.
Adverts published by the Fair Tax Campaign group also claim the Labour Mayor is ‘constantly blaming everyone else’ for the capital’s problems.
The adverts published by the group, which is reportedly run by former adviser to Boris Johnson, Alex Crowley, have sparked a Labour backlash.
It came as Tory candidate Shaun Bailey campaigned alongside Mr Johnson this morning at Romford Market as he returned to his claim that Mr Khan had ‘bankrupted’ Transport for London, an accusation Mr Khan has denied.
Mr Bailey tweeted: ‘Sadiq Khan has wasted £9.56 billion at TfL. This has meant that vital infrastructure projects have failed to be delivered.’
Sadiq Khan is looking to win a second term as London Mayor at elections on May 6 while Tory candidate Shaun Bailey is hoping to spring an upset and secure the capital for the Conservatives
The race for City Hall continues to heat up with attack adverts run by the Fair Tax Campaign having accused Mr Khan of ‘ruining’ London
One of the adverts published by the Fair Tax Campaign poses a number of questions to voters including ‘how annoyed are you about London’s endless traffic problems and continual fare hikes?’
Mr Bailey was joined on the campaign trail this morning by Boris Johnson as they toured Romford Market
One of the adverts published by the Fair Tax Campaign poses a number of questions to voters including ‘how annoyed are you about London’s endless traffic problems and continual fare hikes?’.
It also asks ‘how angry are you about Sadiq Khan constantly blaming everyone else?’ and ‘do you want to use your vote to stop Sadiq Khan ruining our city?’.
It then shows a mocked up ballot paper suggesting people should vote for ‘someone with a plan’ and ‘someone you can trust’.
The advert does not endorse a specific candidate. Another advert run by the group uses footage from an appearance by Mr Khan on ITV’s This Morning programme when he was challenged on knife crime in the capital.
It ends with the statement: ‘Mayor Khan: Costing you more, letting you down’.
The adverts prompted Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner to write to Mr Bailey to ask him to confirm that he had ‘no interaction or coordination’ with the Fair Tax Campaign.
Ms Rayner also called on Mr Bailey to condemn the adverts which she labelled ‘secretive and underhand’.
Mr Bailey’s campaign denied having any links to the campaign group.
A spokesman told The Guardian: ‘Shaun Bailey has no involvement with the Fair Tax Campaign, which is entirely independent of the Shaun Bailey campaign.’
They added: ‘London needs a fresh start – and it’s not dark or underhanded to point that out.’
Mr Bailey has repeatedly accused Mr Khan of ‘bankrupting’ Transport for London, an accusation Mr Khan denies
Mr Bailey has used his own attack ads to criticise Mr Khan’s record on transport in London.
The Tory mayoral candidate has repeatedly accused his Labour counterpart of ‘bankrupting’ TfL.
That accusation was repeated by Mr Johnson in October 2020 when he claimed in the Commons that Mr Khan had ‘effectively bankrupted TfL before coronavirus had even hit’.
Mr Khan, who succeeded Mr Johnson in City Hall in May 2016, said: ‘Before Covid I was fixing his mess at TfL- reducing the deficit by 71% since 2016. Covid-19 is the sole cause of TfL’s challenges.’