The Telegraph, 27th April 2024
Sadiq Khan has turned London into a shadow of its former self (telegraph.co.uk)
The mayor has failed to address the shocking rise in violent crime
Eight years of Sadiq Khan’s London and what do we have to show for it? Tragically, not much. In fact, I’d challenge anyone to think of a positive legacy from his mayoralty. We mustn’t forget how he’s renamed the train lines, of course, or expanded his punitive Ulez car tax, or created a fake beach, or let a Donald Trump blimp float over the city, or allowed a Jewish minority to become terrified of going into the city centre almost every week. All at the same time as achieving the ignominious accolade of London being declared the “knife crime capital”.
While I no longer live there, having grown up in London and run for the Greater London Assembly over a decade ago, it now seems rougher, messier and sadder than it was before. I recall the joyous community spirit that flowed through the streets during the 2012 Olympics, the bustling bars and restaurants, the brilliant Boris Bikes and the new Routemaster buses. Now, you have a sense of a city which has been treading water and, in other respects, actually going backwards.
For many, London is less safe today than ever before. During Khan’s tenure, the Metropolitan Police has deteriorated so badly that it’s been forced into special measures. It was then judged to be wholly dysfunctional by Baroness Casey, whose report tore strips off the mayor for failing to hold the police to account.
Across England and Wales, overall crime has fallen since 2010 and we have fewer knife crimes, violent crimes and robberies compared to 14 years ago. With one exception: London. One in five Londoners now report that they have been attacked or threatened with violence in the last five years. While knife crime fell in the last year around the country, it rose in London. While other police and crime commissioners are opening new police stations, Khan is closing them.
This is not for lack of government funding. This is because of the mayor of London’s abject failure to do his job and hold the Met commissioner to account. Failure is typically rewarded with denial and deflection. The mistreatment of Jews is met with “full confidence” in the commissioner. No challenge, no improvement. Sadiq Khan has turned a blind eye to police failings and made London a hotbed of thuggery, mugging and shoplifting.
As home secretary, you meet a lot of memorable people. And I’ll never forget meeting the mothers of boys murdered with knives. There are no words for the tragic, avoidable waste of young life. That schoolboy feud that spiralled into a killing. A young life gone, others lost to prison, families turned upside down. But under Khan, knife crime is out of control. More young men are carrying knives out of fear they may be attacked. Stop and search has fallen by a third since the pandemic so no wonder knife crime has shot up. Whether it’s Clapham, Croydon or Camden, not a week goes by without reports of another brutal attack.
And what has he done? Has he pressed Sir Mark Rowley to increase the use of stop and search? No, because Khan seems to think it is racist. Has he worked to increase the number of police officers as much as he should have? No and so London lags behind many other forces in meeting its recruitment target.
Sexual offences in London have increased. Women often don’t feel safe in the city any more and the police have failed to address the lack of confidence felt by many since the horrendous murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.
Muggings are a fact of life in London. When even former boxing champion Chris Eubank has his bag taken in the street, you know we have a real problem. It’s almost easier to ask who hasn’t had some of their belongings stolen in the capital over the last eight years. And this is in large part down to Khan’s failure to grasp the enormity of the problem and have a plan to fix it.
Our capital is now a shadow of its former self. Less vibrant, less safe, less harmonious. But all is not lost. Because this week Londoners have a chance to make a change. To vote out the preening virtue-signaller mayor Khan, and elect the workaholic Conservative Susan Hall. To make our capital one of the best cities in the world again. Because London deserves better, our youngsters deserve better and the country deserves better.
