Good local Conservatives deserve voters’ support
The local and mayoral elections this Thursday are more than a mere barometer of national sentiment ahead of the general election this year. They are a chance to punish Left-wing politicians who have imposed a pernicious anti-car, pro-crime, anti-growth agenda across swathes of the country – and reward those who have resisted it.
Nowhere is this clearer than in London, where Sadiq Khan’s misgovernance, failures on crime, and embrace of authoritarian green measures have turned the capital into a much harder, less pleasant place to live for millions of people. The Ulez extension, the multiplication of 20mph zones, and the spread of low traffic neighbourhoods are causing outrage, but the mayor has refused to compromise. He has done too little to end the scourge of violence, and has failed to hold the Metropolitan Police to account for its appeasement of anti-Semitic hate on the anti-Israel marches. Mr Khan has raised taxes considerably, overseen a disastrous deterioration in Transport for London’s finances, and allowed City Hall staffing costs to surge.
His Conservative opponent, Susan Hall, fully deserves Londoners’ support. She has pledged to scrap the Ulez expansion on day one and refocus attention on the basics like tackling crime. She sensibly wants to cut City Hall staff and TfL perks to fund police officers. She has called on the Met to arrest more “thugs” at the anti-Israel protests, saying she will support officers to properly enforce the law.
For the first time, the London mayoral election is being run on a first-past-the-post basis, meaning that backing any of the other Right-wing candidates would be a wasted vote. Mrs Hall also has a real chance of securing victory – despite the limited support she has received from the national party. A strong Tory turnout could make all the difference.
The same is true across the country. Andy Street has proven highly successful as Tory mayor of the West Midlands. Ben Houchen has attracted new private sector investment and jobs to the Tees Valley. Tory councils are invariably better-run than their Labour equivalents, demonstrating that it is perfectly possible to have effective public services and lower taxes. Rather than using this week’s elections as a means for expressing dissatisfaction with the Government, we hope voters will see them as a chance to back good candidates who will deliver good governance. That means voting Conservative.
