A pro-Palestinian protest in central London for Armistice Day should be banned, according to Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall.
She fears Saturday’s march, the latest in response to the Israel/Gaza war, has the potential to become a “tinderbox” — and criticised Sadiq Khan for being “silent” on the matter.
In an interview with the Standard, she made clear her concern for Jewish Londoners, in light of a rise in anti-Semitic incidents and “very intimidating” mass demonstrations in rail stations. She also refused to endorse Mr Khan’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying the Mayor should confine his remarks to London. “If he spent as long worrying about what was going on in London, as opposed to what is going on everywhere else, perhaps London wouldn’t be in the mess it is in now,” Ms Hall said. “Get everything all right in London then do what you like. But, first of all, for God’s sake, keep your nose out of everything else and just concentrate on London.”
Last night, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the “potential for serious disorder” from the march did not meet the threshold for a ban. However, should the threat increase, then he was ready to submit a request to Home Secretary Suella Braverman.
Organisers say the march will be directed away from the Cenotaph. But Ms Hall said the Remembrance weekend should be free of demonstrations. “I do believe people should be allowed to demonstrate,” she said. “I do believe in free speech. But equally there is one weekend in the year where we all honour our dead, and it means an awful lot to very, very many of us. For one weekend, this should be stopped. I am not from the Jewish community but I have a lot of friends who are Jewish. They are very scared. I was at a funeral and one sat next to me. She said, ‘Susan, I have never been so frightened as I am now.’ We need to look after our Jewish community and not allow any community to be intimidated.”
You’re not even allowed to advertise cheese on the Underground. It’s virtue signalling from this wretched mayor
This week a YouGov poll predicted Mr Khan would win 50 per cent of the vote next May, and Ms Hall 25 per cent — contrary to two previous polls, which put them neck and neck, particularly if former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn decides to stand.
But what went unreported about the most recent poll was the fact that, were there to be an election tomorrow, 21 per cent of respondents said they would be undecided about who to vote for. Of those expressing a preference, 33 per cent backed Mr Khan and 16 per cent Ms Hall. “The only poll that matters is the one on May 2,” she says.
Privately she is confident — believing Mr Khan is unpopular, especially in the outer boroughs, thanks to the Ulez and the Blackwall tunnel toll that awaits thousands of drivers from 2025.
Would she like Mr Corbyn to stand? “It’s up to him. In my head it’s just between me and Sadiq.” She points to the Standard’s revelation that crime on the Underground is up 40 per cent. The figures are “atrocious”. “As a woman I do not feel safe on the Underground. I don’t feel safe walking along the roads.
“If you look at the cameras for the Ulez, they can almost tell the colour of your eyes. The CCTV on a Tube train is not good enough to catch any of these so-and-sos that commit crimes.”
TfL sources deny that the Ulez cameras can identify eye colour. But it is correct that not all Tube lines have CCTV — including the Piccadilly, Central and Bakerloo. Will she deliver CCTV on all Tube lines? “It has to be an aspiration, absolutely.”
Ms Hall’s number one pledge is to tackle crime after axing the Ulez expansion on her “first day” in office. But she told the Standard she would order an independent review of TfL’s culture should she become mayor. This would be akin to Baroness Casey’s review of the Met police, and the Nazir Afzal review of the London Fire Brigade. Both unearthed multiple horrors.
These are the poorest of Londoners. I can’t tell you how utterly livid I was
That might be less likely at TfL, where her main concern is to improve the safety of women passengers. Ms Hall believes TfL nevertheless merits “scrutiny”, from the way it ran the Ulez consultation to its policies on “junk” food. She asks: “How can it be right to stop the advertising of fatty, sugary foods when you go can up from the Underground — I think it must be at Westminster — and there is the most divine cupcake shop that makes me drool every time I go near it? And I’m on a bloody diet again, so I’m not allowed. You’re not even allowed to advertise cheese on the Underground. It’s virtue signalling from this wretched mayor.”
Ms Hall, 68, is of the generation of Tories that worshipped Margaret Thatcher, know the value of money and believe in “common sense”. She says her campaign to secure the Tory nomination cost but a fraction of her rivals. “I spent £3,900, because it was somebody else’s money. I’m not wealthy. But if you are prudent with your money, or especially somebody else’s, then you will get more out of it. I have been brought up by a father who used to live by that. It would be the same with the £21 billion [City Hall] budget.”
But her willingness to speak her mind has been exploited by political rivals, who have unearthed some unsavoury historic Twitter posts. Since her selection, she has become notably more cautious.
She believes the Ulez expansion, despite positive early results, “will carry on being a sore in the side” of suburban Londoners.
Last week TfL revealed it had taken 77,000 of the most polluting vehicles off the capital’s streets. But Ms Hall points to the drivers who have paid an estimated £52 million in levies and fines in its first two months. “£52 million paid out the pockets of the poorest Londoners is a damn disgrace,” she says. “These are the poorest of Londoners. I can’t tell you how utterly livid I was.”
Last week it emerged that the five Tory councils that failed in a High Court bid to block the Ulez expansion had been left with a £730,000 legal bill. Ms Hall, like Bromley council’s leader, believes it was taxpayers’ money well spent.
“I think what the boroughs wanted to do was to show Sadiq Khan that they won’t just lie back and do whatever he says without a fight. That was our way of fighting back.” She insists Tory HQ is behind her, and that campaign funding is “going well”. Insiders say she is receiving far more support than Shaun Bailey did in 2021. What would a Hall mayoralty look like? “It would be full of people that, like me, would roll up their sleeves. They would not just be mates.”
She would be unlikely to replicate Mr Khan’s appointment of 10 deputy mayors, each on six-figure salaries. “I will run a very lean machine. Londoners’ money should be back in their pockets. I’m a true Conservative that way.” Would this mean no increases in the Mayor’s share of council tax or in Tube and bus fares? “Certainly, if I can. But, to start with, finances in the police have got to be sorted out — and that would be my priority. People, beyond everything, need to feel safe.”
Hall promises to to be “firm but fair”. She adds: “Four years goes quickly when you have the sort of problems we have.”
Remaining in power for eight years has even crossed her mind. By then “people would say, ‘My God, the difference’. I’m an ordinary but feisty person who will fight like a mother fights for her children. Will I be direct? Yes. Will I get into trouble for my direct comments? Probably. Will I tell people the truth? One hundred per cent.”
