The London mayoral election on 2 May is now just three weeks away — and there’s so much at stake. That’s why, even though I was the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor, I’m now urging people who might be considering voting Liberal Democrat to vote for Sadiq Khan. Let me explain.
The Tories have changed the voting system in London to make it easier for them to win. Londoners will now only get one vote for Mayor — which means there’s no insurance policy of a second preference.
The election this time is a two-horse race between Sadiq Khan and the Conservative candidate, Susan Hall. And the choice couldn’t be starker. It’s either Sadiq, who has a positive vision to build a fairer, greener and safer London for everyone, or the hard-right Tory candidate.
Some are saying the Tory candidate doesn’t stand a chance. This reminds me of what they said about Donald Trump before he was elected, and about Brexit before the EU referendum. We can't make that mistake again.
New rules, which make it compulsory to show photo ID to vote, have also put the election on a knife-edge. Analysis has shown that nearly a million Londoners — mostly Labour voters — could miss out on their chance to vote. We can’t afford to be complacent. That's why I’ve made the tough decision to go public with this direct appeal to Lib Dem voters to lend Sadiq their vote.
I worry about waking up after the election to the nightmare of having such a divisive, hard-right Tory Mayor
Many people don't know much about the Tory candidate, which is concerning. Susan Hall is someone who’s amplified Islamophobic abuse and Enoch Powell’s racist views on social media. She’s a supporter of Donald Trump, Suella Braverman and Liz Truss. She backed a Tory hard Brexit and still says she has no regrets. She’s voted against initiatives in London to tackle air pollution and the climate crisis. And she suggested police misconduct against women was limited to a few 'bad'uns' and 'wrong'uns', which could be dealt with behind closed doors.
She has also voted against both Sadiq’s TfL fares freeze and his scheme to provide free school meals to primary school children.
I’ve not always agreed with Sadiq. But I believe he has the right priorities for London — from helping Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis, tackling crime and the causes of crime, building more council homes and pushing through police reform, to reducing homelessness and taking world-leading climate action. He’s also always stood up for London’s open, outward-looking, pro-European values.
The truth is I wouldn’t put my head above the parapet by encouraging people not to vote for the Lib Dems unless I was seriously worried about waking up after the election to the nightmare of having such a divisive, hard-right Tory Mayor.
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The only way we can stop this and safeguard everything that makes London so special is by voting for Sadiq. This what I’m going to do – and I urge Lib Dems, Greens and all Londoners to do the same.
Siobhan Benita was the Liberal Democrat candidate before the 2021 London Mayoral election
