Susan Hall: the Tory London mayor candidate taking on Sadiq Khan
The Johnson and Trump supporter’s priorities include tackling crime and stopping Ulez expansion
Conservative members have chosen Susan Hall as the party’s candidate to try to unseat Sadiq Khan in the 2024 London mayoral election.
Hall, who is a “strongly pro-Boris Johnson, Donald Trump-supporting [London] assembly member”, according to The Guardian, won a ballot of party members, with 57% of the vote. She beat Mozammel Hossain, a barrister “with virtually no frontline political experience”, in the two-person race after entrepreneur Daniel Korski dropped out “after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman, which he denied”, said the paper.
Having previously written “I am the one [Sadiq Khan] fears” in an article for Conservative Home, Hall will vie to become mayor when Londoners vote next May.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Who is Susan Hall?
Hall is from Harrow, in northwest London, where she “owns a hair salon and raised her family”, said Sky News. She “originally wanted to be a mechanic” and worked at her father’s garage after finishing school but “struggled to get into technical college as a woman”.
Her political career began when she was elected to Harrow Council in 2006, and she became its leader in 2013-14. Hall is “no stranger to City Hall”, having been a member of the London Assembly since 2017, replacing Kemi Badenoch after she was elected to Parliament.
She became deputy leader of the London Assembly Conservatives in 2018 and then its leader in 2019 – serving in this role until 2023.
What are her politics and policies?
Labour “immediately sought to portray Hall as ‘a hard-right politician’” who is “out of touch with our city and its values”, in light of her support for the likes of Johnson and Trump, said The Guardian. Hall is a “low-tax Tory” who offered “vehement support” to Liz Truss and her “short-lived government”.
Often an “outspoken character”, Hall argued that the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters was the “equivalent of UK politicians who opposed Brexit”. This led to criticism from Conservative Party leadership at the time.
Her political slogan is “Safer with Susan”, and her list of priorities include “tackling crime, the housing crisis and Ulez”, Sky News added.
She has also promised to address the housing crisis by “building a lot more homes in the right places” and will scrap the ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) “on day one”. She has previously argued that Ulez expansion, due to come into operation on 29 August, will “devastate families and small businesses”. She has also vowed to “lift 20mph speed limits on main roads” in central London, said the Evening Standard.
On crime, Hall has pledged to “hunt down and lock up muggers and burglars” by creating a special team within the Met Police, Sky News said. As her “main focus”, according to Evening Standard, she would return the Met to “a borough-based structure” and reintroduce borough commanders. She would also make stop and search “less intrusive” by giving frontline officers a “hand-held knife wand” to help them detect weapons.
Can Hall beat Sadiq Khan?
Hall is “likely to be seen as an outsider” in the race to become the mayor of London, said The Guardian, with her views on cultural issues also “problematic” in a liberal-leaning city.
She backed the home secretary, Suella Braverman, when she described small boat crossings as an “invasion”. Last year she was criticised for saying “the black community has ‘problems with crime’” and previously described police officers “taking the knee as ‘embarrassing’”, said Sky News.
Nevertheless, “Labour will face the obstacles of incumbency in seeking a third term”, and Hall thinks “I can beat him” and “sort out the mess he has left us”, as she wrote for Conservative Home. Hall “knows City Hall inside out” and has “spent decades knocking on doors, in the pouring rain, listening and talking to residents”.
She has described Khan as “beatable” and pointed out “he is underperforming Labour in London by a double digit margin”, suggesting “even the most loyal Labour supporters are sick of him”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a freelance writer at The Week Digital, and is the technology editor on Live Science, another Future Publishing brand. He was previously features editor with ITPro, where he commissioned and published in-depth articles around a variety of areas including AI, cloud computing and cybersecurity. As a writer, he specialises in technology and current affairs. In addition to The Week Digital, he contributes to Computeractive and TechRadar, among other publications.
-
'Will growth slow, or is the economy about to fall off a cliff?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Senate passes FAA bill with new consumer protections
Speed Read The legislation will require airlines to refund customers for flight delays
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pledged pro-oil policy to CEOs, asked for $1B
Speed Read The former president promised to reverse Biden's environmental regulations if elected
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rishi Sunak's legacy: how the PM will be remembered
The Explainer 'Accidental prime minister' started with the 'weakest hand' of any British leader in the modern era
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Summer Lee, the Pennsylvania 'squad' member who beat back a primary challenge
In the Spotlight Lee is the first Black woman ever elected to Congress from the Keystone State
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
How will honeytrap scandal change Westminster?
Today's Big Question Security procedures laid bare by spear phishing attack as focus shifts to 'political insider' being responsible
By The Week UK Published
-
Ronna McDaniel, the former RNC chair and departed NBC analyst, may be signaling a shift in corporate media
The Explainer McDaniel joined NBC less than a month after stepping down from the RNC — and was out days later
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Farewell to Theresa May: a PM consumed by Brexit
Talking Point Maidenhead MP standing down at next general election
By The Week UK Published
-
Britain's biggest political donors
The Explainer With the 2024 general election set to be the highest-spending contest ever we look at who is giving to which party and why
By The Week UK Published