London mayoral election 'very, very close' claims Susan Hall ahead of first debate with Sadiq Khan

‘I would say it was very, very close,’ the Tory candidate told the Standard ahead of a hustings event in north London

Tory mayoral candidate Susan Hall believes the race for City Hall is “very, very close” as a new poll appeared to show the gap narrowing between her and Labour frontrunner Sadiq Khan.

“I would say it was very, very close,” she told the Evening Standard during a visit to Golders Green on Thursday morning.

Her comments came with just three weeks until the May 2 polling day and as she and Mr Khan are due to face each other for the first time in the mayoral race.

Both are scheduled to attend a Jewish Community Hustings event being held in north London on Thursday night.

Green candidate Zoe Garbett and Lib Dem candidate Rob Blackie are also expected to attend.

The latest poll, by Redfield and Wilton, gave Mr Khan a 13-point lead, which was described as “commanding” by the polling firm. It warned the survey should not be compared with previous polls that have Mr Khan a lead of 20 points or more.

Ms Hall has unveiled plans to boost the Metropolitan police by 1,500 officers and open two police “bases” – not stations – in each of the 32 boroughs policed by the Met.

She also pledged to halt the closure of police stations, saying 36 had closed in the eight years that Mr Khan has been mayor.

Asked if she believed she had a chance of victory, she said: “Oh yes, I definitely do, because I have spent so long talking to people.

“The best polling in the world is to knock on doors and talk to people. Stop people in the streets and listen to them. That is what I am doing. I can’t do any more than that. But I am absolutely getting a flavour from people of what they want.

“I am not going to promise the earth like lots of politicians do. I am only promising what I absolutely know I will deliver. That is the honest way of going forward. You have got to know that if you promise the electorate something, you will deliver.

“I may not have as many wild promises as other people, but the important thing is: whatever I promise, I will deliver.”

Susan Hall being interviewed by ITV London political editor Simon Harris in Golders Green
Ross Lydall

Mr Khan has sought to portray the mayoral contest as a “two-horse race” and has appealed for Green and Lib Dem supporters to “lend” him their vote, under a switch to traditional first-past-the-post.

Asked if it was a two-horse race, Ms Hall said: “Yes, it probably is, to be fair.”

She told voters she would “go back to borough-based policing” as this gave “far more accountability” than the current system of BCUs (basic command units), which cover several boroughs.

Her aim is to increase the Met’s strength to “about 36,000 frontline officers”, she told Shomrim officers, whose voluntary officers act as a mobile neighbourhood watch for the area.

She received a warm welcome during the walkabout, accompanied by Tory MP Mike Freer. She visited shops and the Hatzola ambulance service.

Ms Hall said: “I am giving Londoners what they want – the end of the Ulez expansion on day one. My policing plan is what Londoners want – borough-based policing and more police on the streets.

“I’m going to be building more family-sized homes and getting rid of all the bureaucracy there is in Sadiq Khan’s London Plan.

“I will put an extra 1,500 police officers on the street, but more importantly I intend to put two police bases in each borough, so we can base police where the problems are. I really think that communities will feel better.

“It won’t happen overnight – it can’t - but it will happen because policing is the most important thing. The most important thing is to keep Londoners safe, and feeling safe.”

She told the Standard she was visiting Golders Green to hear the concerns of residents. “I’m hearing loud and clear they are not happy about the Ulez, and I will stop the Ulez [expansion] on day one.

“Particularly round here, people are not feeling safe. I’m going back to borough-based policing, which will bring much more accountability to each of the boroughs.”

Golders Green: Posters of people taken hostage by Hamas
Ross Lydall

Some street hoardings in Golders Green – which has a large Jewish population – bear posters of the hostages taken by Hamas in its October attacks on Israel.

Asked for her view of Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, she said: “Antisemitism has gone up 1,350 per cent. We must be mindful of that and really try to add assurance to this particular community.

“I’m concerned that any wars going on anywhere else don’t reflect back on the streets of London. That is so important. Whatever is happening somewhere else, we must try to get our communities together so that everybody feels safer.”

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