London Mayoral Election 2021: Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey targets crime
Londoners will be targeted by infra-red body scanners at transport hubs and watched by 19,000 CCTV cameras at bus stops if Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey is elected mayor.
Mr Bailey, a London Assembly member, set himself a 100-day target to tackle rising crime rates at his manifesto launch today.
His election pledges include recruiting 8,000 police officers, hiring 4,000 youth workers and reinstating neighbourhood police teams in every council ward.
He said he would support an increase in the controversial police tactic of ‘stop and search’.
Mr Bailey used his manifesto launch, less than three weeks before polls open on May 6th, to attack his main rival, Labour mayor Sadiq Khan.
"Sadiq Khan promised to ‘make London safer and more secure. But instead of cutting crime, he cut police budgets by £38million. He broke 15 out of 20 crime manifesto promises — and now knife crime has risen by 60% and robberies have risen by 86%," Mr Bailey said in his manifesto.
Mr Bailey also promised a series of measures aimed at winning votes from motorists, aspiring homeowners and council taxpayers.
They include:
Scrapping the planned extension to the Ultra-Low Emission Zone
Reversing last year’s Congestion Charge increase
Building 100,000 homes to sell to first time buyers for £100,000
Cutting his share of council tax (known as the precept)
Responding to Shaun Bailey's crime manifesto launch, a spokesperson for Sadiq Khan's campaign said: "These are complete fantasy figures from the Tory candidate that prove once again that he is not a serious candidate for Mayor of London.
"Londoners haven’t forgotten that he was the youth and crime adviser in Downing Street who personally oversaw huge cuts to London’s police and youth services.
"Don’t give the keys of the car to the person who crashed it in the first place."
Luisa Porritt, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, added: "The Conservative manifesto says nothing about the new challenges our city faces. The pandemic has accelerated big changes in our capital, such as the shift to homeworking and rise of online shopping, but the Conservatives are continuing to pretend none of that change is happening."