Susan Hall selected as Conservative candidate in the 2024 London mayoral election

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Businesswoman and former council leader Susan Hall has been chosen by the Conservative party to challenge Sadiq Khan in next year’s City Hall election.

Hall, a member of the London Assembly won the contest to be Tory candidate in a two horse race with Bangladeshi-born barrister Moz Hossain.

London Conservative party members selected Hall over Hossain giving her 57% of the votes.

She told an invited audience of activists in a former Battle of Britain bunker in West London she would scrap Khan’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone extension on ‘day one” if elected.

Ms Hall added:"It is a huge honour to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, I’m so grateful to everyone for their support. Thanks to Moz Hossain for his positive and hard fought campaign.

"I will work tirelessly to defeat Sadiq Khan and offer Londoners the change we need."

Hall owns a hairdressing salon in north London and is a former leader of Harrow Council.

Fellow candidate Mozammel Hossain KC congratulates Councillor Susan Hall Credit: PA

She also led the Conservative group on the London Assembly until she was replaced earlier this year.

A spokesperson for London Labour said: "The Conservative candidate for Mayor is a hard-right politician who couldn’t be more out of touch with our city and its values.

"She’s an outspoken supporter of Trump, Boris Johnson and a hard Brexit.

"She cheered Liz Truss's mini-budget, which sent mortgages and rents soaring. She doesn't stand up for women. And she hates London's diversity."

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon added: "The Conservatives have given up on London. Their brand of populism and social conservatism doesn’t resonate with most Londoners who make up our liberal and diverse city.

"Likewise, the Conservative Government’s approach to demonising London and failing to recognise its funding needs have hampered our city’s growth in recent years.

"Labour desperately needs to be held to account in our capital, but it is increasingly clear the Conservatives have nothing to offer when it comes to this. The Liberal Democrats meanwhile offer the progressive alternative to Labour’s failings, whether that is on crime, the environment or our economy."

Councillor Susan Hall Credit: PA

After the announcement, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said of Ms Hall: “She has shown great commitment to bettering London with the Conservatives and highlighting the many failures of Sadiq Khan, including his desire to charge people £12.50 a day – as the Prime Minister said – just to visit their GP.

“She has the full support of the PM.”

Mr Sunak has not met Ms Hall recently, but the press secretary said “I believe he has” met her in the past.

Asked whether the Prime Minister agreed with Ms Hall’s support of Liz Truss’s mini-budget in 2022, the press secretary said: “He (Mr Sunak) has made the point that unfunded tax cuts and increased borrowing would fuel inflation.

“Since he has been Prime Minister, he has taken a different approach and has done the right thing, and you can see from the statistics today that the plan is working.”

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