London mayor Sadiq Khan’s swipes at Conservative party mayoral candidate rival, Susan Hall on a campaign advert have been labelled as ‘gutter politics’.
Allegations that Hall uses ‘far-right, xenophobic and dehumanising language’, and ‘supports Donald Trump’s efforts to divide London’s communities’ have been published by Labour in adverts on Facebook.
The adverts then link back to a campaign website, where further damming claims of the Tory mayor hopeful has been made.
Another section illuminates Hall’s record on diversity, with a direct quote revealing she said: “‘Problems with crime within the Black community is something I have brought up constantly… the problem is, the minute we do we are accused of being racist.”
The website goes further, branding Hall as “extreme”, and “prejudiced against black Londoners” and claims the Tories are attempting to “rig” the election, by making the vote ‘first-past-the-post’, instead of the customary system of ranking candidates.
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The contentious advert comes amid an upcoming London leadership election where Sadiq Khan and Hall are thought to be the two top candidates in the race.
‘Sadiq Khan is resorting to a desperate gutter politics strategy because he cannot defend his abysmal record,” said a Conservative Party source to the Sunday Telegraph.
‘He is smearing his opponent with misinformation and making false claims that the election is rigged. Londoners will see through this nonsense.’
In response, a London Labour spokesman said the capital will have to choose between Sadiq Khan and an ‘out of touch Tory candidate’.
‘The Mayoral election will be a close two-horse race with a choice between Labour’s Sadiq, who is building a better London for everyone – and the out-of-touch Tory candidate,’ they added.
This is not the first time Labour Party’s marketing techniques has been accused of ‘gutter politics‘ due to controversial adverts attacking rival party leaders.
Earlier this month, the party revived its social media campaign attack adverts, accusing prime minister Rishi Sunak for letting rapists and burglars ‘walk free’.
Similar adverts criticising Sunak’s supposed leniency with paedophiles and complicity in the Raac crumbling concrete crisis were also published earlier this year.
