The Conservatives are criticized for a recent attack video presenting an exaggerated and unrealistic portrayal of London under Sadiq Khan‘s leadership.
Initially, the Tory leadership had to remove the original version of the advertisement when it mistakenly included footage from Penn Station in New York, trying to pass it off as scenes from London.
Even after the video was corrected, it continues to receive backlash online and has been publicly noted on X (formerly Twitter) for its glaring inaccuracies.
Sadiq Khan accuses Tories of ‘lies’ (Credits: The Guardian)
Narrated by an American voiceover artist, the black-and-white film falsely claims that Labour mayor Khan “seized power,” disregarding that he has been democratically elected by the voters twice.
In a bizarre turn around, the video suggests that squads of Ulez enforcers patrol the streets of London, dressed in black with covered faces, to enforce the controversial ultra-low emission zone rules introduced by Khan last year. Additionally, it implies that Londoners are confined indoors due to the city’s purportedly rampant crime rates.
Penn Station in New York (Credits: Curbed NY)
However, a community note accompanying the video contradicts these claims, clarifying that voters elected Sadiq Khan and London ranks 14th on the world’s safest cities list.
The Conservatives’ attempt to discredit Khan’s leadership through misleading information has sparked widespread criticism and raised questions about the integrity of their campaign tactics.
