‘Heartless, cheap trick’: Tory London mayoral candidate’s campaign sends out fake council tax rise letters

‘This is inappropriate behavior from someone standing for Mayor,’ says Liberal Democrat rival Luisa Porritt

Shaun Bailey. Conservative candidate for the Mayor of London delivers a speech on the third day of the Conservative Party Conference at Manchester Central at Manchester Central on October 01, 2019 in Manchester, England. Mr Bailey has come under fire over a new flyer campaign. (Getty Images)

Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has been accused of playing a “heartless, cheap trick” on voters by sending out campaign flyers made to look like official warnings from Sadiq Khan’s office that their Council Tax will be raised unless they “take action”. 

"If you do not take action, your mayoral council tax will rise by 21.2%", the letter, branded with a fake coat of arms bearing the words “City Hall” states. 

The letter falsely claims that London’s mayor is “set to” increase his share of the council tax, raising the overall cost. 

It then urges voters to sign an online petition to “Stop Khan’s Council Tax Hike”. 

Sharing photos of the letter on Twitter, Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Luisa Porritt said: “This is a heartless, cheap trick to play at a time so many Londoners are worried sick about making ends meet.”

Tweeting directly at Mr Bailey, she said: “You should apologise immediately for the distress your act of desperation will cause. This is inappropriate behaviour from someone standing for Mayor.”

Speaking with The Independent, Ms Porritt said the flyer campaign “proves that Shaun Bailey is not fit to be Mayor of London”.

“I’m appalled that he would sign off on something like this being sent to Londoners in the first place,” she said.

“I think that Shaun Bailey and Greg Hands and the campaign should apologise for making Londoners worry at a time when they’ve already got so much to worry about,” Ms Porritt said.

“It’s a very distressing letter to receive and it’s misleading, worst of all, so I think they should retract this material and stop engaging in these dirty tactics just because Shaun Bailey has failed to make any impact in his campaign through any other means.”

Mr Bailey’s campaign defended the flyer campaign, in a statement to The Independent, with a spokesperson saying that “Londoners have a right to know the full facts. And the fact is Sadiq Khan’s planning to hike his share of council tax.”

"Since 2016, the Mayor racked up £9.56 billion in wasteful spending at TfL. That’s why TfL needed two bailouts in the space of a few months.

"According to the Transport for London Settlement Letter, Sadiq Khan himself proposed raising his share of council tax to pay for the cost of his mismanagement.

Mr Khan, at a recent Mayor’s Question Time, would not rule out raising council tax, but suggested that it would only be necessary to fill a TfL funding gap which central government has not plugged. 

Mr Khan’s office has not immediately responded to a request for comment. 

A Government spokesperson said in a statement to The Independent that Britain’s leadership has "repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to supporting London’s transport network with more than £3 billion in emergency funding support arrangements and the recent announcement of a further £825 million loan for Crossrail.

“But we have always been clear that this support must be fair to UK taxpayers, which is why we look forward to receiving TfL’s comprehensive management plan for achieving financial sustainability as soon as possible," they said.

This article has been updated with a statement from a Government spokesperson.