Tory councillor accuses Zac Goldsmith of 'patronising' British Indian voters with stereotype leaflet

A leaflet and separate letter targeted voters with British Indian names

Tory candidate for Mayor of London Zac Goldsmith (Getty Images )

Leaflets sent out by Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign to British Indian voters risked a “stereotypical and patronising” approach to winning the ethnic minority vote, a Tory councilor has warned.

Mr Goldsmith’s campaign was this month accused of “racially profiling” voters with Indian sounding names by sending them a “cringeworthy” leaflet that played up to stereotypes of the ethnic minority community.

Some householders received notices that claimed Sadiq Khan was a threat to their family jewellery and suggested he supported a ban on the Indian Prime Minister from coming to the UK.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph newspaper Binita Mehta said the approach would “turn off” prospective voters.

“Not all British Indians are fans of Modi – I have my reservations – nor do we particularly care about the current Prime Minister of the country our grandparents are from,” she said.

“In pursuing the suburban Indian vote … it must be recognised that a blanket approach can seem stereotypical and patronising, and will certainly turn people off.

“I hate to have to say this but obviously we ‘BMEs’ are much more sophisticated than these targeted letters suggest.”

She said she hoped her party’s candidate for Mayor still won the contest, however.

Ms Mehta is a councillor in the London Borough of Watford, where she represents the Park ward. She works as a communications consultant.

Many people who have received the letter took to social media to vent their frustration, describing it as "weird" and "very wrong".

Most polls show Sadiq Khan with a slight lead over Mr Goldsmith in the contest to become the next Mayor of London.

The two candidates also face Ukip’s Peter Whittle, the Greens’ Sian Berry, and the Lib Dems’ Caroline Pidgeon.