Sorry, but how is Sadiq Khan responsible for crime in Liverpool?

Using Khan as a scapegoat and clearly avoiding the issue of national crime rates is not only a lazy diversion technique, exposing how very little concrete plans the two candidates have, but also demonstrates how London-centric this government is

After a seemingly neverending run of Tory leadership hustings, things finally came to an end in the country’s capital.

Battling it out to replace Boris Johnson as the next prime minister, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak took to the stage of Wembley Arena on 31 August to discuss their policies on everything from the current cost of living and energy crises, to motorway speed limits.

And while the event was marked with heckling, jeering and... spirited responses from the crowd, there was one moment in particular that sparked a commotion.

When asked by LBC’s Nick Ferrari how crime levels would be combatted under their premiership, following the violent murders of 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran (in Greenford, London) and nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel (in Dovecot, Liverpool), both Sunak and Truss seized the opportunity to place blame on Sadiq Khan.

“The first thing we need to do is squarely hold to account the failings of Sadiq Khan,” Sunak said. “Because on his watch, if you look at the record – there’s nothing inevitable about this – if you look at the record of the previous administration of one Boris Johnson… I think the murder rate halved.”

Truss also chimed in: “I do think Sadiq Khan has not done enough to combat crime in London and we have seen appalling crimes perpetrated. We’ve seen too much focus by the police on issues that don’t concern the public, and I want our police to spend their time policing our streets.”

According to Statista, 835,822 crimes were recorded in London in the year ending March 2022 – a fall of over 166,00 compared to 2019/2020. It was also the lowest number recorded since the year ending March 2016.

Additionally, a 2021/22 report looking at the crime rate per 1,000 population across major police force areas in UK cities found that Merseyside Police had the third-highest rate, totalling at 115.6, behind West Yorkshire Police (125.5) and Greater Manchester Police (124.3). In comparison, the Metropolitan & City of London Police totalled at 92.8.

Now, while London’s crime rates fall under Khan’s jurisdiction, Liverpool’s certainly do not. It’s not that we’re not all accustomed to these sorts of tactics in modern day politics – one only has to look to the incumbent prime minister, Boris Johnson, for bountiful examples of this kind of obfuscation. But using Khan as a scapegoat and clearly avoiding the issue of national crime rates is not only a lazy diversion technique, exposing how very little concrete plans the two candidates have, but it also demonstrates how London-centric this government is.

In fact, Truss went as far as to call the Mayor of London “anti-everything” and scoffed at the idea of London being predominantly Labour, calling for the capital to become “Conservative again”, in a very Trump-esque manner.

She also made the bold claim that “we are not going to succeed as a country without a successful London”, calling it “the greatest city on Earth” and going on to state that “in order to level up the United Kingdom, we need a successful London.”

Yes, the husting was taking place in London and Truss presumably felt the need to massage the attendees’ egos somewhat, but it is a very antiquated view that the city takes precedent over everywhere else in the UK. To overlook other regions, cities and communities is very dangerous, indeed.

To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here

While it isn’t exactly a new concept that London sets the agenda and tone for the rest of the nation – I mean, parliament is located in London and devolved powers are answerable to England’s government in many ways – it still reeks of privilege and ignorance, and sends a very clear message to the rest of the UK: you are an afterthought.

By accentuating this perceived hierarchy that goes beyond geographical location, not only is Truss flaunting how out-of-touch she is, she’s demonstrating how little she knows what she’s doing.

Where is the plan of action? How exactly is she going reduce crime rates? And how is she going to address the seismic perils of inflation and soaring energy prices? Sadly, both she and Sunak were too busy playing the blame game to actually come up with any useful solutions.