Russell Tovey, Holly Johnson, Bimini, and more sign open letter against Tory London Mayor candidate

A number of LGBTQ+ celebrities and public figures have signed an open letter warning against one of the candidates for London Mayor.

Elections to decide the London Mayor are due to take place on Thursday 2 May. Ahead of that Attitude has seen a letter signed by 26 people such as Russell Tovey, Holly Johnson, Bimini, and many more.

In the letter addressed to the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Richard Holden, the signatories, which also include Michael Cashman and Charlie Craggs, express their “dismay and anger” at Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate for London Mayor. “We believe a Susan Hall mayoralty would increase division in our society and has the potential to cause a surge in hate directed towards LGBTQ+ people in London,” the letter reads.

The letter’s signatories question whether Hall supports a ban on ‘conversion therapy’ saying that “refusing to commit to banning it lets down survivors, allows abusers to continue unhindered, and leaves us all at risk.” They also point to high-profile examples of homophobic hate crime as well as data from London Travel Watch from 2023 which states one in five LGBTQ+ people had experienced hate crime in the past year on London’s public transport.

The letter’s signatories continue: “Susan Hall paid lip-service to this, and weaponised hate crime as a way to score political points against her rivals.” They also point to anti-trans comments made by Hall where she said “Trans athletes should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.” They also highlight a tweet from Hall’s Twitter/X account in 2022 where she responds to Laurence Fox creating a swastika from Progress Pride flags. Hall responded to backlash about this at the time tweeting she “clearly meant – what are you thinking.”

“We are proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community in London, and we find strength in diversity, not in division”

“We’re not asking for an apology,” the letter reads. “Susan Hall showed her true colours when she thought no one was watching. A Susan Hall victory would send a dangerous signal that hatred against LGBTQ+ people can be rewarded with the London Mayoralty. We are proud to represent the LGBTQ+ community in London, and we find strength in diversity, not in division.”

The people who have signed the open letter are:

1. Bimini Bon Boulash
2. Ginger Johnson
3. Russell Tovey
4. Linda Riley
5. Charlie Condou
6. Juno Dawson
7. Jen Brister
8. David Carlyle
9. Lydia West
10. Paul Burston
11. Mitch Benn
12. Charlie Craggs
13. Roberta Taylor
14. Peter Guinness 
15. Paul Bailey
16. Jeremy Trevathan
17. Lisa Power
18. Anthony Watson CBE
19. Michael Cashman 
20. Jeanette Winterson 
21. Holly Johnson 
22. Andi Oliver 
23. ⁠Neil Bartlett OBE
24. Sue Sanders
25. David Robson 
26. Sofie Hagen

Hall is going up against the incumbent London Mayor, Sadiq Khan (Labour) who is seeing a third term in office. The other candidates are Femy Amin (Animal Welfare Party), Count Binface, Rob Blackie (Liberal Democrats), Natalie Campbell (Independent), Howard Cox (Reform UK), Amay Gallagher (Social Democratic Party), Zoe Garbett (The Green Party), Tarun Ghulati (Independent), Andrea Michli (Independent), Brian Rose (London Real Party), and Nick Scanlon (Britain First)

You can find more information about all the candidates here.

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