Sadiq Khan 'looking after Londoners' as ULEZ focus proves Tories have 'no ideas'

Labour parliamentary candidate for Croydon East has said that Sadiq Khan should be re-elected as he has a track record of 'looking after Londoners'. Councillor Natasha Irons - currently Merton Councillor Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Green Spaces and Climate Change - added that the Tories' focus on the ULEZ expansion during the mayoral election campaign, the votes for which are being counted today, proves that Susan Hall has 'run out of ideas'

Natasha Irons, is Labour's parliamentary candidate for Croydon East. Talking outside the counting of votes from Croydon and Sutton at the ExCel Centre in East London, she said: "It was always going to be close, and it should be close, London is the greatest city in the world, and it should be competitive."

She added that Mr Khan has a track record of 'looking after Londoners' and 'he wants to do that again'. On knife crime, Ms Irons said: "The knife crime epidemic that we have nationally in this country is symptomatic of a Tory government that has turned its back on young people"

READ MORE: Live London mayor election results as Sadiq Khan takes huge lead

The Labour Party has said throughout the local election campaign that it is fighting for every vote and not being complacent in London despite having been ahead in the polls by more than 20 percentage points. Asked if Labour has been secretly confident all along, Ms Irons said: "Absolutely not. This is about getting out and fighting"

On whether the ULEZ expansion, which occurred in August last year, could affect today's results, she added: "The ULEZ expansion had its challenges, but I think Susan's focus on it really just shows how out of ideas the Conservatives Party are."

She also claimed that Ms Hall has not presented 'positive solutions' to toxic air.

MyLondon understands that London Labour teams are 'looking confident' at counts as of around 11.30am.

A spokesperson for Susan Hall has been contacted for comment. The Tory candidate previously told MyLondon that she would provide a pot of £50 million to local authorities across the capital for officials to initiate smaller scale action on pollution.

This could include tackling emissions 'hotspots' in Outer London.

A spokesperson for Ms Hall previously told MyLondon that Mr Khan has 'evaded responsibility for his lamentable record on crime'. They added: "It's out of control, on his watch.

"Susan will sort this out, with a return to borough-based policing, 1,500 more officers and a £200 million injection into met funding."

Read our exclusive sit-down interview with Sadiq Khan ahead of the London mayoral election here. Read our interview with Susan Hall here.

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