Sadiq Khan's council tax hike is a slap in the face, says Susan Hall

Khan's been nobbling Londoners since day one, and financial mismanagement is like a broken record, spinning out the same old tune of waste and incompetence. His obsession with spending on spin doctors and PR stunts, all at the taxpayer's expense, is a slapdash approach to governance. Sadiq Khan seems more interested in promoting himself than serving those who elected him.

This latest tax hike imposed by his regime is a direct hit to the wallets of London families. And let’s not forget the notoriously hated ULEZ expansion, Khan's pet project and the outrider to his plans to bring in pay-per-mile, raking in millions from London’s lowest earners. This is a shameless, regressive tax, hitting those who can least afford it the hardest.

WATCH: Susan Hall criticises Sadiq Khan for 'never listening' 

But where will these titanic troughs of Londoners’ cash go? It sure as hell won’t be making our streets safer. Under Sadiq Khan's watch, crime in London has skyrocketed, with violent crimes up by over 30 per cent! Anyone else would have resigned in disgrace – but this Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has no shame. He seems more interested in schmoozing with celebs and flogging off his (quite dull) book, than tackling the real issues faced each and every day by people like you and me.

Our police force, once the pride of London, is now in special measures for the first time in its history, thanks to Khan’s weak approach to law and order. He’d rather see law and disorder, anything to avoid him having to fess up and admit he’s failed to keep us safe.

Yet while crime is soaring, Sadiq Khan is throwing Londoner’s cash down the drain. He had to give back over £60 million to the government because he FAILED to spend the money recruiting new police officers.

And over the years, Sadiq Khan has blown millions on beach parties (yes, you read that right, beach parties!), spin doctors, personality tests and a bicycle ballet to “explore the role cycling had in female liberation.”

You just cannot make it up!

What possesses our mayor to splurge away cash on performance ‘art’, when he should be spending it on keeping us, our kids and grandkids, safe?

Just imagine what other nonsense he would throw money at if given another four years?

I hope to be the Mayor of London next year. Why? Because London, my home, deserves so much better – we need a change. My promise to you is clear: I will put an end to this financial madness and focus City Hall on the issues that matter.

I will tackle the rampant crime that blights our city, prioritising a £200 million investment in the Met Police, so we can get to the root of the problem and ensure our streets are safe again.

As for the ULEZ expansion, it will be gone on day one. No ifs, no buts. We need smart ways of improving the environment and air quality, not stealth taxes that punish the poorest in our society.

We cannot afford another four years of Sadiq Khan. Londoners deserve a Mayor who respects their hard-earned cash, not one who treats it as his personal piggy bank. You cannot have a Mayor that just snaps his fingers and demands more money like a petulant teenager demanding more pocket money, when all he does with the cash is waste it. Londoners need a Mayor puts their needs first.

MORE MEMBERSHIP CONTENT:

• There is a wave of Euroscepticism sweeping Europe... and it's only getting worse
• Biden has once again shifted the goalposts for a trade deal - but was it ever on the table in the first place?
• Suella Braverman's behind-the-scenes fight to take over from Sunak

Enough is enough. Let's make London a city that works for everyone. Next May, we can make it happen.

Susan Hall is the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London.