I have been listening to women across our city over the last year and their message is clear: women's safety has been grossly neglected.
The Metropolitan Police has fallen into special measures for the first time in its history and has been mired in scandal.
Trust has plummeted, especially among women. And it isn’t a surprise. I recently spoke with a woman who has all but given up on the police.
When she saw a fight erupting outside her home and called 999, no one turned up. When she tried to secure a restraining order against a stalker, she was met with disinterest.
Susan Hall: 'Trust in the police has plummeted, especially among women - and it isn’t a surprise'
PA
The stories of women across our capital all have common themes. We are expected to live with what is happening, to grin and bear it, and pretend that everything is going well.
But it is not. The stories of what women in this city must go through is nothing new.
They’re etched into the history of our city, and for too long they’ve been ignored, talked down, and swept aside.
Another woman I listened to was given a leaflet when she was sexually harassed on the London Underground. Not the justice she deserves.
It's a chilling reality that, under Sadiq Khan’s leadership of the Met Police, women have been left to fend for themselves, feeling abandoned by the very institution supposed to protect them.
Why should we stay silent? Criminals are emboldened, and victims of crime feel they have nowhere to turn.
And after the heartbreaking murder of Sarah Everard just three years ago, many women are actively afraid of the police. This cannot continue.
Women’s safety cannot be ignored any longer. I will listen and deliver the changes we need.
I will implement a robust women's safety strategy that ensures women’s concerns are heard and acted on. I will task the Met Police with rebuilding trust with women and local communities, showing the positive work they do and the progress they’ve made in keeping out toxic officers.
And I will back the police with a £200 million investment, giving them the resources they need to get out from behind their desks and back on patrol. The contrast between my vision for London and Sadiq Khan’s record could not be starker.
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While Sadiq Khan has sat back as women's pleas for better policing have been ignored, I will listen and act. Londoners have had enough of empty promises and failed policies.
We need real change. And we deserve nothing less.
I will ensure that our city becomes a place where every woman feels safe and knows that they are valued.
That no woman in London lives their life in fear of being attacked or harassed, particularly on their journey home at night.
I will listen to you, work for you, and restore the sense of security that has been eroded over the past eight years.
It's time for a Mayor who listens, who cares, and who acts. For the sake of every woman in London, the choice is clear.
Susan Hall is the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London.
