Khan and Bailey face off in the first debate of the London mayoral election campaign

Labour's Sadiq Khan and the Tory Shaun Bailey appeared on BBC London to debate some of the key issues facing Londoners.

Source: Flickr

On the evening of March 24, the BBC hosted a live discussion between the incumbent London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and his main challenger Shaun Bailey, in the build-up to the capital’s sixth mayoral election. The debate was the first chance for the two frontrunners to lock horns before the capital goes to the polls on May 6. The 30 minute debate, hosted by the broadcaster's London Political Editor Tim Donovan, saw the two candidates clash on issues such as crime and coronavirus.

The first section of the debate focused on the recent murder of Sarah Everard, policing, and women's safety in the capital. Khan said: "We must make sure we protect women, but we must also make sure we address the behaviour of men and boys." 

"This moment should be one where we do what we can to address this really important issue, not use this as an opportunity to play party politics but to address the safety of women and girls", the Mayor added.

But Bailey replied by arguing "this is one of the most biggest failings going on in London" and said that Londoners were safer under Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone. 

The Conservative candidate then highlighted that he wanted to employ an extra 8,000 police officers, introduce CCTV at every bus stop and speak to men about their behaviour. 

"If you do one thing as mayor of London, make London safe", added Bailey.

Bailey's somewhat politicised answer prompted Khan to reply that crime rates across the United Kingdom grew during 2013, when Bailey served as a government adviser on youth and crime, and when the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, oversaw cuts to the police and youth centres.

"When I hear Shaun speaking", Khan continued, "it's like an arsonist who lights a flame, complaining that the fire brigade can't put the fire out quick enough." 

The Tory hopeful then said: "The Mayor of London's job is to represent Londoners and he came out and said it's a job for the government and the police. No it's not, he is the chief of police in London and he should make that representation. He found it easy enough to represent Extinction Rebellion; why not the women of this City?"

However, Khan replied: "One of the things that is really important to read up on when you're seeking to become the Mayor of this City is what the law is in relation to the responsibility of the Mayor… The police got it wrong in my view". 

The next part of the debate turned to focus on the effect of Covid-19 on the capital.

Bailey accused Khan of "causing confusion from the beginning" on lockdown rules and suggested that this had been detrimental to London's economy.

The Labour candidate deployed political jargon: "It's straightforward. Again talking down London or standing up for London. We've got a costed plan so we can build London back better after the pandemic with a brighter future for our city." This plan will, however, include £534 million worth of public spending. 

Khan then made a clearer distinction. 

"The choice also is between a lockdown sceptic, as Shaun was, and somebody that sees that the health and the economy as intertwined. There are 18,000 families in London grieving the loss of a loved one. Some of them, I'm afraid, have lost their lives because of the confusion caused by people like Shaun Bailey."

The debate concluded with Donovan asking the two men if the two had respect for one another.

"Of course I respect Sadiq", the Tory candidate answered.

But Khan was not as complimentary. 

"I've got to be honest, some of the things Shaun has said about Eid, Diwali, about women, about girls, about multiculturalism, about those that receive benefits, I get deeply upset by. They're not my values, they're London's values, and I hope Londoners reject those values." 

Responding to the performance of Mr Khan and Mr Bailey, the Liberal Democrat candidate Luisa Porritt tweeted: "Tonight you've heard a Mayor who won't take responsibility and a Conservative candidate who doesn't speak for Londoners' values. Lots of blame, no real ideas. We deserve so much better than this."

The BBC has said they will invite Porritt and the Green Party's Sian Berry to a televised event "very soon”.

With Sadiq Khan registering significant leads in the opinion polls, the debate will probably be of limited significance come election day. But the incumbent did exactly what he needed to do. Even though he did speak in meaningless political jargon at times, Khan had no major slip-ups, he gave enough short repetitive soundbites to clog up his Twitter feed, and he attacked Bailey's personal and political record.

For Mr Bailey this encounter was not a shocker either. He floundered a couple of his lines, however, the Tory candidate landed some light blows against his counterpart's record in City Hall and offered an alternative to Khan's defensive strategy.

Whilst there was no audience, no snap opinion polls, and limited Twitter traffic from the SW1 commentariat, Mr Khan will probably leave the BBC London studios the happier of the two men. 

His lead in the polls has not fallen below 20 per cent in the entire election campaign and his performance tonight was good enough to keep that lead going. In the most recent poll, conducted for The Evening Standard last week, respondents even suggested that Khan could be the first mayoral candidate to take the election without counting second preference ballots. 

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