Mayoral Candidate, Rob Blackie, has launched the London Liberal Democrat on Tuesday, with a pledge to ‘fix the Met’.
The party launched its campaign at Pop Brixton, located in the neighbourhood Rob has spent much of the past 20 years raising his family.
Blackie told the media and a group of close supporters that Sadiq Khan does “not deserve” a third term due to his record on crime. He also dismissed the Conservative chances, accusing the party of giving up on London after selecting a Trump-backing candidate.
Blackie said Sadiq Khan’s failure on crime is the reason he is standing as mayor.
Seasoned campaigner, Blackie, 50, described how he became a victim of crime himself. His neck was broken in a vicious gang mugging in Vauxhall, and he now has a titanium neck.
Speaking to journalists in Brixton on Tuesday morning, Blackie said ,“My top priority is crime and policing.
“Sadiq Khan’s failure on those issues is the main reason I am standing against him.
“Violent crime has risen by 30 percent in London since Mr Khan has been in office.
“Sexual offence clear-up rates have halved in the last eight years.
“Let me just read one shocking sentence from Baroness Casey’s report on the Met Police, published last year – the account of a serving police officer, who said: ‘If you look at our performance around rape, serious sexual offences, the detection rate is so low you may as well say it’s legal in London.’
“Just let that sink in… ‘You may as well say it’s legal in London.’
“It is just shameful.
“Sadiq Khan blames everyone else for this but himself. The buck stops with him and we will call him out in this campaign.”
In his speech, Blackie described how he grew up in London playing on the street with neighbouring children from all over the world. He added:
“I love living and working in the most cosmopolitan city on the planet.
“That is the London I love, and the London we want to ‘get back’.
He also took a swipe at the London Conservatives, describing Susan Hall as “beyond the pale”. He said:
“Far from embracing London, she attacks it. Liking tweets that call our city Londonistan and venerate Enoch Powell.
“Does she even like London? She certainly doesn’t love our great city. When the Conservatives chose her as their candidate, they gave up on this election.”
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