UK
Anti-Fascist Group Takes on London Conservative Mayoral Hopeful Susan Hall, Branding Contender a ‘Racist’
Hall previously liked a string of tweets praising ‘rivers of blood’ MP Enoch Powell and branding the capital “Londonistan” under Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan.
A leading anti-fascist organisation has launched a campaign to “take on” Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall AM at the London mayoral election this May.
HOPE not hate kicked off their on-the-ground activism against the Sadiq Khan-opponent on Wednesday by leafleting at stations around London, accusing the Conservative mayoral hopeful of racism, in no small part due to her controversial statements on social media.
A spokesperson for HOPE not hate said the group has “exposed her racist social media history”. That includes the Harrow-based politician having liked a tweet saying ‘It’s never too late to get London Back!’. The picture was an image of the late Conservative MP Enoch Powell with the quote “It’s never too late to save your country”. This was not a quote from ‘rivers of blood’ speech-giver Powell but a slogan that was once on the British National Party website.
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She has also previously liked a tweet from a user suggesting Enoch Powell should have been Prime Minister, saying they’d like Enoch Powell to be an addition to a pack of Prime Minister playing cards.
Other examples pointed to by the group include quote-tweeting an article from “notorious right-wing misinformation site” The Gateway Pundit, alleging a conspiracy to steal the 2020 US presidential election from Trump.
And she replied to a tweet from far-right commentator Katie Hopkins calling Sadiq Khan “our nipple height mayor of Londonistan” with an endorsement, saying: “Thank you Katie!”. “Londonistan” is the term used to convey the idea that Muslims are taking over London.
Hall also liked a reply to a tweet about Sadiq Khan’s anti-violence against women and girls strategy that said “Well said Susan, that Labour Traitor RAT Likes that sort of thing” – being female genital mutilation and violence against women and girls. This is racially charged implying that Muslims support FGM and violence.
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Challenged about her social media activity on LBC last September – in particular the Enoch Powell meme and Katie Hopkins tweets – Hall told the LBC Radio phone-in she “can’t remember” doing so, adding: “I tweet, or I used to, all the time.”
“When I retweeted, oh no I think I liked it. I don’t know, this was a long time ago. That wasn’t in my mind, and I’m glad you given me the opportunity to say…”
Interviewer Nick Ferrari interjected: “I think you did, you retweeted it.” Hall replied: “I retweeted? I have no idea.”
She denied she was a supporter of the former Conservative provocoteur Enoch Powell, adding: “If you’re a serial tweeter, you tend to go through liking all sorts of things, and you sometimes read things and don’t see. If anybody is offended, then obviously, I would apologise.”
In October 2023, Hall was urged to apologise after that claiming Jewish communities in London were “frightened” by Sadiq Khan. The London Assembly member made the comments at a Conservative Friends of Israel at the Conservative party conference in Manchester.
Prior to selection the Conservative Assembly member liked a tweet saying that Sadiq Khan is “begging for Londoners to do a Tower Hamlets postal vote for May next year and we all know how that works. #fraud” – effectively accusing Sadiq Khan of electoral corruption and promoting the idea that Muslims in electoral politics subvert democratic principles.
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And she has liked tweets targeting journalists, including on branding Sky’s Matthew Thompson, then at LBC, a “virus”.
Georgie Laming, Director of Campaigns at HOPE not hate said: “Susan Hall is clearly not fit to represent a diverse and multicultural city like London.
“Her social media activity is some of the most egregious we’ve seen from a Conservative candidate, and that’s why we’ll be taking her on this election.”
At the end of last year the campaign group polled over 1,000 Londoners and found that 64% believed Susan Hall’s social media conduct was “racist”. The group says it will be using “some of the most advanced voter analysis available” to identify areas in each constituency that might be most receptive to hard-right politics, and to target them with anti-Hall material.
Susan Hall’s team was contacted for comment.
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