Did Sadiq Khan break purdah – the longstanding rule on pre-election campaigning – by announcing the Elizabeth Line the day before the local council elections?
Grant Shapps, the Transport Minister, has accused the Mayor of London of “breath-taking political cynicism” by trying to gain an unfair advantage in London, where the Tories risk losing control of several councils.
Shapps said he would be reporting the matter to the Electoral Commission, but he appears to have got the wrong organisation. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission told Reaction: “We don’t have a regulatory role in relation to the content of campaign material or what candidates say about each other. However, we do encourage all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and to support campaign transparency.”
Even so, rules may still have been broken. Purdah refers to the period between the time an election is called and the date the vote is held. According to the Local Government Act 1986, authorities should not publish any publicity on controversial issues or issue proposals in such a way that identifies them with any groups.
In this instance, Shapps claims the Crossrail statement is being weaponised by Khan to bolster Labour’s election prospects.
The original press release – saying that the over-budget line is to open a week before the Queen’s Jubilee weekend celebrations – was published not by the Mayor’s Office, but by Transport for London and its commissioner, Andy Byford.
However, TFL is the parent company of the Greater London Authority, run by Khan. While the Department for Transport raised no objection to the line’s launch date, Shapps has taken issue with the timing of the statement.
In fact, Khan said the new network is the “most significant addition to our transport network in decades” and would give “a massive economic boost” to the capital, while also making the city “safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous”.
He even said it would deliver a £42bn boost to the whole British economy and create hundreds of thousands of new homes and jobs.
Even though Khan is not standing for any office, he has been canvassing for candidates in key battlegrounds seats, with cost of living issues coming up frequently on the doorstep.
If the watchdog upholds Shapps’ appeal, Khan could be taken to court where judges will determine whether he breached Section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986.
It’s also possible that Shapps’ argument could be dismissed out of hand, as just a few hours after the TfL revelation, Shapps posted a tweet saying how the line would not have been able to open if it was not for £9bn in government funding.
Could TfL have just avoided the palava by waiting after voting booths closed? The Hound certainly thinks so.
