Renaming Overground lines, Ulez expansion and a bizarre pledge to bring the Super Bowl to Britain if re-elected: Sadiq Khan's 'vanity projects' revealed as London Mayor hits residents with 71% 'stealth tax'
Sadiq Khan has been accused of spending tax payer's money on a long list of 'vanity projects' since he first came to power in 2016 - all while increasing taxes on residents.
The Mayor of London has spent £140million on introducing the hated Ulez scheme and £6.3million on the 'woke' renaming of TFL Overground lines all while increasing the Mayoral General Precept to £471 per household.
This figure has shot up from an average of £276 since Mr Khan became London Mayor in 2016, and the 'stealth tax' is set to increase by another £37, according to draft budget proposal.
If re-elected, the Mayor has plans for more projects as he most recently promised to bring the Super Bowl to London and 'make the Thames swimmable in 10 years'.
Among his more bizarre moves over his tenure, the former Labour minister has been slammed for visiting a cannabis farm and shop in the US and recently pledging to bring WrestleMania and the NBA to London.
It comes just days before more than five million Londoners are set to vote in the London Mayoral elections on May 2, with Khan seeking a third term in office, which would make him the longest ever serving London Mayor.
People living in the capital are currently paying £471 towards the Mayoral General Precept. Picture shows Sadiq Khan beside the re branded TFL Overground lines
In one of his election pledges, Mr Khan has promised to bring the Super Bowl to Britain. Picture shows Patrick Mahomes celebrating after his Kansas City Chiefs won the last Super Bowl
This graph illustrates the increases to the Mayoral General Precept since Sadiq Khan took office
The expansion of Ulez cost an estimated 140million and saw the rise of the 'blade runners' who chop down the scheme's enforcement cameras (pictured)
Over his two terms, Sadiq has been criticised for splurging tax payers' money on 'vanity projects, such as the 'woke' renaming the London Overground Lines which cost £6.3million.
Under the bizarre project - which was introduced as commuters faced increasing crime, delays and strike action - rail lines were given individual colours and names including Lioness, Mildmay, Windrush, Weaver, Suffragette and Liberty.
When they were introduced in February, the Mayor defended his project and suggested it would save passengers from 'nightmare' journeys - but Tories quickly slammed the 'virtue signalling nonsense'.
Susan Hall, Mr Khan's Conservative opponent in May's mayoral election, told MailOnline: '1,000 people have been killed under his Mayoralty, and yet Sadiq Khan is only interested in this virtue signalling nonsense. The only surprise from today's announcement is that he hasn't named one of them the Sadiq line.'
Ex-minister Paul Scully, Tory MP for Sutton and Cheam, told MailOnline: 'Londoners just want a Mayor who can get them from A to B on time, at reasonable cost and in a degree of comfort, not just spraying a word cloud of virtue signalling at a cost of £6m of taxpayers' money.'
The Mayor of London was also slammed for the expansion of Ulez which cost an estimated £140million.
The scheme, which charges non-compliant vehicles £12.50 per day to drive in all 32 London Boroughs, saw the rise of vigilante 'blade runner' groups which cut down enforcement cameras.
Previously, a member of the infamous Blade Runners vowed to continue destroying the Ulez cameras - telling the Mayor of London: 'We won't stop until you stop. That's the bottom line.'
Ben claims he's behind a near total blackout of enforcement cameras in the Bromley area, one of the Greater London boroughs where the scheme has been extended.
The Mayor of London was slammed for visiting a legal cannabis farm in the US in 2022. Picture shows Mr Khan posed with cannabis plants
The London Overground lines were given unique names and colours. Pictured: the new line names and colours
Ulez - which charges non-compliant motorists £12.50 per day of use - was expanded to cover all 32 of London's Borough's in August 2023
Londoners have been hit with a 71 per cent increase in Sadiq Khan 's (pictured) 'stealth tax' since the Labour chief became mayor.
In one of his more bizarre pledges, Sadiq Khan has promised to bring WresteMania to London. Pictured: Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson at the last WrestleMania
He insists support among the public is widespread, with many hailing the group as heroes, adding: 'We are the voice of the people. You experienced the cheers against Ulez right there and then you can see we are reflecting the voice of the public.'
In one of his more bizarre moves, the Labour candidate pledged to bring the NFL's Superbowl, NBA games and the WWE's showpiece event, Wrestlemania, to the capital if re-elected.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he also promised to put another bid together for the 2040 Olympics.
He wrote: 'London is already the sporting capital of the world. If I'm re-elected next Thursday - we'll go even further. We'll look to bring WrestleMania, Superbowl and the NBA to London, and put together another bid for the 2040 Olympics.'
The Mayoral General Precept - which has been described as a 'Sadiq stealth tax' - is a levy that is used to fund Greater London Authority services and the running of City Hall.
It is imposed across a number of combined authority's across the UK including Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region and London.
In Greater Manchester, the Mayoral General Precept is also used to fund the fire service, which is different to other areas where the fire service is funded by a separate levy.
According to the figures seen by the Telegraph, Londoners are now paying more towards it than any other combined authority.
Council tax has soared over the years that Mr Khan has been in office
The Mayoral Precept was introduced in London by the Greater London Authority in 2000 when Ken Livingstone was London Mayor.
Mr Livingstone increased it 152 per cent by the end of his second four year term in 2008, while Boris Johnson lowered the levy by 11 per cent after he was ousted as London Mayor in 2016.
A spokesman for Mr Khan told MailOnline: 'This election is a close two-horse race between Sadiq, and the hard-right Conservative candidate for Mayor who couldn’t be more out of touch with our city and its values.
'Susan Hall would cancel free school meals and reverse Sadiq’s TfL fares freeze. She is a supporter of Donald Trump, cheered Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget, and has promoted racist comments by Enoch Powell on social media.'
The spokesperson also pointed out that Conservative candidate Susan Hall voted in favour of council tax hike in Harrow, where she is a councillor.
During his tenure, Mr Khan has overseen a 70 per cent increase in the Band D council tax bill, which was £280.02 in 2016 - the year he took office.
Last year, the Mayor of London announced an increase of £40 to the council tax bill which will see it rise to an average bill of £434.14.
