Harrow (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Harrow opposition leader Susan Hall denounces what she calls “woke stupidity” during a debate over the borough’s Christmas tree, escalating political tensions.
Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservative group in the London Assembly and a councillor from Hatch End Harrow, seemed incensed this week about rumors that Tesco was no longer referring to its holiday trees as “Christmas.”
In a series of social media posts, she called the decision “woke stupidity” and “wretched ridiculous nonsense,” even though the large store clarified that the Christmas category was “clearly marked” on its selection of trees.
On the Tesco website, customers can still find Christmas trees designated as such under a dedicated Christmas category, indicating that the company has not abandoned the custom.
Since May, Ms. Hall, the Tory candidate who challenged the Mayor of London in the previous year’s election, has led her group.
Labour Assembly Member Leonie Cooper told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):
“Susan Hall AM haunts London like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Londoners don’t forget that the previous government played Scrooge and gouged £1.1billion out of funding for the Met. But Susan Hall will never mention that.
In contrast, Mayor Sadiq Khan is delivering record investment in the Met. And the proof is in the pudding: violent crime, knife crime and homicides have all fallen significantly. Politicians should stop issuing social media statements and focus on what’s truly at the top of Londoners’ Christmas lists.”
Ant Middleton, who declared earlier this month that he would run as an independent for Mayor of London in 2028, claimed that Sir Sadiq’s Christmas efforts were “too little, too late” after the Mayor posted a video of a tree that Norway had given to Trafalgar Square.
Even while Sir Sadiq mentioned Christmas when promoting the switch-on, the Mayor was also criticized on various social media platforms for allegedly failing to mention it in the Oxford Street lights.
A request for comment was sent to the City Hall Conservatives.
How did other local politicians respond to her comments?
Other politicians responded to Susan Hall’s commentary on the Christmas tree debate in Harrow with a mixture of review and calls for concinnity. numerous opposition party members and some within the council condemned Hall’s use of the expression” woke asininity,” arguing it was divisive and unnecessarily seditious during a community event meant to bring residents together.
Some council members prompted a more formative and less combative approach to original issues, pressing that political dissensions shouldn’t overshadow the spirit of the gleeful season or community cohesion.
The responses reflect a concentrated political atmosphere in Harrow, with Hall’s reflections acting as a flashpoint that drew clear lines between protectors of traditional artistic values and lawyers for further progressive, inclusive interpretations.