We are used to hearing far-fetched tales about London from people with American accents. It was only in 2018 that the New York Times praised the city for having finally abandoned the boiled mutton and bowls of porridge that, according to the writer, had until then been just about the only items on its menus. That same year Donald Trump described a hospital in the city as a “war zone” with “blood all over the floors”, having previously said that London was so “radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives”.
But now the American accent is coming from inside the house. The Conservative Party has released an attack ad for the London mayoral elections which looks and sounds like a mid-century trailer for a Batman movie, but is also full of strange untruths about London and its Mayor.
