London protesters aren’t happy with the apparent crime rates in their city under their new Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, and are preparing to give him the Trump treatment on Saturday morning in an effort to get their voices heard:
MY FOX 8 – A giant blimp of London Mayor Sadiq Khan will be seen in the UK capital’s skies this weekend after protesters were given permission to fly the crowdfunded balloon in Westminster.
More than 3,000 supporters have donated more than £58,000 ($75,500) in total to fund the 29-foot balloon, which depicts the mayor reclining in a small yellow bikini.
Protest organizer Yanny Bruere, who describes himself as a British free speech advocate, said he had set up the crowdfunding campaign in response to London authorities’ decision to allow a “Trump Baby” blimp to be flown during last month’s visit to Britain by US President Donald Trump.
He said the Parliament Square event on Saturday morning “marks the fightback for free speech in our country.”
“People in London don’t feel safe and they aren’t safe”
Bruere, who has set up a “Make London Safe Again” group on Facebook, accuses Khan of doing too little to prevent violent crime in London.
The Crowdfunder page posted by Bruere said: “In light of the Donald Trump ‘Baby Trump’ ballon being allowed to fly over London during his visit to the U.K., let’s get a ‘baby Khan’ one and see if FREE SPEECH applies to all and whether or not Mr Khan and the London assembly will also approve this.
“Under Sadiq Khan, we have seen crime sky rocket to unprecedented levels. People in London don’t feel safe and they aren’t safe… Khan Out.”
Bruere added that any surplus money raised would “be used for a continuing campaign to remove Sadiq Khan from office and also for defending free speech.”
London has seen a spike in knife crime over the past three years but the capital’s Metropolitan Police Service insists it is still a safe city. Khan published a new knife crime strategy in June and promised to do everything possible to drive knife crime from London. The mayor has also called for the government to halt planned funding cuts to the Met Police.
Annoyance over the “Trump baby” float…
Michella Dos Santos, co-creator of the Khan blimp and founder of the Make London Safe Again group, told CNN that the balloon project had been born from annoyance over the city authorities’ decision to allow the “Trump Baby” blimp last month.
“We were annoyed as crime has soared,” she said. The project “started out of irritation … but then we wanted make something of substance.”
Dos Santos said Khan’s decision to allow the Trump blimp to fly had been based on “selective free speech,” adding: “Would he have done it if it was Obama? Probably not.”
The request to fly the “Trump Baby” blimp in July was approved by city authorities and the mayor after more than 10,000 people signed a petition.
As they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Here’s more photos if you want to see them:
This Sadiq Khan balloon will fly over Parliament square in London on Saturday.
It's a protest by people who say crime in London has "skyrocketed" since Sadiq became Mayor.
"I don't really think yellow's my colour," says Sadiq. pic.twitter.com/XpCeYMvpMH
— BBC Newsbeat (@BBCNewsbeat) August 30, 2018