Boris ignored repeated warnings over “unrealistic” landlord scheme May 31, 2016 London Mayor Sadiq Khan has accused his predecessor Boris Johnson of failing renters, and falling dramatically short of a target to accredit 100,000 landlords. Johnson introduced the London rental standard in 2012 as part of a plan to accredit good landlords and letting agents, with the scheme eventually coming into force in 2014. However, since [...]
London mustn’t dither its way into stagnation May 31, 2016 Funds that take a long-term view are sitting on an estimated $117bn (£80bn) which they would like to invest into infrastructure projects, including in the UK, according to Andy Rose, the new chief executive of the Global Infrastructure Investor Association (GIIA). Meanwhile, London is hungry for investment into essential services such as housing and transport. So [...]
Why the City of London will be better off if we leave the European Union May 31, 2016 Too much of the debate about what the European Union referendum means for the City has been frustratingly narrow and short-term, confined to the immediate financial implications of leaving. Far too little attention has been paid to the longer-term health of the City, in particular the implications of remaining inside the EU. Inside the EU, [...]
What the quiet rise of Tooting says about the challenges facing Sadiq Khan as mayor May 31, 2016 As with all great cities, London has many faces. We all know the stereotypes: West London is for old money and new oligarchs, North London is for intellectuals and media luvvies, East London is for hipsters and entrepreneurs, and as for South London, well that’s not actually so clear. West and North have historically been [...]
Cameron and Khan team up to launch Remain “guarantee card” May 30, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron and London mayor Sadiq Khan will today unveil a new list of five guarantees offered by a vote to Remain in the EU. Volunteers will distribute the list as a “guarantee card” as the EU referendum campaign reaches its final weeks. The guarantee card reads: “Vote Remain on June 23rd, and [...]
Sadiq Khan’s housing expert – a former senior adviser to Jeremy Corbyn – quits City Hall team May 27, 2016 Sadiq Khan was dealt an early blow to his mayorship this morning, as his housing expert – a former senior adviser to Jeremy Corbyn – has quit his team. Neale Coleman was appointed to help with Khan's first few months in power, but Coleman is said to have walked out on City Hall after the former [...]
Khan: Remain campaign must make patriotic case for EU May 26, 2016 With four weeks until polling day, Sadiq Khan has made his first intervention into the EU referendum debate since becoming mayor of London, calling for a patriotic case to Remain. In a speech in the east London Tech City development, Khan admitted that the debate on EU membership had become too dominated by potential risks. [...]
Revealed: The sums behind Khan’s backing of the Garden Bridge May 25, 2016 London Mayor Sadiq Khan has claimed that cancelling a controversial Garden Bridge across the Thames would cost more than completing the project. Speaking at Mayor's Question Time for the first time since his election, Khan said that almost £40m of public funds have already been spent by the Garden Bridge Trust. Of a total of [...]
London house prices: More than £12bn worth of properties are lying empty in the capital – and guess which borough is the worst May 25, 2016 We're used to hearing about how overpriced London houses have become – so research claiming that the capital is home to more than £12bn-worth of empty properties should be a wake up call. Across England, more than 200,000 properties are vacant – equivalent to £38bn. But while Bradford has the biggest vacancy rate of anywhere in [...]
RMT’s vote for a strike over Night Tube will be Sadiq Khan’s first test as mayor of London May 25, 2016 Well, that parade has been been well and truly rained upon. At the start of this week, TfL announced – to widespread cheers – that the long-promised Night Tube would (finally) launch in August. That promise remains on track, but yesterday the sense of triumph was darkened by the prospect of more strikes. The RMT, [...]