Sadiq Khan: My 10-year plan to scrub up London’s rivers – similar to its air

Sadiq Khan not lives in a glass onion, the distinctive bauble down close to Tower Bridge. In 2022, the Mayor of London took your complete equipment of London governance, together with the London Meeting and the GLA, with him right down to the Royal Docks, the place they now reside in an angular constructing previously generally known as The Crystal. It sits, proudly, on Kamal Chunchie Method, named after a neighborhood race relations campaigner, and is the nerve centre, the Starship Enterprise, of London politics. It’s right here the place Khan administers his £20.4 billion finances, ostensibly to enhance London’s financial and social improvement; right here the place he oversees all the things from transport and tradition to housing and policing.

A divisive determine, Khan however received an unprecedented third time period again in Could (endorsed by The London Commonplace), trouncing the woefully unimpressive Tory candidate, Susan Corridor. She campaigned largely on Khan’s equally divisive Ulez scheme, nevertheless it turned out Londoners weren’t as binary as she believed. Nevertheless, the Mayor is regularly lambasted for being unable to considerably have an effect on rising crime in our metropolis, and clearly for the chaotic nature of our roads. Whereas everybody needs a cleaner, more healthy metropolis, it’s usually not possible to barter it. As for cycle lanes, they’ve began to outline London in a manner that usually feels overwhelming. Again within the Nineties folks used to say that there was such a proliferation of Starbucks that they had been beginning to open Starbucks in different Starbucks. That’s what number of really feel a couple of metropolis that’s shortly turning into a bike owner’s nirvana.

A whip-smart politician, efficient on his toes, and fast to rebut criticism, Khan is as combative as he’s collaborative. He has had police safety since 2017 and has skilled dying threats from each far-Proper and Islamist extremists. This round the clock safety, which is on a par with that given to the King and Sir Keir Starmer, is unprecedented for a municipal official. Because the October 7 Hamas assaults in Israel, issues have solely grown worse. In February, the then deputy chairman of the Conservative Occasion, Lee Anderson, stated he believed Islamists had obtained management of the London Mayor. Anderson was suspended from the occasion, though these remarks highlighted the heightened fragility of the town.

I sat down with Sadiq Khan to ask him some pertinent London questions …

I go to cities throughout the globe on a regular basis, each as a vacationer and because the Mayor, and once I see what Barcelona has accomplished with La Rambla, once I see what New York has accomplished with Instances Sq., and I examine my reminiscence of Oxford Road with my expertise of Oxford Road. Find it irresistible as we do, it’s drained. It’s obtained competitors from on-line, from out-of-centre procuring centres, flagship retailers have left, sweet retailers have taken over. What needs to be a supply of nationwide satisfaction has change into a supply of nationwide embarrassment. My plan, working with the Authorities, is to kind a improvement company and to pedestrianise Oxford Road throughout the subsequent couple of years. The earlier the higher. We’re going to work with the council, with residents, companies are biting my hand off in relation to this. We’ve had curiosity already from potential funding as a consequence. Simply think about, we may curate an area the place along with there being a pedestrian-friendly inexperienced boulevard, we may take into consideration how we will curate the evenings, how we will carry tradition into Oxford Road.

Completely. Through the night, it’s tumbleweed going by way of Oxford Road. Why aren’t we having pavement-style cafés? We will take each residents and companies with us. Oxford Road is absolutely vital to our nationwide economic system. So if we get this proper, everybody will profit.

Because the final time I had these plans, in 2017, which had been on the cusp of materialising till the council walked away, since then we’ve obtained the Elizabeth line, and file numbers of vacationers, residents, companies and guests strolling or biking, utilizing public transport, and we’ve decreased the variety of buses. So when it comes to displacement of buses and taxis, it’s minimal.

It’s actually vital they’ve entry around the again for these roads which can be parallel, and we’ll make certain there are occasions of the day when deliveries can happen. Different cities have managed to do it efficiently, and we predict we will do it in London, as a result of if we’re not cautious we’ll have extra flagship retailers leaving and extra of these sweet retailers.

So, we’re a metropolis now whose inhabitants is 9.7 million. New York is round 8.4 million. We’re principally 400 Roman villages, however our inhabitants’s grown in a humongous manner. So we’ve obtained to encourage extra folks, if it’s potential, to make use of public transport. At present,

64 per cent both stroll, cycle or use public transport. To unencumber the roads for these individuals who have to be utilizing the roads: taxis, industrial drivers, buses and so forth. So to your black cab driver, the extra automobiles I can take off the highway permits industrial drivers and black cab drivers. Congestion prices us cash when it comes to folks being caught of their automotive fairly than your plumber fixing the leak, or putting in wire when you’re an electrician, or getting a disabled individual from A to B when you’re a black cab driver.

I need to do the identical with our river as we’ve accomplished with clear air. It’s a supply of satisfaction to me that we have now a secure swimming place exterior Metropolis Corridor, right here within the Royal Docks, however different components of the river are harmful when it comes to well being and security. Within the Hudson they’ve launched oysters as they oxygenise the river, and we’re trying to reintroduce otters and beavers.

We’re going to vary that. For a lot too lengthy London’s rivers have been uncared for and broken. We now have made nice progress in cleansing our air in London and I’m dedicated to doing the identical with our rivers. Our waterways — the Thames, the Roding, the Wandle and past — are the lifeblood of London, shaping communities, sustaining livelihoods and bringing folks nearer to nature. As Mayor, I need to turbocharge the restoration of nature to London’s rivers and waterways, working with companions throughout the capital to spearhead the return of an entire host of species — from water voles to eels and otters as we work to create a future the place our rivers are clear, secure and really for all. We’re bringing collectively firms, regulators, charities and campaigners to work on an bold 10-year plan to scrub up our capital’s rivers as we proceed to construct a greener London for everybody. As an example we’ve simply launched a brand new London Out of doors Swimming Information to assist Londoners discover the present swimmable areas in London, which additionally highlights areas that could possibly be cleaned as much as presumably allow wild swimming sooner or later. And there will probably be tons extra.

Ask me once more in three-and-a-half years’ time. You already know a great soccer supervisor solely focuses on supply.

No, I’ve no ambitions in any respect to guide the Labour Occasion, as a result of one among my finest mates is the present chief and he’ll be Prime Minister for a very long time.

I’ve not considered it. I spend a whole lot of time with the personal sector and one of many issues I didn’t totally respect till I turned Mayor, if I’m trustworthy, is the quantity of threat entrepreneurs put into their enterprise. Politicians have gotten egos, the place we predict we create the wealth and prosperity, however we solely create the atmosphere.

I positively need them. We’re going to, by the tip of this time period, have 6,000 properties in London constructed the place there may be hire management. I’m working with the Authorities to have extra council homes being constructed and houses with social hire being constructed. The Authorities’s obtained an ambition to construct 1.5 million properties, and I desire a massive chunk of these to come back to London.

No. What he does do, although, is he manages to reply to respectable considerations folks have. I believe there are two forms of politicians: the primary tries to handle folks’s fears — you’ll have

a concern your daughters can’t get reasonably priced housing, or that your beloved can’t get first rate healthcare. You is perhaps involved about your lack of ability to get a job commensurate together with your abilities. I’ve obtained to attempt to tackle these considerations. That’s the primary sort of politician, that I hope I’m. The second sort of politician performs in your fears. That is the explanation why your youngsters can’t get homes, due to the European Union. The explanation why your spouse’s having to attend for healthcare is due to the immigrant, and so forth. You already know, blaming the opposite is the oldest trick within the politicians’ handbook. I believe Farage does an excessive amount of of blaming the opposite.

One of many joys of residing in a democracy is I get folks such as you holding me to account. I’ve obtained household and mates who reside in international locations the place there isn’t a holding to account of individuals in positions of energy. It isn’t simply journalism, voting, or becoming a member of a political occasion. It’s signing petitions, lobbying a parliamentarian or a mayor, occurring protests. I believe it’s one thing we needs to be actually happy with, that despite the fact that I could not agree with what you’re protesting about, you’ve obtained the suitable to protest in our great metropolis. However when you do protest, you’ve obtained to behave throughout the regulation. You’ve obtained to verify it’s secure, peaceable and lawful. So if anyone goes to any protest, whether or not it’s a pro-Gaza protest or one other protest, don’t break the regulation.

There are a variety of issues we do to draw folks to London. So once you’re any individual contemplating whether or not to put money into London versus Frankfurt, Berlin, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, or to be a scholar right here, or to be a non-dom or no matter, there are a variety of stuff you have a look at, proper? Tax is one among them, however there are different points. High quality of eating places, high quality of tradition, the standard of faculties, the colleges, sports activities. One of many issues although, once I converse to folks eager about investing right here, who’ve not invested previously few years, is the instability of our nation. We’ve had six prime ministers within the time I’ve been Mayor.

Properly, I’m sorry, they’ve left due to the final 5 Tory leaders. For each individual you may inform me who’s leaving, I may give you examples of companies eager about investing right here. I need folks to be wealth creators right here, whether or not you’re British or from abroad. We now have greater than 100 unicorns in London. I’ve obtained no downside with folks creating the wealth. I encourage it — it generates jobs and so forth.

Sure. It’s not going to occur within the quick or medium time period, however in the long run I believe we should always be capable to have a dialog about that; within the short-to-medium time period what we deal with as an alternative is nearer alignment. I’ll be lobbying the British Authorities to have nearer alignment fairly than extra divergence.

As a result of we’ve obtained the Cameron Mackintoshes and the Andrew Lloyd Webbers. These are individuals who make investments — Sonia Friedman — in our nice theatres. The earlier authorities didn’t realise the influence we had for the great across the nation, as a result of we subsidised theatre — Nationwide Theatre, ballet, Royal Opera, English Nationwide Ballet — but additionally industrial theatre. Transferring Sadler’s Wells to East Financial institution is an effective instance of bringing tradition to under-served communities. The BBC’s going to maneuver there, the V&A’s transferring there.

I discuss one thing I name the London promise, which is you’re employed arduous, you get a serving to hand, you may obtain something. What makes a great Londoner is that work ethic, desirous to do nicely. No person comes right here to take a seat on their bum. You need to do nicely. No matter job you do you need to give your utmost. But additionally we don’t merely tolerate distinction, we respect it, embrace it, rejoice it. You tolerate toothache or a backache. I don’t need to be tolerated as any individual who’s completely different, and that’s a stunning pleasure of being a Londoner.

The individual least prone to win the subsequent common election, however the most certainly to be an efficient opposition. Whether or not you’re a politician, a sportsperson, a newspaper, competitors means you increase your sport, and I believe we as a Labour Authorities will probably be a greater authorities with good problem. It’s actually vital to not be in an echo chamber. Of the 4 candidates, I believe the best can be James Cleverly. He brings folks collectively. He’s any individual who I believe wouldn’t play to those tradition wars that one or two others are taking part in to.

It’s only a catastrophe what’s taking place in that a part of west London. There are kids who’ve obtained to make a protracted journey to get to their faculties, households reduce off from their mother and father. The council can’t afford to pay, we will’t afford to pay for it. The Authorities’s obtained to step in.

Crikey. I believe how would any of us address a brand new Trump presidency? Anyone who has studied American historical past and the particular relationship is aware of the significance of America. They set the tone, whether or not it’s sending out ripples of hope or ripples of concern. I believe there was a resetting of relations between the US and the world when Biden turned the president, from signing as much as the Paris Accord to reassuring Nato that the treaty was secure and so forth. It’s fairly clear from what Trump’s stated he’s fascinated with revenge. He mainstreams views which can be on the periphery.

I’m your greatest ally. I’m upset, I’m heartbroken, I’m offended. For the previous 12 months specifically, there have been many events the place you’ve not felt secure going about our metropolis. There have been events the place you’ve been scared to go away your house. I’ve identified for a few years that when you go to a Jewish religion faculty, when you go to a sure place of worship, a synagogue, you require further safety. That may’t be proper. Antisemitism is the oldest type of hatred identified to mankind and people of us who aren’t Jewish should present allyship, solidarity, assist, empathy and pay attention.

The park is closed within the evenings. What we’ve accomplished is improve capability by having a segregated cycle lane on the highway, so pedestrians aren’t in peril of being run over.

He’d be nice. I’m undecided what his spouse would take into consideration this, by the way in which, or his daughter, however this man simply will get it.

Completely. At any time when I’ve seen Mike Bloomberg, Invoice de Blasio or Rudy Giuliani, I all the time say, “It have to be nice being the mayor of the second-greatest metropolis on this planet.”

After all no one buys my garments or my spouse’s garments, however he’s any individual who helps the Labour Occasion in numerous methods, who’s labored extremely arduous to be very profitable. The taxpayer doesn’t subsidise our flesh pressers, we’ve obtained to boost cash in different methods, and he gives nice recommendation.

The folks you converse to have nice style.