Latest news with #CityHallConservatives
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Khan ‘dodges questions' about London because he was cooking lunch
Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of dodging questions about London to attend a lunch promoting his tour of Africa. The London Mayor missed a meeting about his attempt to pedestrianise Oxford Street, choosing instead to visit a Nigerian restaurant. As the London Assembly voted not to block his proposals, Sir Sadiq was helping to cook traditional dishes at The Flygerians in Peckham, south London. It comes ahead of his five-day tour of Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa later this month. But during the London Assembly debate, Susan Hall, the leader of the City Hall Conservatives, criticised Sir Sadiq's no-show. Ms Hall said: 'Apparently, the Mayor is at a Nigerian restaurant. I hope is enjoying his Jollof pot. He is far more interested in Lagos than he is in John Lewis.' When asked why he would not be able to answer questions earlier on Thursday, Sir Sadiq replied: 'I suspect I'm busy with other things.' Sir Sadiq will become the first Mayor of London to lead a trade delegation to Africa after details of his wish to visit emerged last year. Speaking after the launch event, he vowed to 'bang the drum for further investment' and 'strengthen the cultural ties' with the three nations. 'Londoners of African heritage have played, and continue to play, a huge role in making London the greatest city in the world,' he said. 'It was great to be at The Flygerians today speaking with business owners and seeing first-hand the impact they make here in the capital, building a better London for everyone.' Sir Sadiq wants to ban vehicles from a stretch of road between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch. He previously attempted to pedestrianise the same part of Oxford Street, the UK's most famous high street, in 2018. However, he was blocked from doing so by Westminster city council when it was under Tory control. Whether his newest proposals succeed will depend on whether Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, allows him to establish a new mayoral development corporation. The body would have extensive planning powers of its own and could be created as soon as early 2026. Accused of 'arrogance' Sir Sadiq has insisted part-pedestrianisation is what the majority of Londoners would want, pointing to a YouGov survey last year showing almost two in three (63 per cent) were in favour. But he has been accused of 'arrogance' by Tory councillors over the scheme. Many local residents and businesses are also opposed on the grounds that it would only create gridlock elsewhere in central London. Westminster city council said it was working with Sir Sadiq on his newest pedestrianisation drive to 'ensure that the voices of residents and businesses are heard'. In the London Assembly this week, there was a cross-party call to build 'world-class' public toilets on Oxford Street as part of the mooted scheme.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE What a bloomin' liberty! Sadiq Khan is ridiculed for handing out 12,000 wildflower seeds to commuters - after saying London's Green Belt should be built on
Sir Sadiq Khan has been ridiculed for handing out wildflower seeds to commuters just weeks after announcing that London 's Green Belt should be built on. Part of his plans for Climate Action Week he launched a new Green Roots Fund to invest £12million into neighbourhoods so make them 'greener, healthier and more climate resilient'. In the video posted to X Sir Sadiq can be seen chatting to commuters and helping hand out 12,000 free seed packets, as he says: 'The benefits of nature should be for everyone and we are committed to making this a reality for everyone.' However, his comments have now been slammed by the deputy leader of the City Hall Conservatives Emma Best who labeled the move 'astonishingly hypocritical' as just weeks ago he was 'sending in the bulldozers' to London's green belt. Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Best said: 'This is astonishing hypocrisy from the Mayor and greenwashing of the highest order. 'With one hand he is commanding bulldozers to demolish a country park and with the other he is handing out flower seeds as though that balances his actions. 'Sadiq Khan says the 'benefits of nature should be for all Londoners' but clearly that excludes those whose parks and green spaces he intends to build on.' In May the Mayor used a speech to argue that brownfield site alone cannot meet the capital's needs. He suggested 'low-quality' green belt should be released to developers with conditions such as providing affordable homes and transport links. Up to now Sir Sadiq has argued against permitting the use of such land before previously-developed brownfield options have been exhausted. However, the Labour government has set a tough wider goal of building 1.5million homes over this Parliament. London has a new target of adding 88,000 new homes a year, but the city's current plan is delivering only around 40,000 a year. Meanwhile, rents in the capital rose 11.5 per cent last year and councils are spending £4million a day on temporary accommodation amid increasing homelessness. Sir Sadiq has now launched a consultation on the next version of the London Plan, which will set out his vision for development in the capital over the next two decades. City Hall has already begun a review of green belt land in line with the Government's policy of building more on low-quality parts of the green belt, so-called 'grey belt' land. However, other possibilities will now be explored for securing enough land to meet London's housing needs. Sir Sadiq speaking at the event in May said 'the truth is we're still far from fixing housing'. 'The green belt can often be low-quality land, poorly maintained and not really enjoyed by Londoners. Only around 13 per cent is made up of parks and areas that the public can access,' he said. 'So given the quality of parts of London's green belt and the extent of the housing crisis, I believe the current position is wrong, out-of-date and simply unsustainable. 'Development on carefully chosen parts of the green belt – done in the right way – would allow us to unlock hundreds of thousands of new homes. This would not only go a long way to ending the housing crisis but provide a huge boost to our economy.'
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Sadiq Khan will make 12,000-mile round trip to Brazil to host climate change conference - after Paris trip this week and jaunt to Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa in the summer
Eco warrior Sadiq Khan is set to make a 12,000-mile round trip to Brazil to host a climate change conference - and will total five international trips within a matter of months. The London mayor is set to make a trip to Rio in November for the 2025 C40 World Mayors Summit, due to take place at COP 30. He is co-chair of C40, a network of almost 100 city mayors from across the world trying to reduce global warming and halve emissions by 2030. Sir Sadiq has already made more than 20 foreign trips in the nine years that he's been mayor since 2016 - including a trip to Paris last week to meet other mayors from the group. He is also due to visit Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa this summer after announcing last December that he would become the first London Mayor to lead a trade delegation to Africa. The cost of the Brazil trip is being paid for by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg's charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, which also contributed funding to the eco organisation. But Thomas Turrell, environment spokesman for the City Hall Conservatives, criticised Sir Sadiq's jet-setting jollies. He said: 'Assembly business here in London will be delayed and clogged up as the mayor chooses his international soirees over the job Londoners elected him to do. 'The contempt this man has for the London Assembly, and for the voters who put him there, should be enough to make him think long and hard whilst he waits to land somewhere else overseas.' Mr Turrell pointed out Sir Sadiq hypocrisy as he 'lectures' the public, about the 'evils' of emissions while taking extravagant long-haul flights. And Tory assembly member Neil Garratt told The Standard: 'Nothing says climate leadership like burning thousands of gallons of jet fuel to give a speech about reducing emissions. Yet here in London, Khan's own climate change plan lies in tatters.' A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: 'The Mayor will attend the C40 World Mayors Summit to lead critical conversations on the direct action that London and other major global cities can take to help tackle the climate crisis while creating millions of new green jobs. 'The Mayor reduces flights wherever possible, but as there's no reasonable alternative for this journey, the maximum amount of Sustainable Aviation fuel (SAF) will be contributed for his flight to reduce emissions. 'His travel and all other costs of attending the summit will be paid by C40 and not with taxpayers' money.' The globe-trotter has also visited India, Pakistan, the USA, Canada, and mainland Europe in his time as mayor. Last year he travelled to the Vatican to meet the late Pope Francis. Since February 2024, he has attended the opening of the Paris Olympics and visited New York - his fourth trip to the US as Mayor. Meanwhile his predecessor Boris Johnson made 37 international visits (34 by plane) over two terms. Last night the mayor jollied at the Serpentine Summer Party in Kensington Gardens, where he was joined by Mr Bloomberg and A-listers Kate Blanchet and Lily Allen. The move comes as City Hall and Bloomberg Philanthropies announced yesterday a £2.8million expansion of the Breathe London scheme of installing air quality monitors across the city to assess pollution levels. Sir Sadiq said: 'The C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro will be a defining moment for city-led climate leadership on the road to COP30. 'Cities are already delivering practical, urgent solutions to the climate crisis: cutting emissions, creating green jobs and improving the lives of our residents. 'In this pivotal year, I'm proud to convene a summit that will champion city leadership and send a clear message: that in the face of growing climate denial and delay, mayors are stepping up.' Mr Bloomberg, the UN special envoy on climate ambition, said: 'The C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio will spotlight the progress cities are making and help ensure their voices are heard at COP30.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rayner bails out Khan as he struggles to hit housing target
Angela Rayner has slashed Sir Sadiq Khan's affordable housing target by more than a fifth as the Mayor of London struggles to build in the capital. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has agreed the cut the Labour Mayor's target for new starts on affordable homes by 22pc, marking the second time in two years that ministers have stepped in to lower the target. Sir Sadiq initially had a goal to build 35,000 affordable homes in London by March 2026. However, the last Conservative government cut that target in 2023 to between 23,900 and 27,200 homes after the Mayor struggled. Ms Rayner's department has now lowered the goal even further to between 17,800 to 19,000 homes. Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: 'Khan's record is so shambolic his own government has had to bail him out.' The cut was announced hours after official figures were published showing that affordable home starts last year were at the second-lowest level since 2008. Works began on 3,991 affordable homes in the 12 months ending March 2025. While the total marked an improvement from the previous year's record low of 2,358, it remains significantly below average. Ms Hall said: 'Sadiq is nowhere near where he should be at this stage, absolutely nowhere near. He was given billions by the last government to carry this out. His record on housebuilding has been atrocious. Londoners deserve better.' Sir Sadiq promised a 'golden era for council housebuilding' in 2023. The Mayor was handed £4bn by the previous Conservative government for his affordable homes programme. It was topped up with £100m from Rachel Reeves in last year's Budget, and another £60m earlier this year. To date, construction has begun on 5,188 homes under Sir Sadiq's affordable homes programme, which runs from 2021 to 2026. The new, reduced target means the Mayor is now just under a third of the way to reaching his 2026 objective, rather than only around a quarter of the way to meeting the lower end of his previous goal. Sir Sadiq must still start work on 12,612 affordable homes in less than 12 months to hit his goal, meaning construction activity must more than triple. The Mayor has set an overall target to build 88,000 homes a year in London, though existing plans only deliver around 40,000. In a bid to ramp up his pace of housebuilding, the mayor last week said he was 'actively exploring' options to build on parts of London's green belt. His shift in stance has been met with significant backlash from campaigners and Tory councillors. Ms Hall said: 'For nine years he has promised to avoid building on the green belt. It was the one thing I believed him on, he's been so passionate about it for so long. For him to go back on it – it's an absolute disgrace.' Tom Copley, the deputy mayor of London for housing and residential development, said the Mayor was 'taking the hard decisions to improve housing supply of all tenures'. Mr Copley blamed the 'horrendous legacy of the last government' for making it harder to build homes, including 'a lack of national funding, high interest rates, spiralling building costs, delays from bodies like the Building Safety Regulator and the lasting impact of Brexit.' He added: 'The decision to adjust our Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 targets will enable us to support partners to build at scale and deliver the maximum number of social and affordable homes in this programme.' A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: 'We are determined to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation but we cannot do this without London being ambitious in its approach. 'The Mayor last week put forward a bold proposal to tackle the capital's housing crisis, and we expect him to take all possible steps to build thousands more affordable homes that Londoners desperately need.' It is not the first time Labour has eased pressure on the Mayor. Last year Ms Rayner abandoned a review aimed at boosting homebuilding in London and reduced his overall housing target from 100,000. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner bails out Khan as he struggles to hit housing target
Angela Rayner has slashed Sir Sadiq Khan's affordable housing target by more than a fifth as the Mayor of London struggles to build in the capital. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has agreed the cut the Labour Mayor's target for new starts on affordable homes by 22pc, marking the second time in two years that ministers have stepped in to lower the target. Sir Sadiq initially had a goal to build 35,000 affordable homes in London by March 2026. However, the last Conservative government cut that target in 2023 to between 23,900 and 27,200 homes after the Mayor struggled. Ms Rayner's department has now lowered the goal even further to between 17,800 to 19,000 homes. Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: 'Khan's record is so shambolic his own government has had to bail him out.' The cut was announced hours after official figures were published showing that affordable home starts last year were at the second-lowest level since 2008. Works began on 3,991 affordable homes in the 12 months ending March 2025. While the total marked an improvement from the previous year's record low of 2,358, it remains significantly below average. Ms Hall said: 'Sadiq is nowhere near where he should be at this stage, absolutely nowhere near. He was given billions by the last government to carry this out. His record on housebuilding has been atrocious. Londoners deserve better.' Sir Sadiq promised a 'golden era for council housebuilding' in 2023. The Mayor was handed £4bn by the previous Conservative government for his affordable homes programme. It was topped up with £100m from Rachel Reeves in last year's Budget, and another £60m earlier this year. To date, construction has begun on 5,188 homes under Sir Sadiq's affordable homes programme, which runs from 2021 to 2026. The new, reduced target means the Mayor is now just under a third of the way to reaching his 2026 objective, rather than only around a quarter of the way to meeting the lower end of his previous goal. Sir Sadiq must still start work on 12,612 affordable homes in less than 12 months to hit his goal, meaning construction activity must more than triple. The Mayor has set an overall target to build 88,000 homes a year in London, though existing plans only deliver around 40,000. In a bid to ramp up his pace of housebuilding, the mayor last week said he was 'actively exploring' options to build on parts of London's green belt. His shift in stance has been met with significant backlash from campaigners and Tory councillors. Ms Hall said: 'For nine years he has promised to avoid building on the green belt. It was the one thing I believed him on, he's been so passionate about it for so long. For him to go back on it – it's an absolute disgrace.' Tom Copley, the deputy mayor of London for housing and residential development, said the Mayor was 'taking the hard decisions to improve housing supply of all tenures'. Mr Copley blamed the 'horrendous legacy of the last government' for making it harder to build homes, including 'a lack of national funding, high interest rates, spiralling building costs, delays from bodies like the Building Safety Regulator and the lasting impact of Brexit.' He added: 'The decision to adjust our Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 targets will enable us to support partners to build at scale and deliver the maximum number of social and affordable homes in this programme.' A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: 'We are determined to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation but we cannot do this without London being ambitious in its approach. 'The Mayor last week put forward a bold proposal to tackle the capital's housing crisis, and we expect him to take all possible steps to build thousands more affordable homes that Londoners desperately need.' It is not the first time Labour has eased pressure on the Mayor. Last year Ms Rayner abandoned a review aimed at boosting homebuilding in London and reduced his overall housing target from 100,000.
