Rail Devolution: Sadiq Khan ‘abdicating responsibility as Mayor’
Posted by GLA Conservatives in Opinion
In throwing his toys out of the pram and refusing to co-operate with the government, Sadiq Khan has ruined any chance we as a city had of taking control of mainline rail in London.
Instead of seeking to address concerns the government had over his ability to take on these services, he has thrown a tantrum, shown his complete ineptitude at this level of politics and proved the government right.
He was given an opportunity to help shape the future of mainline rail but, with his pathetic refusal to take a seat at the table, Sadiq Khan has abdicated his responsibility as Mayor.
This is disastrous news for commuters desperate for improved services who deserve to have their political representatives putting their views across at the highest level.
The Mayor resorts to mud-slinging rather than addressing the T-Charge facts
Sadiq Khan appears to be blindly ignoring the facts put in front of him by his own researchers at TfL.
Under assessment by his own people, the Mayor’s flagship air pollution policy is predicted to have only a ‘negligible’ impact on air quality, reducing poisonous NOx gasses by just 1-3%.
Unfortunately for Londoners, rather than attempt to address any of the points I have raised, the Mayor has simply resorted to mud-slinging.
Londoners will no doubt be disappointed to see the Mayor fail to defend a policy that will cost 9,000 drivers a combined £23million a year. What we need, instead of politicising the environment, is a sensible policy that actually tackles air pollution.
Mayor’s ‘reckless’ TfL budget will bring many more tube strikes
Sadiq Khan’s ‘Zero Strikes’ election pledge has always been considered laughable, but the disruption caused by these upcoming strikes will be no joke.
His recklessly tight budget will most likely lead to many more strikes over his term.
How he thought he could keep his ‘Zero Strikes’ promise while cutting the TfL budget to shreds with his partial fares freeze is beyond me.
An independent review has supported the previous Mayor’s decision to close ticket offices and improve staff visibility, making these strikes entirely pointless.
Night Czar Amy Lamé ‘must appear before scrutiny committee’
Shaun Bailey AM has written to Economy Committee chair Fiona Twycross urging Ms Lamé’s attendance at the group’s next meeting. He writes:
“The role of Night Czar has the potential to be transformational for London, and therefore it is fundamentally important that the first person to hold that role has the chance to explain to the London Assembly her ‘plans’ at the earliest opportunity.
“This will also give Ms Lamé a chance to address members’ concerns and prove to us that she will be capable of representing all Londoners.”
Assembly Member Bailey’s letter comes a day after Sadiq Khan defended the appointment of Ms Lamé, despite being heavily criticised over her offensive Twitter profile and her being paid through a public services company, which critics say minimises her income tax.
Speaking about his request, Assembly Member Bailey said: “The Mayor made it clear that Ms Lamé holds an influential and important role that will shape the night time economy in London.
“It is only right that she must be brought before the committee to outline her plans and face scrutiny in the same way her fellow senior aides do.”
Sadiq's 'Zero Strikes' pledge was incredibly naïve
From day one Sadiq’s ‘zero days of public transport strikes’ pledge has seemed incredibly naïve, and today a mere 6 months into his 4 years it is starting to fall apart.
The Mayor thought he could just give into every union demand and avoid strike, but what he underestimated was their greed.
The Mayor should be working towards real solutions to strike action, such as binding arbitration where agreements are reached by a judge avoiding industrial action.
Sadiq once said that ‘Strikes are ultimately a sign of failure’, and I can’t think of a better word to describe his Mayoralty.
Response to the resignation of Sir Bernard Hogan Howe
At the last Police and Crime Committee, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime said that she had full confidence in Sir Bernard. What has changed in less than a week?
It has been clear for some time that Sadiq Khan would push out Sir Bernard, not because he has a better option lined up or because Sir Bernard had failed at his job, but because Khan believes that doing so would make him look strong.
This is the latest mistake by a PR-focused administration that will do nothing to improve the safety of Londoners. It is also yet another example of Sadiq Khan interfering in operational policing.
During his short tenure, Sadiq Khan has forced out two Commissioners of key emergency services, putting Londoners at risk.
An open letter to the Evening Standard
Dear Editor,
On behalf of the below members of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee I would like to express our disappointment in your lead story of Tuesday 13 September, headlined “Police do target black people on streets”.
Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa has expressed his deep concern about the way this story was reported. We share his concerns that your article, in particular the headline, does not accurately reflect the comments made in his interview, and could lead some people to misinterpret his views.
The Met is working hard to improve its diversity and relationship with local communities. Only a few days before your article it was reported that the Met had significantly improved on its diversity, with over 4,000 Black and Minority Ethnic officers now in the service. We accept that it still has some way to go, and would encourage responsible reporting as a way of helping to maintain and build public trust in officers in our capital.
LIP funding preservation is welcome news
I’m delighted that the Mayor has this morning given a commitment to preserve vital LIP funding for local authorities in London.
Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding is money given by TfL to London’s boroughs to spend on local projects that support the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. It is a vital source of funding that the previous Mayor consistently protected.
The Mayor told me that local authorities should operate as if LIP funding will be the same for the next year and, when I asked him if it would be fair to tell local authorities that LIP funding is secure, he stated that 'it would be very fair.' Clearly the proof of the pudding will be in the eating but, after he recently seemed to wobble on this commitment, it is very good news if LIP funding – which is a key funding stream for boroughs – is secure.
Appalled At Mayor's Intervention On Police Use Of Spit Hoods
It is appalling that the Mayor has chosen to interfere with police operational matters and block the use of spit hoods.
Has he forgotten he is no longer representing those who make claims against the police but in fact representing the police themselves?
The decision to use these hoods would have been taken as a result of a risk assessment showing that officers were at risk of infection transferred by spitting. I myself know of one serious example of that.
What risk assessment has the Mayor based this intervention on and what alternative safeguards has he put in place to protect officers on the front line?
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