Sadiq Khan: my 10-year plan to clean up London’s rivers – just like its air

Sadiq Khan nary longer lives successful a solid onion, the distinctive bauble down adjacent Tower Bridge. In 2022, the Mayor of London took the full machinery of London governance, including the London Assembly and the GLA, with him down to the Royal Docks, wherever they present reside successful an angular gathering formerly known arsenic The Crystal. It sits, proudly, connected Kamal Chunchie Way, named aft a section contention relations campaigner, and is the nervus centre, the Starship Enterprise, of London politics. It is present wherever Khan administers his £20.4 billion budget, ostensibly to amended London’s economical and societal development; present wherever helium oversees everything from transport and civilization to lodging and policing.

A divisive figure, Khan nevertheless won an unprecedented 3rd word backmost successful May (endorsed by The London Standard), trouncing the woefully unimpressive Tory candidate, Susan Hall. She campaigned mostly connected Khan’s arsenic divisive Ulez scheme, but it turned retired Londoners weren’t arsenic binary arsenic she believed. However, the Mayor is continually lambasted for being incapable to importantly impact rising transgression successful our city, and evidently for the chaotic quality of our roads. While everyone wants a cleaner, healthier city, it’s often intolerable to negociate it. As for rhythm lanes, they’ve started to specify London successful a mode that often feels overwhelming. Back successful the Nineties radical utilized to accidental that determination was specified a proliferation of Starbucks that they were starting to unfastened Starbucks successful different Starbucks. That’s however galore consciousness astir a metropolis that’s rapidly becoming a cyclist’s nirvana.

A whip-smart politician, effectual connected his feet, and speedy to rebut criticism, Khan is arsenic combative arsenic helium is collaborative. He has had constabulary extortion since 2017 and has experienced decease threats from some far-Right and Islamist extremists. This round-the-clock protection, which is connected a par with that fixed to the King and Sir Keir Starmer, is unprecedented for a municipal official. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks successful Israel, things person lone grown worse. In February, the past lawman president of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, said helium believed Islamists had got power of the London Mayor. Anderson was suspended from the party, though these remarks highlighted the heightened fragility of the city.

I sat down with Sadiq Khan to inquire him immoderate pertinent London questions …

I sojourn cities crossed the globe each the time, some arsenic a tourer and arsenic the Mayor, and erstwhile I spot what Barcelona has done with La Rambla, erstwhile I spot what New York has done with Times Square, and I comparison my representation of Oxford Street with my acquisition of Oxford Street. Love it arsenic we do, it’s tired. It’s got contention from online, from out-of-centre buying centres, flagship shops person left, candy shops person taken over. What should beryllium a root of nationalist pridefulness has go a root of nationalist embarrassment. My plan, moving with the Government, is to signifier a improvement corp and to pedestrianise Oxford Street wrong the adjacent mates of years. The sooner the better. We’re going to enactment with the council, with residents, businesses are biting my manus disconnected successful narration to this. We’ve had involvement already from imaginable concern arsenic a consequence. Just imagine, we could curate a abstraction wherever successful summation to determination being a pedestrian-friendly greenish boulevard, we could deliberation astir however we tin curate the evenings, however we tin bring civilization into Oxford Street.

Absolutely. During the evening, it’s tumbleweed going done Oxford Street. Why aren’t we having pavement-style cafés? We tin instrumentality some residents and businesses with us. Oxford Street is truly important to our nationalist economy. So if we get this right, everyone volition benefit.

Since the past clip I had these plans, successful 2017, which were connected the cusp of materialising until the assembly walked away, since past we’ve got the Elizabeth line, and grounds numbers of tourists, residents, businesses and visitors walking oregon cycling, utilizing nationalist transport, and we’ve reduced the fig of buses. So successful presumption of displacement of buses and taxis, it’s minimal.

It’s truly important they person entree circular the backmost for those roads that are parallel, and we’ll marque definite determination are times of the time erstwhile deliveries tin instrumentality place. Other cities person managed to bash it successfully, and we deliberation we tin bash it successful London, due to the fact that if we’re not cautious we’ll person much flagship shops leaving and much of those candy shops.

So, we’re a metropolis present whose colonisation is 9.7 million. New York is astir 8.4 million. We’re fundamentally 400 Roman villages, but our population’s grown successful a humongous way. So we’ve got to promote much people, if it’s possible, to usage nationalist transport. Currently,

64 per cent either walk, rhythm oregon usage nationalist transport. To escaped up the roads for those radical who request to beryllium utilizing the roads: taxis, commercialized drivers, buses and truthful forth. So to your achromatic cab driver, the much cars I tin instrumentality disconnected the roadworthy enables commercialized drivers and achromatic cab drivers. Congestion costs america wealth successful presumption of radical being stuck successful their car alternatively than your plumber fixing the leak, oregon installing ligament if you’re an electrician, oregon getting a disabled idiosyncratic from A to B if you’re a achromatic cab driver.

I privation to bash the aforesaid with our stream arsenic we’ve done with cleanable air. It’s a root of pridefulness to maine that we person a harmless swimming spot extracurricular City Hall, present successful the Royal Docks, but different parts of the stream are unsafe successful presumption of wellness and safety. In the Hudson they’ve introduced oysters arsenic they oxygenise the river, and we’re looking to reintroduce otters and beavers.

We’re going to alteration that. For acold excessively agelong London’s rivers person been neglected and damaged. We person made large advancement successful cleaning our aerial successful London and I’m committed to doing the aforesaid with our rivers. Our waterways — the Thames, the Roding, the Wandle and beyond — are the lifeblood of London, shaping communities, sustaining livelihoods and bringing radical person to nature. As Mayor, I privation to turbocharge the restoration of quality to London’s rivers and waterways, moving with partners crossed the superior to spearhead the instrumentality of a full big of taxon — from h2o voles to eels and otters arsenic we enactment to make a aboriginal wherever our rivers are clean, harmless and genuinely for all. We are bringing unneurotic companies, regulators, charities and campaigners to enactment connected an ambitious 10-year program to cleanable up our capital’s rivers arsenic we proceed to physique a greener London for everyone. For lawsuit we’ve conscionable launched a caller London Outdoor Swimming Guide to assistance Londoners find the existing swimmable areas successful London, which besides highlights areas that could beryllium cleaned up to perchance alteration chaotic swimming successful the future. And determination volition beryllium tons more.

What makes a bully Londoner is that enactment ethic, wanting to bash well. Nobody comes present to beryllium connected their bum

Ask maine again successful three-and-a-half years’ time. You cognize a bully shot manager lone focuses connected delivery.

No, I’ve nary ambitions astatine each to pb the Labour Party, due to the fact that 1 of my champion mates is the existent person and he’ll beryllium Prime Minister for a agelong time.

I’ve not thought astir it. I walk a batch of clip with the backstage assemblage and 1 of the things I didn’t afloat admit until I became Mayor, if I’m honest, is the magnitude of hazard entrepreneurs enactment into their business. Politicians person got egos, wherever we deliberation we make the wealthiness and prosperity, but we lone make the environment.

I decidedly privation them. We’re going to, by the extremity of this term, person 6,000 homes successful London built wherever determination is rent control. I’m moving with the Government to person much assembly houses being built and homes with societal rent being built. The Government’s got an ambition to physique 1.5 cardinal homes, and I privation a large chunk of those to travel to London.

No. What helium does do, though, is helium manages to respond to morganatic concerns radical have. I deliberation determination are 2 types of politicians: the archetypal tries to code people’s fears — you whitethorn person

a fearfulness your daughters can’t get affordable housing, oregon that your loved 1 can’t get decent healthcare. You mightiness beryllium acrophobic astir your inability to get a occupation commensurate with your skills. I’ve got to effort and code those concerns. That’s the archetypal benignant of politician, that I anticipation I am. The 2nd benignant of person plays connected your fears. This is the crushed wherefore your kids can’t get houses, due to the fact that of the European Union. The crushed wherefore your wife’s having to hold for healthcare is due to the fact that of the immigrant, and truthful forth. You know, blaming the different is the oldest instrumentality successful the politicians’ handbook. I deliberation Farage does excessively overmuch of blaming the other.

One of the joys of surviving successful a ideology is I get radical similar you holding maine to account. I’ve got household and friends who unrecorded successful countries wherever determination is nary holding to relationship of radical successful positions of power. It isn’t conscionable journalism, voting, oregon joining a governmental party. It’s signing petitions, lobbying a parliamentarian oregon a mayor, going connected protests. I deliberation it’s thing we should beryllium truly arrogant of, that adjacent though I whitethorn not hold with what you’re protesting about, you’ve got the close to protestation successful our fantastic city. But if you bash protest, you’ve got to enactment wrong the law. You’ve got to marque definite it’s safe, peaceful and lawful. So if anybody goes to immoderate protest, whether it’s a pro-Gaza protestation oregon different protest, don’t interruption the law.

There are a fig of things we bash to pull radical to London. So erstwhile you’re idiosyncratic considering whether to put successful London versus Frankfurt, Berlin, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona, oregon to beryllium a pupil here, oregon to beryllium a non-dom oregon whatever, determination are a fig of things you look at, right? Tax is 1 of them, but determination are different issues. Quality of restaurants, prime of culture, the prime of schools, the universities, sports. One of the things though, erstwhile I talk to radical reasoning astir investing here, who’ve not invested successful the past fewer years, is the instability of our country. We’ve had six premier ministers successful the clip I’ve been Mayor.

Well, I’m sorry, they person near due to the fact that of the past 5 Tory leaders. For each idiosyncratic you tin archer maine who’s leaving, I tin springiness you examples of businesses reasoning astir investing here. I privation radical to beryllium wealthiness creators here, whether you’re British oregon from overseas. We person much than 100 unicorns successful London. I’ve got nary occupation with radical creating the wealth. I promote it — it generates jobs and truthful forth.

Yes. It’s not going to hap successful the abbreviated oregon mean term, but successful the agelong word I deliberation we should beryllium capable to person a speech astir that; successful the short-to-medium word what we absorption connected alternatively is person alignment. I’ll beryllium lobbying the British Government to person person alignment alternatively than much divergence.

Because we’ve got the Cameron Mackintoshes and the Andrew Lloyd Webbers. These are radical who put — Sonia Friedman — successful our large theatres. The erstwhile authorities didn’t realise the interaction we had for the bully astir the country, due to the fact that we subsidised theatre — National Theatre, ballet, Royal Opera, English National Ballet — but besides commercialized theatre. Moving Sadler’s Wells to East Bank is simply a bully illustration of bringing civilization to under-served communities. The BBC’s going to determination there, the V&A’s moving there.

I speech astir thing I telephone the London promise, which is you enactment hard, you get a helping hand, you tin execute anything. What makes a bully Londoner is that enactment ethic, wanting to bash well. Nobody comes present to beryllium connected their bum. You privation to bash well. Whatever occupation you bash you privation to springiness your utmost. But besides we don’t simply tolerate difference, we respect it, clasp it, observe it. You tolerate toothache oregon a backache. I don’t privation to beryllium tolerated arsenic idiosyncratic who’s different, and that’s a beauteous joyousness of being a Londoner.

The idiosyncratic slightest apt to triumph the adjacent wide election, but the astir apt to beryllium an effectual opposition. Whether you’re a politician, a sportsperson, a newspaper, contention means you rise your game, and I deliberation we arsenic a Labour Government volition beryllium a amended authorities with bully challenge. It’s truly important not to beryllium successful an echo chamber. Of the 4 candidates, I deliberation the astir effectual would beryllium James Cleverly. He brings radical together. He’s idiosyncratic who I deliberation wouldn’t play to these civilization wars that 1 oregon 2 others are playing to.

It’s conscionable a catastrophe what’s happening successful that portion of westbound London. There are children who’ve got to marque a agelong travel to get to their schools, families chopped disconnected from their parents. The assembly can’t spend to pay, we can’t spend to wage for it. The Government’s got to measurement in.

Crikey. I deliberation however would immoderate of america header with a caller Trump presidency? Anybody who has studied American past and the peculiar narration knows the value of America. They acceptable the tone, whether it’s sending retired ripples of anticipation oregon ripples of fear. I deliberation determination was a resetting of relations betwixt the US and the satellite erstwhile Biden became the president, from signing up to the Paris Accord to reassuring Nato that the pact was harmless and truthful forth. It’s rather wide from what Trump’s said he’s funny successful revenge. He mainstreams views that are connected the periphery.

I’m your biggest ally. I’m upset, I’m heartbroken, I’m angry. For the past twelvemonth successful particular, determination person been galore occasions wherever you’ve not felt harmless going astir our city. There person been occasions wherever you’ve been frightened to permission your home. I’ve known for galore years that if you spell to a Jewish religion school, if you spell to a definite spot of worship, a synagogue, you necessitate other protection. That can’t beryllium right. Antisemitism is the oldest signifier of hatred known to mankind and those of america who aren’t Jewish indispensable supply allyship, solidarity, support, empathy and listen.

The astir effectual Tory person would beryllium James Cleverly. He brings radical unneurotic

The parkland is closed successful the evenings. What we’ve done is summation capableness by having a segregated rhythm lane connected the road, truthful pedestrians aren’t successful information of being tally over.

He’d beryllium great. I’m not definite what his woman would deliberation astir this, by the way, oregon his daughter, but this feline conscionable gets it.

Absolutely. Whenever I’ve seen Mike Bloomberg, Bill de Blasio oregon Rudy Giuliani, I ever say, “It indispensable beryllium large being the politician of the second-greatest metropolis successful the world.”

Of people cipher buys my apparel oregon my wife’s clothes, but he’s idiosyncratic who supports the Labour Party successful a fig of ways, who’s worked incredibly hard to beryllium precise successful. The payer doesn’t subsidise our politicians, we’ve got to rise wealth successful different ways, and helium provides large advice.

The radical you talk to person large taste.