Sadiq Khan

[FluffyCreme]

Is he the most unpopular mayor London has ever had? Knife crime is going up rapidly and he doesn't seem to want to discuss the murders in London. I don't know what he's up to, he seems obsessed with PRing himself and totally ineffectual. I wish we could replace him as soon as possible.

[coconuttella]

What do people who criticise SK want him to do that he’s not doing? Is it SK you’re criticising or the emasculated rather impotent role of London Mayor.

[coconuttella]

What has he actually done though? Says plenty, but does nothing. He is the sort of politician that should only ever be in opposition and have no power.

What can he actually do though? Some stuff around the periphery but blaming him for not cutting knife crime is like blaming the weather forecaster for the rain.

[TickleMcTickleFace]

The Tories have clearly played a blinder - they have repeatedly cut public services to the bone and the (Labour) mayor of London gets the blame.

[NotACleverName]

Joanna57

Part and parcel of living in a great global city is you’ve got to be prepared for these things, you’ve got to be vigilant, you’ve got to support the police doing an incredibly hard job. We must never accept terrorists being successful, we must never accept that terrorists can destroy our life or destroy the way we lead our lives.

Can't really see anything wrong with that myself. But keep taking the quote out of context if it makes you feel better, I guess.

[coconuttella]

Joanna57

Totally agree with NotaCleverName ‘s post above. Really can’t see your problem let alone that he lost the respect of millions of people when he said it (even though I doubt more than a few thousand probably paid much attention - I certainly hadn’t).

[Joanna57]

Not clever

Yep, that was his 'explanation' AFTER.

The man is just one big EXCUSE.

[ChardonnaysPrettySister]

He came with big promises of cutting air pollution and planting millions of trees.

I see no trees being planted, just cut down for endless reasons, and the smog getting Worse.,

[Tainrainrain]

Everyone I know really likes him. I also know a few people who have been involved with him through work and have said he is brilliant. With massive cuts to police and even bigger cuts to youth workers I'm not sure why he is constantly blamed for knife crime.
Boris seems to be unable to explain where the £40 million went for the stupid garden bridge disaster so I'm not sure why he isn't getting this criticism.

But of course he is white

[GnotherGnu]

Joanna57, he didn't say that afterwards, he said it at the time of the quote complained of, it's a simple matter of record. And in fact the comment was made in September 2016, some time before the attacks in London. The perception that he said it at the time was based in deliberate misinformation in a tweet by Trump jnr.

But carry on playing right into Trump's hands in spreading fake news about Moslems, why don't you.

[maxthemartian]

Joanne no that was the original quote. This was twisted by people with a very obvious agenda against a brown skinned Muslim politician, and latched onto by the racist hard-of-thinking.

The personal abuse that Khan gets is vile.

[NotACleverName]

What GnotherGnu said (was just coming here to say that). Once again, keep believing the misinformation you've been fed if it makes you feel BETTER.

[GreyCloudsToday]

Khan is now on target to deliver his 12,000 affordable homes: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-43825454

I agree this is crap compared with the 80,000 ideal he talked about. But he's not closing my local police station or fire station or pouring money away on vanity crap like the airline, garden bridge or route master cattle trucks that are my local busses - so I'm happy.

[BothersomeCrow]

Colleagues who work with the Mayor rate him over Boris purely for understanding London and taking evidence on board, and generally being competent.

Given the limitations of the Mayor's powers, what exactly do people who think he's been soft on crime expect him to do? Most of what the Mayor can do is represent London to Central Government and abroad, which he, Ken and even Boris have done reasonably effectively.

[LifeBeginsAtGin]

I love the way everyone is blaming austerity for Khans lack of charisma and action. A good leader would rise triumphant despite the cuts. SK just turns up at events and says what everyone wants him to say.

Anyway austerity has been around for 10 years and SK for only 2, so Boris managed during this time. It's only because BJ is a Tory....zzzz

[SunwheretheFareyou]

I noticed that side stepping too 😂😂. Life.

Hilarious... Also the slightly dismissive comment about sadiq then viciously laying into Boris... As a tactic.

[GnotherGnu]

Boris managed? How, LifeBegins? Paying out millions that we haven't got was hardly "managing".

[EnthusiasmIsDisturbed]

I think he is doing a good job

It is not SK how has cut back in services that have a knock on effect and impact society

He isn’t as charismatic as Boris who managed the bring in a lot of overseas investment but that has had positive and negative results and he isn’t as controversial as Ken

I think it’s good we have a mayor who’s not so egotistical as the previous mayors

[ChattyLion]

I agree with Trumpdump:

I really like Sadiq actually. He's been very elegant and classy in the face of constant criticism and abuse.

Sadiq K is a proper grown up leader of the English capital. Boris is a figure of fun. We need adults in charge in politics.

[NewYearNewMe18]

Is he the most unpopular mayor London has ever had?

We've only had three, Ken, Boris and Sadiq, so hardly any benchmarking to be done.

Boris was a brilliant mayor, in reality the post is nothing more than a PR post, it has very little 'power' and Boris is a brilliant showman. People have a natural gravitas towards him. That's shown in every election, they wheel him out and he's a crowd pleaser. Even people who wouldn't vote Conservative flock to him. He's spell binding in a room, he has the Terry Wogan quality of making you think you are the only person he is talking to.

I'm sure Ken has his qualities but DV doesn't rate highly on radar, and I'm old enough to remember the boys club that was the GLC.

I quite like Sadiq too. He gets a lot of bad press out side of London, but London is predominantly a Labour strong hold (27 from 32 boroughs) and multicultural.

But I'm of the opinion, if you live outside of London, keep your beak out of our affairs, we wouldn't comment on your mayor of Manchester/Liverpool/Scunthorpe et al

Ps - Dick Wittington was Lord Mayor of (the City of) London, not the Mayor of London, which is new post.

[NaughtToThreeSadOnions]

"austerity has been around for 10 years and SK for only 2, so Boris managed during this time."

This has to go down with "boris is a leader" i would have thought the lack of reapect for Boris on this thread and just in general would demostrate that Boris didnt manage.

I grew up in a tory, and very vermently tory household, and Boris was always the party joke. Way before he got the london job. Its hilarious to think we're laying in to Boris just to protect Khan, when the most distain for boris comes from tories themselves

[LineyHasntLeftTheBuilding]

A good leader would rise triumphant despite the cuts

What, like Northants County Council?

[purplelila2]

I like him and I've got a lot of respect for him certainly beats that awful Borris Johnson!

[jay55]

SK has come in at a horrible time of uncertainty. Everything is slowing down while Brexit is sorted and he’s doing a good job holding the fort in a time when no one could make much impact.

Boris came in when the spotlight was on London for the Olympic build up and money was being poured in to the city.

[NotACleverName]

But I'm of the opinion, if you live outside of London, keep your beak out of our affairs, we wouldn't comment on your mayor of Manchester/Liverpool/Scunthorpe et al

It's not like whatever happens in London affects the rest of the country or anything...

[ForalltheSaints]

I do not think he is as unpopular as Ken Livingstone became by 2008, but I think that he will not be re-elected in 2020. If the Tories field a sensible candidate.