to think that Sadiq Khan is now mayor for life ?

[NeverChanges]

He seems to be have been mayor for a very, very, very long time now. Has he got the job for life ? Does anybody know ?

Momicrone
Actually over 50 % of London households have a car though I would expect that figure is more like 75% in Outer London or possibly higher. Not exactly a few rich households is it?

Snowraingain
so if rich people’s cars don’t cause more pollution than poor people’s why is it absolutely fine for people who can afford the congestion charge or the ULEZ charge to drive all over London then? Surely if he really wanted to make a difference he would ban cars in central London. Or could it be it’s all just a money making exercise which disproportionately targets those who can least afford it?

I live in Outer London and I'd prefer my air breathable, thanks. Supportive of all efforts to rid the city of petrol cars bit by bit. It's not like there aren't alternatives, many/most of them cheaper than private car ownership.

I don't think he's been a particularly good mayor.

I'm pleased with the ULEZ, but disappointed that the many and much-vaunted anti-crime initiatives (partic knife crime0 have come to naught.

Utterly dreadful candidate list for last election. It's really hard to think of where a decent candidate might come from.

Maybe if public transport was vaguely affordable people would use their cars less.

Public transport is way cheaper n London than in much of the country.

The problem is that the city is just so big and so densely populated. Even with comparatively low car ownership rates, its still a huge number of cars.

And he's prioritising life and health. Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah should not have died, and the government need to act on the Coroner's recommendation to reduce existing legally binding targets for particulate matter pollution to bring them in line with WHO guidelines. Pollution in London is above safe (and legal limits). ULEZ is a step in the right direction.

Other cities are bringing it in too, plus there will be bans on new petrol and diesel cars idc (EU 2035, UK 2030)

Not quadrupled, also you conveniently left out that they have undertaken new roles, such as housing, thereby requiring more staff.

Well I think he's great.

What a strange post.

As a non-Londoner I really struggle to understand the hate.
I think he’s great and you’re very lucky.

OP...democracy in action, if you don't like him you have a vote!

I am concerned that there have been a lot of post lately that seem to be politically motivated to try and influence...hope MN are checking they are genuine MNers 🤔

It's definitely nothing to do with racism. No sirree Bob. The fact that he's a brown man and a Muslim has no influence on the way that people respond to him. Fact.

Hope not if he has his way and extends the ULEZ to the M25 it’ll cost me £12 per day to go to work 😞

Frazzled2207
can you tell me something he’s done that’s great please?

GregBrawlsInDogJail
It can’t possibly be because he’s terrible at his job and wastes money on pet projects?

loads of people hate Boris Johnson, lots of people really hated Livingstone too when he was mayor. How do you explain that?

You can disagree with his policies if you like. Many people don't agree with his policies. What I'm saying is that that disagreement, and its intensity, is 100% shaded and influenced by racism.

He doesn't have 24 hour police protection because of his policies.

I don't think he has been a particularly good Mayor, think Ken Livingstone was better and Andy Burnham has been better albeit with limited powers in Greater Manchester.

However, giving the job his attention, unlike Boris Johnson whose attentions were more on Jennifer Arcuri.

I’m thoroughly in favour of congestion charging or rather trying hard to improve air quality by, amongst other things, discouraging driving. Appreciate it’s a controversial view.

far more affordable homes have been built than under previous mayors

Crime situation is not good, I admit

Is there not a danger that 10 Downing Street is unfairly skewing the crime statistics?

Fucking nonsense.

It's a tough job I think, especially if you are a different political colour from the encumbant government. As a Londoner, I don't feel he had a very "good" pandemic to be honest.

But otherwise he is infinitely preferable to Johnson, if only because he is focused on the job and not his profile.

This. Plus he's unsure what a woman is and that's always a worry.

Better question is ‘why are the tories seemingly in power indefinitely? ‘ despite the utter shitshow the country has become.
Brexit is a rolling disaster with no upside.
Wages have stagnated for most and the cost of living has quadrupled.
9k a year to watch a few teams presentations and get a worthless piece of paper that doesn’t even guarantee an even remotely decent job.
If you want to see a GP you have to jump through more hoops than a Chinese acrobat.
Our rivers are full of shit.
Tories are engaged in a pointless culture war and a bloodless coup to remove human rights and pervert all democratic institutions.
No magic money tree but miraculously billions to donate to dodgy Dave down the pub for his useless PPE.
But but Labour are worse and don’t know what a woman is…
Love the cries of ‘voting Tory is a hill I’m prepared to die on to protect women’s rights’ only these middle class privileged feminists are not the ones ever dying on any hill.

But Jeremy Corbyn.

Strange post

do the cars of rich people cause less pollution and congestion than those of poor people then?

Up until a point, yes. Wealthier people tend to have newer vehicles, which are inevitably lower emissons. A brand new XC60 or Defender produces less tail pipe emissons than a 10 year old corsa or passat. So if you're trying to improve air quality it makes sense to go after the most polluting vehicles first. Obviously, that will disadvantage the poor more than anyone but since when did this country give a fuck about them anyway?

Until we shift away from capitalism and perpetual growth we'll always have massive inequality. Doesn't matter if it's Khan, Johnson, Livingstone, or Raptor Jesus in charge, the rich will get richer, the poor will stay poor, and the middle will complain about the rich and the poor but do nothing to change things. So it was, so it is, so it forever shall be.