AIBU for thinking that Sadiq Khan has won the London Mayoral Election?

[Westfacing]

For some strange reason it was put about yesterday that Susan Hall might have won, or that it was very close.

Wishful thinking on someone's part!

So who do you think would have been so much better then, @Livelovebehappy ?

We 'dumbarses' (whose taxes are largely propping up the rest of country, in case you'd forgotten) would love to know, since we're clearly so very very stupid.

I had my fingers crossed for count binface

Anyone but him would have been better I would imagine. And I was absolutely re-acting to a very bitter and angry rant from a poster about anyone outside London being a ‘thicko’. A misconception peddled by Londoners who think they are way more superior than anyone outside their borders (as evidenced in your statement about propping up the rest of the UK with your taxes). If you’re all so clever, and obviously drowning in money if you’re paying such high taxes, why do you pay millions to live in homes the size of shoeboxes?

We don't all live in shoe boxes, Livelovebehappy, some of us have reasonable homes of a good size, with gardens back and front, and garage. We also have a fair number of council estates.

Nor are all Londoners clever, we vary like everywhere else. Some may pay a lot of tax but certainly not all, salaries vary according to jobs. There are many people on benefits and they don't pay tax (as far as I know).

Nobody should call anyone a 'thicko', that is grossly insulting as well as being incorrect and I am sorry you were called that. Not all Londoners are rude or think they are better than anyone else, we are all human beings wherever we come from.

Mr Khan is a good man, a South Londoner from a working class background, who does his best for us all. Before politics, he was a solicitor specialising in human rights.

I did not say everyone outside London is a thicko. I said people who don't even live here but rant all sorts of conspiracies are thickos, because they have no fucking clue what they're talking about

If you don't live here why do you think you know anything about it or that your opinion matters? I would never presume to tell people from Hull or Cardiff or Aberdeen or anywhere else who their mayor should be.

I mean look at you, you can't even name one person who would do a better job. Yet you think you know best, OK then.

and yet they never have any theories that started as conspiracy's and then were proven true ? just like there never has been any election tampering ?

This tweet is spot on: https://twitter.com/Otto_English/status/1786765747005297081

Respectfully, if you believe that, you'll believe anything.

The man has ruined London. Cannot believe he's been given a mandate to continue. And if he was arrogant before, he's going to be absolutely insufferable now.

Public transport in London is very efficient and cheap. Obviously there are delays sometimes - it’s a big city with a complex system but on the whole it works well.

I see the sore losers have arrived.

What election tampering has there been in the UK in recent years?

Which conspiracy theories do you think have turned out to be true?

Hasn't the London Mayoral budget also been cut since 2010?

The Mayor doesn't appoint the Met Commissioner alone, it requires Home Sec approval too. The Commissioner is accountable to the Home Secretary as well as the Mayor.

It was a Mayor of London called Boris Johnson (Conservative) who closed 65 police stations in London. A Prime Minister called Theresa May (Conservative) then cut police numbers. She alleged that there was no correlation between a cut in police numbers and a rise in violent crime.

The high security police station at Paddington Green was one of those closed. The police who worked there now operate out of a former shop in Church Street market NW1, and I think spend some time at West End Central police station.

Efficient and cheap? It's not cheap and my train service is deplorable. Not every part of London is on the tube network.

But does your train service come under TfL? If not the mayor’s not responsible for it.
£1.75 for the hop on hop off bus fare is cheap. I’m always stunned at bus fares elsewhere.

The thing is, as said in other previous posts, I lived in London for a few years. I have friends there. London has changed to somewhere I no longer recognise just in 15 years. So I feel like I might be entitled to an opinion.

Yes, but the mayor has increased tax to compensate and has a budget of over 17bn.

And yes, the Home Secretary is involved in the decision, however it is mainly a rubber stamp as the met police commissioner primarily reports to the mayor.

I've lived in London for not far short of half a century. In what way has London changed to somewhere you no longer recognise? It's always been an extremely diverse city in my experience. One of the many reasons I love it.

The election presented little choice. Lack of first and second preference voting, for which only the Tories can be blamed for.

I voted for Sadiq Khan and really pleased he’s mayor again. I’ve lived in London all my adult life and honestly when I read about no go areas, crime ridden stabbing hell hole it’s definitely not the London I know (and I life in a not particularly chichi part of London I might add). I think he really cares about London and more importantly understands it.

My mum and children get free travel, my son is able to cycle safely to school, we are able to access amazing museums and other services and my children have great opportunities. Public transport (I’m not on the tube but is TFL) is great and I no longer need a car. I personally think ULEZ is a great initiative.

This said I don’t feel like I’m living in some sort of metropolitan utopia. Crime is a worry but I think it is in most places (my dad lives in a small town and crime is rife there).

Exactly this. London is, and always has been, a diverse city. And it’s one of the many reasons I love living here and have bought my family up here.

The thing that changed it most for me was covid. I used to love living and working in London, there was always a buzz. Could call around to see who was up for a beer, and there were always people somewhere.

Since covid, there is rarely anyone around so it doesn't feel the same. That isn't a failing of any government though. I get that it will also be related to time of life, changing priorities etc. Everything changes eventually I suppose.

Also, the only time I have ever felt under threat in London and genuinely worried was the London riots which were when Boris Johnson was the London Mayor (and as some may recall couldn’t be arsed to fly back from his holiday at first, to sort out).

Yes, but the mayor has increased tax to compensate and has a budget of over 17bn.

The population of London is 8.8 million. For comparison the population of Scotland is 5.4 million and of Wales 3.1 million, so London’s population is greater than both of those combined.
He won’t be frittering it away - no garden bridges from Sadiq.