To hard agree with Sadiq Khan re Central Londoners moaning about nightlife?!

[mumofoneAloneandwell]

Finally some sense from this man

I'm still not a fan, but he's right here.

I didn’t realise SK was such a knob, I used to quite fancy him. (He is right though on this) but over the years he’s not who I thought he was.

@mumofoneAloneandwell I was thinking about you because we talked about this before

I'm clearly very out of touch. That's because I left London three years ago although I never lived anywhere near the centre

That's actually a good post from him and I can't stand the man. I was always very quiet and well mannered leaving a venue 😇 because I'm aware people are trying to sleep and I think those two situations can coexist

However, I agree that this is all getting bit ridiculous. And I didn't realise that it's Soho Society who were behind a lot of these complaints.

So yeah, good post from him. Still can't stand him, but you know credit where it's due.

I met him once and he was perfectly amenable but admittedly I didn't have the strong dislike of him that I do now

Like many politicians, I think he changed a lot over lockdown

The poor beleaguered Soho dwellers will all move to the country to avoid nightlife and complain about early morning cockerels, cow shit on the road and the smell of fertiliser spreading.

I think SK is ok.

I live in buttfuck nowhere and I totally agree with him.

I live where I do precisely because I don't want to live near noisy nightlife. I want owls and cow shit and single track country lanes and church bells.

I feel the same way about people who move to the countryside and complain about owls and cow shit and single track country lanes and church bells!!!

While I don’t disagree with the sentiment I think the delivery just comes across poorly tbh. The ‘checks notes’ sets my teeth on edge

I think the "checks notes" bit is quite relevant if you look at the detail of it

I initially thought that the objections were being made by elderly people who perhaps lived in Soho when it wasn't such a thriving place with so many late licenses

It looks more like the people objecting are the ones who moved there knowing damn fine what it's like. And they seem to be on a mission to reject every single late license

so checking the notes on the situation is reasonable in this case

I just find it a mocking answer. I don’t like how politicians just try and shut people down. He could have just given a measured answer.

and tbh I don’t think anyone who lives in soho could have moved in when it was a quiet area!!

I’m assuming he didn’t write this himself but has a media team, does anyone know?
If he approved it I think he comes across as very condescending and I know better attitude. Not unexpected as a Labour politician.

There's a bit more to it than this- the Soho Society were originally complaining about insufficient policing given how many places now have a late licence. I don't think that's inherently unreasonable. The threat to oppose licence applications is a bargaining tactic in a negotiation that has largely broken down, as far as I can see.

It's pretty tame now compared with the glory days of Soho in the 1960's and 70's, brothels, clipjoints and porn cinemas, with the "dirty squad" making more in bribes from the people they were supposed to be arresting than the Met paid them.

People move to the centre to be in the middle of the action in a great city. If the action isn’t there any more, then what’s left?

Yeah i remember - i wouldnt say youre out of touch, just its gotten bad hasn't it!

I'm in zone 2 and would kill to be in zone 1! Love the busy vibe, and the different people

The soho society just want the convenience of living centrally whilst ruining it for others 😒

I'm the same with Sadiq, i'm sure I voted him in as mayor. I think hes focused on making us all do 20mph, but not sorting the housing crisis in london or the crime crisis 🤔

The rent changes have come in now far too late imo. I'm not a fan and this is his latest bid to stay in power. Hope he follows through on standing firm!

This is it, i'd kill to live in soho! I was there the other day with dd - it was so busy but didnt faze me, just made me happy 😄

Anyone who lived in Soho before it had was a lively late-night venue would be about 400 years old.

👀👀

Oh i like it 😄 - its sassy but reflects a lot of opinions

HA ! He is sick of it isn't he 😂

This!

😄😄 hes had enough of them

😄😄

Maybe suburbia is for them.

Soho is tame now, compared with in the 50s, 60s and 70s, when it was full of sex shops, brothels and extremely sleazy bars and blokes.

Oh, that's interesting

None of that came up when I was trying to look it up, but it's hard to research this kind of stuff isn't it, if you don't live there, you don't know

Yeah, I can see that the reduction in policing would cause a problem there

@Mulledjuice I don't think you need to be 400. I think you probably need to be about 70.

The number of late licenses went up a lot in the 00s I think? I did wonder if it was something to do with their level of tolerance for it. Because obviously 00s is age years ago but they do seem to have been complaining for a while.

The 45% of londoners who do not own a car are not made to do 20 mph - so not 'all'

The elderly people who lived there at the time of the sex shops prostitutes and gay bars ?

I just don’t think it’s great to be so dismissive of your residents

he could have said something more diplomatic by acknowledging their concerns around litter and crime

I'm fed up of his 20mph and LTNs and replacing bus lanes with cycle lanes (not a driver). London is a living city and it doesn’t feel like he knows that