Lefties and Centrists of London - would you consider voting against the current mayor in the next election?

[hotmumshit]

Cant get a bus down Oxford Street
Crime hasn't gone anywhere, only the phone bike thieves due to international outcry
Housing still a mess

I am a lifelong leftie, but I am not voting the current mayor in again.

I work within the crime industry in London and it has not gone down. Basically it’s different kind of crimes that are happening, so some crime rates have gone down while others have gone up. That’s how it’s easy to paint a picture in a headline to make the mayor look good. But honestly working in this industry is very bleak.

according to BBC - Recorded sexual offences in the Metropolitan Police area rose by 75% between the years ending June 2015 and March 2025.

The LTN concept was a huge improvement to my area too, a thriving pedestrian high street which has truly become a very effective thirdspace and has been great for dynamic businesses, no selfish drivers around the schools in the morning making walking/ crossing dangerous.

I never said air quality was facile.

Fck the disabled yes? There's not enough of them?

Exactly. It's shocking how SK and his team are obfuscating facts.

What part of the "crime industry" do you work in?

It would be very outing if I say what area, it’s a particular sector.

A friend of mine walks with crutches. Oxford Street's pavements were usually too crowded for her to be able to navigate safely. Full pedestrianisation is much better for her as pedestrians have much more space. I imagine that people with pushchairs and prams would notice similar improvements. Are their experiences worthless?

This 💯

It seems you’re completely unable to engage in a genuine discussion.

Gosh, how unfortunate.

Nevertheless I feel reassured that unnamed professionals, in unnamed "crime industry" sectors, who have made very few posts on mumsnet, are nevertheless concerned about Sadiq Khan.

I have no doubt whatsoever that your views are entirely organic and not at all part of a concerted campaign.

It’s been in place for 2 days, how can there be any measurable difference in the crime rate?
I don’t have an issue with it per se but it is typical of the Khan administration not to foresee the issue with cyclists.

I understand exactly what you're saying OP. I was talking to an elderly lady with a walking stick last week, at the bus stop that used to be right outside John Lewis. She was saying that she'd no longer be able to enjoy trips to John Lewis and she was right.

I had to go there on Tuesday, there's a bus stop in Henrietta Place at the back entrance, but no bus stop to return. You have to walk back across Oxford Circus, halfway down the east side of Oxford Street to reach a bus stop. A LOT of people either can't do that, or are in a lot of discomfort walking that far. Disabled, elderly, carrying lots of shopping etc

I told a friend (who's 54 years older than I am) about this, and he said he wouldn't be going back there
A lot of people have difficulty using the tube, lots of stairs and long corridors to walk along, quite apart from the fact that the tube is generally unpleasant, smelly and crowded. And, of course, more expensive than the bus.
Khan doesn't give a shit about the disabled and/elderly. I've always loathed him anyway.

I would not use the past tense, there is no evidence his behaviour has improved.

As for Oxford Street pedestrianisation, I think it should have been a shorter section, and it is at least 20 years too late.

I’d vote for him again. Oxford Street should have been pedestrianised a long time ago.

My main London beef is Hammersmith Bridge.

It first broke when I was in 6th form and I’m now 56. It just needs to be rebuilt at this point.

Other streets with shops in them are available. Oxford Street is really just for the tourists isn't it?

The decision to pedestrianise Oxford St has been years - decades - in the making.

The area has been dying on its arse as a commercial district for years. Physical shopping as a concept has to be reimagined, with more social spaces and events/leisure activities to draw consumers in (otherwise a huge amount of people will just sit at home ordering off Amazon, because there is no actual need to trundle off to a busy, expensive city centre to buy something from the Disney shop you can have delivered to your door next day for a better price ). The area is rundown, with poor air quality and is not pedestrian friendly x It needs to be redesigned.

There has obviously been a whole process and various stages of consultation before it was finally green lighted.

I don’t think Khan or anyone has said ‘fuck disabled people / old people’ etc. A decision has (finally) been taken and plans made, and some people don’t like this, but a call has been made that the benefits for the greater good outweigh the downsides for some specific groups and, in fact, doesn’t appear to be massively inconveniencing and certainly not discriminating against disabled people.

I agree there are opportunities to make this change better - a mobility scooter hire service would be great, for example ; proper policing of cyclists will 100% be needed needed to make this successful). But the change has been made, many people see it as positive and it’s not ‘ablist’ to point out the many benefits it will bring to many, many people.

Same! Come on Khan.

Sorry you find it hard to walk long distances Barbara

Shop somewhere else.

Lovely.

That’s fine for you to think that.
You’re right that I don’t post very much on Mumsnet, but as this is something I deal with in my job, I thought I’d share my perspective.
This job has genuinely opened my eyes and I find it frustrating that some of the things I see don’t seem to get the wider media attention I think they warrant, beyond local news.
I don’t believe it’s all down to Sadiq Khan. I think a lot of the factors influencing crime are outside his control and crime may well have increased under whichever mayor was in office.
My issue is that I don’t think the picture Sadiq Khan tries to portray accurately reflects what’s happening. You can point to figures showing crime has gone down, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story. I find it frustrating when the narrative he presents to the public doesn’t seem to reflect the reality of what I’m seeing.

Why is it so vitally important to go to Oxford St anyway? Consumerism at its worst. London born and lived in London all my life, bloody hell the standards expected of Sadiq Khan versus what we accepted from BJ. Wonder why 🤔

I hear you but have you been to Oxford st since the changes? I haven't tbf so I cannot comment on the merits or otherwise. I guess I am just wondering if they have cared about disability with these measures

Average bus and traffic speeds are horrendous in London especially when compared to other capital cities.

Yes I wonder why. It’s absolutely disgusting. And most of the ones whingeing about him seem to be outside London. They had more to say about Khan as Mayor than about BJ as prime minister which surely would’ve affected them more.

It all boils down to their contrived hysteria around “Shakira law”

I wanted to go this week to selfridges but feel exhausted already. We use the bus as cant walk from bond or Oxford Street

Its whatever, it just pissed me off

I should be able to visit any part of my city that I want. Just because you dont like it doesn't mean others must feel the same.