Forum Topic

I'm no fan of the ULEZ extension which I think is bascially a regressive tax and will do little for air quality but we have had several years warning that it is coming. Other than that I think Sadiq Khan has been a competent and diligent Mayor who hasn't done a bad job. He certainly is a big improvement on his two predecessors who were, in their own ways, narcissistic populists uninterested in small but significant victories for Londoners but obsessed with grand schemes to form their legacy. Ken nearly did give us the West London Tram and Boris spaffed huge amounts of money on the garden bridge and an even bigger amount on the ill fated routemaster. He also delegated things he wasn't interested in to other people and the legacy of that is the LTNs we have in Ealing which are the pet project of his transport 'expert' Andrew Gilligan. Gilligan hates Sadiq Khan because he scrapped many of his crackpot ideas when he came to power. There are lots of things on the credit side for Khan including the fare freeze, the bus hopper fare, standing up to Trump and strongly advocating for facemasks when the government was dithering. It is sad to see the Government resorting to Trump style alternative facts when it comes to Khan's record on TfL finances. Up until the pandemic began it was in a much better position financially than it was when he took over despite the reduction of the central government grant and the fare freeze. Against him are his two biggest failures — firstly to put a finish to the endemic strikes on London Underground and secondly the Crossrail debacle. We can't be too harsh on him about the strike issue as others have tried and failed to sort it. What is less clear is if he could have resolve Crossrail if he had had his eye on the ball. Perhaps a politician of the very highest calibre could have done so but certainly not Boris Johnson or any of the candidates up against him. My perception that he has done a reasonable job seems to be shared by the majority of Londoners and the Conservative party who haven't bothered to put up a candidate who has a chance of winning. I think people realise that in an unspectacular way he has worked towards the benefit of the city and will continue to do so now we are faced with a hostile government which sees its 'levelling up' agenda more as never giving London a fair deal as opposed to actually doing anything for the north and the Midlands. I think even people who don't share his politics accept that he will always represent London's interests.

Gordon Southwell ● 1167d