This week Londoners go to the polls to elect the next Mayor. With the Tories in freefall with a Trump-supporting candidate it’s clear they can’t win.
But after eight years Sadiq Khan doesn’t deserve to be reelected. Back the Liberal Democrats this time and together, we will change London for the better.
Five years ago, the RV1 bus, London’s zero-emission hydrogen powered bus that transported thousands across the South Bank, was scrapped by Labour’s Sadiq Khan.
This decision was not the first nor the last in a pattern of lazy, anti-environmental backtracking from London’s Labour mayor.
Back in 2022, the Labour Mayor came for even more of the bus routes that the people of Southwark rely on so heavily – being so poorly served by the tube. It was only after countless community campaigns, and Southwark Liberal Democrats’ revelation that the buses due to be cut were being used more than they were before the pandemic, did Sadiq Khan U-Turn to protect our vital public transport.
The Mayor’s failure to maintain and improve our vital public transport network has meant air pollution continues to be amongst the worst in Europe and we fail to reduce the emissions that contribute to the global climate crisis. At the same time Sadiq Khan is building a £2billion motorway under the Thames! Like his Labour colleagues, the Mayor’s green credentials are in tatters.
Despite its universal backing and popularity, Sadiq Khan has entirely failed to deliver the Bakerloo Line extension, leaving the people of Old Kent Road in limbo and Southwark’s housing needs unmet. 20,000 homes were promised when the Old Kent Road was designated an ‘opportunity area’ but only 708 have been delivered and only 230 are social rent homes that our borough desperately needs – so just 1.2% of the 20,000 target.
Since Sadiq Khan took over as Mayor of London, the housing waiting list here in Southwark has ballooned to over 17,700.
Our Labour council and our Labour Mayor are utterly failing to tackle the housing crisis. Thousands of families are living in unacceptable conditions, and many have no home at all.
Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan boasts about a fantasy record of delivery that all Londoners can see is a delusion.
The Metropolitan Police has deteriorated into an unacceptable state and is now catching half the rapists it did just eight years ago. We need a mayor who will fix the Met and tackle crime.
The Liberal Democrats offer a real alternative for London. Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie is proposing to establish a London Housing company to deliver affordable homes, has a plan to improve public transport and restoring trust in the Met is his top priority.
With your vote today, Rob Blackie and the Liberal Democrats can get London back on track.