London can do better than this

For politicians, our annual conference speech is the one opportunity we get to speak directly to the British people about our values, the challenges our country faces and our plans to overcome them. It’s an honour to be beamed directly into television sets across the country and to have the opportunity to explain why we think things need to change and how we plan to do it. So I was left stunned yesterday by Boris Johnson’s speech in Manchester.  The Mayor of London simply had nothing to say about London’s future, no vision of how our city should look in 2020 and no comprehension of the difficulties that ordinary Londoners face.

The Mayor didn’t mention the cost-of-living crisis in the capital once in his speech. Not a single word about falling wages or skyrocketing bills. Not one. Even George Osborne mentioned it. It simply beggars belief.

When I speak to residents in my Tooting constituency, the cost of living is always at the forefront of conversation. My friends and neighbours know that living standards have fallen for 38 consecutive months: they see it when their wages run out earlier each month, when they can no longer afford to keep their homes warm and when they have to walk to work because they can’t afford the tube or bus.

And yet, it seems the Mayor is completely out of touch with the reality of their lives. Earlier this week he admitted he didn’t know the cost of a pint of milk (49p in my local newsagent). And in today’s speech there was just no plan to bring down the cost of tube and bus fares that have become the most expensive in the world under his watch. A zone 1-6 travelcard is a whopping £440 a year more expensive than when he became Mayor and is set to increase above inflation yet again next year. London deserves better than this.

There wasn’t a word about Thames Water’s plans to increase Londoners water bills a further 8% above inflation over the next two years, on top of the 3% they have already increased by since 2010. Living without water is just not an option. Take families like mine – as well as keeping clean, there’s constant cooking and cleaning to do and a never ending supply of school uniforms to wash. This extra cost will just squeeze household budgets even further. Londoners deserve better than this.

The Mayor did however mention the housing crisis. The fact that buying a house is out of reach for most Londoners in their 30’s and even 40’s, that rents are increasing by 9% a year and that overcrowding has got even worse under this Government. He mentioned it and then proceeded to offer absolutely no solutions, no plans and no ideas for how to fix it. Not one. Now I don’t mind arguing with the Mayor over his housing plan but I do mind a Mayor who doesn’t have one. London needs its Mayor to do better than this.

And he didn’t even mention the one thing that could give London the power to begin tackling these problems itself – more say over its own economic development and finances.

The Mayor himself commissioned the ‘London Finance Committee’ to write a brilliant report calling for more powers for London’s Government. More of London’s own money, spent in London by London’s Government could help tackle the cost-of-living, housing and transport crises in the long run. And yet again, it didn’t even get a mention. Despite the fact that his party is in Government and his childhood friend is the Prime Minister, the Mayor has done absolutely nothing to fight for the recommendations of the report and has left it gathering dust on his bookshelf. London must do better than this.

I like Boris Johnson as a person. He seems like a funny guy and clearly understands that ordinary people have had enough of identikit politicians. But yesterday he really let Londoners down.  London deserves better than a Mayor who fails to mention the biggest problem facing the city in his conference speech. Londoners deserve better than a Mayor who is so clearly out of touch with the problems they face in their daily lives. London deserves better than a Mayor with no plan to tackle our housing and transport crises. And London deserves better than a Mayor who fails to stand up for London’s interests to his friends in Westminster and Whitehall. London can and must do better than this.

Sadiq Khan is the Shadow Minister for London