5 policy pledges in Sadiq Khan’s 2021 election Labour manifesto for London

Voters are set to choose who will run London on May 6th, as people also vote in elections for 5,000 councillors, 40 police and crime commissioners, the Scottish and Welsh parliament, seven metro mayors and five local authority mayors.

Residents in the capital will take part in the London Assembly elections for Greater London Authority members and pick their preferred candidate to be the mayor of London in contests that were postponed due to the pandemic.

Labour has today published its London manifesto. Here are five key pledges…

10,000 new council homes

The manifesto has set a target of 10,000 new council homes through City Hall’s council house-building programme, as well as exploring a ‘right to buy back’ fund to support local authorities to buy back homes sold under Right to Buy.

Sadiq Khan has committed to piloting a City Hall developer so that the authority can directly build “genuinely affordable” homes, funding the creation of 82,000 low-cost homes over the next five years.

The mayoral candidate is also campaigning to secure the power to introduce rent controls in London, and says his re-election would give him a mandate for the policy. He intends to set up a ‘private rent commission’ to work towards it.

A green new deal for London

With a ten-point green new deal, Labour aims to make the city carbon neutral by 2030. According to the manifesto, environmental sustainability is at the heart of the London Recovery Board’s (set up to coordinate the Covid recovery) mission.

The plan includes supporting divestment from fossil fuels by TfL and other bodies; boosting active travel to 80% of journeys; reviewing the plan to deliver a zero-carbon bus fleet by 2030, building 44,000 charging points, expanding the ULEZ, raising carbon stands for housing and starting a “clean energy revolution”.

Khan has set a target of doubling the size of the green economy in London by 2030, working in collaboration with trade unions to assist communities and sectors hardest hit by the Covid pandemic, creating more than 170,000 new green jobs.

Gig economy charter

Labour has pledged to produce a charter for on-demand work to drive up standards in London, which the mayor will – if re-elected – ask businesses to sign up to, in a similar way to how they opt to pay the London Living Wage.

A London drugs commission

The Labour mayoral candidate has promised to establish a new London drugs commission made up of independent experts and figures from the fields of criminal justice, public health, politics, community relations and academia.

The commission will look at the effectiveness of our drug laws, and will particularly focus on cannabis. According to the manifesto, it will look at evidence “in the round” and make police proposals to “provoke an overdue national debate”.

4G on all London Underground lines

As part of a wider commitment to increase digital literacy and connectivity across the capital, Khan has announced proposals to extend 4G connectivity across the whole tube network and speed up the rollout of fibre across the city.

The document sets out how TfL tunnels and public buildings will create a “full-fibre spine” for London, promoting investment in under-served neighbourhoods, speeding the rollout of fibre and advancing 5G connectivity across the capital.

THE FULL MANIFESTO IS AVAILABLE HERE