Mayor of London election: Sadiq Khan pledges to create 170,000 green jobs
Sadiq Khan has pledged to create 170,000 new green jobs if re-elected as mayor as he today launched his manifesto for the mayor of London election.
Khan said during a speech at Bloomberg that he would create a new green jobs skills academy that would “support green jobs that are diverse, sustainable and well paid”.
He also said his second term as mayor would aim to “double the size of the green economy by 2030 with the aim of doubling the level of green jobs in London over the next 10 years”.
The mayor of London committed to a ten-point plan to achieve his “green New Deal”, which will include pledges to make Transport for London (TfL) “the world’s greenest” transport system, to make London carbon neutral by 2030 and to “protect, restore and improve” green spaces in the capital.
The mayor claims his plan will create 175,260 new jobs, with 140,000 of those in retrofitting, 4,560 in electric charging and 4,400 through solar investment if he is re-elected at the 6 May election.
“I am the only truly green candidate that can win this election and help secure a greener, brighter future for our city,” Khan said.
“A vote for me is a vote for supporting well-paid green jobs in every single borough of our city.”
Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband spoke at the launch, saying that London “needs a Labour mayor who recognises if we fail on climate, we fail on social justice and we fail future generations”.
“The choice is simple – Sadiq, the climate leader, with the green new deal or a Conservative mayor who will never deliver the fairer, greener economy the people of London need and the people of London deserve,” Miliband said.
Other policies announced today included a target to build 10,000 new council homes a year, an increase in Metrpolitan Police numbers and support for rent controls in London.
The mayor of London does not have the powers to implement rent controls, however Khan says if he wins it will be a mandate for central government to introduce them.
Khan’s manifesto also includes a pledge to establish a London Drugs Commission to consider the effects of decriminalising cannabis in the capital.
The mayor of London also does not have the power to decriminalise cannabis, which is a power reserved for central government.
“It’s a manifesto that is about tackling the inequalities that still scar London,” Khan said.
“I’m confident that with the right approach and right choices, we can put the dark days of the pandemic behind us and deliver the bright future Londoners want and deserve.”
Green Party election candidate Sian Berry said Khan’s manifesto policies “shows the huge influence Greens have had in the past five years”.
“It is our work that has exposed the need for action on green jobs, green energy for the tube and cold, damp homes,” she said.
“But we continue to challenge the current mayor on his lack of ambition on green energy, his ultra low emission zone that leaves out outer London, and the Silvertown Road Tunnel – policies he is still sticking to in this election.”
Tory candidate Shaun Bailey Khan said he would “take practical action to clean up the environment with a zero-emission bus fleet by 2025”.
“Sadiq Khan has been mayor for the last five years,” he said. “But instead of delivering results, London’s problems have got worse, all while the Mayor tries to blame those problems on other people.