Half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan has not done enough to improve London’s affordability
New polling shows more than half of Londoners think Sadiq Khan has not done enough to make London more affordable as his near 10 per cent council tax rise begins to take effect across the capital.
The new polling from YouGov shows that 56 per cent of Londoners think the mayor has not made London more affordable, while 49 per cent of Londoners said the Mayor has not done enough to keep London safe.
The new polling comes after the mayor implemented a 9.5 per cent council tax rise that will hit Londoners from next month.
The mayor said he had no choice but to implement the tax rise, after the government forced him to raise more revenue in Transport for London (TfL) bailout negotiations.
City Hall’s portion of council tax has risen by around 30 per cent since 2016.
Rents, while having decreased in the past year, have also continued to increase over Khan’s term in office.
The mayor is asking at the upcoming election for the government to give him powers to impose a cap on rents.
Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall group of Tories, said: “As mayor, Sadiq Khan has increased his share of Londoners’ council tax bill by more than 30 per cent; a tax he admits hits the poorest Londoners the hardest. By pushing the bill for his mistakes onto Londoners, Sadiq Khan has made London less affordable.
“He’s had five years to change Londoners’ lives for the better, but shamefully all he’s done is plead poverty, pass blame and avoid responsibility.”
A spokesperson for London Labour said Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey “personally oversaw more than £850m of devastating cuts to the Met’s policing budget and slashed funding for our young people” while working under David Cameron.
“[Khan] has also stood up against government cuts, built a record number of council homes, ensured TfL fares were frozen over five years and introduced the Hopper Fare saving London households on average £200,” they said.
Khan will come up against Bailey on 6 May in the mayor of London election.
Khan is widely expected to win re-election and holds a lead of around 25 points over the Conservative candidate.
Tony Travers, local government expert at the London School of Economics, said the Conservatives’ attack lines on the mayor had fallen flat so far.
“The difficulty they’ve got is that most people are going to look at issues and realise it’s part of the pandemic – it’s the pandemic that has caused problems in Khan’s Budget or TfL,” he said.
“Simply trying to blame that on Sadiq Khan doesn’t quite ring true, that’s the trouble they’ve got.”