Dramatic new polling for Times Radio by Redfield and Wilton Strategies shows Jeremy Corbyn could hand the London mayoralty to Susan Hall and the Conservatives, with Sadiq Khan taking 25% of the vote to Hall’s 30%, and the former Labour leader coming third on 15% if he stands as an independent candidate next year. Something he hasn’t yet ruled out…
More than 21% of voters who backed Khan last time say they’d now vote for Corbyn. Next year’s mayoral election is the first to be held under the first-past-the-post system, so there are no second preference votes. Corbyn would eat into Khan’s support and deny him a third term.
Even more surprising is the state of play for the Tories even without Jeremy’s assistance. The same poll shows Khan on 33% and Hall on 32% when Corbyn isn’t included. A massive boost for Hall’s candidacy. You’d think Rishi would at least have tweeted “congratulations” when she won the selection…
Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers and remainer odd-jobber, has been suspended from Twitter/X for claiming “it’s time to dump the Muslim mayor” and that “someone should kill” Sadiq Khan for the ULEZ expansion. The tweets were shared consecutively over the weekend, with Mullins today entering damage control mode after calling for the death of a high profile politician.
He told TalkTV today:
“I unreservedly apologise and withdraw my remarks. I went too far. Twitter/X is right to take the action it did.”
When Mullins isn’t busy encouraging Londoners to murder their mayor, he can be seen driving around in a £450,000 Rolls-Royce with knock-off number plates and throwing money down the toilet with donations to the LibDems. Proof money can’t buy taste. A busted flush…
It is ULEZ expansion day. At midnight, London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone swelled all the way to the M25, meaning motorists with non-compliant cars as far out as Kent will now have to cough up £12.50 every time they switch on their engines. Despite a chorus of opposition, even from his own Labour colleagues, Sadiq Khan insists it is a moral decision that will save lives. This morning however, after that compulsory “reflection” enforced by Sir Keir, Khan finally admitted the ULEZ cost Labour the Uxbridge by-election last month – although “misinformation” was apparently a factor:
“…Londoners want to see cleaner air in our city… it was a difficult decision, I accept ULEZ was a factor in relation to Uxbridge and Ruislip, a lot of misinformation in relation to that seat, obviously I’m disappointed we didn’t make history and win that seat for the first time in my lifetime. But Londoners support our policies to clean up our air and city…”
Once again, misinformation and conspiracies explain away the ULEZ’s unpopularity. The fact the Labour candidate himself attacked it during the campaign probably didn’t help either. Meanwhile Transport Secretary Mark Harper has reaffirmed this morning that the government can’t do anything to stop Khan, as if they don’t command a huge Commons majority. Like they’re in opposition already…
Downing Street was blocked from overruling Sadiq Khan’s upcoming ULEZ expansion after government lawyers reportedly warned any efforts would be tossed out in the courts. According to the Telegraph, ahead of the expansion next week, Number 10 considered relying on a little-known part of the 1999 Greater London Authority Act to argue the move was “inconsistent with national policies relating to transport”. The government’s learned friends said that was doomed to fail, because the government itself is advocating green policies that somehow are not “inconsistent” with ULEZ. Is Rishi aware he still currently has a massive majority in the Commons for this sort of problem?
Meanwhile it’s full steam ahead for Sadiq. Despite reports his deputy mayor Shirley Rodrigues tried to discredit Imperial College scientists who found that the ULEZ will have next to no impact on pollution – what a surprise that is – the expansion is set for the 29th of this month. Time to cough up…
Sadiq Khan is begging three Tory councils to put up ULEZ warning signs ahead of the expansion at the end of this month, insisting they should “do what’s best for their residents and drivers” by reminding them of the £12.50 charge motorists will soon incur just from switching on their engines. According to the Telegraph, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire councils are refusing to play ball…
Khan’s spokesperson said last night:
“Councils have a responsibility to ensure their residents and all motorists are aware of important changes that may impact drivers. By refusing to allow TfL to install ULEZ warning signs at key junctions, these councils outside London are not fulfilling their responsibility to ensure their residents and other motorists have all the information they need to avoid driving into the ULEZ inadvertently. The mayor is urging these three county councils to put their politics aside and do what’s best for their residents and drivers.”
The ‘good’ news is Transport for London – i.e. the taxpayer – will stump up the cash for the signs, even if the councils don’t want them.
The latest affordable housing figures from the Greater London Authority reveal Sadiq Khan has started building a grand total of just three affordable homes this quarter, and zero under the under the Council Homes for Londoners 2021-2026 programme. A programme for which he received a whopping £4 billion in government funding…
Despite claiming just months ago that building new homes “is key to safeguarding the soul of our city”, the table below shows not a single brick has been laid between April and June for the Homes for Londoners scheme, putting him years behind his target. There’s a lot of “zeros”…
City Hall Conservatives housing spokesperson Shaun Bailey said this morning:
“Sadiq Khan has fallen years behind the latest housing targets and is failing to deliver the affordable, family homes that Londoners need. He has started only three affordable homes this quarter and zero under the current £4bn programme.”
Meanwhile Khan blabbers on about rent controls and “pull out all the stops to crack London’s housing crisis“. Three houses in three months is now considered “pulling out all the stops”…
UPDATE: Sadiq Khan’s team push back, blaming the government for “delayed signing off on funding for [the] Programme until July”. A spokesperson tells Guido:
“Under Sadiq, the building of genuinely affordable homes in London has hit the highest overall level since records began and council housebuilding last year was higher than at any time since the 1970s.
The Government delayed signing off on funding for the Mayor’s 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme until July so it was impossible for any new homes to be started in the first quarter of this financial year. This unnecessary delay has slowed down progress and is disappointing given City Hall’s success in delivering a record-breaking 116,782 homes under the previous affordable homes programme. Given spiralling housing costs there is an urgent need for additional investment in affordable housing in London and across the country – now more than ever.”
UPDATE II: Whitehall sources say they have seen no evidence from the GLA that any specific project didn’t start because of the funding position. Suggestion is any sign-off delay should not have made building “impossible”…
