Is there a viable alternative to Sadiq?

[Spartacus]

Most people I talk to don't lile him, but at the same time conclude he will.win because there isn't a credible alternative. 

Feels like it could be a win by apathy here and not by popularity 🤔 

[HeadNun]

Yep, sadly you're right Spartacus. I would have liked to have seen Rory Stewart stay in the race four years ago, I think he would have been pretty progressive. 

This article made me chuckle / stroke wretch. I wonder if the doctor friend who told him he has PTSD is the same one who told him he developed asthma from running in London. The chap has so much hardship going on, it's a wonder he can hold down the day job.  

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/20/sadiq-khan-says-he-has-ptsd-caused-by-death-threats

[Spartacus]

@HeadNun makes you wonder why he wants a third term if its causing that many problems, most people would walk.away and get on with their lives if it was them. 

 

Edited April 5 by Spartacus

[Sydney Carton]

If I pay £12.50 Ulez I am allowed to use my old car. If I am rich then I am able to use it seven days a week. If I am poor I cannot. If I pay the charge does that make my car non polluting? It does not. Therefore it is a tax

[malumbu]

No but it encourages you to use it less, which is a good thing.  And Johnson announced the intention to introduce it in the central congestion charging zone with the expectation of extension to within North and South Circs.  It wasn't Khan's baby.  I don't know what angry Bexleyheath man has to do with us. And if you are rich, you probably live in a nicer house, in a nicer area, eat better, get more exercise and have a ULEZ compliant car.  Unless we live in North Korea where the masses are Brought down to the same level that is western society.

[HeadNun]

Now, now Mal, there's no need to be pejorative about men of a certain age, with a certain skin colour, who live outwith a certain part of the country.

Anyway, how do you know that these angry old white male protesters didn't live in London / areas affected by ULEZ - did someone go around and make a note of all their addresses? 🙂

 

Edited April 5 by HeadNun

[malumbu]

Most of the people I know who constantly moan about the ULEZ are gowm.  I was surprised when well out the zone the first thing that someone said to me in a pub was that I must hate the ULEZ. But that is not a scientific study.  However  the manufactured culture wars that the Tories are using they are spreading the message to middle England and former red wall, vote Starmer and you will be charged for using your car and even prohibited. Separately I've done some research on GOWM which actually surprised me as the particularly grumpy/vocal ones, including those that resort to social media, give an unfair impression on the majority.  Subject of a new thread.

[Spartacus]

They must have identified you by your London passport being shown at the home counties border Mal, or by the way you spoke with your guardian Upper class accent 😀 

You seem to be generating your own spin.for the election now, do you work for the greens ? 

[jazzer]

as can The Guardian, nasty rag

He won't walk away as he still has political ambitions

Johnson was a baffoon

[Rockets]

4 hours ago, malumbu said:

Most of the people I know who constantly moan about the ULEZ are gowm.  I was surprised when well out the zone the first thing that someone said to me in a pub was that I must hate the ULEZ. But that is not a scientific study.  However  the manufactured culture wars that the Tories are using they are spreading the message to middle England and former red wall, vote Starmer and you will be charged for using your car and even prohibited. Separately I've done some research on GOWM which actually surprised me as the particularly grumpy/vocal ones, including those that resort to social media, give an unfair impression on the majority.  Subject of a new thread.

Yes and I bet a fair few of them who do jump on social media and so enrage Malumbu aren't actually from Bexleyheath or London at all but from the Russian or Chinese (or other) social media labs doing their utmost to try to destabilise. But the problem is that the likes of Malumbu get so enraged and give the trolls oxygen and then folks like Sadiq jump on this and try to create a narrative that there is some right-wing, fascist, conspiracy, tin-foil hat wearing brigade to deposition anyone who doesn't agree with his flawed plans.

Let's be honest Sadiq cares not one jot for Londoners, he cares for Sadiq's political career and I, for one, can't stand his awfully cardboard media-trained patronising guff he comes out with every time he has a microphone thrust in front of him. But lots of people clearly do love him but that's probably more a reflection of the divisive nature of politics nowadays.

 

Clearly Sadiq will win but he does seem concerned that people may protest vote against him via the Greens or Lib Dems which is probably a good reflection of how popular he actually is. When his vote for me leaflet dropped through our door and it highlighted not his policies but on how a vote for the Greens or Lib Dems would allow the Tories in - it spoke volumes.

[Dulwich dweller]

10 hours ago, jazzer said:

Johnson was a baffoon

And always will be. A gutless one at that.

[Sydney Carton]

21 hours ago, malumbu said:

Unless we live in North Korea where the masses are Brought down to the same level that is western society.

Eh?

 

[Spartacus]

28 minutes ago, Sydney Carton said:

Eh?

 

Obviously Mal Jong Un has a vision 🙄 

[Rockets]

Is Sadiq worried about voter apathy/protest votes? Just got another flyer through the door, it seems to be one every couple of weeks, suggesting the Tories are closer than any opinion poll suggests and that people should not vote for the Lib Dems or Greens.

[Sue]

I haven't read the rest of this thread - I kept well away - but I'm delighted that Sadiq Khan has won.

Susan Hall would have been an absolute disaster for London, as thankfully the vast majority of voters recognised.

[malumbu]

Well done to Khan, having to face voter apathy in particular in inner London, where some in particular the young may have not voted due to forgetting ID, the negative campaign from Hall, in particular wishing to reverse measures that make our air cleaner, thinly veiled racism against him, and the Evening Standard which was manufacturing their own vision of events in the run up (although I understand they switched sides at the end).

[jazzer]

London's Fallen.

The Mayor, was, is and will remain a disaster for London

"Sadiq Khan’s legacy: 772 six figure earners in TfL alone, 18 TfL employees on over £250,000 Sadiq paid himself £171,587 in 2022-23, up £21,000 from four years ago, What do you get? 4.99% council tax increase, ULEZ tax, Mayoral tax doubled to £471, Knife crime up, Acid attack capital of the world, Shoplifting up 48% Muggings and picketing up x3

He’s filling his mates and his own pockets, laughing at you in his bullet proof Range Rover Sentinel paid for by the taxpayer."

"More than 1000 of his City Hall staff are on a salary of £100,000 or more per year"

So were is the value of money in that , and you know what, we all pay for it from our council tax. More administration and more of a burden on the people. He is out of touch with reality. 

And as for Susan Hall, her campaign was only about Ulez, it was the only thing she ever brought up, when London has so many other problems that she didn't ever mention once. Her hope was that the voters in the outer London Boroughs would get her over the line, she failed miserably.  

And why does the new mayor think Londoners should provide school meals for children, not his, or our responsibility, or does he now control the running of schools as well.  And as for air quality, its been proven Ulez has made practically NO difference. Where is all the money he's generated, certainly not back into London, otherwise he wouldn't have raised his part of the council tax for 2024/25 by 8.3%. WE pay more and get less each and every year.  Well if that's the case, the scrutiny of borough councils needs to increase 1000+ fold and be held to account for the actions they take and the decisions they make. 

His "winners" speech was no more than hot air, saying how he represents all Londoners, I'll tell you what, lets switch Mayors and have Andy Burnham, Manchester can have Khan, At least Burnham is a proper politician with proper values who actually cares about people.  

Edited May 6 by jazzer

[ianr]

2 hours ago, jazzer said:

"Sadiq Khan’s legacy: 772 six figure earners in TfL alone, 18 TfL employees on over £250,000 Sadiq paid himself £171,587 in 2022-23, up £21,000 from four years ago, What do you get? 4.99% council tax increase, ULEZ tax, Mayoral tax doubled to £471, Knife crime up, Acid attack capital of the world, Shoplifting up 48% Muggings and picketing up x3

He’s filling his mates and his own pockets, laughing at you in his bullet proof Range Rover Sentinel paid for by the taxpayer."

"More than 1000 of his City Hall staff are on a salary of £100,000 or more per year"

https://twitter.com/alexharmstrong/status/1769892229391274068 

 

[malumbu]

Maybe the discussion should be about why the Tories did not put up a better candidate, and have a positive campaign.  As for salaries I expect that half my street is on £100k plus, and a few on a quarter of a million.  That's what (some) people in London earn, and unless they have family financial support, or have bought and sold at the right time, will need to earn that to buy a property in this area. Not that I have ever been in that earning bracket.

Edited May 7 by malumbu
Took out a few light hearted words

[Sephiroth]

maybe anyone, anyone, who posts cliched doggerel such as "London has fallen" should just be ignored

 

Heads up: London has in no way "fallen"

even with benefit of doubt that a poster may not know "London has fallen" is a trope used by racists, it's nonsense on it's own terms. But it IS a trope used by racists so if I was poster who had uniwttingly used that phrase I might reconsider

[snowy]

4 hours ago, malumbu said:

Maybe the discussion should be about why the Tories did not put up a better candidate, and have a positive campaign.  As for salaries I expect that half my street is on £100k plus, and a few on a quarter of a million.  That's what (some) people in London earn, and unless they have family financial support, or have bought and sold at the right time, will need to earn that to buy a property in this area. Not that I have ever been in that earning bracket.

Because she wasn't meant to be on the ballot. Daniel Korski was their first choice but he was added to the list of Conservative politicians accused of sexual abuse and had to step down. 
 

Interestingly that list is longer than the list of people ever convicted of voter fraud. 
 

[Spartacus]

Sadiq Khan has pledged to help make London the "best city in the world to grow up in".

Mr Khan said he plans to:

Provide free skills training for unemployed or low-income Londoners

Create more than 150,000 new jobs by 2028

Fund more youth clubs with a £30m investment

Make free school meals permanent in London's state primary schools

Keep Transport for London fares frozen until at least 2025 and never introduce a pay-per-mile road charging scheme

End rough sleeping by 2030 with government support 

Build 40,000 new council homes by 2030 and to build new "rent control" homes 

On policing, he said he wants to put 1,300 more police on the streets, tackle violence against women and girls and deliver free legal support for victims.

He also promises a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2030 and to clean up the Thames, planning to make it swimmable within 10 years.

Source BBC News - Sadiq Khan pledges to help make London the 'best city in the world'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68968813

 

All great pledges but so many questions. 

1. Where will the extra money come from to deliver all this ? 

2. In times when police are leaving in ever decreasing numbers and recruitment is hard, how will he put more police on the streets ? 

3. Rough sleeping, no matter what is done, some still choose that way of life, so what's his plan in that case ? 

4. How will he directly create new jobs ? 

A lot of political hot air and personally I want to revisit what he actually achieves in 4 years to see if there was a justification in a third term. 

[Sephiroth]

2. In times when police are leaving in ever decreasing numbers and recruitment is hard, how will he put more police on the streets ? 

3. Rough sleeping, no matter what is done, some still choose that way of life, so what's his plan in that case ? 

 

 

my guess for #2 would be that 14 years of this govt has done much to drive that exodus - an incoming new government is likely to take some steps to repair relations and make the offer more attractove

 

re #3 - this questions arises every time there are a lot of people sleeping rough but as we all saw under the last labour government, those numbers reduced dramatically. Again, the London mayor will benefit from that

 

Have people given up all hope that anything might ever get better ever - it did under last labour govt and whilst this one has a much harder job on it's hands, targets like this are at least honestly on their todo list

(overall I would say that Khan list of targets is, charitably, "ambitious" as things stand in 2024. But they are positive targets and something to aim for. Compared to whatever it was that Hall was offering, it's the better of the two options)

 

 

[malumbu]

If he achieves half of these then that will be some legacy.  Put aside your dislike of the man and look at the positives.  All politicians fail to deliver all of their pledges - a fact of life, doesn't make it right but things get in the way or priorities change.

You can look at Livingstone, ignoring his later demise, and see him as a force of change and supporting the ordinary Londoner.  He said he was going to bring back bus conductors.  How silly.  70p fixed bus fair in outer London.  Just wouldn't work - instead a pound to travel wherever you were going on the bus.  Sounded daft, but we've had the single fair for, well, must be 20 years now.

Interesting review of Johnson's 2019 pledges.  He fully met his target for a bad Brexit.  So lots of ticks there, but after that, pretty poor.  https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/annex-conservative-manifesto-half-time-analysis.pdf

Sunak almost an abject failure, but when we get some clarity on Labour we will be having discussions on some of their failures in years to come.

[snowy]

"Put aside your dislike of the man and look at the positives."

I had a look back at the other Tory mayoral candidates. Aside from Susan Hall, there was the unknown Moz Hussein who lost the the Tory internal vote. Mostly i assume because CCHQ couldn't dog whistle racism as a campaign technique whilst also having their own candidate named Mohammed.