Sadiq Khan's manifesto- what support is he pledging for struggling Londoners?

The next local election- where we can vote for our local councillors or mayors- is going to be held on May 2. For the almost 9 million people in London, Sadiq Khan is running for mayor again, He says: “London is inclusive, generous and outward-looking – a place that is open to all. I’ll always defend our compassionate, progressive, internationalist and anti-racist values. They not only make London special, but the greatest city in the world.”

Sadiq Khan sees his re-election manifesto as a ‘step toward a decade of national renewal’ in which he pledges to make London fairer, greener, safer, prosperous and more affordable.

We’ve broken his re-election manifesto down, focusing on how he’s pledging to help Londoners who are struggling financially, and those hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.

 A more affordable London

London’s labour council have already made notable efforts to help Londoners throughout the cost of living crisis- providing, universal free school meals to all state primary pupils and introducing yet another annual TfL fares freeze.

TfL fares freeze

Khan pledges to continue freezing TfL fares as long as economic conditions allow if re-elected.

He’d already made fares 14% lower than they would have been if they’d risen with National Rail fares and 21% lower than if they’d risen in line with RPI since 2016. 

Free school meals and holiday clubs

Noting that he relied on free school meals, Khan pledges to continue help save parents and carers up to £1,000 a year to make universal free school meals permanent in state primary schools.

He also pledges to making sure the holiday hunger scheme continues- with aims to provide more than 10 million meals to young Londoners during the school holidays. 

To help more families out of term time, he promises to invest in a new Holiday Hope policy which will provide youth services and activities during the school holidays- including working with partners to provide free access to sports facilities for children outside of term time. 

Childcare

Sadiq Khan pledges to reform childcare and early years support for Londoners. He aims to do this by working with City Hall to make sure no parent misses out on available support by making childcare entitlements an explicit part of their work with advice services in London.

And he’ll work with London’s anchor institutions and Good Work Standard employers to roll out policies that support workers with young children.

Wages

The London Living Wage has risen by 40% since Sadiq Khan took office. He wants this to continue by working with partners like Citizens Advice and the London Legal Support Trust to provide essential advice services.

He states that this work has already put more than £25 million back into the pockets of low-income Londoners.

Multibanks

He pledges to invest support in multibanks- where Londoners in need can have access to a range of essentials as well as advice and wider support to help them get back on their feet.

Housing

After delivering on the government’s target of building 116,000 new genuinely affordable homes, Khan pledges to continue investing in new council housing and, if Labour are elected in the next general election, commit to building at least 40,000 new council homes by 2030. 

He also wants to improve social housing conditions by working with boroughs to expand the use of technology to solve problems, like sensors to detect and take action on damp and mould in homes, and enforce against fly tipping and pollution.

Renters

The Mayor has already been committed in supporting renters rights by lobbying the government to ban tenant fees, scrap Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and  freeze London rents during the cost-of-living crisis.

He wants to pledge more support by building new Rent Control Homes, which will see rents capped and linked to the incomes of key workers. The first phase of the Rent Control Homes initiative will see 6,000 being built across the city – in areas where they are needed most. 

If Labour is elected at the next general election, he will also deliver a New Deal for Renters in London to ensure they can take action against the poorest performing landlords.

He will also back renters to defend their rights, with advice and guidance, which includes funding for groups such as renters’ unions. Lastly, he wants to hold all landlords to account on housing standards, including freezing any funding they get from City Hall when necessary.