Sadiq Khan has left it far too late to try to salvage some sort of political legacy as a ‘fun Mayor’ now. It will take more than a few picnic tables to wipe the memory of a decade of failure in office.
Londoners are a smart and pragmatic electorate. They will expect to see credible, well-researched, and fully costed proposals. Empty rhetoric – no matter how loudly or repetitively it is deployed – will not be enough.
The road back from the political wilderness that we Conservatives find ourselves in today runs through Chelsea, Chiswick and Chingford just as much as it runs though Clacton, Cheltenham or Chesterfield.
This is the inspiration behind London Vision Network, a new think tank for London. The Conservative success in winning the Mayoralty in 2008 laid the groundwork to challenge the dominance of New Labour.
I want to see a comprehensive review of our Green Belt to locate land that isn’t contributing to communities. Then we could deliver the homes we need for our young people.
The problems faced by both Soho residents and those who run the concentration of licensed premises that they live next door to will not be solved either by hardcore NIMBYism or by muscular interventionism from City Hall.