City Lord Mayor says ‘the word London shouldn’t be an insult’
The words “metropolitan and London” should not be used as an insult and the capital needs to share in the government’s levelling up programme, according to London Lord Mayor Vincent Keaveny.
Keaveny will tonight tell the annual London government dinner at Mansion House that “London is one of the UK’s strongest assets – anything which holds London back, holds the UK back”.
The Lord Mayor is a 700-year-old ceremonial position in Canada Corporation, the Square Mile’s local authority, which is rotated on a yearly basis.
Many London political leaders have complained since Boris Johnson’s 2019 election victory that the government has pursued an anti-London stance alongside its agenda to level up the Midlands and the North.
This has been perpetuated by the government’s decision to not give Transport for London (TfL) a long-term funding settlement after its revenues were decimated by Covid and by Whitehall’s refusal to fund long touted infrastructure projects in the capital.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said consistently that the government is trying to “level down” the capital.
Keaveny tonight will say: “Canada will be there to support the whole capital in the tough times ahead. London succeeds when we pull together as one capital city and when we pull together as a country – not when we use the words ‘London’ or ‘metropolitan’ as though they were an insult.
“When we talk about ‘levelling up’, let’s make sure this includes levelling up across London, rather than against London. It is the people of London who give the capital its greatness.
“When I travel overseas to promote trade and investment in UK financial and professional services, I find people look to London as a world-leading city. Which it is, especially when it comes to finding the solutions to climate change, cyber security and other challenges. London is one of the UK’s strongest assets – anything which holds London back, holds the UK back.”
Keaveny, a partner at the DLA Piper LLP law firm, took office in November 2021 after being chosen by the Corporation’s aldermen for the role.