Khan: Nothing to help London in any meaningful way in spending review
London mayor Sadiq Khan has given a damning verdict on chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review.
Khan said measure announced in the spending review wouldn’t boost the capital in “any meaningful way”.
The mayor said the economic forecasts make for grim reading, but “making Londoners poorer” was not the answer.
“London’s success is integral to our country’s – but there was nothing in today’s statement to help London in any meaningful way.”
The mayor urged the chancellor to plug the £1.1bn funding shortfall facing London councils.
“Right now, businesses across our hospitality sector in London are on a financial knife edge facing more restrictions over winter but without the grants and Government support they need to stay afloat. The same applies to our retail, leisure and culture sectors…
“It also remains a scandal that 3 million people across the UK are still receiving absolutely no Government help at all – including around 200,000 self-employed people in the capital.
“At the same time, the Government seems intent on ushering in a new era of austerity in London that will choke off our economic recovery at a time when businesses are facing huge uncertainty with the end of the Brexit transition period in just over a month.
However one organisation which lobbies for the capital, London First, welcomed many of the spending pledges, particularly committment to finisihing the long-delayed Crossrail.
However Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of London First, said of the £4bn fund to “level-up the UK”:
“Levelling-up the north does not mean doing down London. It’s vital that deprived areas in the capital – some of the most deprived in the country – will be able to fairly access the fund, and not be unnecessarily sidelined.”