Sadiq Khan allies claim Number 10 is trying to weaken City Hall
Allies of Sadiq Khan are worried the government is making a concerted attempt to transfer power away from City Hall.
The mayor of London has had a series of conflicts with the government, beginning with a set of conditions placed on a £1.6bn TfL bailout from the government.
The terms of the bailout saw Boris Johnson put people on the board of TfL and effectively strip away some of Khan’s powers as the head of the transport body.
Khan has also threatened to cut funding to public services, after City Hall suffered a blow to its revenues due to coronavirus, unless the government provides financial assistance.
The budget black hole also led Khan to announce he would be moving City Hall away from its Southwark location to Newham in East London to save £11m a year.
People close to Khan told The Observer that Johnson’s staff in Number 10 – some of whom worked at City Hall when he was mayor – are trying to transfer power away from the mayor of London to Whitehall.
One senior Labour source told The Observer: “They are taking funding away from London and restricting the power of the mayoralty at every possible opportunity.”
Several of the Prime Minister’s senior staff worked at City Hall when Johnson was mayor between 2008 and 2016.
This includes chief of staff Eddie Lister, Policy Unit chief Munira Mizra and transport adviser Andrew Gilligan.
A City Hall Tory source denied there was any power grab directed at Khan.
They told the Observer: “You’ve got a situation where, most of the time, you’re going to get a Labour mayor.
“That means having to be prepared to work with a Conservative government, but he hasn’t shown the slightest inkling of wanting to do that.”