The 2024 London Mayoral Election

[DC1989]

I think Hall will do much better than expected. Though with a better candidate they surely could have won this. Hall appeals to the die hards but won't win too many swing voters. I doubt she'll win a single inner borough. I think this is why she is now talking about expanding the night tube etc

Personally I do like the addition of mayors but they need real powers

 

[YorkRailFan]

I think Hall will do much better than expected. Though with a better candidate they surely could have one this. Hall appeals to the die hards but won't win too swing voters. I doubt she'll win a single inner borough. I think this is why she is now talking about expanding the night tube etc

Personally I do like the addition of mayors but they need real powers

Reform's rise and Reform having a candidate at this election (Howard Cox) doesn't help Hall's chances at winning.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Has any candidate, apart from Count Binface, published their manifestos yet? There seem to be various announcements but not seen all their policies set out anywhere. There are a number of unclear statements about Sadiq Kahn wanting to set up a publically owned bus company but its not clear if this is an operator of last resort like the old East Thames buses or something else.

The LibDem manifesto for London is here: https://www.londonlibdems.org.uk/robblackie/our-manifesto

 

[Thirteen]

It's maddening that we haven't seen the manifesto from either Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall, you would have thought with two weeks before the election, it would be available.

 

[Enthusiast]

It's maddening that we haven't seen the manifesto from either Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall, you would have thought with two weeks before the election, it would be available.

Building a fairer, safer, greener London for all.

Read our new manifesto for the mayoral election. Vote Labour 2 May.

sadiq.london

My Plan

A Mayor who listens. Vote for change on May 2nd.

www.susan.london

 

[YorkRailFan]

Has any candidate, apart from Count Binface, published their manifestos yet? There seem to be various announcements but not seen all their policies set out anywhere. There are a number of unclear statements about Sadiq Kahn wanting to set up a publically owned bus company but its not clear if this is an operator of last resort like the old East Thames buses or something else.

The Green Party's Manifesto:

Green Party launches its London Manifesto in Walthamstow today with a commitment to deal with the housing crisis, cutting daily living costs for Londoners and making the city safer.

Zoë Garbett, who is standing as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London, said:

“London isn’t working for too many people in our city. We need a plan to refocus London for the workers and renters of our city.

“That’s what this Manifesto is about. Not a mayor sitting in City Hall, but a campaign on the side of workers and renters in every workplace, neighbourhood and community.

“For so many Londoners, the problems of our city start at home. As a private renter, I know how unaffordable London is. I know how unsecure it can feel when you know that your landlord can hike rents or kick you out with little notice.

“In our manifesto, we set out how we will tackle this. Big ideas, bold plans, rooted firmly in what Londoners are saying and need. That’s what the Green Party is about – being on the side of workers, of renters, of people.

“The time for a Green Mayor of London is now.”

The policies the Green Party would introduce to address the inequality across London include:

Reduce transport costs, including by extending free bus travel to under 22s, providing free bus travel to people seeking asylum and reinstating free pre-9am travel for Freedom Pass and 60+ Oyster card holders.
Provide free school meals for primary and secondary school children.
Set up a rent commission to get a better deal for renters – by not only introducing a rent freeze, but ultimately bringing down rents.
Make the Met earn that trust and confidence of communities, reducing the use of stop and search on young people and deprioritising the policing of drugs.
The party held the event in zone three to draw attention to the fact many Londoners have been priced out of more central areas where they lived in, grew up in and called home and were moving to boroughs like Waltham Forest or further.

The Green Party Deputy leader and Green London Assembly member, Zack Polanski, said:

“London should be a national and global leader but when it comes to housing our city has some of the most expensive and worse quality homes in the country. The current Labour Mayor has not done enough to address this.

“One of our key commitments in this manifesto is that we will deal with the lack of affordable and good quality housing right across the City.

“As a Green Mayor of London, Zoë will demand rent control power and will introduce a two-year rent freeze as soon as we get them. We will also set up a Rent Commission to look at bringing down private rents.”

“The time is now.” – Green Party launches manifesto for London. - London Green Party

Green Party launches its London Manifesto in Walthamstow today with a commitment to deal with the housing crisis, cutting daily living costs for Londoners and making the city safer. Zoë Garbett, who is standing as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London, said: “London isn’t working for...

london.greenparty.org.uk

 

[Thirteen]

Sadiq Khan's manifesto is solid although why is the DLR B23 rollout going to take 4 years, I don't know. The Bakerloo Line stock replacement seems to be a key pledge as well, nothing on the tram replacments but that is going to happen anyway.

That's just leaves Susan Hall, she's cutting it fine not launching her manifesto yet.

 

[YorkRailFan]

That's just leaves Susan Hall, she's cutting it fine not launching her manifesto yet.

Reform's Howard Cox hasn't published his manifesto as of yet either.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Sadiq Khan's manifesto is solid although why is the DLR B23 rollout going to take 4 years, I don't know. The Bakerloo Line stock replacement seems to be a key pledge as well, nothing on the tram replacments but that is going to happen anyway.

That's just leaves Susan Hall, she's cutting it fine not launching her manifesto yet.

Just had a look through Sadiq's manifesto to see what he is promising on transport (Starts on page 58 of the manifesto, under the section 'Keeping London moving). The only eye-catching new thing is that he's suggesting a 2nd Superloop. It doesn't specify whether that would be inside or outside the current one. Everything else looks like slow evolutions of what has been happening so far anyway. He mentions pushing for TfL to take over more rail services and the usual rail extensions: Bakerloo, West London Orbital and DLR to Thamesmead, safeguarding the Crossrail2 route, and improving safety at more road junctions.

 

[birchesgreen]

Just had a look through Sadiq's manifesto to see what he is promising on transport (Starts on page 58 of the manifesto, under the section 'Keeping London moving). The only eye-catching new thing is that he's suggesting a 2nd Superloop. It doesn't specify whether that would be inside or outside the current one. Everything else looks like slow evolutions of what has been happening so far anyway. He mentions pushing for TfL to take over more rail services and the usual rail extensions: Bakerloo, West London Orbital and DLR to Thamesmead, safeguarding the Crossrail2 route, and improving safety at more road junctions.

Suspect inside as the existing superloop brushes the edge of London.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

That's just leaves Susan Hall, she's cutting it fine not launching her manifesto yet.

Somewhat amusingly, her 'plan' - which is still the only set of proposals prominently linked to from her website - still ends with the statement:

My full manifesto will launch in early 2024, after Sadiq Khan's final budget is released.

According to https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/governance-and-spending/spending-money-wisely/mayors-budget, the budget was released on 14 February. (Assuming 'final draft' does mean the actual thing)

 

[Mojo]

lt’s all so uninspiring for transport isn’t it?

A series of relatively cheap wins to improve transport in outer London rather than another network of slow buses would be to build new platforms at locations where existing rail lines cross, but where there is no interchange.

 

[deltic]

lt’s all so uninspiring for transport isn’t it?

A series of relatively cheap wins to improve transport in outer London rather than another network of slow buses would be to build new platforms at locations where existing rail lines cross, but where there is no interchange.

The Mayor can deliver on buses but rail is dependent on third parties which as we know means years of delay and exorbitant costs to achieve

 

[sprunt]

Reform's Howard Cox hasn't published his manifesto as of yet either.

Be fair, it can't be easy to make "We hate London and everything about it" seem like an appealing manifesto in a London-based election.

 

[DC1989]

Part of the issue is that the places that vote for Tories/Reform don't consider themselves to live in London anyway. Go to Orpington and tell them they live in London instead of Kent or go to Upminster and tell them they aren't Essex and people would have fits

 

[Thirteen]

I think Susan Hall making scrapping ULEZ her main promise has somewhat backfired and even her campaign to make her look friendlier to Londoner was too little, too late.

A moderate Tory candidate similar to Andy Street could win the Mayoralty and it'll take a third defeat in a row for the Tories to realise that.

 

[ScottGallagher]

Would be good to have a non politician, self starter which is why back in the day I did think Alan Sugar would have been be a good shout assuming he'd even have considered it.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Would be good to have a non politician, self starter which is why back in the day I did think Alan Sugar would have been be a good shout assuming he'd even have considered it.

That's Count Binface surely.

 

[Enthusiast]

Part of the issue is that the places that vote for Tories/Reform don't consider themselves to live in London anyway. Go to Orpington and tell them they live in London instead of Kent or go to Upminster and tell them they aren't Essex and people would have fits

That's because places like Orpington and Upminster have nothing in common with London at all, They are former Urban Districts and I would be surprised if Mayor Khan could locate them on a map. You can surely forgive somebody living somewhere like this for considering they don't live in London:

51.376557,0.137905 | Instant Street View

51.376557,0.137905 | Instant Street View

www.instantstreetview.com

This is a house on East Hall Road, which runs from the east of Orpington town towards the M25. Despite being surrounded by open farmland, it is inside London's ULEZ zone, meaning the occupants of that house cannot drive a non-compliant car the half mile or so to the Kent border without paying £12.50; it is about a mile and a half from the nearest TfL bus stop (via an unlit lane with no footpath); it is about eight or nine miles from the nearest Overground station at Penge or Sydenham. I imagine that house is in Council Tax band E or F, so the occupants will pay £576 or £680 in the form of a GLA precept. They could also be forgiven for wondering what they get for that money or why they should bother voting for any of the mayoral candidates.

 

[Thirteen]

Susan Hall's manifesto is finally released:

Manifesto

www.susan.london

 

[Typhoon]

Susan Hall's manifesto:

Manifesto

www.susan.london

I almost considered suggesting this post is in the wrong place. You have to go a long, long way down that web page before coming across the word 'Conservative'.

And, without wishing to appear like a typical Conservative councillor at election time when faced with manifestos adorned with red, orange or green, 'Where is the money go to come from?'

 

[birchesgreen]

I almost considered suggesting this post is in the wrong place. You have to go a long, long way down that web page before coming across the word 'Conservative'.

Same as Andy Street's manifesto, which came in the colours of the suffragettes, in his 175 page document which handily can be viewed as a PDF, you can then do a count for the word "conservative" - 1.

 

[Thirteen]

I think Susan Hall is desperate to disassociate herself with the main party but she's not sold herself to Londoners why she'd be better than Sadiq Khan.

 

[londonbridge]

Today I’ve received in the post the booklet listing all candidates, both for the Mayor and the London Assembley, and explaining how and when to vote, what forms of photo ID are acceptable, etc.

 

[Typhoon]

Same as Andy Street's manifesto, which came in the colours of the suffragettes, in his 175 page document which handily can be viewed as a PDF, you can then do a count for the word "conservative" - 1.

At least he has a track record ...

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I almost considered suggesting this post is in the wrong place. You have to go a long, long way down that web page before coming across the word 'Conservative'.

Indeed. It seems the ONLY occurrence of the word in the actual manifesto is buried in the small print right at the end, where it gives the address of the promoters as Conservative Campaign Headequarters.

But a big *sigh* from me. You don't even need to read 30 seconds into the blurb accompanying the manifesto before you get a whopping great implied lie... Sadiq Khan’s pay-per-mile plans will be cancelled. Except of course that Sadiq Khan has no such plans. (Regrettably to my mind. If Sadiq did have any plans to do that, I'd vote for him in an instant). And I see she's also gone back to using the silly and inflammatory war on motorists rhetoric too with a 'stop the war on motorists' subheader.

Somehow I don't think Susan Hall is even remotely in the same class as someone like Andy Street as a politician.

 

[Thirteen]

Indeed. It seems the ONLY occurrence of the word in the actual manifesto is buried in the small print right at the end, where it gives the address of the promoters as Conservative Campaign Headequarters.

But a big *sigh* from me. You don't even need to read 30 seconds into the blurb accompanying the manifesto before you get a whopping great implied lie... Sadiq Khan’s pay-per-mile plans will be cancelled. Except of course that Sadiq Khan has no such plans. (Regrettably to my mind. If Sadiq did have any plans to do that, I'd vote for him in an instant). And I see she's also gone back to using the silly and inflammatory war on motorists rhetoric too with a 'stop the war on motorists' subheader.

Somehow I don't think Susan Hall is even remotely in the same class as someone like Andy Street as a politician.

I think the fact she uses Sadiq Khan's name so much in the manifesto doesn't strike me with confidence.

The Evening Standard podcast mentioned that while Hall is slightly ahead in Outer London, in Inner London Sadiq Khan is miles ahead and the fact she's only slightly ahead in Outer London is not good.

 

[londonbridge]

But a big *sigh* from me. You don't even need to read 30 seconds into the blurb accompanying the manifesto before you get a whopping great implied lie... Sadiq Khan’s pay-per-mile plans will be cancelled. Except of course that Sadiq Khan has no such plans. (Regrettably to my mind. If Sadiq did have any plans to do that, I'd vote for him in an instant).

Depends on which news organisations you believe. Apparently there are documents in circulation at TFL which refer to a pay-per-mile scheme called “Project Detroit”. However, Khan has denied all knowledge of such a scheme, yet he is chairman of TFL……would the chairman of an organisation really have no idea of a major scheme being developed by that organisation?…….you decide who’s telling the truth……

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Depends on which news organisations you believe. Apparently there are documents in circulation at TFL which refer to a pay-per-mile scheme called “Project Detroit”. However, Khan has denied all knowledge of such a scheme, yet he is chairman of TFL……would the chairman of an organisation really have no idea of a major scheme being developed by that organisation?…….you decide who’s telling the truth……

FullFact have looked into this. It seems Project Detroit is a platform under development that implements charging for things like the congestion charge - due to replace the current platform. And I looks like TfL are (presumably with Sadiq's approval) making sure that it is designed in such a way that it won't preclude more general road charging in the future, so it won't need to be completely replaced again if a future mayor decides to implement general road charging: but Sadiq has explicitly ruled out doing that while he is mayor.

In a response to a Freedom of Information request published in December 2022, TfL said that the platform’s scope was to “replicate the capability of the existing charging system that processes automatic number plate recognition events” and support existing road-charging schemes such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and the Congestion Charge.

It added that the platform “has the capability to be extended and we will be looking to build the system flexibly so that other forms of charging based on distance, vehicle type, etc., could be catered for if a decision was made in future to do so”.

 

[Thirteen]

Susan Hall’s campaign has been far too negative IMO and the rebranding to A Mayor who Listens campaign came far too late.

Also, scrapping some of the TfL staff perks would lead to strike action and I suspect Andy Lord would tell her straight up it's not going to happen;