Austerity 2.0: Sadiq Khan urges Rishi Sunak not to ‘level down London’

Sadiq Khan has urged prime minister Rishi Sunak not to “level down London” ahead of warnings over public spending cuts dubbed ‘Austerity 2.0’.

The London mayor repeated his call for the government to allow City Hall to freeze private rents, during a keynote speech at the London Conference today (Tuesday, November 1).

He also wants benefits to be increased in line with inflation, and free school meals for all children, he told delegates at the flagship Centre for London event.

It comes ahead of the prime minister and chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement expected later this month, with fiscal measures to calm markets prompted by the economic chaos following the turmoil surrounding Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘mini-budget’.

Speaking at the University of London venue, My Khan said: "We can’t level up the country by levelling down London.”

He said: “It’s my firm belief that to help our communities through this terrible cost of living crisis - and get growth back - we need more devolution and sustained investment, not swingeing cuts.

“I’m championing the London Living Wage and investing heavily in our skills and retraining schemes, in a Green New Deal for London and in our Anchor Institutions programme.

“These initiatives are about creating the high-wage, high-quality jobs Londoners deserve.”

And Mr Khan added: “This is a serious, sustainable, inclusive growth plan, not Singapore on Thames or Austerity 2.0. It’s one that’s designed to help make sure our city works for everyone.

“The London promise - the idea that if you work hard, you get a helping hand, and you can achieve anything - is under serious threat as economic forces are rapidly eroding any expectation that the next generation will be better off than the last.

“My message to the new prime minister today is to work with me and invest in London if you want to grow the national economy, level up other regions and raise living standards.”

He continued: “Because the UK only works when London works – and vice versa, and I’ll always be willing to put party politics aside in the best interests of our capital and country.

“We must get our economy firing on all cylinders.

“This means devolving more powers, funding and resources to London so we can ensure our city works for all our communities, and so we can help power the national recovery.”

During his address, minister for London Paul Scully, and Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam, said: “We know that local authorities in London are very much cut to the bone.

“[But] there’s a challenging spending review and the chancellor will set a really challenging target because we have to.

“That’s going to be the same for local authorities.”

He added: “I know that boroughs in particular have faced their fair share of challenges in recent years but have also responded brilliantly.

“Councils have been frontline in helping residents who are struggling with the cost of living, particularly the elderly and vulnerable.”

And he asked councils to “work more collaboratively”, stressing: “We’re having to do it in our government departments as well.”