Only a few weeks ago, Westcroft Leisure Centre’s sports hall was turned into the stage for the first ever People’s Question Time held in the borough of Sutton, with the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. Chairman Steve O’Connell opened the session by extending the warm and welcoming statement “as far as I’m concerned, you are in London”, to the constituents in attendance.
Inviting questions on the topics of transport, safety, air quality and environment, housing, and growing London’s economy, Mayor Sadiq Khan gave prompt and detailed answers on a range of questions asked by the audience.
In regards to transport, predictably, most of the questions challenged the abysmal service and strikes that have plagued Southern Rail users since April of last year. The Mayor noted that Sutton is the “worst served borough in London for public transport”, and recognised that “southern has let you down”.
Addressing the fight for TfL to gain control of the railways, Khan called on transport secretary Chris Grayling to “stop playing party politics with our lives”, and urged constituents to “put pressure on the government and put pressure on Chris Grayling”. Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, supported this, agreeing that “it’s time the government strip Southern of their franchise”.
Answering questions on housing, the Mayor recognised that “housing is the number one issue facing Londoners today”, with the average age of a first-time buyer now being 30. Khan described himself as “a proud man who was raised as a boy on a council estate”, and simultaneously addressed the frequently debated issue of the living wage, pledging to make sure “you do a hard day’s work and you get a decent day’s pay”.
Apart from this, the Mayor proposed to make London “the first dementia-friendly city in the world”, and discussed youth crime, recognising that “the vast majority (of young people) are a credit to themselves and their families”.
Famous for his emphasis on a culturally-diverse and welcoming London, the Mayor vowed that “as a mayor for all Londoners, we make sure that London is a city for all Londoners like you”.
Tahreem Khan, Nonsuch High School for Girls.
