Following conference with Amsterdam Mayor, Zoë Garbett AM pushes London Mayor to stop drug deaths

Earlier this month, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett spoke alongside Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close, and other leaders at the 6th European Harm Reduction Conference in Warsaw, Poland. [1] 

The only representative among London’s elected officials to attend the conference, Zoë reflected on the resistance she’s faced in pushing London’s Mayor and his team to take up better strategies to drugs that meaningfully reduce drug deaths. [2]  

Indeed, when the UK is spending at least £26 billion per year tackling a drug supply that is only becoming more toxic, more violent, and more costly, it is mystifying that London’s Mayor refuses to consider a change in strategy. [3]  

Particularly given the Met Police Commissioner’s forecast of possible funding cuts leading to loss of 2,300 officers, Zoë urged the Mayor to join his European counterparts in the wider conversation around lessening drug harm. [4] 

Following the exchange, Zoë said: 

“For the leader of the largest city in Europe, the Mayor’s lack of leadership on reducing drug harm is not only shocking, but is in fact deadly for so many in our city.  

“He’s let his Drugs Commission lag, he watched on as his Met Commissioner mocked even the idea of regulating drugs, yet he has failed to produce any meaningful alternative to tackling London’s drug crisis. 

“So while I appreciate his willingness to engage his team with families who have lost loved ones to drugs, I hope to see more movement toward harm reduction in the new year.”