People's Question Time Online

With many of the city's commuters not returning en masse any time soon (and the footfall in general projected to drop), how does the Mayor plan to develop and support satellite/commuter towns to spread business, culture, and leisure out of the centre and closer to where people live? And on a related note, how does the Mayor plan to keep the city centre thriving without the commuter population?

From Ebola to SARS to the avian flu, epidemiologists, the media, doctors and the pharmaceutical lobby have systematically attuned the world to grim catastrophic scenarios and the dangers of new, menacing infectious diseases.

With the deaths and hospitilisations from respiriatory illness now just at seasonal norms, and it is clear the Covid epidemic has passed. Will the Major now fight for the future of London against all the lobbies that are profiting from the situation, and save London. We need to end the curfew and all the other unnecessary restrictions asap.

The prime minister much telegraphed 'leveling up' promise could threaten Londons success as resources and jobs are transferred to the regions. How do we best safeguard London from Conservative asset stripping of London? I see evidence of this in the unfair treatment of TFL in relation to regional rail companies as a result of covid impacts of passenger numbers.

Could you advise why Mayor of London has had to seek a financial bailout which now has implications for Londoners? On what has the London Assembly utilised the money it has raised over the years?

Today the complications of renting a home are difficult and the whole situation of rights of access to property are unfavourable to the tenant. Would you and the city council consider a drastic change to how property is owned and leased, using Henry George's 1879 proposal (in his classical book "Progress and Poverty") for a single tax on land values, or at least a move in this direction?

Why is London in financial difficulty considering it is the financial Centre of Europe? 

Events Industry Eradication

 Industry leaders In London and UK have said the valuable event industry  is on red alert and with an absence of support means the entire supply chain is at risk of total collapse.

Is The Mayor going to advocate for the industry and provide immediate support to save London businesses and jobs before they are eradicated for good?

Can London fashion week be stopped, or else made more useful by

- mainly virtual show

- exhibitors provide a reference from a UK manufacturer

- manufacturers' names to show alongside the exhibitor  name, so both benefit for no extra cost. [footnote 1]

- no preference to fashion graduates in run-up shows

- prices based on reasonable cost plus markup; no great premium for the design element, which is open to abuse when selling with export credit guarantees: a large proportion of buyers agree a ridiculous price and then don't pay, I'm told.

- British Fashion Council (if it continues) to be briefed to provide as much data as possible for writing directories of UK factories, and making sure that each organization knows how to refer trade customer to exhibit.

- Or else have the trade show run by a real organization like London Edge or Make it British.

[Footnote: I know there's an Oxford Economics report saying that "Fashion" is a big part of the economy, but that's commissioned by British Fashion Council and firms like British Home Stores, so it's a bit biassed. It adds-up a lot of retail and assumes it useful; that's the bulk of what it says. It tries to suggest flow of money through the economy from staff and shareholders of firms like BHS, but admits that nobody has figures. We know from the labels that nearly all the clothes in these shops are cheap imports, so it's unlikely that there's an benefit to the economy other than that a shop exists, and retail of some kind has to exist anyway. There's another report on the value of British Fashion Week but that's also from someone paid by British Fashion Council so no a good guide. It's very keen on column-inches, and footfall, and grand estimates of exports which might be of Chinese-made clothing anyway, and might crowd-out exports and coverage of products made in the UK]

By extending the ULEZ scheme to the South and North Circular you will be hitting those that could least afford it. Look at Central London now and what has happened to the shopping & entertainment industries. Londoners cannot afford to go into London and enjoy the city now. Who is going to do shopping and heave their bags on the tube.

Total hypocrisy stating that London is open for business. I do not accept that the environment has benefited one iota due to these excessive charges as people still need to get to work, deliveries still need to be made. Not many can afford a new electric car and even if everyone went electric, you still do not have enough charging points, batteries that can last long enough as capacity fades during time, fast enough charging for all.....The technology is not being matched by practicality. 

Congestion in the main, is caused by poor road planning, closing off roads, cycle lanes, poor traffic light phasing, poor works (gas, water, lec...)planning, red parking boxes/bus stops in stupid locations, many causing 2 lane traffic flows into one lane. I do believe that Lewisham council is following your model and it is a total disaster. The Catford gyratory is chaos every morning and evening, the South Circular (A205) is a parking lot every day and still relief roads are being closed. Is the plan to make congestion then charge Londoners to pay for it. Can you not see what you are doing???

You will only be happy when London is just Chicken and Betting shops. Can you not understand that cycling and walking is not convenient or even possible for most people???

Mr Mayor...you are making our city into an online marketplace, empty shops, streets and cycle lanes........