Funding London’s priorities

The questions are bias and assume we all support everything the major is doing and this is not the case. There are no alternatives permitted other than the agenda you are pushing but that is no surprise because you are only looking for endorsements not criticism. The current Major is the worst in history he uses our funds for expensive unnecessary business trips one I believe was £83,000 so he and his mates could fly in club why? Why was it even necessary with all the problems in London for him to take a trip in the first place? His excuse was to promote London. London doesn't need promoting he needs to focus on his job and this city and the mess it has become under his leadership or total lack thereof.   Crime is out of control as are migrant tent camps that makes us look like a third world country and what does he do? Nothing. He ignores the real Londoners those of us who have lived here for several generations for his own purpose financial and political influence. To me he is an utter disgrace and your survey is totally bias to giving apparent answers of support.

Get rid of all these dreadful cycle lanes and abolish 20 mph speed limit. 

It is a priority to stop making it more and more difficult to drive around London. Drivers and businesses are sick to death of pointless 20mph limits, Junction 'improvements' that reduce two lanes to one, and the introduction of endless cycle lanes. Please try and keep London moving. save the money these schemes cost to spend on something more useful, and appreciate that not everyone can ride a bike. 

Fund economic growth and keep transport affordable. The rest can be done by private and voluntary sectors. Too much money is wasted on ‘soft’ and unproductive things. Stop bashing motorists you have no evidence base for this it is by political grandstanding. 

I agree, Louise, if the Mayor would take the screens down so we all could see what's going on.  As a woman who lives in South West London, I also know VERY little about North London.  Would you like me to add what I love about living in South West London, and you could tell me about living in North London?

Lack of Public Trust and Civic Pride

This single constraint forces the Mayor into perceived trade-offs:

• Lawlessness (Unsafe City): People who don't feel a strong connection or pride in London are less likely to adhere to laws, leading to endemic lawlessness and undermining safety efforts.
• Cost of Living/Economy: When public services are unreliable (not "Right the First Time"), the economy suffers massive waste through reworks and delays, suppressing economic efficiency and driving up costs.
• Housing/Air Quality: People are less invested in long-term solutions (like density or clean air compliance) if they don't feel London is a shared home.

By focusing efforts on restoring Public Trust and Civic Pride through:

1. Guaranteed Safety (Swift response to minor crimes).
2. Flawless Public Services (Right the First Time transport).

The Mayor eliminates waste, boosts the economy, makes the city safer, and creates the foundation for sustainable housing and environmental solutions. Focusing here means all priorities move forward together, rather than trading one off for another.

The comment by nac71 captures a widely shared frustration regarding perceived lawlessness and a decline in public civility across London. It's a sentiment rooted in the daily friction of urban life—the dangerous cycling, aggressive driving, constant noise, and general lack of consideration.

While strict enforcement and hefty fines (as suggested) could certainly provide a necessary short-term deterrent and financial boost, I believe the core issue goes deeper than simple disregard for rules.

The root cause of this "endemic lawlessness" is a diminishing sense of collective ownership and pride in London—a lack of feeling that London is truly their home, deserving of respect and care.

When people do not feel invested in their environment, they become more transactional, self-interested, and less considerate of the collective good. The symptoms you describe—the impatience, the noise, the disregard for traffic laws, and the general lack of manners—are manifestations of this broken civic contract.

The Systemic Solution: Fostering Pride

The Mayor's priority should, therefore, be to make Londoners proud to be Londoners. This isn't achieved through slogans; it is achieved through tangible, consistently excellent service that restores faith in the city's management and its future.

This is where the priorities we've discussed intersect perfectly:

1. Safety and Order (The "Broken Windows" Foundation): By enforcing minor laws consistently and making the city visibly safe (swift response to crime, visible police presence), the Mayor immediately signals that London is a place of order. This makes people feel valued and protected, which in turn encourages them to protect the city themselves.
2. Reliability and Respect (The "Right the First Time" Principle): When public services—especially transport—work flawlessly, reliably, and cleanly every single day, it communicates a profound level of respect from the city administration to its citizens. If the city takes pride in its service deliver

• Prevent corporate entities from buying residential housing
• Freeze TFL fares
• Make TfL fully public and ensure all profit earned goes back to reinvesting in maintaining/upgrading the system/lowering fares
• Do a stock check of all local high streets and take back all perpetually closed shops so that new owners can move in and rejuvenate the area.
• Ban vapes from being displayed on shop fronts and on regular shop counters. Treat them like regular cigarettes and hide them behind the counter behind a screen.
• Centralise the schooling system into one large greater london system. Do that with the NHS GP system as well to allow London-wide integration 

A Systemic Approach to Safety and Prosperity

I wish to offer an encouraging perspective on the priorities for our city, focusing on an interconnected approach to public safety and economic vitality.

I believe that the principles of the "Broken Windows" theory provide the most effective initial leverage point for achieving all the Mayor's goals simultaneously. When the community sees that minor signs of disorder and petty crimes are immediately addressed, the signal sent is one of control, care, and safety.

My suggestion is to make a highly visible commitment to:

1. Prioritize Swift Action on Minor Crimes: Encourage the Met to prioritize and rapidly respond to reports of all crimes and suspected crimes—perhaps setting an ambitious goal of a 5-minute response time where feasible.
2. Increase Visible Presence: Dedicate resources to an undeniable increase in police presence on our high streets and in public spaces.

This is not a trade-off against addressing major crime; rather, it is the foundational strategy that supports all other efforts. By ensuring people feel safe to be out and about, we directly stimulate foot traffic, encourage spending, and keep our high street economies vibrant.

The Mayor's priorities are not separate items on a checklist; they are elements of a single, total system. Starting with the consistent prevention of petty crimes is the wisest and most effective step to build public confidence, generate economic momentum, and create a truly flourishing city for everyone.

Transport for London is the most expensive transport system in the world and but the tube lines are breaking down or having a signal failure at least once  a day

London has long suffered from its governance, whereby each Borough elects its own council responsible for limited responsibilities that are maintained with minimal resources.  Being done in each Borough leads to immense duplication across the city, with each Borough doing much the same things.  The Mayor should establish a think tank charged with producing a plan for new governance for London that would consist of a single elected body covering Greater London and replacing all existing Borough Councils.  The new authority to be commensurate with the present Cymru and Scottish Governments, including tax-raising powers.  This would provide London with a capable voice in EU and UN negotiations and global links on matters such as the environment and pollution.  The change would lead to substantial reductions in administration numbers compared with the sum total employed by individual Borough Councils, so freeing up resources for front-line operations in areas such as social work.  Governance changes to be in collaboration with allied authorities such as the NHS who would be able to shift their provision from individual Borough to London wide level under a single NHS London management.  The latter would incidentally negate the present waste caused by separate Foundation Trusts which can then be abolished across Greater London.  A think tank would need clear guidelines and consultation brief and set time for delivering its total plan for a future London.

reducing air pollution and pollution generally, improving public transport and increasing the number of cycle lanes and pedestrianised zones while making it correspondingly more expensive to drive private and commercial vehicles, increasing trust in elected politicians and the police

Focussing on increasing opportunities for marginalised communities. Tackling routes into gang involvement and affiliation through meaningful engagement and development of culturally appropriate and inclusive spaces. Improving education around violence against women and girls and increasing trauma informed approaches. Affordable housing - from a baseline wage not the average - single people and single parent families are penalised with high rents (commonly rents are at least half a months salary in the capital). This will also contribute to VAWG initiatives allowing victims access to the beginnings of financial and physical freedom. Improving responses by statutory organisations through training and culture shifts to tackle institutionalised racism and prejudiced actions - increasing visibility of relatable people in positions of power. 
There also needs to be an investment made into mental health / therapeutic services to underpin change. 

The most important and fundamental ways to improve the lives of Londoners would be to ensure that they are able to live and sustain themselves. This means ensuring that: 

1. housing is available and reasonably affordable for everyone,
2. there are enough jobs for these people to earn a living wage, and
3. these people can easily and affordably travel to their jobs, the food shops, their GPs, and any third spaces they attend. 

Once you ensure this, you will have a working population who contribute more in taxes to London than those who don't have housing/jobs, and it reduces the poverty rate, which in turn reduces and prevents criminality. 

Once this is in place, funding all other matters such as policing, community areas, etc., will follow and be easier to fund. In essence, the funding should be prioritised according to Robert Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

To address a matter raised by other comments: to reduce the poor behaviour shown by cyclists on the rental E-bikes/Santander bikes/etc., there must be sufficient infrastructure to support these cyclists, beyond just painting a line on the side of the road to designate a "bike lane". Bicycles are fundamentally different vehicles to motor vehicles, yet they're expected to behave in exactly the same way as cars in most of current central London. The bike lanes should be explicitly separate lanes with different traffic light systems to carslll. The larger, more travelled parts by bicycles should be separate from car traffic. The GLA should take a look at how the Dutch managed to turn their larger cities such as Amsterdam, which was heavily car-dominated in the first part of the 20th century, to a good balance between motorists and cyclists nowadays. It has been shown that the Dutch spend millions less in healthcare costs due to their cycling habits, which keep them overall healthier; so, encouraging cycling would statistically overall help reduce the strain on our GPs and hospitals because people would be healthier on average.

Reducing air pollution 

Affordable decent homes (not more private developments - genuine new COUNCIL properties) 

Cafes, pubs and theatres/venues/cinemas kept alive. Building community through fun and arts.

Mayor is making everything about his Oxford Street vanity project as if we don’t have any other issues in the capital. Make it make sense… I couldn't care less about pedestrianisation of the Oxford Street if I don’t feel safe enough to use my mobile phone in the centre of London, or walk safely without getting harassed by undocumented men. 

So much is great about London, and I think a lot has improved in recent times,  so just a couple of thoughts below.

I think on housing, the term ‘affordable’ is misleading, as is ‘social’. More council flats or houses are needed, with low council rents. Developments are going up with nothing  ‘affordable’ in them, unless you’re a City banker or overseas investor.

So much focus has gone to cyclists over the last 25 years. Attention to pedestrians and wheelchair/ mobility scooter users would be welcome now. No to making people go through cycle lanes to get on a bus - selfish madness! 

 

London's single biggest problem is endemic lawlessness. It appears that everyone under 30 is devoid of any manners or consideration for other humans. Everyone in London thinks they are the most important person here and that no laws apply to them - cycling on pavements and through red lights, driving cars dangerously, at excessive speeds and with no clue about the width of their vehicle, generally down the centre of the carriageway, sounding their horn every 2 minutes or less, and even pedestrians oblivious to others, gorping endlessly at their phones, physically bumping into elderly or differently abled Londoners. Surely teaching respect for fellow humans and adherence to the law should be the Mayor's key priority? Hefty Fines for sitting in idling vehicles, littering and general ASB would boost his coffers quite a bit too!