London Mayor Expresses Optimism for Forthcoming Budget

London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed his “hopeful” outlook regarding the chancellor’s budget announcement scheduled for 30 October. Khan conveyed to Eddie Nestor of BBC London, “For the first time since I’ve been mayor I have got a government working with me, it’s lovely.” He further stated, “What I’ve seen from Rachel Reeves, from Keir Starmer, from other members of the cabinet, are policies that will lead to growth.” Mr. Khan articulated his desire for the budget to provide an “injection” of funding directed towards the NHS, educational institutions, Transport for London (TfL), and council housing. He elaborated, saying, “The key thing I want from the government is evidence of a partnership approach.” He continued, “A chancellor who will work with us for the benefit of the capital city, Londoners, and our country.” The mayor emphasized, “We need a huge injection of investment in the National Health Service, we need a huge injection of money in our schools – not just because the buildings are crumbling, but because our children are often struggling because of the lack of the right number of teachers and support staff to pupils.” He further stated, “We need some certainty about capital funds for TfL. We need to be investing in trains and buses and so forth.” Khan explained, “So we need an increase in the capital support we receive from the government for TfL in relation to buying important pieces of infrastructure.” He also expressed, “I’m hoping for support in relation to housing. We desperately need more council homes, homes in London where you pay a social rent.” Khan indicated that he would experience disappointment regarding a “number of things.” He clarified, “If this budget is a budget that is one of austerity, where the government is saying that actually we don’t believe in the power of the state to do good, we don’t believe in the importance of the NHS, of education and so forth, and there’s massive cuts, that’s a problem for me.” He added, “I don’t mind the chancellor and the government making tough calls this year to fix the foundations to get growth going, to get businesses thriving, so you get more people working and paying taxes.” Khan concluded, “I’m hoping Rachel Reeves shows she’s going to fix the foundations – and we can have hope going forward.”