Sadiq Khan: London’s Covid recovery must fight injustice and promote a greener capital
London has faced many difficult times before, but there’s no doubt that the last year has been one of the most testing, traumatic and turbulent periods in our city’s history.
In 1945, Londoners rebuilt and renewed, working together to forge a more equal society from the ruins of war. They wanted to ensure that our country was not only fit for returning war heroes, but opened up the doors of opportunity to future generations, like mine. I believe it’s now our turn to work together with that same vision and sense of historic purpose to renew London once again – that is what our ambitious recovery plan is all about.
This week, we held the inaugural City Hall Recovery Summit, where we announced a bold package of new initiatives that will help us to put the dark days of the pandemic behind us and build the brighter future we all want and that Londoners deserve.
I’m proud of the focused and far-reaching recovery programme we’ve put in place. For the first time, we have brought together all of London’s key public sector institutions, local authorities, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and community leaders under one umbrella with a shared vision the whole city can unite behind.
A top priority is turning the tide on rising unemployment and the economic damage unleashed by the pandemic. Growing up on a council estate in South London, I saw first-hand the dreadful damage, division and depressing waste of talent caused by the recession of the 1980s. That’s why at the heart of my thinking is how we can deliver a fair economic recovery, where no one is left behind. As part of this, we are determined to do everything possible to protect jobs and create the new, well-paid ones that give Londoners the security and peace of mind they need.
In a first for London, we have managed to broker a new joint commitment, signed by organisations across our city, to use recruitment and procurement processes to maximise job opportunities for Londoners, particularly those who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.
These organisations include the NHS, Transport for London, the Met Police, the London Fire Brigade, the London Chamber of Commerce, London Councils, the University of London, the Association of Colleges, the Muslim Council of Britain, the London Jewish Forum, Film London, the TUC and the Church of England. I’m convinced this can – and will – make a big difference because these organisations employ nearly half a million people between them and spend over £73 billion pounds a year in our city.
We also announced this week that utility companies in London, who have been working closely with us at City Hall, will be bringing forward an additional £499 million pounds to help create over 1,400 jobs. We have decided to do what we can to target these new jobs at young Londoners from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds because another one of our key objectives is to narrow inequalities in our city.
The reality is that too many people are still being held back by deep-seated inequalities that scar our society and have been tolerated for far too long. So we want a crucial part of our recovery to be about rooting out the inequality, injustice and structural racism that for generations has hurt our city, and particularly those from BAME communities.
We also want to utilise the recovery effort to make our city cleaner, greener and more sustainable. The Covid-19 pandemic has been a true crisis in every sense of the word, but it could pale in comparison to the impact of the climate emergency, which has the potential to be even more damaging and disruptive to our way of life. With a Green New Deal for London, we will continue to clean up our toxic air, invest in green jobs and our green economy, and protect and improve our green spaces, which we have all come to value so much in recent months.
Through all of this recovery work, a common thread will be supporting our communities and making them stronger. Fantastic grassroots organisations, local community groups and charities have shown how much they have to offer over the past year.
We will help them carry on their vital work so that they can support the most vulnerable in their neighbourhoods, aid the recovery effort and ensure the focus is always on the things people value most. That’s why we have announced a whole series of new funds to enable local communities, businesses and organisations to contribute to London’s recovery. This will include helping to breathe new life into our high streets and making local areas greener and healthier for everyone.
Overall, we have unveiled a bumper package of measures worth £544 million to help kickstart London’s recovery – and there will be much more to come. As Mayor, I’ll continue to call on Ministers to join our efforts to rebuild our capital. With its enormous resources and powers, support from the Westminster Government is going to be crucial. The truth is that there is not going to be a swift and sustainable national recovery in the UK without London leading the way. So the Government should see supporting our recovery efforts as not something that would just help our city, but the whole country.
If we continue to take the right decisions and push ahead with our recovery plan for London, I firmly believe we build a fairer, greener and more prosperous London that does justice to the incredible sacrifices of our communities and key workers over the last year. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m confident that together – as one city – we can rise to the moment and seize the promise of a brighter future for all Londoners.