Capital Letters by JBP provides an insight into the world of London politics and development.
Labour and Conservative mayoral hopefuls
Following the Labour party’s impressive election showing in the capital, the post of London Mayor is largely considered to be “Labour’s to lose”. With the deadline for the party’s mayoral applicants having now closed, Labour has assembled a list of eight potential candidates for the job.
The list boasts a number of familiar names, including Diane Abbott, Dame Tessa Jowell, David Lammy, Sadiq Khan and Gareth Thomas. In amongst this list of current and ex-MPs are a few outsiders; Keran Kerai, a writer from Harrow, Neeraj Patil, former Mayor of Lambeth, and Christian Wolmar, an author and journalist.
The odds currently have Jowell edging forward as the most likely candidate to return London back into Labour hands, with MP for Tooting, Sadiq Khan, a close second. Jowell is trying to position herself as the "moderate" candidate and her supporters point to the fact that she herself has experience of winning a previously Tory held parliamentary seat. The Blairite wing of the party, if it can be described as such any more, is thought to favour her. However, do not rule out Sadiq Khan at all - he has been planning for this race for some time and has a strong network of support across London.
The picture is not as clear for the Conservative Party, who have yet to formalise a complete list of candidates. As it stands, candidates in the running to take over from Boris Johnson are significantly lacking experience in national politics. Those who have formally announced their intention to stand are deputy mayor for policing and crime, Stephen Greenhalgh, former footballer Sol Campbell, financial services entrepreneur Ivan Massow, and current member of the London Assembly, Andrew Boff.
With cabinet minister Justine Greening recently quashing rumours that she will stand, Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond, might provide the Tories with the best chance of success in the capital; although he is yet to formally throw his hat into the ring.
Jowell launches mayoral bid with housebuilding pledge
Former Labour MP Tessa Jowell has launched her bid to be London’s next mayor by pledging a new housebuilding scheme for the city. Her first day in office would see the creation of the ‘Homes For Londoners’ body tasked with building affordable housing using public subsidy and city-owned land.
Jowell warned that the capital is “at risk of becoming two cities” in a speech focused on a theme that is all too apparent to many of the city’s residents. The former Olympics minister said she would use her experience of bringing the Games to London in order to deliver reasonably priced homes quickly. She claimed unused land from Transport for London alone could be utilised to provide 2,000 homes per year for two decades.
With the capital providing Labour with some consolation to their comprehensive defeat in the general election, London looks set to elect a Labour mayor in 2016 based on high levels of support. And whilst Jowell is the favourite to win the Labour nomination, she takes a cautious tone in her outlook, saying “I’ve heard people say London is a Labour city. Well, London hasn’t voted for a Labour mayor since 2004. There have been four mayoral elections – and Labour has won just one of them”.
She added the importance of needing to win Tory votes, pledging to be the candidate for “One London”.
New London planning guidance published
On the 21st May, the Greater London Authority published the Social Infrastructure Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG); providing guidance for borough planners, public health practitioners, developers and their consultants, community and neighbourhood groups, and local authority directors of public health.
The guidance builds on strategic planning policies set out in the London Plan and seeks to help and encourage planning authorities to implement social infrastructure within a community, and to “spur community interaction and social capital by identifying where opportunities exist around community aspirations or existing facilities”.
The document promotes the strategy of developing “lifetime neighbourhoods”, as specified in the London Plan. These are areas where people should have a good quality environment, in an active and supportive local community with optimal access to services, infrastructure and public transport.
Sir Edward Lister, deputy mayor for policy and planning, has said that "London’s incredible population boom is testament to the fact that this is the best big city on the planet. For that to continue, we need to make sure that we have enough schools, GP surgeries, community venues, green spaces and places of worship and that they are situated in the right place."
Half of boroughs falling short on housebuilding targets
A recent report looking into London borough’s housebuilding targets has revealed that around half of them failed to meet their targets between 2010 and 2013.
The report, put together by planning consultancy Nathanial Lichfield and Partners and business group London First, showed that only 18 of the 33 boroughs met or exceeded their annual targets. The rather damning report on London’s housebuilding went on to say that missing London’s overall housing goal is “as inevitable as night follows day.”
It was not all doom and gloom, as both Haringey and Harrow surpassed their targets, achieving 123.8% and 139.5% respectively, with Hillingdon, Sutton, Bromley, Hackney, Kensington and Westminster all meeting or exceeding their targets.
The other remaining 15 boroughs fell short, prompting industry commentators to urge for more powers for the Mayor to penalise councils that fail to deliver. Two councils that would go under the knife under such powers would be Barnet and Enfield. The former only managed to build 3,405 homes, 50.3% of its target, while the latter fared better, building 1,474 homes and reaching 87.7% of its target.
With the report highlighting the failings of local authorities, it also served to highlight Boris Johnson’s lack of progress in meeting his own annual target for new homes. The report recommends a new financial rewards system to encourage local authorities to build more houses. This would be in addition to the current New Homes Bonus, which commentators argue, largely failed to act as an incentive to the boroughs. Boris’s last year as Mayor will certainly be an interesting one.
JBP's Mayoral Watch
- MP for Barking, Margaret Hodge, has officially given Sadiq Khan her backing for Mayor of London arguing that he best reflects “the aspirations of contemporary London”.
- Labour’s Alan Johnson has endorsed Tessa Jowell in her bid to become the Mayor of London, reasoning that she is a “genuinely popular politician with all the warmth in the world but a core of absolute steel”.
- Boris Johnson has now stepped down as chair on two major regeneration projects in London; the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.