The next mayor must make London the best place in the world to do business
The mayoral election is in just over a month, whoever wins must get London firing on all cylinders by working with business, says John Dickie
In just over a month, Londoners will head to the ballot box to decide who runs City Hall for the next four years. Polls suggest that Sadiq Khan is the clear favourite to return for a historic third term but changes to the electoral system and voter identification requirements could make the race tighter than anticipated.
Either way, the next mayor will have a mandate and an important platform to drive positive change for London. Whoever wins must ensure the capital remains an attractive place to live, work, study and visit. This will require building more homes, modernising ageing infrastructure, helping Londoners to reskill and upskill to keep pace with a fast-evolving jobs market and delivering a smooth transition to net zero.
But the mayor cannot deliver on this ambitious agenda alone given their relatively limited powers – and even more limited resources. The only way to get London firing on all cylinders is by working closely with business, the boroughs and central government.
The mayoral contest will shortly be followed by a general election and, together, they represent an opportunity to build a new partnership between all levels of government and the private sector to meet the challenges – and seize the opportunities – facing our city.
BusinessLDN is this week publishing a manifesto for the next mayor setting out bold recommendations across areas including the capital’s economy, transport, housing, skills and climate.
London is where businesses come to find talent and people come to find opportunity. The Central Activities Zone alone accounts for almost a tenth of UK GVA and the capital is a hub for high-growth, innovative companies with more unicorns – tech companies worth over $1bn – than any other city in Europe.
It is also, crucially, a vibrant and fun place to live, work, study and visit. The city has the most top 50 universities of any in the world and three of the top ten most visited museums and galleries on the planet.
But we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of growing international competition and strong economic headwinds, namely the cost-of-living crisis, high taxes and low growth.
First, the mayor needs to work with business to make sure that London is using its existing levers, for example planning policies and practice to support development.
Second, the mayor should spearhead a plan for growth, again working with business – and the next government – to leverage London’s economic heft to drive jobs and investment locally and across the UK.
And, finally, the mayor – and metro mayors around the country – should be given the tools they require to meet the needs of the city. Devolving more decisions around local spending will enable local leaders to deploy existing budgets better, in keeping with local priorities, both to improve service delivery and drive growth.
One issue that cuts across all three areas is the capital’s housing crisis. London has the highest housing costs in the country, as well as one of the highest poverty rates. The two are inextricably linked: a quarter of Londoners are living in poverty after housing costs. As well as being a social challenge, high housing costs hit the city’s competitiveness, posing a significant recruitment and retention challenge for businesses.
The mayor alone cannot tackle this challenge, but significant progress can be made by working with business to encourage greater levels of private investment, establishing a City Hall Developer to unlock more land and reviewing London’s green belt – while also calling for greater investment for central government.
BusinessLDN stands ready to work with the next Mayor to unlock the full potential of London. Together we can build a city that works for business, for Londoners and for the whole UK.
John Dickie is CEO of BusinessLDN