London: More housing and devolution, mayor Sadiq Khan lobbies

Sadiq Khan has pledged to lobby the incoming Labour government for new powers and billions more in funding for affordable housing in the capital.

The mayor said he was looking forward to “constant obstacles not being put in my way” with the Conservatives ousted from Whitehall.

Over the years, Mr Khan has blamed Tory neglect and underinvestment for the capital’s problems.

The Conservatives have not commented, but have previously said London received a fair amount of funding and that it was up to the mayor how it was spent.

Mr Khan has been lobbying in recent months for a £2.2bn “emergency stimulus” package to boost home-building.

Asked about that lobbying, he said he was expecting Angela Rayner as the next housing secretary to “make a couple of announcements before recess to make sure that we get house-building going”.

The mayor added: “What the Labour party has said in its manifesto is they want to build 1.5million homes in the first parliamentary term, a large chunk of that should be in London.”

On the question of further devolution to City Hall, he said he “absolutely” hoped to see new powers specifically around skills training and housing handed down to mayors and regional authorities.

In terms of what the result would mean for London, the mayor said: “The key thing that I’m looking forward to is constant obstacles not being put in my way.

“Working with, not just me as the mayor of London, but mayors across the country, in a collegiate way.

“It does not mean a blank cheque from Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer. What it means is an open, candid relationship.”

The government has not yet commented, however Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously said she could not say if any additional funding would go to the capital in the event of a Labour government.

Labour now has 59 of the capital’s 75 MPs; runs 21 of its 33 local authorities, and Mr Khan was recently re-elected for a third term at City Hall.

Reacting to the landslide result which unfolded over the early hours of Friday morning, the mayor said it had been “the best results in London for Labour ever”, adding: “There are no Conservative MPs in central London or inner London. It’s a great night for Labour.”