The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am determined that our capital city plays its role in helping to level up parts of the country that have been left behind for too long - so I welcome the
publication of this White Paper.
“When London succeeds our whole country benefits – and vice-versa. That is why I want to work with the Government, other regions and business, to help level-up London and every other town, city and region in the UK.
“However, if the Government is to succeed with its mission, it must recognise that levelling up the UK must not be about levelling down London and withholding the funding and investment our capital city desperately needs. London has some of the most deprived communities in the country and they deserve support and funding just as much as other parts of the UK.
“If the Government truly wants to show its commitment to levelling-up, it is also vital that it commits to properly funding the urban transport networks on which our towns and cities rely, including Transport for London (TfL). TfL has a critical role to play in driving the economic recovery in both the capital and the rest of the country, but has been severely affected by COVID. With just two days until the current funding agreement expires, any failure by Government to commit to a long term funding model allowing TfL to place orders with its suppliers around the UK would jeopardise the national recovery and put any meaningful levelling-up at risk.
“London has less control over the tax we generate than any other global city. If ministers truly wanted to level up it would give cities such as ours greater control over revenues to deliver economic growth and lasting social change for the benefit of the whole country.” Photo by DAVID HOLT, Wikimedia commons.
