Candidates in the race to be mayor of London descended on Hackney this week in anticipation of the election on 5 May.
Labour party hopeful Sadiq Khan took his campaign to the streets of Hoxton on Saturday morning. Joined by Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier and Hackney mayor Jules Pipe, Mr Khan addressed local supporters.
“They may have more money than us, they may have more friends in high places, but our secret weapon is you delivering leaflets and knocking on doors,” the 45-year-old said.
Housing crisis
Mr Khan also told the crowd of Labour campaigners about his “ambitious plans” to fix the housing crisis, and to improve the capital’s public transport and air quality.
“There’s no heroism in failure,” he said. “We’ve got to win on 5 May. You have shown [in Hackney] how to win in council elections, in parliamentary elections, in European elections.”
Mr Khan, who wants Britain to remain in the EU, also spoke about the summer’s in-out referendum. “We’re going to campaign relentlessly between 6 May and 23 June to stay in the European Union,” he said. “You’ve seen the benefits in this area culturally, socially, to security and to the economy.”
Hackney hustings
The Tooting MP was not the only one to reach out to Hackney residents this week – on Monday evening, the Hackney Gazette hosted an online husting for mayoral candidates.
Mr Khan was joined by Zac Goldsmith (Conservative), as well as Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats), Sian Berry (Green Party), Peter Whittle (UKIP), George Galloway (Respect), and Sophie Walker (Women’s Equality Party).
Voters asked the politicians questions during the live hour-long debate, addressing topics from housing and crime to transport and the London City Airport expansion.
Mr Galloway, who is polling at less than one per cent, according to an Opinium poll in the Evening Standard, said: “I will constitute a new transport authority for London. All students will travel free on the buses. Key workers like police, fire and ambulance will too.”
Mr Goldsmith, who trails Mr Khan by 10 percentage points, told the online hustings he would take a stand against Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism: “As mayor I will have a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime, not just in my words but through my actions.”
[interaction id=”56e0177336e5105a3a87f01f”]
Additional reporting Jonathan Bucks
Like our page on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
So why no quote from Sian Berry, who has some of the most imaginative ideas for improving the lives of London residents?
Comments are closed.