Sadiq Kahn – The worst ever London Mayor?

Empty promises, failings, delays, rising crime rates, childish behaviour, anti democratic – Who are we describing? Yes, of course it is London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan or as he is now known, Sadiq Khan’t or even better described by the President of the USA Donald Trump, a #StoneColdLoser.

It appears that Khan’s only agenda is to embarrass London rather than take it forward, his main focus is on disrespecting the President of the United States of America with constant rants and abuse and even supporting the childish Trump balloon, though with Khan having previously been quoted as being a lawyer who represented extremists, including a 9/11 conspirator should we be really surprised in his hatred for the USA?

The Mayor that does not support democracy and spending the public’s money on supporting a second people’s vote such as posters and advertising for the cause on London transport – Backing a stop to Brexit will not have done his tarnished standing much good.

Now that we have a clearer picture of the Labour Party’s London Mayor, let us take a look at his performance regarding housing in London during his term. Currently the market for property is down in London, prices falling (possibly a good thing as many are grossly over priced and too many investors are in the market), waiting times for sales increasing, stocks falling and add to that the increased crime being seen in the city and most noticeably knife crimes and murders – It seems like nearly ever few days a young person is losing their life on our capitals’ streets.

Building new homes – He has FAILED: The promised targets are not being met and are decreasing. Khan’s London is heading backwards – fast.

Providing affordable / social housing – He has FAILED: For a person who lead with the importance of providing more housing for London as part of his campaign to get elected, he is now described at providing ‘pitifully low‘ figures by Tory London Assembly member Andrew Boff who sits on its housing committee. Poor figures alround.

sadiq khan homelessness figures rising

sadiq khan homelessness figures rising

Homelessness in London – He has FAILED: It is clear to see this problem is increasing in London with more and more cardboard boxes and sleeping bags being seen across the capital and even outside iconic buildings. 8,855 people slept rough in capital last year, a rise of nearly a fifth in 12 months.

Even Boris Johnson, aiming to become the new Prime Minister and replacing the failed May, can boast positive house building during his term as the Mayor of London, once again big promises, followed by things going inexorably backwards for Khan.

What do other people think of Khan? I asked leading speaker on housing, Russell Quirk (Founder of Properganda PR):

Q: Has it been a success stay in power re housing for the current London Mayor?

No. Far from it. Sadiq Khan promised he’d build 65,000 homes each year, half of which would be affordable. In three years he therefore should have overseen the delivery of 97,500 affordable homes completed for social rent, key-workers, shared ownership etc. The ACTUAL number? Just 17,800! That’s only 18% of what he pledged. As a comparison, Boris Johnson built 17,900 in 2014 alone. In other words, Sadiq has built less in three years than his predecessor did in one year.

Q: We hear many negative comments and even an alias of Mayor Kahn’t – should he be giving another term in your view, is he deserved of more time in charge?

Sadiq Khan’s re-election would defy logic. He has failed to deliver the housing he promised; has lost control of London’s crime rate and especially knife crime and is responsible for Crossrail being TWO years later. He’s a farcical Mayor but one that loves to SPIN how great he is. In fact, rather than spend more on policing or to spend the £4.8bn that government gave him in 2016/7 to build more homes, instead he’s spent more on PR consultants. He has let London down.

Q: With Boris on the horizon, what way do you think London and South of England house prices, which are under performing and reducing, look to do?

We’re in a cycle. Currently we’re at the bottom in terms of where price growth is in that it’s flat at best and negative in some parts of London. As always, it will rebound and the U.K. property market is seldom subdued for long. Personally, I believe that 2020 will see a post-Brexit bounce in demand and a shot in the arm under a new Prime Minister keen to make his mark on the economy with a raft of tax cuts.

Christopher Walkey

Founder of Estate Agent Networking. Internationally invited speaker on how to build online target audiences using Social Media. Writes about UK property prices, housing, politics and affordable homes.

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