When I was selected as a London-wide list candidate for the London assembly, it brought with it a great sense of responsibility. Not only are the London mayoral and assembly elections the next and most major election between now and the next general election, but they mark an election about a choice for Londoners, the consequences of which could last generations.
The choice in London is between a united London with a resilient social fabric, and a divided London with a legacy of low hope for many struggling families and young people trying to get their foothold in the world. This would be a tragedy for us all – reversing decades of progress of a city that has seen rich and poor often live side by side, and a cultural heritage that crosses social divides creating the fabric for social integration and real multicultural living.
I grew up in Hounslow in a family of five children. We had little wealth; my parents owned a local community shop and we lived above it. We were happy, but we rarely had a family holiday and made ends meet with the help of child benefit. We grew up with our parents’ hopes for our future being our biggest asset. The local comprehensive gave us a route into the future, with a local Labour council that celebrated our existence as a minority community and invested in local communities and community integration.
But what message do we want to give to children growing up today? We must not underestimate the impact of Conservative policies that end up separating and dividing communities – living in different areas, going to different schools, using different transport, socialising in different places – and in the case of Wandsworth Tories trying to get children to Pay to Play – even playing in different parks. It is a recipe for future exclusion that plays to the very worst of social prejudice.
I, like many Progress readers, feel devastated by the rising youth unemployment in this country. I’m having so many conversations with young people about jobs, and with parents about their children leaving school or university with no jobs on the horizon. A recent maternity leave job advert in London for an office manager saw over 200 applications sent in. This isn’t an inconvenience. It is a crisis.
The mayor has responsibilities for economic development and can make a difference to jobs in London. Which is why it is so sad that London is now the third highest region for unemployment. Recent ONS figures show one in 10 Londoners are now unemployed. According to the NPI, the unemployment rate of under-25s in London is far higher than the average for all working-age adults, at around 23 per cent.
Boris Johnson’s apprenticeship programme is to be celebrated but it is a drop in ocean when you look at rising numbers, and needs a much more systemic rather than incremental response to tackle growing youth unemployment. This is not a leadership that we can expect Cameron’s Tories to show – with their cuts to the £1bn Future Jobs Fund and education maintenance allowance. A former Boris voter calling into an LBC discussion about Boris’ record described him as being a ‘ribbon-cutting mayor’ who is nowhere to be seen when big issues need addressing. Our mayor needs to be someone taking responsibility for outcomes and making a significant difference rather than papering over the cracks with a press release.
That’s why Ken’s priorities, like the Fare Deal campaign which is the focus of a big rally this week, are vital, as they have behind them the vision of a city where Londoners are bound together through shared interest and mutual connection. Shockingly, bus fares are up 56 per cent since Boris came to office. As people get priced off the buses and tubes, they become more isolated with less access to work and social life. London is a unique city for the distances often travelled to just get to work. There is no vision at the end of Boris’ rainbow and indeed a total lack of awareness of the negative social legacy of his time in office.
There are 164 days left until 3 May. This is not just a fight between two political celebrities in London in which the people of London should be bystanders. This is a fight for a united London that should be brimming with hope for its future, and we all have a part to play in making hopes for a united London become a reality.
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Seema Malhotra is a member of the Fabian Society executive and a London assembly list candidate
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I’d say the European Parliament election is the major event in 2014 before the general election in 2015.
ha,haven’t you heard Jon. Europe’s closed ! and the Tories are on track to buy the next election here!
I cannot agree with this article. It has become precisely a personality contest with no political substance. Ken was not selected democratically and has not matured as a candidate.
After his ridiculous comments recently he has even less chance of winning than before.
Ken has ensured that Labour’s core vote has disappeared. And it will not be coming back.
Just why was Ken actually chosen? Well because he is a ‘good bloke’ (sic).BVut somebody who has Lee Jasper asan adviser may not be the best person to run London.
Pardon me, Angela. Ken was selected democratically – and overwhelmingly – in a contest in which many thousands of Labour members and affiliates voted. Put up, or shut up.