Uber, Fabric And Garden Bridge Costs: 8 Things We Learnt From Speak To Sadiq

The mayor of London was live in the LBC studio taking your calls. Here are eight things we learnt.

Uber Are Taking The Mayor To Court

The mayor wants to introduce English tests for private-hire drivers, which would include Uber drivers, and he says “Uber are taking me to court”

The mayor cites situations like medical emergencies when passengers need to speak to drivers as a reason to make sure their standard of English is good. He also lists three other measures to improve the quality of private-hire services.

He Won’t Confirm Or Deny Whether He Played A Part In The Met Chief Leaving

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe recently announced that he would leave his post as the Met chief next year. James O’Brien pushed him on whether he played any part in this decision. Mr Khan said he “respected his decision” to step down.

Cancelling Garden Bridge Will Cost £38m - Continuing Will Only Cost £18m

The mayor says the decision to push ahead with the controversial garden bridge is a “pragmatic” one, and that cancelling it now would be more costly than continuing with it.

Sadiq Wants Power From The Government To Control Private-Hire Numbers

At the moment the mayor says the only option is to raise the required standards for private-hire vehicles, which he hopes will lead to “fewer but better ones”

The Mayor Of London Has Little Influence Over HS2 In London

Mr Khan says that while he supports HS2, work still needs to be done to make sure the London end of the development is done the right way and that it doesn’t turn into a missed opportunity.

Gatwick Is The Answer To The New Runway Question

The mayor of London is unequivocal in his support for a new runway at Gatwick over Heathrow. He says the Gatwick option will mean “no public subsidy, it will lead to jobs and growth, nowhere near the same problems around air quality or noise and it means a new runway by the middle of next parliament.”

Six-Figure TFL Management Payoffs Are Designed To Save Money In Long-Term

As LBC reports 49 managers have been made redundant from TFL with six-figure payoffs, the mayor says the long term savings from reducing management will save “£14 million over the next 4 years”, against a cost of £5 million in payoffs this year.

The mayor also pledges to reduce the use of agency staff and bring maintenance works in-house on more lines.

The Mayor Wanted Fabric To Stay Open - And Plans To Protect Venues Against Noise Complaints.

Sadie Khan says clearly “I wanted Fabric to stay open” and says the move to close it lies with Islington council.

With his new ‘London plan’ he will make it harder for people who move into properties next to established music venues from then complaining about the noise.

Business Rates Are Going To Go “Through The Roof” In London

Business rates are due to go up by 11% next year, but Sadiq says he’s lobbying the government to reduce this and to try and keep some of the money from the rates in London to improve the environment for businesses.