Zac Goldsmith MP is MP for Richmond Park and the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London.
It’s been a busy week for Back Zac 2016, here’s a quick update on the campaign.
On Monday morning commuters were greeted with leaflets spelling out my commitment to protect London from unnecessary tube strikes. For some time I’ve been fighting for TfL to be classified as an essential public service, so a strike can only go ahead if it has clear support from union members.
This week the Government agreed to my proposal. It’s another result for the people of Greater London, and one that Khan, Corbyn and the unions have worked hand-in-glove to oppose.
The big event of the week was on Tuesday in Croydon, where I launched my Action Plan for Greater London. It’s a plan to deliver on the issues that matter most to Londoners: more homes, better transport, cleaner air and safer streets.
My plan on tackling housing got a lot of pick-up. In particular, my ‘Londoners First’ rule, where any new housing built on mayoral land will only be sold to Londoners for the first year that the homes are on sale. It’s all part of a wider plan designed to drive up homeownership and double house-building to 50,000 a year by the end of the mayoral term.
I also set out the clear choice at this election: between a strong Mayor who can work with government to get things done, or a deeply partisan politician in debt to the Corbyn machine. With London depending on the Chancellor for 93 percent of its funding, the next Mayor has to be able to work with this Government. Yet Khan has no record of working with other parties and no interest in doing so now.
Thursday brought another example of what this choice means. The Government has now agreed to put suburban rail services under mayoral control, so we can offer an Overground level of service to South London. It’s something I’ve long campaigned for, as an MP and a mayoral candidate, so I’m delighted my campaign has delivered. Khan, by contrast, was nowhere to be seen on this issue when he was a transport minister. He hasn’t even raised it with this Government, either as an MP or a candidate.
I spent the rest of the week getting the message out. Media attention is vital, but there’s no substitute for a face to face with voters. It’s why I’ve been hitting the streets in Chingford and Wood Green, in Orpington with our brilliant GLA leader Gareth Bacon, and in Croydon and Sutton with our formidable GLA candidate Steve O’ Connell.
I know we have a tough battle ahead. Labour, the unions, and Corbyn’s Momentum are all determined to get their man into City Hall.
It’s our civic duty to stop them. London is too important to be used as a test bed for Corbyn’s radical policies. It’s why I’m counting on your support to win this fight.
So if you agree with me that London needs a mayor who can work with Government to get things done, sign up here.