Markus Andrews

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTarun Ghulati, an independent candidate running for London mayor, has pledged to reduce council tax and introduce rent controls in the capital. Mr Ghulati is a businessman and investment banker who describes himself as a “proud Hindu” and “takes pride in his roots having spent many years in India”.“I am determined to do whatever it takes to ensure that London, my chosen home for 20 years, retains its place as the leading Global City and that all Londoners feel safe, secure and empowered with opportunities for growth,” he said. “This position, however, masks the fact that around 2.2 million Londoners continue to live in poverty.“This is why improving wellbeing and living standards are critical for me. I strongly believe much more needs to be done for the low- and middle-income households across London. “I am passionate about reinvigorating optimism and pride for these families and believe this can be achieved through my proposals to level up across the city.”Mr Ghulati says he will ensure there is more visible community policing by hiring more officers and and reopening police stations across London.This includes a focus on crimes against women and girls. He has pledged to scrap Ulez and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), and will also remove all 20mph speed limits. On housing, Mr Ghulati said he will introduce rent controls and ensure that new developments include a certain percentage of affordable housing units.He would also reduce council tax, and subsidise construction costs for affordable housing developments, whilst keeping the free school meals policy introduced by Sadiq Khan. Mr Ghulati’s main manifesto pledges include: Ensure London retains its place as the leading global city and that all Londoners feel safe, secure and empowered with opportunities for growthImprove wellbeing and living standardsUnwavering support for entrepreneurshipRekindle the spirit, pride, and vibrancy of every LondonerDo away with barriers for growth and ensure the safety of all its citizensEncourage the free flow of ideas and policies without party ideology and biasEnsure London becomes the first choice for investment to ensure safety and prosperity for allYou can read Tarun Ghulati’s full manifesto here.Voters can cast their ballot in person on 2 May, by post or by proxy. Find your nearest polling station here.Everyone will need to show photo ID at polling stations before they vote.The results will be announced at City Hall on Saturday 4 May.Read the full list of candidates here. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailVoters across England and Wales will take to the polls on Thursday for the latest round of local elections. Alongside thousands of councillors, a record 12 metro mayors are to be elected – including the high-profile Mayor of London.Incumbent Sadiq Khan is hoping to secure a third term for Labour as he fights off Conservative candidate Susan Hall. They are amongst 11 candidates in total, including the controversial right-wing Reform UK party’s Jeremy Cox.Mr Khan has sought to focus on his succcesses when on the campaign trail. These include an expansion to existing rail and bus lines, as well as frozen fares for Londoners.Follow our live coverage of the elections by clicking hereThe London mayor has also pledged policies which aim to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis and housing issues many in the capital are facing. Amongst these are free school meals for all children, and 40,000 new council homes.His competition has aimed to draw the dividing lines in different places. High on the agenda of most candidates is a change or scrap to Mr Khan’s Ulez expansion, which continues to provoke intense reactions.Alongside challenges to his record on knife crime and changes to the electoral system, Thursday’s mayoral election is likely to be the Labour mayor’s most difficult – something he has admitted himself.Here everything you need to know about the three big issues that have shaped London’s mayoral election:The debate around ULEZ rages on (as Reform UK takes advantage)People during an anti-Ulez protest in Trafalgar Square (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailHigh-profile Tory mayor Ben Houchen has lashed out at the state of the Conservative Party under Rishi Sunak as he battles to hold on to his job running Tees Valley.In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Lord Houchen warned that his potential defeat in this week’s local elections should be “a wake-up call” for Tory MPs.And in an extraordinary broadside at his own party, he said voters were pledging to support him, but not the Tories at the next general election.Lord Houchen told The Independent: “There are lots of people who will come up to me and speak to me that say that they’re going to vote for me, but they probably won’t be voting for the Conservative Party in the general election.”He said attempts by ministers to crack down on illegal migration, including the release of pictures showing potential deportees being rounded up, “will not be enough” to save the party.His damning intervention comes as the local election battle intensified on Wednesday, with the Tories reporting Labour West Midlands mayoral candidate Richard Parker to police for alleged electoral fraud.Sunak and Houchen during a visit to see the construction works at Teesside Freeport in Redcar in July 2022 More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailSadiq Khan has accused former deputy Conservative chairman turned Reform UK MP Lee Anderson of “fuelling hate crime and violent threats” following “unpatriotic” comments made by Mr Anderson about the London mayor.In a secret recording obtained by ITV News, the Reform MP is heard telling participants at a party event that Tory cabinet ministers were among those who messaged him their support after he was suspended, telling him “Rishi has thrown you under the bus”. He is also heard claiming Mr Khan “hates this country… our heritage, our culture”.Mr Khan has hit back at Mr Anderson and his former party, calling it “deeply depressing” to hear that the former deputy chairman’s “Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred was cheered on by current Tory party staff, MPs and Cabinet ministers” and that the Reform MP’s comments have “real-world consequences”.In a statement, Mr Khan said: “In the past 24hours we have seen my Tory mayoral opponent endorsing Facebook groups rife with antisemitism, Islamophobia and death threats against me. And now we have a former Tory party Deputy chair caught on camera being racist.Lee Anderson defected to the right-wing challenger party Reform UK following his suspension More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPolice are looking into Conservative claims that Labour’s candidate in a crunch election on Thursday wrongly claimed to live in the area to stand. West Midlands Police said it was “assessing” the allegations against Richard Parker. It comes as The Independent can reveal that the Tories also claimed that they have reported a Labour council group to Thames Valley Police in Milton Keynes, a hotly contested bellweather seat ahead of the local elections there. A spokesman for Mr Parker described the claims as “shameful political game-playing” while a Labour source added that the use of police complaints by the Tories ahead of the local elections “is becoming more than a habit”.The double reporting of Labour to the police today follows Tory chairman pushing for an investigation into allegations over whether Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner broke electoral law over her former home in Stockport.Richard Parker was joined by Angela Rayner on the campaign trail with both reported to the police. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFears have been raised over how the Tories plan to fill a ‘£46 billion ‘pension black hole’ with plans to abolish National Insurance after Rishi Sunak failed to rule out raising the retirement age.Mr Sunak was challenged about the proposal put forward by former Tory Brexit minister Lord Frost during firy exhanges with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in Prime Minister’s questions (PMQs).Sir Keir said: “One of his peers, Lord Frost—yes, him again—does know [how he will solve the pension black hold problem]. He says that to solve the problem of the Tories’ spending plans, the state pension age should be raised to 75. Understandably, that will cause some alarm, so will the Prime Minister rule out forcing people to delay their retirement by years and years in order to fulfil his £46 billion black hole?”He asked the Prime Minister if he would rule out the idea.However, Mr Sunak avoided answering the question instead blasting Sir Keir’s own past issues around pensions.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London (House of Commons/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe mayor of London has one of the largest political mandates in the UK with a budget of more than 20 billion and a constituency of 6.2 million voters.The job is currently held by Sadiq Khan, who is up for re-election on Thursday 2 May. The Mayor’s job is to make London a better place for everyone who visits, lives or works in the capital. Alongside the mayor, there are 25 London Assembly members, who hold the Mayor to account by examining strategies and decisions made by the incumbent. But what exactly are the powers and responsibilities of the Mayor and London Assembly? The Mayor of LondonLondon has had a mayor since 2000 after Londoners voted overwhelmingly in favour of an elected mayor and assembly to run the capital. The move was a part of then Labour prime minister Tony Blair’s constitutional reforms and devolution. The mayor receives a £20.4 billion budget that they use to improve London’s economic and social development.There have been three London mayors. Labour’s Sadiq Khan is the incumbent and he was first elected in 2016. It was previously held by Boris Johnson for eight years, and Ken Livingstone before him.The mayor is given a salary of £154,963. The prime minister, by comparison, is entitled to a salary of £167,391. ResponsibilitiesThe mayor’s responsibilities range from developing policies to setting budgets and overseeing major programmes – all in line with the Mayor’s vision. One of the mayor’s main responsibilities is Transport. They are responsible for Transport for London (TfL) and have the power to set fares, which is the main source of funding for TfL. The Congestion Charge and Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) is also from the mayor’s office. The second responsibility is policing. The mayor has a “direct mandate for policing in London” and is responsible for deciding on the “strategic direction” of the force.In the governance structure of the Met, ultimate accountability for the actions and direction of the force is held jointly by the Home Secretary and the Mayor. The Home Secretary appoints the Met Commissioner – the top job in the police force. Around 30 per cent of the Met’s budget comes from the mayor and the rest comes from national government.In relation to housing, the mayor can set affordable homes targets and work in collaboration with local authorities and developers. The mayor receives funding from central government to build affordable homes.Another area of responsibility is supporting London’s culture and creative industries. They mayor runs the London Borough of Culture scheme and employs a night czar who supports the capital’s nightlife.What is the mayor not responsible for?London’s councils, rather than the mayor, are responsible for many of the services Londoners experience day-to-day like council housing, schools, social services, rubbish collection and council tax collection. Central government leads on the NHS, welfare and most forms of taxation.What does the London Assembly do?The London Assembly is made up of 25 Members – 11 represent the whole capital and 14 are elected by London’s constituencies. Many of them have previously been local politicians or run businesses and charities. For example, the Tory candidate for London mayor, Susan Hall, is a former leader of the London Assembly Conservative group.Their main power lies in approving or rejecting the mayor’s £20.4 billion budget plans, and can make changes when two-thirds of Assembly Members agree. The Mayor is questioned by the Assembly 10 times a year at Mayor’s Question Time.They also work on committees which scrutinise the mayor’s policies and check if they are working. The London Mayoral Election 2024Voters can cast their ballot in person on 2 May, by post or by proxy. Find your nearest polling station here.Everyone will need to show photo ID at polling stations before they vote.People will have three votes – one for mayor and two for the London Assembly.The results will be announced at City Hall on Saturday 4 May. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak’s decision not to address calls for an investigation into reports of Conservative-run Facebook groups engaging in “gutter politics” is an “abject failure of leadership”, Labour has claimed.The Prime Minister faced calls to condemn the groups and launch a probe into reports that Tory candidate for London mayor, Susan Hall, is a member of them.The Observer newspaper reported over the weekend that Ms Hall is a member of a Facebook group said to contain Islamophobic speech and threats to incumbent Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.Mr Sunak was asked about such groups and their links to Conservative campaigners twice during Prime Minister’s Questions, taking place on the eve of local elections across England and Wales.He insisted that his party was campaigning “on the substance of the issues that Londoners face”.The Conservative Party has meanwhile said it is reviewing its policies regarding Facebook groups.Speaking after PMQs, a Labour spokesman told reporters: “I think it is bizarre that the Prime Minister couldn’t speak out and say that these things are inappropriate.“We know that the Government dragged its feet when it came to producing the online harms bill (Online Safety Act), and across the board it just isn’t taking the influence that these groups have seriously enough.“We would urge the Tories to clamp down on this sort of activity.”They added: “To me, I think I would describe it as an abject failure of leadership.”In the Commons, Labour MP Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) had asked: “It has been revealed by the Observer newspaper that the Conservative candidate for the mayor of London is actually a member of the six Facebook groups which was mentioned by the member for Edinburgh North.“They are full of Islamophobia, antisemitism and the most disgraceful incitement to damaging property and the worst bit, for those of us who were in the House when our Members of Parliament were taken, death threats to the current Mayor of London, Mr Khan.“Will he close down these Facebooks which have been begun by Conservative members of staff, and will he investigate the role of the current candidate and her membership of those disgraceful racist Facebooks?”Mr Sunak replied: “The election tomorrow will be fought on the substance of the issues that Londoners face and the Labour record is crystal clear. Housebuilding in London has collapsed, knife crime is rising, mayoral taxes are up 70% and drivers have been hit with Ulez (ultra low emissions zone) charges, and the Labour mayor just simply panders to unions, and has decimated London’s night-time economy.“That is his record, that his how he will be judged and people across London know that they will be safer with the Conservatives, with lower taxes and better services.”SNP MP for Edinburgh North, Deidre Brock, had earlier said: “Can the Prime Minister shed some light on these shady groups spreading abuse, their funding, their links to his party, and whether he is aware of similar operations existing elsewhere in the UK?“If he won’t, will he at least commit today to investigate and take action to tackle the sources of this grubby gutter politics?”The Prime Minister responded: “I am not aware about the topic that she raises, but I am not going to make any apology for Conservatives pointing out the record of whether it is the SNP in Scotland or the Labour Government in Wales, because that is exactly what democratic process is about.”A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The Conservative Party unequivocally condemns all discriminatory language, and never encourages nor condones vandalism or criminal activity.“The Conservative Party is reviewing its processes and policies regarding Facebook groups.” More