In 2022, the Mayor of London took the entire machinery of London governance, including the London Assembly and the GLA, with him down to the Royal Docks, where they now reside in an angular building formerly known as The Crystal. It sits, proudly, on Kamal Chunchie Way, named after a local race relations campaigner, and is the nerve centre, the Starship Enterprise, of London politics. It is here where Khan administers his £20.4 billion budget, ostensibly to improve London's economic and social development; here where he oversees everything from transport and culture to housing and policing.
A divisive figure, Khan nevertheless won an unprecedented third term back in May (endorsed by The London Standard), trouncing the woefully unimpressive Tory candidate, Susan Hall. She campaigned largely on Khan's equally divisive Ulez scheme, but it turned out Londoners weren't as binary as she believed.
However, the Mayor is continually lambasted for being unable to significantly affect rising crime in our city, and obviously for the chaotic nature of our roads. While everyone wants a cleaner, healthier city, it's often impossible to negotiate it.
As for cycle lanes, they've started to define London in a way that often feels overwhelming.
Back in the Nineties people used to say that there was such a proliferation of Starbucks that they were starting to open Starbucks in other Starbucks. That's how many feel about a city that's quickly becoming a cyclist's nirvana.
This story is from the October 10, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 10, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Vamos Rafa! It's time to go for Spain's brave warrior
'Shy and funny' Nadal bows out as sport's ultimate competitor
Does Angeball have a winning future at Spurs?
Head coach divides supporters with his ultra-attacking tactics
The £5bn-a-year tax timebomb that's set to devastate London hospitality
The capital will bear the brunt of Rachel Reeves’s National Insurance raid
Live like a Queen...
...in the house gifted to Anne of Cleves by Henry VIII in 1540 and now onsale for 3.75 million
At home with...Matthew Williamson
The designer’s Belsize Park flatis a grand canvas for his ever-changing colour palette
Hidden London
The first time I made my way to Maison Assouline was with a broken foot, in a tragic boot and crutches.
Jameela Jamil on why New York will always have her heart...
..and her stomach. The actor and activist shares her favourite brunch spot, a secret bar and her brownstone fantasies
My life in bespoke suits
Back in the Eighties, suits were so wide that even the shoulder pads had shoulder pads. Suits back then were boxy, square, and designed to make you look like a quarterback, a bouncer or a tank.
Cher's wild world
The singer's memoir is full of jaw-dropping tales
'I was told I could stay in the UKthen kicked out of my asylum accommodation'
As our appeal hits 1m, we turn the spotlight on an official policy that’s making newly recognised refugees homeless