Social Issues: A Comparison of Mayor of London Candidates Manifestos

The London mayoral elections are coming up on the 6th of May 2021. We here at The Youth Vote have been producing content around each of the candidate’s manifestos. We now thought it would be a good idea to compile similar policy areas into one post to make it easier for you to compare the pledges of each candidate. This post will look at social issues.

Sadiq Khan (Labour) ‘Standing Up for London’: Standing Up for London’s Values

• Defending the rights of EU citizens in London

• Standing up to the anti-London Tory Government

• Sadiq Khan took a 10% pay cut amid warning on austerity after coronavirus

• Opposing police and youth cuts

• Calling for further investment

• Defending London’s openness, diversity and tolerance

• Announced a commission to review statues, plaques and street names in London to ensure landmarks in the capital “suitably reflect London’s achievements and diversity.”

• Stand up against Donald Trump and the far-right

Sadiq Khan wants to stand up for London’s values. Doing so by opposing further government cuts and calling for investment into the city.

Furthermore, with the recent discussion over landmarks across the country he wants to have a commission that reviews them to ensure they are in line with London’s modern values.

Dr Peter Gammon (UKIP) ‘Peter’s 6 Key Policies for A Better, Safer London for All’: A United London

• Representing every Londoner – irrespective of race, gender, colour, orientation or religion

• Healing divisions

• Defending freedom of speech and religion

• ‘cities of refuge’ – a solution to homelessness

• Partnership projects with charities & businesses

• ‘Student Development Fund’ to subsidise up to 40% of London’s student university fees – sponsored by big business

Dr Peter Gammons thinks he would be the best person to be mayor of London because he thinks he can bring people from all backgrounds together. He is a self-proclaimed centrist (political spectrum), meaning he thinks he is neither right- nor left-wing. Because he’s not tied to one side of the political spectrum, he thinks he can bring forward the best practical solutions.

He wants to tackle homelessness by using London’s unused air raid shelters for underground ‘cities of refuge’ – as they provide shelter and would save millions spent each year putting them in hotels.

Lastly, he has proposed a ‘Student Development Fund’ aimed at subsidising London’s student university fees. With tuition fees being one of the major concerns among young people it will be interesting to see if this encourages young people to vote for the UKIP candidate.

Farah London (Independent) ‘Bring London Back’: The London That Celebrates Diversity

• Welcome the first black museum

• Create a London that is comfortable protesting against racial discrimination, as it is celebrating Winston Churchill

Farah London wants to emphasise the beauty of diversity that London has. She also wants to celebrate that diversity by opening the first black museum, to recognise the beautiful cultural impact the black community has contributed to London.

Brian Rose (Independent) ‘Transform London 2021’: Freedom of Speech, Family First and Community First

Freedom of Speech

• Promote the legislation of Digital Freedom of Speech.

• Access information, with video, blogs and social media being available in an uncensored format as long as content does not violate legislation.

• Publish information, guaranteeing every citizen the right to upload information to any platform without being censored, banned, or de-platformed as long as these are not in violation of the law.

• Exercise Freedom of the Press, respecting the right of any journalist to publish their views without being censored across digital platforms without exception.

Rose claims there is a lack of free speech on digital platforms, and that Silicon Valley technology companies have the power to censor speech unfairly online. This may be a slightly controversial policy to have, with many people believing these restrictions online are necessary to prevent “troll” accounts and online abuse.

Family First

• Focus on promoting family structure.

• Keep family units together and give extra support to single parents.

• Deal with family problems proactively - using preventative community support programs for Mothers, Fathers and children.

• Train police to deal with domestic disputes by de-escalating problems.

• Provide lower transportation fares and discounted events for families.

Whilst Rose encourages the promotion of the “family structure” or “family unit”, he does also recognise single-parent households and claims they would receive greater support. Family-orientated policies could be attractive to certain voters, but perhaps will have less of a reach with young voters who find other issues more salient.

Community First

• Reinvigorate the concept of the Community Centre as a high-traffic hub of daily communal activity for all local residents.

• Job training and placement services for teenagers, adults, and the elderly to retrain workers.

• Childcare and youth activities for all ages.

• Promote arts and culture with regular performances and the showcasing of local talent.

• Education on the latest technology from hardware, to coding, to web design, to digital services.

• Housing support for all local residents.

• Encourage daily movement for community members of all ages – by offering different options such as yoga, walking, running, dancing, martial arts, plyometrics.

• Highlight the practical benefits of cooking and proper nutrition.

• Encourage better health practices and mental wellbeing.

Rose’s campaign lastly focuses on the idea of community spirit, and the importance of society and local neighbourhoods. This area of policy focuses on a range of ideas, from education of all ages, activities for all ages to promote well-being, as well as celebrating local talent.

The Policy and News Analysis Team