Jack Brown: Sadiq Khan’s anti-Brexit coalition pitch makes electoral sense

This year’s mayoral election campaign is well and truly underway. Sadiq Khan, incumbent and favourite for an historic third term, is to freeze TfL public transport fares fares for a year and has pledged that mayoral funding for free primary school meals – including for the children of London’s middle classes – will be extended. […]

Jack Brown: Lessons for devolution from the Covid inquiry hearings

It was “Mayors day” at the Covid-19 Inquiry last week. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotherham gave evidence about their experiences during the pandemic. Not many appear to have been positive. I watched Mayor Khan’s and Mayor Burnham’s testimonies. Plenty of differences emerged, but […]

Jack Brown: Lessons of the MSG Sphere – there has to be a better way

The Madison Square Gardens (MSG) Sphere, a potentially very cool-looking new entertainment venue in Stratford has been blocked by Sadiq Khan. The 300-foot-high dome-like development, replicating a similar venue in Las Vegas, was to have been encased in a glowing ball of advertising had the Mayor not decided that would be a bit much for […]

Jack Brown: Universalism, practicalities and politics – meanings of the Mayor’s free school meals scheme

This week has seen the introduction of free meals for all children at state primary schools in London. Given the noise over the Ultra-Low Emission Zone expansion, you are forgiven if you’ve missed it. But this is a significant development. It puts into effect Sadiq Khan’s pledge to provide a one-year “emergency programme” of funding […]

Jack Brown: Starmer’s response to the Uxbridge result was wrong in more ways than one

Much has already been written and said about the result of the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election, most of it focused on the impact of the upcoming expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone. This could be bad news for Sadiq Khan, but not necessarily for the reason you might expect. Both Labour and Conservative politicians […]

Jack Brown: Londoners have diverse views about their diversity

What makes a Londoner? And how does someone become one? Redfield & Wilton’s poll of Londoners, with lots of input from On London, reveals some conflicting views and a fairly complicated picture. The London identity is clearly widespread. A full 80 per cent of those surveyed said they considered themselves “Londoners”, with 13 per cent […]

Jack Brown: Conspiracy theories about “15-minute cities” are false. But advocates should explain the concept better

Has there ever been as great a mismatch between a concept and the conspiracy theories it has attracted than that consuming the “15-minute city”? How this extremely benign, rather geeky urban planning objective has become the subject of international conspiracy theories and mentioned in the House of Commons by a Conservative MP who should know […]

Jack Brown: No, Nigel Farage, London is not a ‘minority white’ city

The 2021 Census has revealed that London is more ethnically diverse but also more religious than most of the rest of the UK. This has been the case for some time and won’t surprise On London readers, but the latest headline figures have sent some into a frenzy, obscuring reality. “Britain’s two largest cities are […]