Sadiq Khan promises 40,000 new council homes as he launches re-election campaign

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Sadiq Khan will launch his campaign for a third term as London Mayor on Monday with a pledge to build 40,000 new council homes by the end of the decade.

In a speech in central London alongside Sir Keir Starmer, he will promise to unleash “the greatest council housebuilding drive in a generation” and to double his previous goal to start building 20,000 council homes, which he hit last year.

He will say that the mayoral election on May 2 is a “two-horse race” between himself and the Conservatives’ Susan Hall, who he warned would “take our city backwards”.

Mr Khan will tout the “rare, precious” prospect of Labour rule in both Downing Street and City Hall, saying Sir Keir’s victory at the general election would mean the capital could “go from rowing against the tide of a Tory Government to having the winds of a Labour Government at our backs”.

In a plea to voters to re-elect him, the Mayor will say this presents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to make real inroads into solving London’s housing crisis”.

On a visit to a major new City Hall-funded council housing development, Mr Khan will point to his record on housebuilding, having met the Government’s affordable homes programme target in full and starting twice as many council homes as the rest of the country combined last year.

The Labour incumbent will stress his commitment to building quality council homes under zero-carbon rules.

He is expected to say: “I’m under no illusion about the scale of the challenge. The housing crisis has been decades in the making. But, with political will, it can be overcome.

“And today – in my first major pledge of this election campaign – I can commit to delivering at least 40,000 new council homes in our city by the end of the decade.”

He will say that working together with a Labour government, “we can go even further, quickening the pace, building on the progress we’ve made and unleashing the greatest council housebuilding drive in a generation.

“After years of a Tory Government trying to drag London backwards, a Labour Government would be transformative, propelling us forwards and helping to accelerate delivery of the homes Londoners desperately need and deserve.”

Labour leader Sir Keir is expected to say: “From more police on the streets, being on the side of Londoners in the cost-of-living crisis and delivering the most council houses since the 1970s, Sadiq’s achievements as Mayor of London over the last eight years have transformed our communities. This is the difference Labour makes when in power.

“On May 2 the choice is clear: chaos and division with the Tories, or unity and hope with Labour. A vote for Sadiq Khan as mayor is a vote for continuing to change the lives of Londoners for the better.”

Amid concerns he could lose to the Tory candidate because of changes in the voting system, Mr Khan will highlight that his main opponent Ms Hall voted against his free school meals programme for all primary pupils and his Transport for London fares freeze.

In previous contests, Londoners have been able to express a first and second preference, but this year’s election will be held under the first-past-the-post system, meaning voters will get only one vote each.

The Mayor this weekend issued a plea for Liberal Democrat and Green supporters to back him, as he warned the new electoral system brought in by the Tory Government would “make it more likely their candidate will win”.

In a pitch to “fellow progressives”, Mr Khan launched what he described as a “love letter” campaign to persuade supporters of other parties to “lend him their votes”.