Sadiq Khan Labour Candidate for Mayor

Age UK London recently hosted its Older Londoners’ Election Hustings and has also released its Manifesto.

There are 13 candidates standing to be Mayor of London. For a full list please visit https://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter/candidates/mayoral-candidates.

We asked the four leading London Mayoral Candidates if they would write a blog post for older Londoners. Here we have the fourth and final blog, from Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party candidate. 

I want our great city to be the best place in the world in which not only to grow up, but also to grow old. Londoners of all ages deserve dignity and security, as well as opportunities to live rich and fulfilling lives. Indeed, as politicians, we have a responsibility to ensure our society and public services are responsive to everyone’s needs and, as Mayor, I’ve always taken this duty incredibly seriously.

I know that many older Londoners love the vibrancy of our city and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Research shows that older people living in London are less likely to feel lonely than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK thanks to community and family connections. However, I believe we can always do more to improve the quality of life enjoyed by our citizens, whether it’s by supporting Londoners through the cost-of-living crisis or by making our city more age-friendly.

London must be a city that older people can get around and enjoy easily and affordably. Thousands of older Londoners rely on our public transport network to travel to work, volunteer or see their families. That’s why I’ve frozen TfL fares five times and stood up to the Conservative government and protected the Older Persons’ Freedom Pass and 60+ London Oyster photocard travel concessions. I’ve also worked hard during my Mayoralty to keep fares, particularly bus fares, as low as possible, including by introducing the popular Hopper bus fare. I’m committed to continuing these efforts to keep fares down, as well as to making our public transport and public spaces more inclusive and accessible. For example, I have been supporting the provision of more public toilets and we’ve made sure that TfL is collaborating with disabled and older people to increase the number of stations with step-free access.

Londoners aged 60 and over are the fastest growing demographic in the capital. And we know that the cost-of-living crisis is having a disproportionate impact on older members of our communities. I’m pleased to say our Pension Credit campaign has successfully raised awareness among pensioners of their entitlements. To date, the programme has helped older Londoners receive £8.4m in unclaimed Pension Credit, which in turn has opened up entitlement to Cold Weather Payments and Warm Home Discounts. This support is vital to ensuring older Londoners don’t have to endure freezing temperatures in their own homes.

The fact is older Londoners contribute so much to our city. And so, I want to ensure they feel supported, respected and valued. More than a million Londoners in employment are aged 50 and over and, to recognise their importance and value to London's economy, I signed the Employer pledge. I’m now urging other employers to do the same and show their commitment to creating more age-friendly workplaces.

In addition, I’ve expanded efforts to get more older Londoners online. Our Get Online programme is helping people gain the skills they need to access services in our increasingly digital world. And I’m continuing to invest in frontline policing in order to tackle violent crime, combat anti-social behaviour and keep older Londoners safe. On top of the record investment in the police service since I have been Mayor, this includes a commitment to put 1,300 more police officers on our streets if I’m re-elected.

Tackling crime is one of my top priorities alongside fixing London’s housing crisis, which is making life difficult for all generations. I’m proud that we’re now building more council housing than at any time since the 1970s, as well as record numbers of genuinely affordable homes. More have been completed in London than any time since the 1930s. I’m also encouraged by the progress we’ve made to tackle London’s air pollution, ensuring that all Londoners – young and old – can breathe clean air.

Older Londoners have contributed so much to the success and prosperity of our capital it is only right they are able to live healthy, safe, and comfortable lives. There’s no doubt we’ve taken huge strides forward across a range of areas – from transport and housing, to the environment and digital inclusion. But I also know there’s still so much more that can be done to improve the welfare and wellbeing of older people by working to strengthen our sense of community, tackle loneliness and raise living standards. And so my promise to older Londoners is that I will continue to stand up for your interests and ambitions, as well as strive to build a fairer, safer, greener London for everyone. I hope you’ll join me in this mission by voting for Labour and voting for me – Sadiq Khan – in the London Mayoral election on 2 May.

Sadiq Khan was born in London and has lived here all his life. Sadiq became a solicitor specialising in human rights and was a councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth from 1994 to 2006. In 2005 Sadiq was elected MP for Tooting. He was appointed Minister of State for Communities in 2008 and later became Minister of State for Transport, becoming the first Muslim and first Asian to attend Cabinet. He was also Crossrail Minister. In 2013 Sadiq was appointed Shadow Minister for London, and in 2015 he led the Labour Party campaign in London in the General Election. In 2016 Sadiq became Mayor of London.