Our London: On the day

To celebrate the publication of the new Fabian Society pamphlet ‘Our London’, we thought it crucial to hold an informal roundtable/on-floor discussion to inspire the capitals progressive policy for 2015, and beyond.

Hosted alongside the pamphlets partners Unions Together and The City of London Corporation, and situated in the wonderful Fishmongers Hall, the panel featured London focused insight from Sadiq Khan MP as chair, alongside participants Leroy Logan, Baroness Jenny Jones, Lord Andrew Adonis, and Ken Livingstone. Below is a reduction of the most important points that emerged from each speaker amongst some responses they had to on-floor questions:

Leroy Logan spoke of his time as superintendent of the Metropolitan police, and the Olympic Policing Co-ordination team. Also considered the 2012 Olympic Games as a height of the Met’s success in providing safe, friendly, controlled, concealed yet omnipresent policing. For him, it is an imperative to influence this style of policing throughout the year.

Jenny Jones believes that unlike when Labour was in office, the current London Assembly leadership has taken environmental progression, and climate change off the political agenda. London must therefore take a more ecological outlook to matters of providing policy facets of housing, heating and transport to become integrated in standard policy, and sustainably surpass 2015.

Lord Adonis paid particular reference to the ‘gimmicky tactics of Boris Johnson’ in transport – new buses have a 30% reduction in capacity, and Emirates Air Line Experience ferries as many people in a week as the Thames Gateway would have in 10mins. Also mentions a curious thought on London without the Thames, and how transport, and infrastructural links would survive were bridges simply roads.

Ken Livingstone saw ‘affordable housing’ as purely a political term thrown around to. Rather than our national neighbours who invest heavily in industry, as a nation we rely too heavily on housing as an investment. Unbridled consumerism also needs to be reduced in order to tackle climate change.