Forum Topic

Arise Sir Khan!

About time!!  Well done Si.Happy New Year to everyone as well.

Dick Greenleigh ● 52d108 Comments

"Maybe being made a Sir has addled his small brain?" I wasn't aware that he had a brain, let alone a small one. I can't find any evidence of this.

Brian Coyle ● 29d

Would you fancy a green wafer of Steve 😉

Janice Evans ● 29d

Janice, I believe most people still do respect the elderly and I certainly cherish the older people in my life. For the most part they offer wisdom and experience that we can benefit from and have lived through hardships that have given them a toughness of character we lack. However when someone in their declining years starts ranting on about everyone who does agree with their obvious wrong opinions is a moron or a fool and continuously parrots fake narratives originating by our enemies, I think Soylent Green had the right idea.

Mark Evans ● 30d

Well you see Mark, unless I die early, I am conscious of the fact that I will get old one day but, all things being equal, if Reform do reinstate the WFP when I draw a pension, I will donate it to an animal welfare charity. Governments should look after the elderly. Animals have to rely on charities. This government seems to treat the elderly like animals.

Steve Taylor ● 31d

I do wonder what happened to respect for the elderly, we were taught torespect our elders which gives foundation for a good society and was a great way forward so it's very difficult to understand contempt towards them.

Janice Evans ● 31d

Well done for lobbying so vociferously for the elderly Steve, despite the obvious self-interest in you doing so.

Mark Evans ● 31d

No I haven’t offered help to pensioners because I’m not in government but I would suggest that pensioners have some dignity and expect payment of what they are due rather than having to beg for it as happened under the Marxist regimes in communist countries last century. I guess that Labour’s way of looking after vulnerable citizens is to simply fob them off and tell them to go to Citizens Advice. This is exactly why the Labour Party is the Nasty Party and it’s supporters are nasty, self serving, self indulgent people who care not a jot for society. This is exactly why people are driven to join Reform.

Steve Taylor ● 32d

Have you offered your help to Pensioners to fill in any forms or made any donations to Age UK or Citizens Advice who have being doing this for people who should be registered for more help.  Or would you prefer the elderly to freeze because they are not online, don't know who to contact and you don't want anybody else claiming any benefits?

Philippa Bond ● 32d

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/groomingOr perhaps clever enough to avoid the loaded question from someone who already has a reputation for inflammatory language.Child sexual abuse is suffered by all sexes and many people never ever divulge the encounters that they have had which they shouldn't have had and didn't invite.

Philippa Bond ● 32d

“ and are busy blaming others.”I am blaming the criminal gang groomers and rapists which idiot Kahn refuses to even acknowledge and you seem to think these scumbags need ‘understanding’.!!!  Why? So that you can advocate some sort of therapy for them at taxpayers expense?  The Philippa Bond Treebank I suppose. Yet you are happy for pensioners to freeze.

Steve Taylor ● 32d

Do you need someone to explain to you what a trial is? Reduced Friday commuting created capacity on the network and hospitality venues were demanding measures to boost trade on what used to be one of their best days. TfL tried out reduced fares and they didn't boost ridership as much as was hoped for. It would have been a waste of money if no trial had been held and the changes were implemented permanently

Andrew OSullivan ● 32d

Just like Sadiq who continually refused to answer a question. Take those red blinkers off from time to time I'd suggest.

peter king ● 33d

There you again Steve - you have preconceived ideas and are busy blaming others.  It will happen right in front of your nose and you won't be able to recognise it or do anything about it just because you refuse to listen to anyone else.

Philippa Bond ● 33d

“ People need to be made and make themselves more aware of what and how this happens instead of blaming everyone else ”Absolute rubbish. It’s totally obvious why this happens. It happens because there are scumbag groups who have no respect for young girls and they want to  prove their superiority by raping and abusing.  There’s nothing to understand. They are pure evil criminals. Let’s not waste energy or money in trying to ‘understand’ their evil brains. But London’s mayor runs a mile from the problem

Steve Taylor ● 33d

People need to be made and make themselves more aware of what and how this happens instead of blaming everyone else which is what some people are trying to do.  The recommendations  of Alexis Jay's report need to be actioned.  Far too many Coroner's Reports and Inquiries (which take years) are carried out without the Recommendations being actioned.https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/ (and don't just scroll on by because you think you know everything and/or don't want to know)

Philippa Bond ● 33d

I hope everyone on this thread thinks that it’s even more indefensible for people in positions of responsibility and involved with children and other victims of the type of abuse that’s been talked about in the last few posts to not notify the authorities about what they are aware of.And furthermore, that such people should be subject to criminal action if they „turn a blind eye”.Any objections?

Andrew Jones ● 34d

“ he wastes thousands of our council tax on the huge team that defend him.”Yet his refusal to acknowledge the existence of ‘grooming gangs’ is totally indefensible. The man is a disgrace!

Steve Taylor ● 34d

And you're a Leftie apologist! Why else would he just clam up and offer the police interview '' no comment''? We are talking about a very sensitive subject and you have jumped to his defence. No need, he wastes thousands of our council tax on the huge team that defend him.

peter king ● 34d

Well you are tunnel visioned.

Philippa Bond ● 34d

Maybe being made a Sir has addled his small brain? Unless he's trying hard not to offend his target market! Any sensible human being can see him sledging to avoid making a quote.

peter king ● 34d

Perhaps the NSPCC could explain to your beloved mayor exactly what grooming  is. Everyone else seems to understand.

Steve Taylor ● 34d

Have a look at what the NSPCC says about grooming and remember that this doesn't just happen to vulnerable children.  It can happen in many ways and  it also happens to adults and they can all become trapped and not feel that there is a way out especially when there is such a huge difference between rich and poor.https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/safeguarding-child-protection/grooming

Philippa Bond ● 34d

Yes perhaps she was too kind to the inarticulate mayor and should have just called them what they are:  RAPE GANGS.  It’s very concerning to learn that the mayor doesn’t understand very simple questions even though explained to him in kindergarten language.

Steve Taylor ● 34d

Little bit of background information, it was Susan Hall who retweeted a tweet by that lovely person Katie Hopkins, where Katie Hopkins referred to Sadiq Khan as "the nipple height mayor of Londonistan".Give me Sadiq Khan over Susan Hall any day.

Andrew Jones ● 34d

VULNERABLE people including children of ALL SEXES and ALL FAITHS & NONE are groomed for various purposes.  WE should ALL be concerned about them ALL and not allowing division to be created and stoked by anyone.  The questioner is already known for divisive speeches.

Philippa Bond ● 34d

https://x.com/tpointuk/status/1879943725650178543?s=48&t=_OXXb7_9keyv_1a5g4fc6Q

Steve Taylor ● 34d

For all the declamatory statements claiming that Sir Sadiq has destroyed London or that he has turned it into some sort of crime hellhole, nobody has yet to put forward a cogent argument that he has done a bad job. If the case for the prosecution is that TfL tried a new fare system and abandoned it when it proved not to be successful, the defence can rest. This goes a long way to explaining why he has won three elections.As far as I can see, looking at the evidence and trying to make fair comparisons he is doing a reasonable but not exceptional job. He is hard working and not venal, he appears to be courteous and even his opponents have warm words about his personality. However, from time to time, even with his wealth of experience, he can look slightly out of his depth. There is certainly a case to say that London deserves a better Mayor (although one has yet to be presented to us) but there is no good reason to have a vehement dislike of him.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 42d

Indeed it does if your residence is in Band D. Do you think funding of the LFB, Met Police etc should come out of some other revenue stream?

Andrew Jones ● 43d

In the spirit of diversity it’s time we had a Jewish Mayor.Recent bad press about Pakistani grooming gangs and CofE  cover ups of paedophiles suggests that a nice Jewish person should be given a chance.

Courtney Gilbert ● 43d

£471 of our council tax goes directly to Mr  KHANage s budget...

Anna Kirkpatrick ● 43d

He is indeed useless but very adept at wasting money that isn't his - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9dpd5155x0o

peter king ● 44d

Seems like a pretty worthless survey.It was an anonymous poll from what I can see. You had the option of providing an email address ( if you wanted to subscribe to various feeds from the express) but you didn't have to provide any information to "register" a vote if you didn't want to, so quite possibly people could have voted multiple times. The general stance of the Express appears to be pretty anti Sadiq Khan, if a casual glance of recent articles mentioning him is anything to go by.

Andrew Jones ● 44d

We've just had one of those and that was no better!

Philippa Bond ● 44d

DNA tests will be needed for everybody then.

Philippa Bond ● 44d

He could be bright green only yellow or a lovely shade of orange or blue if he was in any way effective. He redefines the term useless.

N V Brooks ● 44d

'Reading through this thread I guess there are few knuckle draggers who don't like him simply because of the colour of his skin.'Getaway! Really?

Vanessa Smith ● 44d

There is some validity to the claim that TfL has not adhered to high standards in its use of statistics and he must bear some responsibility for that but it is not a flaw that can be said to undermine his whole three terms.As for knife crime, the recent tragic events have put it in the spotlight again but it bears repeating that the rise we have seen is a national phenomenon and London had done slightly better than the national average. For those demanding he call for an immediate change in policy on prison terms for knife possession, they should perhaps note that the Met or those in the justice system more widely are not saying they want this. What we do know is that tougher penalties for weapon possession introduced previously have made gangs more likely to get minors to carry them until they are needed. Whether the recent deaths are a result of this, we won't know until more details emerge but it should serve as a caution to those who believe there are easy solutions.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 44d

“ I guess there are few knuckle draggers who don't like him simply because of the colour of his skin.”Yet so many who don’t like Khan because of his divisive politics absolutely love Mrs Badenoch.  Which she n itself makes your ‘guess’ absolutely ridiculous. Did it ever occur to you that people don’t like Khan simply because he is totally incompetent. Assume also that Zac Goldsmith lost the election some years ago simply because of his religion.

Courtney Gilbert ● 45d

In case that's a dig at me, he could be even whiter than me and I'd still think he's a vindictive little man. You bought race into it

peter king ● 45d

Like Boris before him he hasn't done much to improve London so I don't think he deserves to become a Sir.Reading through this thread I guess there are few knuckle draggers who don't like him simply because of the colour of his skin.

Brian Green ● 45d

He's a divisive little man who revels in being the underdog. He's also lucky with the expanding cultural make up of the capital with people wanting one of their own in charge to protect their interests.

peter king ● 45d

Diane, you find it hard to understand people's benign dislike of this man.I'll restrict my thoughts to just mention his habitual manipulation of statistics and spin to suit his vision on road traffic and congestion, housing and a host of other items, including his complacency on crime.This afternoon, in broad daylight, a 14 year old boy was fatally stabbed on a bus in Woolwich.Will the newly knighted mayor appear on our screens tomorrow morning advocating something radical like "an immediate 2 year prison sentence for anyone caught wrongfully carrying a knife"?No. He is more likely to put on a sad face, express his deep  sorrow for the boy's family and finish by saying that under him serious London crime has gone down.And he would have the statistics to prove it.

Denis I. Fox ● 45d

He was never a humble character. Huge chip on his shoulder and determined to be full of himself and quite arrogant with delusions of grandeur when he was just a lowly backbench MP.

Courtney Gilbert ● 45d

Someone needs to tell the King that Sadiq is indeed standing upright when he is  knighted so there is no need to tell him to ‘arise’ !

Courtney Gilbert ● 45d

I read somewhere that he was a humble character back in the day. I wonder what went to his head ? Very odd.

Anna Kirkpatrick ● 45d

My daughter was a constituent of his back when he was an MP and he was enormously helpful to her with an issue of some complexity devoting a huge amount of time an energy to the matter. She also found him to be very likeable with a good sense of humour.We remain very grateful to him so were very pleased to hear of his honour. Along with his long public service, he has had to deal with a large number of death threats including bullets sent to him in the post.I find it hard to think of a benign reason why some people have developed such a vehement dislike of him.

Diane Brown ● 45d

Its sweet of you that you want to please authority so much - but that attitide is not at all helpful in these times.Its KHAN-age out there !

Anna Kirkpatrick ● 46d

The fireworks were a ticketed event and people were told not to go into central London unless they had a ticket. Many of us didn't even need that warning to avoid it snd prefer to watch on television.  How much of a warning do you expect?

Philippa Bond ● 47d

Starmer put Khan forward for a knighthood. And guess who has the last word on who obtains an award! Starmer! Like marking your own homework!

V Killick ● 47d

Sample size and was there an ethnicity question?

peter king ● 47d

Did people approve of Sadiq Khan being honoured?  Yes, by a fairly comfortable majority of 56-44%.

Alastair Banton ● 47d

Central London on New Years Eve has been crowded like that since at least Millennium night, so you can’t blame Khan for that, except I suppose he has supported the recent firework displays, the biggest in Europe, and a clearly popular attraction - or somewhere we all know to avoid if we don’t want to be caught up in the celebratory crowds.

Peter Evans ● 48d

TfL has formed Places for London a property company to develop this landbank and over 1,000 homes have been built with over 3,000 under construction.Much of those are not in east London but very close to here with a massive development due to begin along Bollo Lane and another huge scheme between Acton Town station and Ealing Common.However, these schemes do appear to have stalled as they were proposed some years ago and, in some cases have planning permission. I can't tell you why this is but you will be aware it is not just TFL schemes that find themselves in this position. It could be like others there is a rethink due to the requirement for a second staircase core or a lack of demand for the affordable units from Housing Associations. If you have more insight and can explain why TfL has specific problems which are the fault of Sir Sadiq, that would be interesting to hear. Otherwise, it is probably best to assume that his housebuilding targets are being missed due to issues that are affecting all property development across London.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 48d

David, bless you. My ambition for 2025 is to change someone's mind, something which I failed to do in 2024.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 48d

my experience - police shut entry to the Canada steps side of Trafalgar Square by 11.25pm; I couldnt access friends, decided to come home, discovered Leicester Sq tube had been shut, visibly stressed TFL staff were redirecting folks to Holborn station, I boarded a train and while on the move and unable to get off - they announced the train wouldnt be stopping until Waterloo ! Tried to leave the Waterloo station that I never wanted to be at - hellish scenes, Took long time to get out, TFL staff told me conflicting direction advice, I asked a policeman who didnt even ask me where I was going, just advised me to follow the direction of the crowd back into the station ! Caught in a crush now,;couldnt move left,right,up,down, my bag was damaged, an elderly chap with a walking stick fell to the floor in front of me near the top of an escalator, 3 of us public got him back up on his feet, TFL staff nowhere to be seen but plenty of them outside in a group of 5 leaning against a wall and chatting among themselves, no interest in the situation around them. Welcome to Khans London.

Anna Kirkpatrick ● 49d

One of the main reasons for the massive slowdown a new starts in London has been the never ending rise in the price of brownfield land upon which to build. This, of course, does not apply to the mayor who has hundreds of acres 'landbanked'  to the east of the capital along with the entire TFL estate available upon which to build. The opposition at City Hall has calculated that it will be 2052 before he ever hits his target at the current start rate. That, by any measure, is an abject failure.

N V Brooks ● 49d

Happy New Year Mr.Parkinson , I always look forward to  reading your informative and analytical approach to subjects on this forum , in sharp contrast to the political and personal bias shown by others.

David Burke ● 49d

There has also been a shortage of construction workers since Brexit.

Philippa Bond ● 49d

I can't find any reference to the return of a billion in support grants and it is a surprising claim given that Sir Sadiq has been lobbying for more central government support for housing. This is not unjustified given that in the nineties central government used to supply 75% of the cost of building affordable housing and this has fallen to just 12%There is clearly a crisis in affordable housing construction as we speak and, unlike crime, where London's problems are mirrored in the rest of the country, this is a collapse that is confined to the capital. If you can explain to me why this is the Mayor's fault I'd be interested but it looks like London's dependence on tall buildings to provide the housing needed has been stymied by requirements such as a second staircase core in the wake of Grenfell. This is a central government policy initiated under the previous administration. Abject failure is not the wrong phrase to use about housing in London but you need to show how responsibility can be laid at the door of the Mayor because, as far as I can see, much of the reasons for the collapse in starts are out of his control.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 49d

Indeed, have a good one.

N V Brooks ● 49d

And a happy new year to you Nigel.

Mark Frost ● 49d

My guess is you'll be about a successful in uncovering that figure as you were in supporting data for your wild assertion that Khan isn't an abject failure.

N V Brooks ● 49d

Oh it really is an abject failure including returning almost £1 billion in support grants from central government as unspent.

N V Brooks ● 49d

The Mayor's record on housing starts is, like that on crime, quite nuanced but it also isn't really one that can be described as abject failure.During his first term he managed to achieve a significant boost in numbers over his predecessor and still averages over 10,000 more starts per year. He also oversaw the building of the highest number of affordable homes in a single year since the seventies.However, this has clearly all fallen apart in the last two years with affordable housing starts down by 88% in 2023/24. The reasons for this are various - higher interest rates, increased construction costs, increased costs for landlords particularly Housing Associations due to new regulations, reduced central government support all of which are outside the Mayor's control.His record on housing seems to mirror that on crime, moderately successful but ultimately undermined by broader economic and political factors.As for the other complaints, TfL's finances are not out of control rather on an operating basis it is generating a surplus, there is no problem with an increase in PR spend if it is effective and no evidence has been presented that it isn't, a pragmatic approach to union demands is in the interests of Londoners if the cost of the strike is outweighed by the cost of settling it.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 49d

I'll see if I can source some statistics on trombone importation over the Christmas period under Mayor Khan.

Mark Frost ● 49d

Rewarding mediocrity still seems to be the order of the day.

Keith Iddon ● 50d

Let's add in his virtue signalling renaming of the Overground lines and the failure of the return to work on a Friday initiative, both paid for by us (again).

peter king ● 50d

Ah, ok thanks for clarifying.

Andrew Jones ● 50d

Apologies Andrew, this forum software is dreadful being unthreaded, I was responding to Mr. Frost.

N V Brooks ● 50d

Not meaningless at all, and please point out any assertions that I've made in this thread.I have no idea about knife crime and whether Sadiq Khan has faired better or worse than the rest of the UK.I could point out that the number of motoring PCNs issued has increased year on year - does that mean that those who receive the PCNs are offending correspondingly more, or might it just mean that there is more effective enforcement and a higher proportion of offences committed are being captured? It could even be the case that fewer infringements of regulations are occuring even though more PCNs are being issued.Context is absolutely key when bandying statistics about.

Andrew Jones ● 50d

Meaningless deflection, as expected if you can't support your assertions. How sad.

N V Brooks ● 50d

Bandying figures around can be pretty meaningless without context.If there is a push on knife crime you might expect figures to drop e.g. if more people are aware they are more likely to get stopped and don't want to risk it, or you might expect figures to rise e.g. you are more likely to get stopped and found carrying a knife, so it wouldn't be a surprise there are more offences recorded.More meaningful (perhaps) would be the stating the number of knife attacks resulting in death per 100,000 people and how these compare with the overall figure nationally.

Andrew Jones ● 50d

And he let all those Americans in, with their trombones, to perform in the New years day parade. Shameful.

Mark Frost ● 50d

Housing starts?TfL budget out of control?Kowtowing to transport unions?Profligate spending on PR and self promotion.

N V Brooks ● 50d

That's one year's data whereas I was quoting figures for the whole of his three terms which is what he must be judged on. These actually show a much bigger increase (between 20 and 50% depending on when you chose to start and finish but, crucially these rises are below the average for metropolitan areas of the UK.As for him not wanting to talk about it - he made crime one of the central talking points of his last Mayoral campaign with a focus on  both enforcement and prevention.The Met has been told to focus efforts on areas with a high knife crime rate (a one year rise in offences could be a sign of more effective enforcement as arrests for possession don't necessarily signify a victim).The Mayor has established the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) which invests in community programmes aimed at early intervention. For instance, a £1.4 million investment supports approximately 40 community projects that provide support and diversionary activities for nearly 25,000 young Londoners in high-crime areas. He has given an additional £8million to expand the my 'MyEnds' scheme to allow councils to develop community led strategies to tackle knife crime extending it to 19 boroughs. In May 2024, he announced a £14.5 million investment in schemes designed to reduce knife and gun crime across London.You might be able to make a case that these measures are ineffective but you can't say he isn't talking about the issue or trying to take steps to tackle it.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 50d

I don't see why any public official paid good money by taxpayers should be knighted.Anyone who is in a position like he is should be doing his absolute best to justify people's trust and also earn his huge salary.If you look at the number of dodgy knighthoods that have been handed out for all kinds of spurious reasons,it is already a vastly compromised honour and an anachronism.

Keith Iddon ● 50d

"there were probably fewer victims of knife crime in London as a result of Sir Sadiq's policies." Regional Knife Crime Data "increase of 16% in Met Police recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in London in the last year (up to June 2024) "Its an increase of 4% in Knife Crime Data for England and Wales (up to June 2024)" Thats more victims in my book however you cook it on the met police stats. And we await the full years stats to be released. The real question is what is he doing about it,he certainly does not like to talk about it or answer questions about it. Im sorry but that is no good in anyones books

Julian Pavey ● 50d

The figures show there is no 'abject failure' on knife crime - on balance Sir Sadiq's policies seem to have mitigated a rise that was occurring due to range of factors outside his control. The record is far from perfect and, at best you would give him 6/10 for his efforts but no objective analysis would conclude that he has been completely ineffective. If you are going to try and twist this argument to say that I am an apologist for criminals and uncaring about victims, I can't really stop you. If you divorce your opinions from the facts then I can't change your mind on this subject but data suggests that there were probably fewer victims of knife crime in London as a result of Sir Sadiq's policies.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 50d

Errrm ... his title. Too many illiterate and aggressive prats on here, too ready to start hurling insults. A Burke indeed. Go well xx

Davey Harris ● 50d

How about mobil phone theft "in 2024, phone theft in London has been on the rise, with the Metropolitan Police reporting that 72,936 phones were stolen between January and November: Westminster Phone theft in Westminster increased by 33% in the year leading up to November 2024." Oh you could go on but hey ho,hes got ULEZ and School meals but most people are worried about crime and many are victims of crime but dont worry.

Julian Pavey ● 50d

If it were only his object failure to control a knife crime then although I would be annoyed it would pale alongside his total lack of control over TfL budgets. His appalling record on new housing starts, his total inability to negotiate with unions preferring simply to accept defeat as a victory and his profligacy in spending on his own PR unit, which has almost tripled in size since he assumed office. The man is an abject failure I really cannot understand any support for him

N V Brooks ● 50d

Im not bothered if he is knited or not. The simple matter is the mayor is publicly accountable for the police,and he has failed in many areas. If others have the same propblem then they need to step up. Just listen to those familes who have lost family members and what they think is not being done enough.And in some cases accuse the mayor of failure. Are they racists who get info from the net which someone allways uses as a defence and quite clearly does not know that many places on the net are go to places for news. And i dont mean the whacko websites or the star or mail online. There is some very good youtube sites that cover big stories as they are happening. And they get quadruple the viewership than mainstream news. One for instance is https://www.youtube.com/AgendaFreeTV Very good for keeping with a live fluid news story

Julian Pavey ● 50d

Perhaps those upset about the knighthood for Sir Sadiq would be less so if they took a more detailed look at the numbers.While those claiming that London has become a crime-ridden hellhole during his three terms as Mayor clearly don't live in London, there is no denying that knife crime has risen significantly. Depending on the base year you use, you can get a number between 20-50%This is obviously not good but you need to remember that the Met is primarily funded by the Home Office and there has been a rise in knife crime nationally as police numbers overall have been reduced.The Met has some unique problems in that although the last government tried to keep its funding growing in real terms, it did not match the real term growth allowing for population so there has effectively been a quite significant cut in the police per person ratio in London. That is not even allowing for the recruitment shortfall which is far more acute in London than anywhere else.In these circumstances it would not be surprising if London had seen the biggest increase in knife crime across the nation but the rise is at the lower end or in the middle (depending on which figures you use) compared with the rest of the country.At the same time gun crime has fallen to historic lows in London and is now, for the first time, below other urban areas in the country. As mentioned, the Mayor is not the main funder of policing in London but he has attempted to top up Home Office grants with money raised through the precept. Many of the same people criticising him for the rise in knife crime are also slamming him for tax increases but I've yet to see a credible explanation of how you can significantly reduce offences without providing the Met with adequate funding.The Mayor has also supported a wide range of initiatives across London to reduce youth crime with a particular focus on knives. Nobody should believe these will fix the problem but there are many examples of individual success stories.Looking at the picture more broadly, Sadiq Khan has presided over a rise in knife crime which is much less than might have been expected given national trends and the funding he has been given. There seems no valid argument for opposing his knighthood on the grounds of increased knife crime. Andy Street, who most would agree deserved his honour, saw a much bigger increase in offences involving possession of a weapon, than the national average.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 50d

Let's have a sizable budget to read name C9 after him.

Mark Frost ● 50d

Racist, Sir Sadiq, put up a poster depicting a white family, titled "Doesn't represent real Londoners"..

Michael Brown ● 50d

You can always tell a real Dick.Starts a row and then leaves the room.

Keith Iddon ● 51d

The evasive Khan and his blame game responses to direct questions about his performance as mayor, from one year ago.https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/questions-mayor/find-an-answer/mayors-failuresFor clarity, khan got his knighthood to keep him quiet on funding for London from central government. He was asking for half a billion from the Tories to ‘save TfL from collapse’. He’s accepted half of that from Labour, with strict instructions to increase fares, which will hit those on lower incomes much harder. But not a word of criticism from the very vain princeling.

Simon Hayes ● 51d

"basic needs of the nations" are of no concern to most Londoners. They want to walk the streets wihout fear -  thay cannotThey want to access affordable public transport without being held hostage by unions only motivated by greed - they cannot.The want to access afordable social housing, not read about how many hundreds of millions have been spaffed by successive mayors - they cannot.Get a grip.

N V Brooks ● 51d

As yiu are, rightly concerned about evidence please, save for the happy coincidence of a global pandmic driving down vehicle pollution in virtually every major conurbation, cite and support with evidnce any of the key areas of concern to Londoners where Khan has effected positive change.

N V Brooks ● 51d

"Elba said: “We need to tackle the root causes of knife crime, not just the symptoms. The coalition is a positive step toward rehabilitating our communities from the inside out.”You can't blame the London Mayor for all the problems that have been created by a lack of funding and attention by government to the basic needs of the nations. 

Philippa Bond ● 51d

Caring, Sir Sadiq, took away the car option from the poor and vulnerable and sent them down to the highly toxic London Underground..

Michael Brown ● 51d

Here's a tip for avoiding wasting your time with me or any of your other interlocutors: avoid evidence-free assertions, and don't think that just because expressions of prejudice are 'all over the net' they count as evidence.

Robert Fish ● 51d

"to avoid introducing any evidence" I dont need to introduce evidance and waste my time with you,its all over the net. Have a look one day

Julian Pavey ● 51d

No, that is all you need to concentrate on, to avoid introducing any evidence which might undermine your argument.If evading answers to questions were the mark of failure, then scores of Ministers of both parties, and in particular the last Prime Minister but two, would be judged utter failures.

Robert Fish ● 51d

Yet another evidence-free assertion!

Robert Fish ● 51d

It's a sick joke. He's an abject failure.  Wonder what he has on Starmer?

Claire Moran ● 51d

Thats the issueHe only talks and answers about the good he has done and ignores the failures and they are important ones. Hve you not seen mayors question time and how he deals with the oposition. The way he replies to some on that panel is a discrace. And he abuses the mins people have on the mike to question them in his replies. And it does not matter about other places or countries,hes the mayor of london and that is all you need to concentrate on

Julian Pavey ● 51d

Get what right, idiot.

David Burke ● 51d

Emma, before posting on this topic, why don't you ask yourself a few basic questions? What is the trend on knife crime in other large conurbations? Where exactly are those no-go zones, except in the head of Donald Trump? Is homelessness confined to London? What was the Conservative government's record on housebuilding? Someone else complained about the increase in the number of food banks during Khan's time in office. What is the reason for this, if not the spread of poverty caused by successive Conservative governments' economic policies?Clearly influenced by the prejudice of some of the tabloids, you concentrate only on the supposed negatives. What about the positives? What about the investment in children's health, in the form of free school meals for primary school pupils in 2023/24? What about the reduction in air pollution following the extension of the ULEZ? Finally, ask yourself whether subliminal racism underlies some of the tabloid attacks on Khan. Also consider how these attacks prejudice Khan's and his family's personal safety.

Robert Fish ● 51d

get it right all you Dicks, Burkes and Hares ...

Davey Harris ● 51d

Appalling decision from authorities. Reward for abject failure. Knife crime, gangs, no go zones, immigration (see ‘everyone welcome’ advertising), homelessness… all on the up.

Emma Elizabeth ● 51d

Twaddle, delivered what precisely? Food bank use up, knife crime up, fares up and new builds down. Yes he's a runaway success.  NOT!Cannot disagree about Johnson, a total disaster as was Ken before him .

N V Brooks ● 52d

Got it in one

David Burke ● 52d

Popular mayor who has delivered results  unlike the previous clown. Air pollution down and kids getting fed. Annoys the gammons too which is great. 

John Hall ● 52d

I heard him on local radio this afternoon playing the race card for his benefit this time. ''First man of colour to make the top despite a poor start in life, dad was a bus driver etc etc. He thrives on antagonizing people and then calls them out while diving behind his protectors. A stain on London's history.

peter king ● 52d

So says the man who believes that abject failure should be rewarded. I despair at the stupidity of some posters here.A mayor who has failed to meet a single key target save  for pollution reduction and only achieved that thanks to a fortuitous (for him) pandemic.

N V Brooks ● 52d

He’s definitely a mischief-maker!

Georgina Flint ● 52d

Methinks Tricky Dicky courts mischief.

Mr Denis.I. Fox ● 52d

So says the prat who thinks the world is flat.

David Burke ● 52d

A Dick and a Burke..

Michael Brown ● 52d

In response to the original post

David Burke ● 52d

Seconded

David Burke ● 52d

How apt is your name.

Keith Iddon ● 52d