A generation of young people will be “trapped” by the high cost of living in London unless the next Mayor makes dramatic changes to how it is governed, it was claimed today.
The influential Centre for London think tank warned that the “tide of popularity” for the capital could turn, leaving it sinking into decline after decades of dramatic growth.
It could lose the “spark, vitality and sense of fun” that had fuelled its success, while politics could “sour” and growing numbers of residents feel excluded from the capital’s promise.
In a landmark report ahead of the mayoral election in May, the think tank warns that high housing costs, combined with the most expensive childcare in the country and transport fares, have left a generation struggling.
“Being able to afford a place to live is no longer just a problem for the poorest in the city, but for many young professionals with relatively healthy salaries,” it says.
“It it is creating a generation of Londoners who are trapped — employed but with no disposable income or savings — without the resilience to cope with setbacks, or the wherewithal to participate fully in London life.
“These are the people for whom London’s promise — of being able to secure a decent quality of life amid the opportunities of a great city — seems increasingly hollow.”
One in five households in the capital earns below the average income, but not so little that they are entitled to benefits — and it is these families in particular which are struggling.
The report sets out a series of recommendations for the next Mayor, including the creation of an arms-length housing agency to help solve the crisis in affordability and supply. It would operate along the lines of Transport for London, which is overseen by the Mayor but run as a separate entity.
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Labour’s mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan has already said he would bring housing in-house, while Tory Zac Goldsmith has not yet set out his plans. The Centre for London says the housing challenge is too great to be addressed by small teams operating at City Hall. Instead, the Mayor should have a “guiding, rather than running” function.
The report said there was no single solution to the housing crisis. It called for carefully planned development on the Green Belt and a revision of the planning rules on density.
It recommended councils should build more housing, going back to the levels of the Sixties and Seventies when the public sector built three quarters of all homes. Last year the capital’s boroughs only constructed 300 homes between them — one in 85 of all residential properties built.
The Centre for London also calls on the next Mayor to “redouble” efforts to win more devolution of financial powers from central government, as it will be “very hard” to achieve their other objectives without this.
The report adds: “If London continues to become less affordable for the very people on whom its success depends, the tide of popularity could turn ... Strained infrastructure, scarce workplaces, poor air quality, deteriorating public services, may all help tilt the balance, as talented people and the enterprises that employ them relocate within the UK, Europe or worldwide.”
Other recommendations include:
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Appointing a chief digital officer to improve poor connectivity and tackle shortages in tech skills;
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Appointing a senior aide for budgeting, to make sure City Hall cash is being well spent;
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Giving the Mayor oversight of schools, including tackling school place shortages and maintaining standards, and control of funding for post-16 education and training;
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Creating temporary “pop-up parishes” with some fundraising powers to improve local services such as street cleaning and park maintenance;
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Setting up John Lewis-style childcare cooperatives to help reduce costs for hard-pressed working parents.
