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London mayor is 'hopeful' over upcoming budget

BBC Sadiq Khan in a white shirt and navy suit. he stands next to Eddie Nestor, who is in a pink shirt and navy v-neck jumper. Eddie Nestor holds a BBC London microphone.BBC
Sadiq Khan told BBC London's Eddie Nestor he wants to see a "partnership approach" from the government

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he is "hopeful" when it comes to the chancellor's budget on 30 October.

"For the first time since I’ve been mayor I have got a government working with me, it’s lovely," Khan told BBC London's Eddie Nestor.

"What I’ve seen from Rachel Reeves, from Keir Starmer, from other members of the cabinet, are policies that will lead to growth."

Mr Khan said he hoped the budget would bring an "injection" of funding for the NHS, schools, Transport for London (TfL) and council housing.

"The key thing I want from the government is evidence of a partnership approach," he said.

"A chancellor who will work with us for the benefit of the capital city, Londoners, and our country.

"We need a huge injection of investment in the National Health Service, we need a huge injection of money in our schools - not just because the buildings are crumbling, but because our children are often struggling because of the lack of the right number of teachers and support staff to pupils."

Sadiq Khan sitting on a chair. Opposite is Eddie Nestor, who is holding out a BBC London microphone.
Khan said he does not want to see a budget of austerity

He added: "We need some certainty about capital funds for TfL. We need to be investing in trains and buses and so forth.

"So we need an increase in the capital support we receive from the government for TfL in relation to buying important pieces of infrastructure."

"I'm hoping for support in relation to housing. We desperately need more council homes, homes in London where you pay a social rent."

'Fix the foundations'

Khan said he would be disappointed in a "number of things".

"If this budget is a budget that is one of austerity, where the government is saying that actually we don't believe in the power of the state to do good, we don't believe in the importance of the NHS, of education and so forth, and there's massive cuts, that's a problem for me," he said.

"I don't mind the chancellor and the government making tough calls this year to fix the foundations to get growth going, to get businesses thriving, so you get more people working and paying taxes.

"I'm hoping Rachel Reeves shows she's going to fix the foundations - and we can have hope going forward."

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