Levelling up not a zero-sum game - Sadiq Khan

Levelling up and economic growth in other regions of the UK do not have to come at the expense of London, Sadiq Khan has said.

The mayor made the comment as he announced a pledge to create 150,000 jobs in London by 2028, alongside shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Mr Khan's London Growth Plan focuses on growing sectors such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, climate technology and life sciences.

Susan Hall, the Conservative mayoral candidate, said "mayors don't create jobs, businesses create jobs" and criticised the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion for harming businesses in outer London.

During a visit to the Francis Crick Institute, Mr Khan also characterised the government as "anti-London".

The Labour mayor said that economic growth in the UK was "not a zero-sum game".

He said: "London needs the rest of the country, just like the rest of the country needs London."

In its plan, Labour said it aimed to offer opportunities to young Londoners, particularly those from lower-income households, something that would be developed in collaboration with councils, businesses and trade unions.

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Mr Khan said: "London's economy is now growing faster than any other region of the country, but we've been held back by years of economic failure, incompetence and uncertainty by successive Tory governments."

With a general election expected in the months after May's mayoral vote, Ms Reeves said a Labour government and Labour London mayor would reset the relationship between the national government and the capital city.

She said this would put an end to the Conservative government's "damaging and counterproductive approach of talking London down".

When asked by BBC London, Ms Reeves would not say if any additional funding would go to the capital in the event of a Labour government.

"This isn't all about money. It is about working together with business to secure the opportunities for reform of the planning system so we can get Britain building again," she said.

Responding to Mr Khan's announcement, Ms Hall said: "Mayors can help with businesses but because I've been listening to businesses in outer London and he's not helping them at all, because of the Ulez expansion, that is damaging businesses."

She described his jobs target as "nothing but sketchy projections" and said she would focus on housing, crime and scrapping the expanded Ulez zone.

The Green Party's mayoral contender, Zoë Garbett, said Mr Khan had "failed to deliver" on similar pledges in the past and that Ms Reeves would "favour the super-rich" if she became chancellor.

"We are in an inequality crisis and too many Londoners are living in precarious work," she added.

Rob Blackie, the Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor, said Brexit was London's "biggest economic problem", which the Labour Pary was to "too scared" to tackle.

“For instance, technology companies now have to spend time and money complying with two data laws, one each from the EU and the UK. And too many European citizens in London are made to feel unwelcome," he said.

With additional reporting from PA Media.

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