Why the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is deserving of a knighthood - Yorkshire Post Letters

From: Justin Enthoven, Pateley Bridge, Harrogate.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has, over the years, had to cope with a torrent of criticism and abuse. The latest episode of this right-wing attack is to campaign via a petition to prevent Mr Khan’s forthcoming knighthood.

People have every right to have their opinions, the campaign claims that Mr Khan is ruining London and yet he has been democratically elected twice to his office. He must be getting something right.

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Sadiq Khan has had the vision and courage of his convictions to start the long process of improving the air quality of the Metropolis so that the next generation of young children have clean air in their lungs rather than polluting carbon monoxide.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, speaks to the media. PIC: Lucy North/PA WireThe Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, speaks to the media. PIC: Lucy North/PA Wire
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, speaks to the media. PIC: Lucy North/PA Wire

For this and this alone he deserves the honour. But he will never be forgiven, by some, for his quest for cleaner air, involving the introduction of congestion charging and the Ulez scheme to reduce harmful vehicle emissions. These people claim to see the hand of deep socialism at work.

It is worth remembering the failure of the Garden Bridge project over the Thames originally suggested by Joanna Lumley, in 1998, as a memorial to Princess Diana. The plan gathered momentum in 2012 and the following year the then mayor, Boris Johnson, supported the scheme, pledging that TfL would help deliver it.

It was also backed by the then chancellor George Osborne. It was intended to be a largely privately funded project but a Transport for London (TfL) inquiry showed that around £43m came from the public's pocket.

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Doubts began to surround the project, overseen by Boris Johnson, after it lost the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan in April 2017. I don’t remember a campaign criticising Boris Johnson and calling for his removal from office for wasting public money. He just went on to greater things.

When King Charles knights Sadiq Khan, the children of London should breathe deeply and applaud him.

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