Sadiq Khan – 2022 Comments on the Chancellor’s Economic Statement

The comments made by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, on 17 October 2022.

With the markets in turmoil, high inflation and interest rates soaring, the Chancellor had no choice but to take immediate action to prevent even more economic chaos. But so much damage has already been done, with Londoners and people up and down the country paying higher mortgage and borrowing costs as a direct result of the Government’s failed approach.

The Government is also still refusing to take the basic steps required to help those who need the most support during the worst cost-of-living crisis we have seen in decades. I will continue to call on Ministers to provide free school meals to all primary school children, to uplift Universal Credit by inflation and to ensure that the most vulnerable receive a basic amount of free energy this winter. They should also grant City Hall the power to freeze private rents in London, which would save people £3,000 over two years.

The Chancellor has massively scaled back the Government’s energy bill support scheme. He should now do what should have been done all along – introduce a windfall tax on energy producers to help foot the bill.

The Chancellor was also wrong to scrap the reintroduction of tax free shopping for tourists. This is something I have repeatedly called for to help boost sales and growth and to make London and the UK a more attractive place for international tourists to visit, bringing in far more money to the Treasury than it costs.