{"id":341318,"date":"2025-08-13T14:05:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341318\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T14:05:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T14:05:28","slug":"these-people-cant-stand-what-london-represents-it-makes-a-mockery-of-their-entire-worldview-byline-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/341318\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018These People Can\u2019t Stand What London Represents\u2026 It Makes a Mockery of their Entire Worldview\u2019 \u2013 Byline Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2018Broken Britain. Lawless London\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The way some politicians and political commentators denigrate our capital city and country makes you wonder why they choose to live here.<\/p>\n

London, they\u2019ll tell you, is some dark, dystopian backwater. A city where, whenever you step out onto the street, you will be the victim of a violent mugging or worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This image \u2013 this fiction \u2013 is not the London I know and millions love. It\u2019s not the London I was born and raised in. It\u2019s not where I studied, where I met my wife, where I raised my daughters. And it\u2019s not the city I\u2019m now proud to serve as Mayor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

London is the greatest city in the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a place that\u2019s bursting with ambition, innovation, and creativity \u2013 down every street and in every borough, you\u2019ll find some of the world\u2019s finest people, theatre<\/a>, music, food, and art.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In London, you can get a world-class university education as we boast more top universities than any other city. Or you can get a job at one of the most exciting, established multinational or fast-growing companies on Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The London Londoners know is a place for doers and dreamers, of every colour and creed. A city where you are free to be who you want to be, love who you want to love, and celebrate whatever culture or background you come from.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why people from across the UK, and around the world, come and make this city their home \u2013 including, in recent months, a record number of Americans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, despite what the doomsters say, things haven\u2019t been getting worse. Across many areas, they\u2019ve been getting better.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re living in London today, the air you breathe is now dramatically cleaner than it was 10 years ago, thanks to our policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to travel around our city, you can now use the night tube, the Elizabeth Line, and the Superloop, and a cycling network that has increased more than fivefold since 2016.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a young Londoner, when you go to a state primary school, as well as a first-rate education, you can benefit from a free nutritious meal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am well aware that our capital city has challenges \u2013 from the cost of living to the housing crisis. As Mayor, the safety of Londoners is what keeps me up at night.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But what those who peddle the \u2018lawless London\u2019 line won\u2019t tell you is that despite significant central government<\/a> cuts to the budget of the Metropolitan Police since 2010, fatal shootings, burglaries, and violent assaults causing injury have all decreased since I became Mayor in 2016. The number of homicides recorded last year was half that in 2003, and murder rates in our capital are significantly lower than in major US cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. They are also lower than those in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Toronto, and Berlin.<\/p>\n

And according to official statistics, you are less likely to be a victim of violent crime<\/a> with injury in London than you are elsewhere in England and Wales<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know many Londoners are worried about phone theft, which is why we are increasing the number of police<\/a> officers patrolling hotspots in the West End by 50%. This has already led to a reduction of personal robbery which I\u2019m determined to build on.<\/p>\n

Of course, I\u2019m not complacent. I don\u2019t say this to sugarcoat. One future stolen, one act of violence, one home burgled, is one too many. But the facts show: we\u2019re making progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, if improvements are being made, why is there such a concerted effort \u2013 often led by those who pose as patriots \u2013 to talk down our great capital city?<\/p>\n

The fact is: these people can\u2019t stand what London represents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They believe a city that is as diverse and progressive as ours cannot be allowed to thrive. Because if it does, it makes a mockery of their entire worldview.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We expose their politics for what it is: fearmongering nonsense.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the fact is, whether they like it or not, London is a success story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is an economic powerhouse. It is often voted the best city in the world to come to live, work, and study in. It is the ultimate model for open-mindedness, multiculturalism, integration, and progressive values.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the beginning of our history, our capital city has been continually shaped and reshaped by the diverse communities that have called it home. If some people think we would be better off without jerk chicken or jollof rice, without Rye Lane or China Town, Ramadan or St Patrick\u2019s Day, without the films of Sir Steve McQueen or the songs of Little Simz, without Yotam Ottolenghi\u2019s food or Emma Raducanu\u2019s backhand \u2013 I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll find many Londoners who will agree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, the evidence is that Londoners have more positive views on lawful immigration<\/a> than the rest of the UK, and that\u2019s not a surprise. Because we know we have nothing to fear and everything to gain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Politicians have a choice: divide or unite; exploit people\u2019s anxieties or address them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know what the majority of Londoners would prefer and what I\u2019ll continue to do as Mayor.<\/p>\n

It is why I\u2019m convinced now is not the moment for despair, but for continued determination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A safer, greener, fairer, and more prosperous London is within our reach. But we must continue building it together.<\/p>\n

Sadiq Khan has been the Labour<\/a> Mayor of London since 2016. He was the Labour MP for Tooting from 2005 to 2016. He served in the Shadow Cabinet under Ed Miliband\u2019s leadership of the Labour Party<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Support our mission to provide fearless stories about and outside the media system Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-341318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115021841973321552","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}