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A year ago, we said bye Boris and ‘sup Sadiq, as he became the new Mayor of London. The former human rights lawyer and Tooting MP beat the other 11 hopefuls with a nearly 57 percent majority to take over at City Hall. And over 12 months, he’s proved to be a man who gets shit done.
In his manifesto, he promised to tackle the housing crisis, be green, freeze fares and make London a more equal place to live – and so far he’s lived up to his word.
Here’s a reminder of what he’s been up to.
He got us an awesome Night Czar
Following in the footsteps of Amsterdam, Paris and Zurich, Sadiq got us a Night Czar to help London’s nightlife scene thrive and keep revellers safe. He pulled a doozy by getting New Jersey-born Amy Lamé, a BBC broadcaster who has run legendary LGBT night Duckie since the mid-‘90s.
He’s been all over improving transport
If there’s one area Sadiq has excelled in, it’s transport. Not only has he made the night tube happen, he’s also made good on his promise to introduce the Hopper fare – meaning we can do two bus journeys for the price of one. And he’s even given sympathy to Londoners with overactive sweat glands by installing opening windows on those stuffy Routemasters. While the price of travelcards may have gone up, he has stayed true to his word on freezing the price of single fares.
He’s been tough on air pollution
In October, a £10 Toxicity Charge will be put in place to combat the capital’s air pollution problem, as it is estimated that over 9,000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to long-term exposure to air pollution. It’s the toughest measure made by any city in the world to prevent air pollution.
He took steps to protect London’s renters
We all know the rental market can be a scary place, but Sadiq had our backs when he put plans in action to start ‘naming and shaming’ rogue landlords who exploit their tenants in a new online database. Plus, just in the nick of time before his anniversary in power, last week he delivered the first 76 of his London Living Rent homes, which will help middle income renters save for a deposit.
He’s created a markets supergroup
Sadiq is big into London’s markets (we even interviewed him at his local one), so he’s been recruiting experts and business leaders to join the brand new London Markets Board, aiming to protect them from private development or rising prices.
He’s proved he’s pretty good at the LOLs
As well as being a great figurehead for our city, Sadiq’s pretty witty too. He didn’t take long to prove that he’s much funnier than Boris Johnson when he told this joke about Jeremy Hunt.
G’wan Sadiq!
In other news, Sadiq Khan has scrapped the Garden Bridge.