I will end ‘London living’ and get more ‘speed built’ houses in the city if PM

Sir Keir Starmer is promising to end “work London” and instead get more “rush-built” homes in the capital if he becomes prime minister.

Speaking exclusively to The Standard, the Labor leader vowed to work “hand in glove” with Sadiq Khan to ease the city’s housing crisis.

He pointed out that this would be a dramatic change from the current, often tense situation, with “the National Government picking up a fight with the Mayor of London”.

The increase in housebuilding would ease the rising pressure on rents, he added, which have risen, making it increasingly difficult for many people, especially young people, to live in the capital.

In a wide-ranging interview, Sir Keir:

Sir Keir unveiled Labour’s first six steps on the economy, the NHS, immigration, energy, anti-social behavior and the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers.

But the party has faced criticism for not giving more details about its governing plans.

Pressured by rising rents in London, the Labor leader, however, pledged to build more homes faster.

“One of the important things if there is a Labor government is that we will have a Mayor of London and a Labor government working hand in glove… instead of what you have had in recent years, which is the National Government fighting the Mayor of London “, he said.

“There will be an end to this.

“We will work together and be able to build more houses as a result at speed. This will have an impact on the rented sector, which is under severe pressure in terms of the rents people are paying.”

Cabinet ministers regularly clashed with Mr Khan on key issues including transport funding, housing, policing and crime, with some Tories indulging in anti-London jibes, apparently to woo “Red Wall” voters in the North and Midlands.

Sir Keir said: “Tory bashing of London is a big mistake.

“It’s a very short-sighted, counterproductive and divisive way of looking at politics.”

While London is the “economic powerhouse” of the country, he also pointed out that it is “a real mix”.

He added: “Yes, there is wealth in London, but there is also extreme poverty.

“When I talk about raising the bar… that means raising the bar across the country, but not at the expense of London. Nobody wants to bring London down.”

One of the factors holding capital back is the lack of workers, including in the hospitality sector.

But Sir Keir does not support relaxing immigration rules in response.

“The problem with the overall migration numbers is that they are too high and too high because of the lack of a skills strategy in this country,” he said.

Sir Keir headed to north London yesterday, where he outlined how the party had changed since the Corbyn years.

He dismissed claims in Islington North that Labor chiefs had acted “undemocratically” by deciding on Labor candidate Praful Nargund without being run down or voted on locally.

He also warned Labor voters considering backing the former party leader: “Ultimately it’s a straight fight between more chaos and division under the Tories or a Labor government.

“If you want change, you have to vote for it.”

Sir Keir met former Tory and Lib Dem voters at the Oak Caffe in Whetstone, north London, who are now considering voting Labour, with some praising him for rooting out anti-Semitism from Labour’s ranks.

Amid controversy over the Met Police’s policing tactics for the pro-Gaza marches in central London, the Labor leader stressed that officers had “a very difficult balance to strike and they have to do it in real time”.

He added: “It is right that people should have the right to protest, but of course there has been behaviour, extremism, within some of these marches, including anti-Semitism, which must be called out and followed by arrests. and prosecutions.”

On global warming, Sir Keir has been criticized for delaying the implementation of his £28 billion green economy plan.

“Let me reject the charge that I have softened,” he said.

“The commitment is clean energy by 2030, so this is renewables by 2030. Everyone looking at this is taking a sharp breath and saying it’s going to be very difficult.

“It’s doable, but it’s really difficult.”

Getting more people on the railways and out of their cars would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Commuters, however, should not expect a large-scale reduction in ticket prices from Labour’s renationalisation of the railways.

“It will come with a best rate guarantee because at the moment you have several rates that cost a fortune,” Sir Keir said.

“I’m not going to claim that what it also brings is the total reduction of all tariffs,” he added.