For fairness and progress

Unite has described Sadiq Khan’s manifesto setting out his London Mayoral bid as a “programme of fairness” which will be welcomed by millions in the capital.

Labour’s candidate has put affordable housing and tackling inequality at the heart of his proposals – pledging to build thousands more homes each year, plus a better deal for renters.

Launching A Manifesto for all Londoners the Tooting MP said, “Too many are being priced out of our city. This election is a referendum on the Tory housing crisis.

Distant dream

“For young families, even those on good incomes, home ownership is increasingly a distant dream. Those Londoners need a Mayor with the ambition and ability to deliver a massive step-change in home building.”

Introducing the manifesto Khan writes, “We need to build more homes, including more genuinely affordable homes for Londoners, and fewer gold bricks for overseas investors.”

He also plans to introduce an online database of ‘rogue’ landlords to help renters in the capital and work with councils, housing associations and residents groups to “break the homebuilding logjam.”

On education and training Khan – whose main rival is the Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith – is pledging a new skills for Londoners taskforce to identify gaps in provision.

There are also promises to tackle the blight of low pay and engage employers to make London a Living Wage City, a place ‘in which all workers are paid fairly’. Similarly Khan has made it clear he is determined to end inequality on gender pay and make hate crime a priority for police.

Fares freeze

Another key plank is the idea of freezing fares on public transport for four years, added to a one-hour ‘Hopper’ ticket – all of which would mean Londoners have ‘a modern and affordable transport network’ and won’t pay a penny more to travel in their city in 2020 than they do today.

Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional secretary for London said: “millions of ordinary Londoners will heartily welcome the things that Sadiq has set out in his manifesto, especially on housing.

“His is a programme of fairness and progress; on public transport fares, low pay, gender inequality, and enhancing skills and training.

“All of this stands in stark contrast to the negative and divisive campaign offered by Zac Goldsmith, a candidate lacking vision, values and experience.”

The Labour hopeful currently remains the front-runner for the May election, with the bookies – and latest polls putting him as much as ten points ahead of Goldsmith.