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How can the PM improve the lives of Londoners?

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CitrixNews Staff
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How can the PM improve the lives of  Londoners?
How can the PM improve the lives of Londoners?51 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleHelen DrewBBC Politics LondonBBC Brick residential buildings with rows of chimneys and rooftop terraces, viewed across a dense urban neighbourhood in daylight, with sunlight striking the façades and a painted mural visible on one wall.BBC

BBC Politics London has been speaking to three groups about what key priorities should be for Prime Minister Keir Starmer - or his successor - when it comes to improving the lives of Londoners, from the most vulnerable, such as children in poverty to those running small businesses.

I spoke to the Little Village charity, the London Chamber of Commerce and the think tank Centre for London about which policies would have the greatest impact.

Scrap the child benefit cap

Sophie Livingstone, chief executive of the charity Little Village which helps families in London with essentials for their children, said poverty was "a political choice".

While the charity welcomed Labour's decision to scrap the two-child benefit cap, Ms Livingstone said ministers needed to go "further and faster".

She calls for action on the benefit cap, which limits the total amount a single family can receive, and on the local housing allowance, which she said was having "a really big impact" on families.

Sophie Livingstone seated indoors in front of shelves filled with toys, books and colourful items, wearing a dark top with a small badge, in a close interview shot.Sophie Livingstone thinks the government needs to go "further and faster"

"I would like them to think about specific measures that build on the two-child limits, so things like the benefit cap, which limits the amount of money a single family can get, and also the local housing allowance, which is having a really big impact," she said.

"Housing is one of the biggest issues that we see families coming to Little Village facing, and awful situations like a whole family of five in one room, but also the conditions of that housing.

"Lots of health impacts from things like mould and damp, families needing everything new in terms of clothing for their children because the damp's eaten away through it for example."

Tax and small businesses

The London Chamber of Commerce, which represents 12,000 businesses said small firms could not afford uncertainty over tax and regulation.

Person in a suit and patterned tie seated on a sofa in an office setting, with framed photographs and model buses visible on a shelf behind, during an interview.Karim Fatehi of London Chamber of Commerce said small firms could not afford uncertainty over tax and regulation

Chief executive, Karim Fatehi said: "Small businesses cannot afford to worry about business rates and taxation."

He added that the "environment should be absolutely crystal clear for them to be able to navigate through the challenges".

Fatehi added: "London's success equates to the success of the rest of the country.

"If London succeeds, the rest of the country will succeed."

Tax-raising powers

The politically independent think tank Centre for London is calling for a radical shake-up of how the capital is run, with significantly greater powers handed to the mayor of London role.

Chief executive, Antonia Jennings, said: "One way that London is really held back compared to other global competitors is the extent to which it has fiscal devolution.

Antonia Jennings wearing a checked blazer and necklace, seated indoors in front of a large window with metal railings visible outside, speaking during an interview.Antonia Jennings of the Centre for London thinks there needs to be more fiscal devolution

"So to put that in some context, in New York, Mayor Mamdani will retain 70% of his budget. He will directly raise it.

"If you compare that to London, where the mayor of London only raises directly around 7%, so just a tenth of that."

She added that London and the wider southeast were net contributors - they pay more into the system than what they get back - so this approach needed to change.

"We'd like to see much more whole-scale fiscal devolution, given it is only London and the wider southeast that are regions that are net contributors to the Treasury," she said.

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LondonChild povertySmall businessesCost of Living Tax

Originally reported by BBC News