London mayor attacks decision to sideline city in spending review, arguing it has some of UK’s worst deprivation
Ministers must not “stumble into the trap of putting our towns and cities against each other”, Sadiq Khan will say, as he delivers a blistering attack on the Treasury’s decision to sideline London in this week’s spending review.
In a state of London address, the capital’s mayor will urge ministers to stop treating investment as a zero-sum game between north and south – arguing that some of the worst deprivation in the country is within London’s borders.
“I’ve seen first-hand how parts of our city suffer from some of the worst poverty and deprivation in the country,” he will say. “As someone who grew up on a London council estate, I know help for our communities should be based on need not geography.
“A child blighted by a lack of support and opportunity in Newham or Lewisham is just as deserving as a child born into similar circumstances in Newcastle or Leeds.”
