Video: BBC Politics London, 4 October 2026
BBC Politics London looked at a busy few days for Westminster on Sunday, from the council's crackdown on badly parked e-bikes to the closure of Oxford Street to traffic from 26 October.
The BBC's round-up covered three stories that matter to Westminster residents.
E-bikes
Westminster's Conservative council has had enough of e-bikes left across the city's pavements. It is seizing badly parked bikes and charging the operators to release them, and last week it doubled the number of enforcement teams on patrol.
The Mayor of London also wants London-wide rules for dockless e-bikes, run by TfL, but they depend on legislation that has yet to come. Westminster isn't waiting.
The Banksy statue
The programme also looked at the future of Blinded by the Flag, the Banksy statue that appeared overnight in Waterloo Place in April without the council's permission. By August the council had spent almost £60,000 protecting it, on barriers, administration and a security guard. It is exploring all options, and no decision has been made.
Oxford Street
From Monday 26 October, about a kilometre of Oxford Street, from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street, closes to cars, buses, taxis and bikes. Emergency vehicles can still use it. The closure starts as a temporary scheme, so feedback can be gathered before permanent changes next year.
The Mayor took the decision out of the council's hands. Westminster still has a long list of unanswered questions: where the displaced traffic will go, public safety, and access for people with additional needs.
Cllr Festus Akinbusoye, councillor for Abbey Road ward, was in the studio. Asked whether the council's concerns had been listened to, he said: "It doesn't seem like it at all."
"The issue now is... how can we make this work? Because the West End is not just made of Oxford Street," he said. "The environmental impact assessment, which the council have requested from the Mayor's Office... has not been forthcoming."
Westminster's Conservative councillors will keep pressing the Mayor for answers on behalf of residents and businesses around Oxford Street.
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