The Mayor and Government's decision to disregard local people to pedestrianise Oxford St is a clear breach of public trust.
Leader of Westminster Conservatives, Cllr Paul Swaddle, calls on Westminster City Council and the London Assembly Member for Westminster to stand up against the Mayor and Government, fight these proposals and put local people first, including launching a Judicial Review if needed.
Paul's letter to the Labour Leader of Westminster City Council, Cllr Adam Hug
I am sure you share my shock and disappointment at the Government’s decision to allow the Mayor of London to take control of Oxford Street.
The decision by the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, to give Mayor Khan new powers to force through plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street is a clear breach of trust with local people who have made their views clear that they do not want traffic transferred onto their streets.
Ensuring local people’s views are heard is at the heart of local democracy and this decision by the Government to transfer powers from the local authority to the Mayor is nothing less than democratic vandalism. We must take a stand against this decision, not just for Westminster but for all councils across England.
The Conservative Group on Westminster City Council opposes the Government’s plan and the Mayor’s proposals. As you will remember, the former Conservative-run administration stood up to Mayor Khan when he outlined his previous scheme to pedestrianise Oxford Street and it was stopped, much to the relief of local people. I am sure you will want to take the same stance and I urge you to bring a Judicial Review on the decision. The Conservative Group will support the council taking legal action.
I hope you will stand up for the people of Westminster and ensure that Ms Rayner rethinks her plans so we safeguard local democracy and ensure local people’s voices are heard loud and clearly.
Paul's letter to the Labour Greater London Assembly Member, Cllr James Small-Edwards AM
As the London Assembly Member for West Central, I am sure you share my concerns over the Government’s plan to give Mayor Khan new powers to take Oxford Street off Westminster City Council. I urge you as the elected representative for the people of Westminster to stand against these plans and call on the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, to rethink her decision.
Although a relatively newly elected public servant to the London Assembly, you will be aware of the widely held view by the majority of local people across the West End against the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street. I am proud that the previous Conservative administration in Westminster stood up to Mayor Khan when he first mooted his plan to pedestrianise our iconic street. Local people are genuinely concerned about traffic being transferred onto neighbouring residential streets, leading to poor air quality, road safety concerns and loss of amenity.
I urge you to stand up for Westminster and call for the Government not to proceed with their plan to hand over Oxford Street to the Mayor. Please write to both the Deputy Prime Minister and the Mayor asking them not to proceed with these plans. I hope you will also bring this matter up at the next Mayor's Question Time.
I am sure you will agree with me that protecting local democracy is paramount to ensure local people’s views are heard and that we must do all we can to persuade the Government that giving the Mayor these new powers over Oxford Street is wrong and unnecessary.
If you share our concerns, please sign our petition below, calling on the Labour-run Westminster City Council to stand up to the Government and rethink their plans to transfer powers to the Mayor of London to manage Oxford Street.
