Conservative Leader Cllr Paul Swaddle responds to formal legal advice on the Mayor's pedestrianisation plans
Westminster's new Conservative administration has today set out its position on Sadiq Khan's plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street, following formal legal advice taken in the first weeks of taking office.
Cabinet Member for Growth, Cllr Tim Barnes, was on Oxford Street this week to address residents directly. He confirmed that one of the first acts of the new administration was to instruct officers to seek proper, formal legal advice on the Mayor's proposals.
That advice is clear. A judicial review should have been lodged months ago. The window to bring the strongest legal challenge has closed, and Labour's inaction means that a legal challenge today is far harder than it ever needed to be.
This is the legacy Westminster's previous Labour administration has left behind.
Labour had months to act. They were warned. Conservative councillors proposed a fighting fund to take the Mayor to court. Labour blocked it. Conservative councillors brought motion after motion to stand up for local people. Labour voted them down at every turn.
Instead of standing up to City Hall, Westminster Labour rolled over and surrendered Oxford Street to Sadiq Khan.
A Labour government, a Labour Mayor and a Labour Council
This is what happens when a Labour government, a Labour Mayor and a Labour Council all work hand in glove. Capitulation and collusion against the residents, businesses and workers of Westminster.
The consequences of that political alignment have been felt across the borough. But nowhere more clearly than on Oxford Street, where local people have been shut out of decisions about their own high street.
Worst of all, Labour has ignored disabled and elderly residents who rely on direct buses to reach Oxford Street. Oxford Circus Underground station is not step-free. For thousands of Westminster residents, the bus is not a convenience; it is the only way to access the shops, services and workplaces of the West End. Labour's silence on accessibility throughout this process has been indefensible.
A new Conservative council, a new mandate
But this fight is not over. It is only beginning.
On 7 May, Westminster voted for change. A new Conservative council has been elected with a clear mandate to stand up for local people. Sadiq Khan can no longer count on a compliant Labour administration at City Hall North to wave his proposals through.
This administration will use every legal lever available to it. Every option remains open. And the Conservative team will continue to hold the Mayor to account at every stage.
An offer to the Mayor
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Paul Swaddle, has formally written to Sir Sadiq Khan to invite him to a meeting to discuss a workable plan for Oxford Street. That offer stands.
Cllr Swaddle said:
"Labour failed Westminster on Oxford Street, and now residents are paying the price for their inaction. They had months to act. They did nothing.
But this Conservative administration will not walk away from the people Labour ignored. We will fight for the disabled and elderly residents who depend on direct buses. We will fight for the businesses and
workers who make this street one of the great commercial heartlands of London. And we will fight for the residents who were shut out of decisions about their own high street.
My offer to the Mayor stands. Sit down with me. Let us find a plan that actually delivers for Oxford Street. The door is open, but Westminster will not be ignored."
