Tory politicians have snubbed an investigation into the impact of Brexit on London’s economy. Neil Garratt and Andrew Boff were due to be among London Assembly members on the Economy Committee taking part in the probe today but pulled out of the session.
It comes as London Mayor Sadiq Khan hit out at Brexit in a major speech this evening. Mr Garratt, City Hall Conservatives leader, said: “The Economy Committee’s investigation into Brexit symbolises everything that is wrong with Sadiq Khan and Labour in London.
“On a week when the trade unions threatened to bring London’s economy to its knees with Tube strikes and the 1,000th murder since Sadiq Khan became Mayor, Labour chooses to re-visit Brexit.
“This is typical Sadiq Khan and typical Labour. They won’t focus on the issues that matter to Londoners.
“Labour in City Hall are spending time on national foreign policy they don’t control, while ignoring the real problems in London that are the Mayor’s actual job: crime, transport, housing.
“City Hall Conservatives won’t attend this Committee investigation. It makes no sense to revisit Brexit. We need to look forward not back. We think this is a waste of time and a distraction.
“Mayor Khan started this week encouraging unions to threaten Londoners with even more strikes, what is he doing about that?”
The committee met this afternoon to grill academics from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Warwick, as well as business experts, about the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on London’s economy.
The boycott by Mr Garratt and Mr Boff left three Labour London Assembly members, one Lib Dem and one Green on the committee.
Marina Ahmad, the committee’s Labour chair, said: “It is typical that the Conservatives don’t want to focus on the real challenges facing Londoners.
“The average Londoner was £3,400 worse off last year because of Brexit, which has cost the country £140 billion as a whole. To suggest looking at the impact of Brexit on London’s economy is a waste of time shows how hopeless the Conservatives’ understanding of our economy is.
“These are very real financial impacts being felt by London’s businesses as well as citizens, but instead of taking part in this discussion with independent experts, the Conservatives have gone on strike.
“They might want to bury their heads in the sand and pretend Brexit is a problem of the past, but this does a disservice to the Londoners affected.”
It comes as Mr Khan claimed Brexit was “dragging down” the capital’s economy in a speech to the London Government Dinner at Mansion House this evening.
But Tory London mayoral candidate Susan Hall said: “Sadiq Khan always ends up banging on about Brexit when he gets into trouble.
“1,000 people have been murdered on London’s streets while he has been failing to lead the police, and his unfair ULEZ expansion is ripping off families, small businesses and charities. Londoners deserve so much better and they can vote for it on 2 May.”
