Sadiq Khan launches London Nightlife Taskforce

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan launched a new Nightlife Taskforce to tackle the issues faced by the London nighttime economy.

Transcript

00:00The fact that we are the greatest city in the world doesn't make us immune from the pressures

00:03of the night-time economy, Brexit, the pandemic, the cost of living crisis, the cost of doing

00:09business crisis, business rates going through the roof, rents going through the roof, planning

00:13concerns, licensing concerns. So go away, you know, do the piece of work and come back with

00:19recommendations. It's still totally clear though on what they can give you that your night star

00:23couldn't. I mean she had come from the nightlife sector herself, she was regularly liaising with

00:27and engaging with different night venues and councils. What is it that a task force will give

00:32you that a new night star couldn't? Well the manifesto that I wrote was written when we had

00:36a night star so it was always the intention, even with a night star, to have the independent task

00:42force because look you've got in a room in the same place experts from across London's night-time

00:47economy. Never before has a group as expert as this ever come together. I call them the Avengers

00:52Assemble. They're not quite saving the planet but they're hoping to save the night-time economy in

00:56our great city. Amy LeMay came under a huge amount of criticism. I mean it was article after article

01:02you know saying what a terrible job she was doing. Was any of that criticism justified in your view?

01:07Was she being unfairly maligned? I thought she did a great job and I'm really grateful for the

01:12work that she did and I wish her the best of luck in her new exciting future.