London: London mayor Sadiq Khan on Tuesday demanded for more tax-raising powers. He called for the city to be given more autonomy to allow it to ride out the economic uncertainty unleashed by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union (EU).
His statement comes after a petition to make the capital an independent city-state attracted 175,000 signatures.
Khan, from the opposition Labour Party was elected mayor of the capital last month. He said that he wants to protect the city’s “jobs, wealth and prosperity,” he added. “As much as I might like the idea of a London city state, I’m not seriously talking about independence today. I am not planning to install border points on the M25!.”
“But on behalf of all Londoners, I am demanding more autonomy for the capital – right now. More autonomy in order to protect London’s economy from the uncertainty ahead, to protect the businesses from around the world who trade here and to protect our jobs, wealth and prosperity.”
Mr Khan said that people in the rest of the UK would benefit from more devolution for London “because when London succeeds, the rest of the country succeeds too. And when we fail, the entire nation fails.”