Sadiq Khan pledges to increase spending on cycling if voted London mayor (video)

By Joe Robinson

Sadiq Khan MP, Labour’s London mayoral candidate has pledged to increase spending on cycling if voted in to office in May.

During a meeting with British Cycling's policy advisor Chris Boardman, the Labour candidate pledged that if elected, he would build upon the work of current Mayor Boris Johnson.

Khan praised the work of Johnson and previous mayor Ken Livingstone but has vowed to ‘accelerate the progress’ of cycling within the capital.

“I’m not just going to keep the proportion of Transport for London spending on cycling the same, I’m going to increase it." he said. "Both Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone deserve praise for their plans for cycling, and I want to build on, and accelerate, the progress that we’ve made in London over the last few years.”

>>> Sadiq Khan doesn’t let his daughters cycle in London over safety fears

The MP for Tooting added “Cycling is a cheap way to move Londoners around our great city – it’s the best way to get a rising population around London.”

Talking to Boardman next to one of the new London cycle superhighways, the politician stated that cycling would be one of the key issues in the mayoral race. Major rival, Zac Goldsmith MP has already voiced opinion on cycling within London vowing to ‘rip up’ the cycle superhighways if unsuccessful.

Mr Khan stressed that cycling and the superhighways could be solution to the congestion problems surrounding the capital and increasing the safety of cyclists within the city. Khan himself stated that he does not allow his daughters to cycle in London due to the issue of safety.

“There’s no other way to make it safer and easier to cycle than segregated cycle lanes. I’m going to learn the lessons from the Cycle Superhighways”

“I’m not precious; I want to source the best ideas from other politicians, other cities in this country and other parts of the world. We need to make sure that more Londoners feel it’s safe to cycle.”