London’s Economy

I never get between a mother and her son, and I would never comment on colleagues’ family matters. In Hackney, we have seen an improvement in GCSE results. Six new city academies have either been built or are under way. We still have some way to go, as we do across London, but thanks to the investment of the Government in London and elsewhere we are starting to make a difference. Housing is key. Two-thirds of the UK’s households in temporary accommodation are in London. More than 150,000 London households are overcrowded, including 8,000 in the borough of Hackney. I see Hackney as the Ellis island of London, and possibly of the UK. People arrive from all corners of the globe and the UK and we need to keep those people in Hackney and in London if we are to see our city stabilise.