Sadiq Khan’s London offers a taste of Starmer’s Britain

For a fewledmaaatemaaatefifamaaate hours on July 21st last year, Piccadilly Circus’s advertising hoarding provided the perfect symbol of Sadiq Khan’s eight years as mayor of London. The 5,500 individual tiles arranged themselves into six five-metre-high letters to spell one giant word: “”. It was the pinnacle of Mr Khan’s “Say ‘Maaate’ to a Mate” campaign, which encouraged young men to call out sexism by their peers. It even came with an interactive video, in which a young man’s behaviour degrades—at one point he dry-humps a sofa—until the viewer hits a button marked “”, the man apologises and the group of jobbing actors return to their game of .It is well-meaning, ineffectual, cringeworthy and yet the best the mayor can do with his limited resources. The mayor of London has a mighty title but a puny role. Ending violence against women is beyond his actual powers, which extend to managing , some planning law and advising the police. is, ultimately, beholden to central government when it comes to how many police patrol its streets or how many social workers local authorities can afford. Sometimes, all a politician can do is plaster “” on a billboard and hope for the best.