Sadiq Khan blasted for spending £2m on statues and ‘woke' plaques
Sir Sadiq Khan has handed Londoners a £2m bill for 'woke nonsense' as cuts to the capital's police budget loom.
The Mayor funnelled cash towards five new rainbow plaques to mark significant moments in the city's LGBT history. Spending also went on hundreds of new plaques, artworks, memorials and statues to celebrate diversity.
Projects organised by Sir Sadiq's 'Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm' – established in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 – have cost £2,138,888, as first reported by The Spectator.
The body was created in response to City Hall's belief that London's landmarks do not adequately represent the Capital's history. It is led by a panel of 14 members who were drawn from the city's cultural and architectural institutions.
A website for the commission states: 'London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with more than 300 languages spoken every day. Yet its statues, plaques and street names don't reflect our city's stories.'
Other projects taxpayers have funded include a memorial to victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in London's Docklands and another honouring the anti-slavery campaigner Olaudah Equiano.
The cost of the body included its grant-giving programme worth £1,156,417 for community projects dubbed 'Untold Stories'.
The scheme has backed almost 400 new artworks and events and 159 plaques and information boards in London since its inception, including five new rainbow-coloured plaques to commemorate prominent LGBT Londoners.
The installations mark 'people, places, culture and significant moments in London's LGBTQIA+ histories', according to City Hall's website.
Susan Hall, a member of the London Assembly, said Sir Sadiq should focus on supporting London's police amid record crime rates instead of 'woke nonsense'.
The mayor is 'absolutely splashing our cash everywhere but on the police service,' she said. 'This woke nonsense with our money has got to stop.
'London is desperate for more policing. With the budget as it is at the moment we are going to lose police officers. We can't afford to lose them.'
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, warned last month that London's police service faced cutting 2,300 officers and 400 other staff this year due to a funding shortfall.
Sir Sadiq has faced mounting criticism for a rise in crime across the capital since he became mayor in 2016.
Since he succeeded Boris Johnson, knife crime has increased by more than 50pc, and violent crime has soared despite a 71pc increase in the portion of council tax that Londoners pay to City Hall.
A charge Sir Sadiq adds to Londoners' council tax bills to fund his administration of the city will rise to almost £500 a year in 2025.
A spokesman for Sir Sadiq said: 'Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe, which is why he has provided record investment in policing and opportunities for young people in the face of huge cuts from the previous government.
'The Mayor established the Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm in 2020 to help present a fuller picture of the capital's diverse history, as the majority of London's statues, street names and memorials largely reflect Victorian Britain. The Commission has supported 70 community-led projects across 24 boroughs, including memorials, artworks and commemorations, as well as provided funding to London's first HIV/AIDS permanent memorial and the Memorial to Victims of Transatlantic Slavery.
'This work has helped to increase representation of women, disabled people, black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and LGBTQI+ figures in the capital, as we build a fairer London for everyone.'
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