Noah Vickers speaks to Tarun Ghulati, independent candidate for Mayor of London
Tarun Ghulati sets out what he will do as mayor. He explains that people encouraged him to run for mayor because Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall are seen as poor candidates and he outlines the problems London is facing, saying the city has “lost its mojo”.
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00:00 First set of elections, I find people approached me and they said, "Nobody wants the current
00:07 incumbent." And forgive me for saying the Conservative Party candidate is also considered
00:14 uninspiring, but lots of people, those are not my words. So they believe there is now the time
00:19 for somebody to emerge as a front runner. People are leaving. They find it very difficult.
00:26 A young person is unable to actually even find a home. They're living in mom's and dad's houses.
00:32 They don't know what's next for them. Opportunities are reducing. London is a great city. I mean,
00:38 if you look at it, a large amount of trade flows still flow from here. It's the great financial
00:44 capital and everything else, but not everybody is involved in that. The common man is concerned
00:48 about cost of living, movement, safety, happiness. So everybody is looking down. I get approached in
00:55 the tube, luckily, because I'm wearing a suit on a Sunday. People like my tie and everything else.
01:00 But when I'm getting off at Green Park and the guy says, "Sir, lovely tie," but I said,
01:05 "I'm standing for mayor." He said, "I know Mr. Khan and I know there's a certain lady. They
01:09 don't know the name, but I don't know you." I will make sure crime is tackled just the way it
01:14 should be. It can't be a one size fit all. There'll be policemen visible for them. There'll be police
01:19 stations they can go to. And I want to make sure that everybody, including women and youth, are
01:25 not exploited or harassed. So that's one angle. Safety is paramount for all. I want to make sure
01:32 London is moving again and not brought to a standstill. So when it's moving again, by that,
01:37 I mean some of these aspects of dual layers, congestion charge, LTNs, 20 mile limits,
01:43 roadblocks, road diversions, all that sort of stuff, parking hassles, they are reviewed. They're
01:49 looked at carefully. And then so that London is moving and that makes it a more greener, less
01:55 congested city. And it doesn't rank top on a congested city in the world. I want to make sure
02:00 communities, there are over 270 odd nationalities, those diaspora live here, 300 plus languages,
02:08 the communities come together. There's cohesiveness, that insularness goes away,
02:13 the youth participate, they have affordable housing. Generally, they have a say in the
02:18 decision making process with the councils and others coming together. So we make better
02:24 affordable homes where the mental health being in a thing is going in the same direction.
02:29 I want to make sure I'm a champion for London. By that, I mean, a lot of things I can do,
02:35 which within the realm of a mayor, but a lot of things I can influence and be a strong voice for.
02:42 So whether it is, if you look at my recent posts, I've helped buskers, given them life,
02:48 saving opportunities, bringing them on stage, where top people have recognized that. I want
02:52 to help artists, culture. This is a great touristic city. I want to build it differently.
02:57 I want to make sure everybody thrives. And that is not so difficult when you have experts working
03:02 for you. I don't pretend to know it all. And I never will. The process, the learning is never
03:07 ending. But I'm a quick learner with some smart people around me and smarter than me. I'm pretty
03:11 certain of the right sort of advisors, people who are passionate about making that difference
03:16 and building a leveling up agenda for all. I'm pretty certain the smiles will be back on the
03:22 faces of everyone.
03:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]