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Revitalising the National Health Service, kickstarting economic growth and making Britain a clean energy superpower. The new Labour government has set a high bar for success, but perhaps its toughest task will be to finally pedestrianise Oxford Street.
What was once the pre-eminent shopping street in Europe has faced a curious form of secular stagnation in recent times, as iconic stores have given way to a proliferation of American Candy stores. But the fightback that started with the return of the likes of HMV will be turbocharged by the news that Sadiq Khan is to be handed fresh powers to enable him to force through pedestrianisation.
A row has already been reignited, and not all of it is hysterical. There are real questions that need addressing, not least around where the buses, taxis and delivery vehicles will go, and what that will mean for traffic across the wider West End. But it is long past time to turn the dream of transforming Oxford Street into a reality. To make it once again a place to shop, eat, see and be seen. And once completed, Londoners will wonder why on earth it took so long.
Risky business
It ought not to be feasible for Labour to be less pro-business than the previous Conservative government. From leaving the European Union with a paper-thin trade deal to Boris Johnson literally, albeit allegedly, saying “f*** business”, the past 14 years have hardly been a love story between firms and politicians. Indeed, Sir Keir Starmer talks a good game on growth and working with business. Securing the highest sustained growth in the G7, as Labour’s first mission demands, is undoubtedly ambitious. Yet the party ought to be wary of burdensome regulations that hamper dynamism and productivity.
Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, has suggested that new flexible working laws, including on working from home, could even support levelling up. Consequently, the real risk for Labour is that, in rushing through legislation on workers’ rights, it generates unintended consequences, raising the cost of hiring and ultimately depressing employment rates. It is right that employees have vital protections at work. But Reynolds, whose private-sector CV would scarcely trouble the scorers, ought to take a broader view on how these changes will impact the businesses that create wealth and employ millions of people.
Awards nod
The Standard has been shortlisted for three London Press Club Awards, including national newspaper of the year, while courts correspondent Tristan Kirk is nominated for journalist of the year and junior fashion editor Joe Bromley for young journalist of the year. Our thanks go to the judges, and congratulations to two outstanding Standard journalists.
