Sadiq Khan will on Monday night warn of the dangers of “anti-London populism” and highlight the Elizabeth line as a great example of how investing in the capital helps other parts of the UK.
The mayor is expected to use his biggest set-piece speech of the year to urge politicians from all parties to stand up for London in the face of the Government’s “levelling up” agenda to shore up support in the North.
It comes as Transport for London revealed that more than a million journeys were made on the Elizabeth line in its first five days. The £20bn new line will be open on Sunday to help crowds move across London for the platinum jubilee celebrations.
Mr Khan, who is addressing the London Government dinner at the Mansion House on Monday night, believes there is a “strong undercurrent of anti-London sentiment from many politicians”, despite the capital also being home to some of the country’s most deprived communities.
He will say: “I fear the anti-London approach could seriously exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis.
“Even before these latest economic shocks, too many Londoners were already finding it impossible to keep their heads above water.
“A child born into poverty in Lewisham or Newham is blighted by deprivation and inequality in exactly the same way as a child born into similar circumstances in Leeds or Newcastle.”
More than 60 per cent of contracts for Crossrail went to firms outside London. The trains were built in Derby, the station doors manufactured in Cheshire and the Elizabeth line signage made on the Isle of Wight using steel from Dorset.
Mr Khan will urge the capital’s borough leaders and MPs: “Help me to get the message out there that the best way to level up the UK is not to level down London.”
TfL said the central section of the Elizabeth line, between Abbey Wood and Paddington, had seen more than a million trips since it opened last Tuesday.
Across its entire length, from Reading to Shenfield, there were more than two million journeys. The western and eastern sections will start to be incorporated into the core section in the Autumn, with end-to-end journeys possible from next May.
The line has cut journey times between Abbey Wood and Paddington by almost half, to approximately 29 minutes. Trips between Farringdon and Canary Wharf now take around 10 minutes, instead of 24.
Trains will run through central London next Sunday from 8am to 10pm. A seven-day service will start later this year.
Howard Smith, TfL’s director of the Elizabeth line, said: “Customers have been flocking to the railway in the hundreds of thousands each day since opening to marvel at our beautiful new stations but also to experience drastically shorter journey times.
“It is already having a transformative impact on local businesses and opening up access to new areas of London.”
