Mayor Khan accused of ‘hypocrisy’ over return to office plea

Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of “utter hypocrisy” by Conservative critics after he urged London’s businesses to encourage their staff back into the office, despite the fact that City Hall operates on a “hybrid working” model.

The mayor told an event last week that London “cannot afford” to become a city where “the centre has been hollowed out”, and warned companies to think “very carefully” before deciding to reduce their office space.

But the Tories say that Khan has played his own part in “hollowing out” London by relocating City Hall, in 2021, from its purpose-built headquarters near Tower Bridge to a smaller premises in the Royal Docks. The decision was taken as a cost-cutting measure, with the mayor’s team saying it will save the Greater London Authority (GLA) £58mn over five years.

However, the current headquarters cannot accommodate all staff at the same time, meaning that City Hall employees typically spend two or even three days a week away from the office — an arrangement defended by the Mayor’s team as being good for staff “productivity and well-being”.

Speaking at an event hosted by the consultancy firm Project Leaders last week, the mayor said he was concerned about young graduates who, due to their lack of office-working, may fail to strike up connections with their colleagues, or acquire certain skills in their first jobs.

In a message to the capital’s business community, Khan urged employers to encourage their staff back into the office, though he also suggested companies should find ways to make the office environment more attractive for workers in the first place.

Neil Garratt, leader of City Hall Conservatives, said: “If he’s moaning about businesses in London not getting people back in the office, maybe he should explain why he’s sticking with his plan of having most of his own City Hall staff working from home most of the time.”

Tory assembly member Susan Hall, who stood against Khan in last year’s mayoral election, called him an “utter hypocrite” and said his remarks last week were “another case of do as I say, not as I do”.

Khan was also criticised by professor of urban geography Oli Mould who says that not only the cost of commuting into central London is too expensive but it is the Mayor’s own policies have created an expensive city centre “that is entirely geared towards getting people to spend money”.

In a short video posted on Tiktok, Mould says that people are still going out to socialise but in less expensive parts of London. What has hollowed out London is not the work from home model but the policies of the Mayor and the central London boroughs that have pursued an “identikit gentrification strategy” which has only benefited the rich.

Khan is now compounding that situation by coming out in support of the “business owners and the rentier class in central London”, he says.

A GLA spokesman said: “The move to the new City Hall is saving £58mn over five years to invest in vital services and stimulate economic growth across the capital. The new building is proving to be hugely popular with both staff and Londoners — and a busy and vibrant home for London government.

“The mayor believes that flexible working is important for many workers, business and organisations and of course there are advantages to home working, but spending time in the workplace and engaging face-to-face with colleagues is also important — not only for personal development and teamwork, but to make the most of all the culture and leisure facilities our great city has to offer.”

Additional reporting by Linus Rees.

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