Politics

Sadiq Khan’s U-Turn Will Cause Lasting Harm and Is Based on False Choice – Emma Best

Published on June 19, 2025

You honestly couldn’t make it up. Not long after Sadiq Khan expanded ULEZ and hit the capital’s poorest with extra charges in the name of protecting the environment, the Mayor is now backing plans that would see homes built on some of London’s beloved green spaces.

This is the same Mayor who has always claimed to be the greenest in history. He’s repeatedly said that London’s parks are the “lungs of the city” and proudly told Londoners that “not one blade of grass” would be lost under his leadership. But it looks like all that green talk may have been just that — talk, reported GB News.

The twist started in a rather unexpected way. During a hearing into Enfield Council’s Local Plan, which outlines how the borough plans to develop over the next 15 years, a Transport for London official popped up and made a surprise intervention. Out of nowhere, they pitched a plan to build a whopping 10,000 homes on Trent Country Park.

That raised more than a few eyebrows. Surely it couldn’t be the same Mayor who’s always banging on about defending green spaces now looking to build on one?

When City Hall Conservatives asked him to clarify his stance, he became unusually quiet. Then, barely a month later, he released a statement saying: “We must build on the green belt.”

Now, if that green belt just happened to include a cherished country park, you can see why people are asking questions. This isn’t about replacing a few derelict garages or sprucing up an abandoned petrol station. This is about parks. Real parks. The sort where families picnic, kids play football and dog walkers go for their daily strolls.

Let’s be clear. London’s green spaces aren’t luxury add-ons. For many, they’re the only accessible bit of nature in a city that’s already starved of it. Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. London’s more than 1,500 recognised nature conservation sites cover nearly a fifth of the city. In a place as densely packed as this, those spaces matter more than ever — not just for wildlife but for people’s physical and mental health too.

And it’s not like there’s no other land available. There are around 300,000 unbuilt planning permissions across the capital and loads of brownfield sites still untouched. Just take Old Oak Common — it’s one of the biggest brownfield regeneration areas in Europe. The Mayor hasn’t built a single home on it.

So why turn to parks now? Well, Khan’s record on housing is far from stellar. He promised 35,000 homes by 2026 and has only managed to start around 5,100. Things have gone so badly, the national Labour Government have had to cut his target in half, and he’s still not on track to meet it.

Parks are politically easier to grab hold of when other options require leadership, negotiation and actual progress. And oddly enough, in a rare twist, Reform UK even sided with Labour in a London Assembly vote supporting these green belt building plans.

So next time someone tells you to ditch the car, skip a holiday or feel guilty for grabbing a bottle of water, just remember who’s really leaving a mark on the environment.

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