Shaun Bailey, Conservative Candidate for London Mayor, has today written to Sadiq Khan demanding him to protect London’s much-loved curry houses.
In 2015, Sadiq promised the industry he would be the most ‘pro-curry and pro-business” Mayor ever. 5 years later, many of these same businesses face failure, after seeing their footfall hit by the same man’s congestion charge hike, and mixed messaging around public transport that has left the capital decimated.
Curry houses reportedly contribute around £5 billion to the UK economy, and contribute greatly to the diversity of restaurants in the capital that makes London so great.
Sadiq Khan must stop blaming others, and circumstances for every one of his failures, and show Londoners the leadership and innovation that is required to steer the capital through this crisis. Sadiq Khan must make good on the promise he made to our curry houses back in 2015.
Shaun Bailey, Conservative Candidate for London Mayor said: “London’s curry houses are part of what makes this city great. They deserve a Mayor who recognises that. But under Sadiq Khan, curry houses are struggling to survive.
It’s not just his £15-a-day congestion charge or his failure to help people return safely to central London. It’s that he refuses to even listen to the concerns of curry house owners.
Sadiq Khan claims to be the most pro-business Mayor ever. It’s no surprise that businesses disagree.”
Sanjay Anand MBE, Chairman of Madhus said: “I look at the changes in our city over the last 4 years, and I question how long my business can last if this trend continues.
Not only has Khan never stood up for us. He’s never even listened to us.
From our Mayor, I expect leadership and vision, but he’s shown no plan to get our businesses off their knees.”
Syed Belal Ahmed, CEO & Editor of Curry Life Media Group, said: “Curry houses are a key part of London’s economy and London’s culture. But between the pandemic and Sadiq Khan’s congestion charge hike, they’ve been struggling.
We at Curry Life have tried multiple times to speak to Sadiq Khan about the concerns of curry house owners. But he ignored every single request.
In 2015, Sadiq Khan promised to be the most pro-curry and pro-business mayor ever. We can only conclude that this was a manipulative and empty promise made only to win an election.”
Syed Khan, Shapur Restaurant (149 The Strand, WC2R 1JA) said: “Sadiq Khan promised he’d be the most pro-business mayor ever. But he simply hasn’t moved a finger to help the curry industry. In fact, for many of us, his congestion charge was the last nail in the coffin.”
The letter reads as follows:
Mayor Khan,
In 2015, you attended the Curry Life Awards. Although you were uninvited, they agreed to let you speak. And you promised to be the most ‘pro-curry and pro-business’ Mayor ever.
Five years later, we must conclude that you either had very little knowledge of previous mayors — or you made yet another promise that you’ve failed to live up to.
Curry houses are not trivial. They reportedly contribute around £5 billion to the UK economy. They provide jobs for Londoners. When we talk about small businesses, we’re talking about curry houses.
More than that, curry houses contribute to the great diversity of restaurants that makes London the best place in the world to eat out.
But as we take stock on National Curry week, the truth is that your actions have put curry houses at risk — along with many other small businesses across London.
You increased the congestion charge to £15 a day, seven days a week, and extended it to 10pm. Chefs like Michel Roux Jnr warned that this would be catastrophic for the restaurant industry, already suffering during the pandemic. But you ignored their calls to reverse it.
You consistently refuse to engage with the owners of curry houses. Curry Life wrote to you in July this year. They offered to put you in touch with the owners of curry houses so they could discuss their concerns with you. But you ignored them, leading Curry Life Magazine to conclude that you’ve been ‘dishonest and manipulative’, betraying the people who took you at your word.
And you’ve yet to come up with a plan to help get people safely and sensibly back into central London.
London’s businesses have the right to expect support from their Mayor. I encourage you to start fulfilling this obligation today. Listen to their concerns. Come up with a plan to encourage people to get back to central London. Reverse your congestion charge hike. Do whatever it takes.
If you continue to ignore businesses, you’re putting their future — and London’s future — at risk.
Yours sincerely,
Shaun
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