Tory mayoral hopeful Zac Goldsmith has been named the most “pro-business” candidate vying to succeed Boris Johnson.
A survey conducted by ComRes for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that 65% of London business leaders believe Mr Goldsmith is pro-business.
Labour’s Sadiq Khan, Goldsmith’s principal rival in this May’s election, scored 39% – up from the 29% he scored in a similar poll conducted in November 2015. Mr Goldmsith’s rating is down 3 points on November.
Both sets of numbers suggest Mr Khan has yet to convince the majority of employers that he’ll live up to his pledge to be “the most business-friendly mayor ever”.
The polling results were published ahead of a mayoral hustings on Thursday night between Goldsmith, Khan, Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats) and Dee Searle (Greens – standing in for Sian Berry) which is being hosted by the London Business Board.
A recent LCCI report contained 20 steps the new Mayor can take “to secure London’s future as a great place to set-up and run a business.”
These include building more housing “that people can afford”, boost the capital’s digital capability, tackling the cost of travel within the capital and securing greater control over taxes and how they are spent locally.
Colin Stanbridge, Chairman of the London Business Board and LCCI CEO said: “The election of a new Mayor in May comes at a critical time as London’s population moves toward 9million by 2020 and 10million by 2030.
“It is imperative the views of business are heard in this Mayoral debate so that the new Mayor can hit the ground running in taking important decisions around housing, transport and infrastructure investment to secure London’s future as an attractive, productive and competitive global city.”
