Mayor Sadiq Khan has been criticised for failing to support London’s printing trade after it emerged that promotional materials produced for his flagship #Londonisopen campaign were produced outside the capital.
The campaign included posters at bus stops and an ‘Art on the Underground’ campaign featuring original art work from Gillian Wearing, David Shrigley, Mark Titchner and Tania Bruguera.
None of the artists have accepted an offered payment for their time.
In addition to the poster campaigns, City Hall staff arriving for work on July 29th found#Londonisopen branded mugs and badges on their desks, a giveaway hailed by the Mayor in an all-staff email.
However Conservatives on the London Assembly have criticised Mr Khan’s largesse after it emerged that the £2,000 contracts to produce the mugs and badges were awarded to firms outside the capital.
According to the Greater London Authority, 800 mugs costing £1,468 were ordered from a firm in Chatham, Kent, while a Birmingham company picked up the £475 order for the badges.
Conservative Assembly group leader, Gareth Bacon, said: “The Mayor has told us that ‘London is open for business’ – but apparently every firm in the capital capable of producing mugs and badges for his campaign were closed.
“It’s disappointing that Sadiq Khan had to recruit the help of companies in Birmingham and Kent to encourage people to continue doing business in London.
“On top of this, buying mugs and badges for staff at City Hall does not seem the best use of over £2,000 of taxpayers’ money.
“I hope this rather embarrassing episode does not prove to be representative of the way the Mayor handles higher-level decisions on more serious issues.”
