Amid the dire state of London’s transport system, the uncertainty surrounding businesses and the high cost of living in the capital, the former MEP claimed Mr Khan has caused serious harm to the capital. Not only has the mayor failed to protect the city but Mr Habib also insisted he has “poured gasoline” on the city’s rapid decline. Due to passenger numbers dropping in the capital as a result the pandemic, Transport for London (TfL) secured a bailout of £1.8billion to aid the service.
Although many people have struggled financially throughout the pandemic, Mr Khan is also set to raise council tax by 9.5 percent.
The mayor has also extended the increased £15 congestion charge which will now be in force until October.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Habib said: “London is burning.
“There are no flames but, make no mistake, it is burning.
“Instead of fighting the fire, the Government and its ineffectual mayor are pouring fuel on it.
“Instead of using the relative quiet of lockdown to fix the infrastructure, Sadiq Khan has spent his time squabbling with central government, blaming them for his own failings, imposing greater restrictions on motorists, introducing illegal cycle lanes and promoting an anti-British Marxist agenda.
“If London fails, so will the UK. Our political class and the mayoralty urgently need to wake up to the existential threat facing London.”
In a further blow to the mayor, Mr Khan’s new cycle lanes and road closures were deemed as flawed in court this week.
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“In my judgment, it was both unfair and irrational to introduce such extreme measures.”
The funding agreement between the Government and TfL will run until the end of March.
Following that, further talks will be carried out with Mr Khan previously calling out for a £4.9billion settlement for 18 months.
Due to this agreement and the rise in council tax rates for Band D properties, Mr Khan said free travel for under-18s and the over-60s will now be protected.
He has also earmarked a portion of the rise in council tax to aid the police and fire brigade services.
Although the mayor has long vowed to tackle the issue of crime in the capital and had planned to hie an additional 6,000 new police officers.
However, some critics have demanded how the mayor will do this with the Metropolitan Police projecting a £1billion.
Committee chair, and head of the London Assembly’s Tory caucus, Susan Hall said: “This lack of budget planning is causing a serious and concerning black hole in the Met’s budget.
“No one is arguing against the need to have more police officers on our streets but there must be certainty around where the money to pay for them is coming from.”
