Talent fleeing London, Cleverly warns

Sir James Cleverly, the Conservative candidate for London mayor, says the capital is losing talent because of the cost of living. Young people and those on modest salaries are moving elsewhere.

“We are losing talent. We're losing young people from London. That is unsustainable.”

People priced out are leaving

Cleverly says people cannot afford London and are moving to towns like Braintree, Maidstone, Milton Keynes and Hemel Hempstead. They cannot make the maths work to stay in the city.

“They're moving out of London because they just cannot envisage making the maths work for them in the city, that is a real problem.”

Six hundred thousand left London in a year

According to the Office for National Statistics, about four hundred twenty thousand five hundred people moved out of London to other parts of the UK in the year to mid-two thousand twenty-five, while about one hundred eighty-three thousand left to live abroad.

Inflows offset some departures

Around two hundred eighty-eight thousand five hundred people moved into London from the rest of the UK and roughly two hundred thirty-five thousand international arrivals came in, totalling just more than five hundred thousand.

Housing is voters' third biggest concern

According to a YouGov poll in August two thousand twenty-six, the cost of house prices in London was the third highest concern on thirty-nine percent, behind cost of living at seventy-two percent and crime at forty-four percent.

Cleverly's one hundred thousand pound claim

Cleverly says accumulated tax and bureaucracy adds about one hundred thousand pounds per property onto new-build properties in London. This money does not go into bricks, mortar, windows or doors.

“The accumulated cost of bureaucracy, taxes, and various other things adds about £100,000 per property onto new build properties in London.”

Stripping costs could halve flat prices

If the one hundred thousand pounds of tax and bureaucracy could be removed, flats currently priced at three hundred fifty thousand or four hundred thousand pounds could cost two hundred fifty thousand or three hundred thousand pounds instead.

“If you can find a way of stripping that cost out, then suddenly young people in London are looking at flats at £250,000 and £300,000.”

Mayor controls council tax and transport

Cleverly says the mayor accounts for about half of what people pay in council tax and controls the cost of public transport and driving in outer London boroughs. These are tools to reduce financial drag.

“The mayor accounts for about half of what people pay in their council tax, so if the mayor can reduce his part of the council tax budget, we can reduce some of that financial drag.”

Brexit and London's AI advantage

Cleverly, who backed Brexit in the two thousand sixteen referendum, says the UK is the world's third largest hub for AI development because it has a different regulatory regime to the EU. Rejoining could damage this.

“The UK is the world's third largest hub for AI development because we have a different regulatory regime to the EU.”

Cleverly quits shadow cabinet for mayor

Cleverly announced in August that he was quitting the shadow cabinet to run for London mayor. He says this is his last big job in politics and he has burnt his bridges by not running for his Braintree seat again.

“This is my last big job in politics… I've stepped down from the shadow cabinet, I've burnt my bridges.”

Rough sleeping needs more than housing

Cleverly says rough sleeping is complicated and often involves drug and alcohol dependency or abuse. He will work with Prime Minister Andy Burnham but warns it cannot be resolved just by throwing money at the problem.

“Rough sleeping is a very complicated issue. It's often about drug and alcohol. Alcohol dependency.”

Cleverly attacks Reform's London criticism

Standing for Reform UK is Laila Cunningham, who has vowed an all-out war on crime. Cleverly says Reform candidates keep saying London is terrible and dangerous. He argues you cannot hate London and hope to be its mayor.

“You can't hate London and then hope to be the mayor of London.”