A new Mayor for all Londoners

10 May 2016

(Image: an 11-year-old Sadiq Khan on stage, centre, as a pirate in Peter Pan. Source Evening Standard)

His journey into politics from early days spent growing up on a south London housing estate is well documented, and his promise to tackle inequality and represent all Londoners ran as the common thread through his campaign, forming the key soundbites of his swearing-in ceremony at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 07 May.

At A New Direction, London’s flagship cultural education agency, we work to address the huge challenges and inequalities that exist in the capital, to ensure that all young Londoners have fair and equal access to the city’s amazing arts and cultural resources and opportunities.

As the Mayor begins his tenure at City Hall, getting stuck into some of the big issues for London over the coming months, such as Housing and Transport, we look forward to exploring ways of working together to level the ‘creative and cultural’ playing field for all young Londoners.

We know this is an issue close to his heart. Unveiling his arts policy in an exclusive interview with the Evening Standard in January 2016, he clearly laid out his ambition to get more children involved in the arts:

“We’ve got the best arts and culture in the world, but it’s out of reach for most Londoners.”

We wish Sadiq and his team all the best as he works towards realising his ambition of being a Mayor for all Londoners.

You might also like to read our blog:

How can the new Mayor support more children and young people to access the arts?