Brendan O'Neill: Sadiq Khan and the tyranny of high-status opinion

How Sadiq turned London into a cultural playpen for the woke.

Whatever happened to Sadiq Khan, the bus driver’s son from Tooting? That was the ticket – pun intended – he soared to City Hall on in 2016. His ‘man of the people’ schtick was inescapable. He even tweeted about enjoying a cheeky Nando’s. The message was clear: I’m nothing like my predecessor as mayor, Boris Johnson, son of Bullingdon, or my Tory opponent for the mayoralty, Zac Goldsmith, son of a billionaire. No, I’m like you. Boy from Tooting done good. Shoulder-rubber with the little people. A breath of fresh air from the old elites who turned London into a playground for the rich and a hellhole for the poor.

Brendan O'Neill: There really is a war on the car

Sadiq Khan’s expansion of ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) speaks to the elite’s contempt for the freedom to drive.

Of all the callous things the state could do to its citizens during a cost-of-living crisis, making them pay to drive their own cars is surely one of the worst. As if it wasn’t bad enough that the cost of foodstuffs has risen by 15 per cent, now you’ll have to pay through the nose just to get to the shop that sells those foodstuffs. As if it wasn’t tough enough forking out for your kids’ school uniforms and stationery, now you’ll have to pay for the privilege of dropping the kids at the schoolgates. As if it wasn’t hard enough getting time off work to visit your poorly mother in a care home, now you’ll have to stump up £12.50 to get to that care home.