Sadiq Khan visits Greenwich market traders to see how they have adapted to life during the pandemic

Sadiq Khan visited Greenwich town centre on Monday to meet market traders and staff from the Royal Museums Greenwich, to find out how they have been affected by Covid-19 and adapted to do business safely.

The Mayor of London said: “We had hugely positive news about the Covid-19 vaccine last week, but many businesses are still in danger of closing and many thousands of jobs are still at risk over the next few years.

“I’m determined to do all I can to support London’s economic recovery now, and in the years to come, and we continue to provide grants and support directly to business across the capital.

“But these sectors won’t be able to sustain pre-pandemic levels of employment until 2023 at the earliest. If the Government continues starving the capital of investment it will do nothing more than choke off our recovery from Covid-19 – both in London and across the UK.

“The country cannot afford to take for granted London’s economy firing on all cylinders and continuing to contribute billions to the treasury to fund the Government’s spending plans.

“Extending the business rates holiday and abandoning their decision to end VAT-free shopping is the kind of support our businesses need from Government right now, but we also need a longer-term plan to address the unprecedented jobs crisis this pandemic could yet cause.”

Greenwich council leader Cllr Danny Thorpe said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the mayor to Greenwich town centre today and show off a few of the many fantastic visitor attractions we have in our beautiful borough.

“Unfortunately, this is a really challenging time for many of our retail and hospitality businesses, and cultural attractions, that have been badly affected by the pandemic. It was a great to hear from traders about the work we’ve been doing together to support them during the pandemic.

“I would urge visitors to come back to Greenwich to do their Christmas shopping, eat out and visit our wonderful museums and parks in a safe and secure way. We are running a series of festive markets throughout December, too, where visitors can discover unique presents for loved ones.”

Pictured top: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan