London Mayor Sadiq Khan is confident he will be able to push ahead with a massive house building programme in the capital and new powers to control the housing market.

The London mayor told the BBC he was looking forward to “constant obstacles not being put in my way” under a Labour government. In recent months, Khan has been lobbying for a £2.2 billion “emergency stimulus” package to boost housing.

Khan said he was expecting Angela Rayner as the next housing secretary to “make a couple of announcements before recess to make sure that we get housebuilding going”. The mayor added: “What the Labour party has said in its manifesto is they want to build 1.5 million homes in the first parliamentary term, a large chunk of that should be in London.”

New powers

On the question of further devolution to City Hall, he said he “absolutely” hoped to see new powers specifically around skills training and housing handed down to mayors and regional authorities.

“Working with, not just me as the mayor of London, but mayors across the country, in a collegiate way,” said Khan. “It does not mean a blank cheque from Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer. What it means is an open, candid relationship.”

By 'new powers' Khan has, in the past including during the recent election, called for his office to have rent control capabilities.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has previously not confirmed if any additional funding would go to the capital in the event of a Labour government.

Labour now has 59 of London’s 75 MPs and runs 21 of its 33 local authorities. During Khan’s recent mayoral campaign, he promised he would be on the side of renters rather than “dodgy landlords” and repeated his desire to introduce rent controls in the capital. However, Labour has reiterated that rent controls are not party policy.