Thursday 10 March 2016

Media contact
Katharine McGee
T: +44 (0)20 7203 1897
M: +44 (0)7827 241528
E: kmcgee@londonchamber.co.uk

Who can be the Mayor to make London better for business?

As the Mayoral candidates prepare to take part in the London Business hustings tonight in Canary Wharf, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has published its latest polling on the Mayoral race.

The survey undertaken by ComRes for LCCI found London business leaders continue to be more likely to view Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith as pro-business (65%) than Labour's Sadiq Khan (39%).

However the result shows an increase in rating for Mr Khan, up from 29% from the last polling undertaken in November 2015. Mr Goldsmith has remained largely stable (68% in November 2015).

The Mayoral polling results come as LCCI continue to push 'Towards A Greater London' which highlights 20 steps the new Mayor can take to secure London's future as a great place to set-up and run a business.

The agenda from LCCI identifies five priorities the new Mayor must address along with ComRes polling to support the views of business and Londoners:

• Fix London's housing crisis

- 25% of London businesses believe a shortage of housing that people can afford in their area has a negative impact on recruitment and /or retention in the last 12 months

• Close the skills gap

- 51% of London businesses looking to recruit in the last quarter of 2015 experienced problems with finding staff with the right skills

• Boost the capital's digital capability

- 24% of London firms do not utilise any online facilities, such as a website or social media platforms, for their business

• Keep transport moving

- 38% business leaders see London transport costs as one of the biggest challenges for small businesses looking to grow and expand in London.

• Secure more power to grow

- 56% of business leaders support local government securing greater control over taxes and how they are spent locally

Speaking before the hustings, Colin Stanbridge, Chairman of the London Business Board and LCCI CEO said: "It is imperative the views of business are heard in this Mayoral debate so that the new Mayor can hit the ground running in taking important decisions around housing, transport and infrastructure investment to secure London's future as an attractive, productive and competitive global city." "The election of a new Mayor in May comes at a critical time as London's population moves toward 9million by 2020 and 10million by 2030.

ENDS

1. NOTES TO EDITORS
2. London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the capital's largest and most representative business organisation, with members ranging in size from multi-national companies to SMEs and sole traders.
3. ComRes surveyed 506 London business leaders between 1-22 February 2016. ComRes also surveyed 511 business leaders between 2-19 November 2015, 514 business leaders between 18 August and 7 September 2015, 510 business leaders between 7-20 May 2015, 503 business leaders between 29 January and 16 February 2015. All data has been weighted to be representative of all London businesses by company size and broad industry sector. Comres is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Data tables are available at: www.comresgobal.com Colin Stanbridge is available for further comment and interview.
4. The London Business Board Mayoral Hustings will be held at KPMG in Canary Wharf at 6.30pm chaired by James Ashton with panellists Zac Goldsmith (Conservative), Sadiq Khan (Labour), Caroline Pidgeon (Liberal Democrats) and Dee Searle (Greens - standing in for Sian Berry).
5. The full Towards a Greater London agenda is available here.
6. Follow the discussion on #TowardsAGreaterLdn or via @londonchamber