‘UBER FILES’: London Assembly Member asks the Mayor of London… what happens next?

Circle image credit: Greater London Authority

A leading London Assembly Member has asked the Mayor of London for his assessment of the damning ‘Uber Files’ revelations that rocked the gig-economy this summer and what he plans to do as a result.

The question directed at London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, comes after more than 124,000 confidential Uber documents were leaked to the Guardian and other news outlets, which demonstrated the full extent of Uber’s global lobbying powers and more locally its efforts to twist regulation in London.

Sadiq Khan has been Mayor of London since 2016 and, as a result, presided over multiple Uber operator licence renewals.

The documents released, known as the ‘Uber Files’, confirmed many of the things noted in the taxi trade about its aggressive tactics, since it first entered the market over a decade ago.

The leaked files showed how the company exerted influence over UK government ministers and advisers, including George Osborne, Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock, in off the book meetings, and hired close personal friends like Rachel Whetstone and Lynton Crosby to help them gain access to the top levels of the Cameron Government, ultimately preventing the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, from clamping down on Uber and its damaging operating model.

London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon, has put forward a written question to Khan asking what assessment he and Transport for London (TfL) has made of the recently published “Uber Files” and whether he plans to make any changes as a result.

The question was submitted on 13 October and is currently awaiting a response from the Mayor of London.