Writing for his weekly column in Sussex newspapers, Andrew Griffith MP has shared his views on London's reduced population and why it matters for West Sussex. He points to the news last week that London’s population is now shrinking for the first time since the pandemic — and only the fourth time in most of our lifetimes.
He says that London is not shrinking because the overall population is doing so — far from it. Some of the record number who are leaving London will be fleeing abroad, but most will be seeking to live in our part of the world — putting more pressure on housing, GPs, dentists and roads in West Sussex. The people leaving London do not simply disappear.
Much of that demand is transferred elsewhere, increasing competition for homes and public services in counties like ours which are already under considerable pressure.
Andrew highlights that London has a 24/7 infrastructure and could easily accommodate far more housing, but a lack of pro-building policies, rising crime and government attacks on landlords leading to a restriction in rental supply are all driving people out. London already has the transport, hospitals, schools and employment centres needed to support growth. By contrast, every additional development in rural areas brings new demands for roads, surgeries and other infrastructure.
Andrew Griffith MP has also been thinking this week of Lissie Harper, the brave wife of PC Andrew Harper, whom he met in 2021. Her husband was brutally killed in 2019 by two criminals now serving barely adequate sentences for manslaughter.
Andrew is greatly concerned by the prospect that these men, whose faces have adorned front pages up and down the country, could now be released early by this Government, which he says "is completely sickening" and reminds us that early release also forces victims and their families to relive crimes they had every right to believe had already been properly dealt with by the courts.
Like most Conservative MPs, Andrew Griffith will be doing all he can to ensure the Prime Minister reviews the early-releases for the sake of victims and law-abiding citizens.
