Thanks for taking part in our big conversations during the tough year 2020

2020 was undoubtably a difficult year. The pandemic affected all of us, in different ways. More than ever, it was important we heard from you: how you were doing, how you were coping, and what your priorities were to help plan for London’s recovery from COVID-19. Your views were crucial as they helped our policy teams understand and respond to your needs and concerns.  

A big thank you to all of you who joined in our conversations and a warm welcome to over 10,000 new members who signed up last year. Here’s how you truly made a difference: 

Helping shape London’s recovery from COVID-19
During the first lockdown in March, we set up a survey and a series of discussions to fully understand the impact of the lockdown measures on Londoners. You told us how this was affecting your mental health, how you were coping as a parent, what the impact was on your work situation and more. We analysed close to 11,000 survey responses and around 850 comments and shared your views with colleagues at City Hall. 

At the start of June, the London Recovery Board was set up to coordinate the planning of London post COVID-19. Co-chaired by the Mayor and the chair of London Councils, its members are a diverse mix of leaders from all tiers of government, public institutions, businesses, charities and communities. They were very keen to put Londoners at the heart of the recovery programme, so in July we set up a discussion to gather your views on the London Recovery Board’s aims. You posted over 350 comments and we saw a lot of support for the agreed aims, in particular for the focus on a greener London and to ensure that the most vulnerable Londoners are looked after as well.  

Your views, along with those from community groups and stakeholders helped shape the London Recovery Board’s next steps. To recover from the most challenging period in recent history, they set up a missions based approach.  This is a way of working that brings together the public, private and voluntary sectors, and requires massive effort on the part of all Londoners to make a success. In August, we invited you to tell us what you thought of these missions. With almost 1,100 comments, from 609 of our members aged between 16 and 87, this was our biggest conversation of the year. As a result, the Recovery Team refined the missions and added more details. 

Your questions for the Mayor and the London Assembly
In November, the People’s Question Time event took place fully online for the first time ever. There wasn’t a live audience to put questions to the Mayor and the members of the London Assembly about their priorities for London. Instead, Londoners were invited to submit their questions here on Talk London. We received around 500 questions, from members aged between 17 and 88. 18 of you were invited to ask your question via video call during the live event. Watch the recording of our community in action as they ask the Mayor and London Assembly about the environment, culture, housing and more.  

New technology in London
Many of us have had to embrace technology in entirely new ways during this pandemic. We relied on our computers and smartphones to work, shop, home school, keep in touch with loved ones and much more. Our last consultation of 2020 was dedicated to new technology. City Hall is developing a Charter for Emerging Technology with expectations for both Londoners and innovators about how new technology is deployed in our city. Close to 750 of you took part in our survey and discussions and told us your views on the impact of new technology on your lives and your views on new technology in general. Theo Blackwell, City Hall’s Chief Digital Officer, considers the public consultation results and shares what’s next. 

Looking ahead
With the rollout of the vaccine well underway, there is some room for hope and optimism in 2021 – and to plan for a better future after the pandemic. 

Your involvement in London’s recovery isn’t over. We will keep you posted on all the new opportunities to have your say this year, so keep an eye out for our emails. 

We will soon be able to share the new and improved Talk London platform with you too. We shared a few sneak peeks last year, and can’t wait to invite you to discover the platform yourselves. 

From all of us at the Talk London Team, a big thank you for all your contributions last year and we hope to see you online this year too!