London Elections 2021: The mayor and London's Covid-19 recovery

London's new mayor will need to use their influence to convince businesses and holidaymakers they are safe and welcome to visit

Election rule 101 - it is all about the economy. Usually.

But with all the big decisions made by central government, the mayor of London is something of a soft power.

There's no doubt that Covid-19 hit the city's economy hard. An estimated 1.4 million workers in London were furloughed at some point during the pandemic.

Across the UK, about 600,000 hospitality jobs have been lost, whilst, 180,000 have gone in the retail sector.

Experts in the construction industry forecast a fall of up to 372,000 jobs over the next few years.

London bears the brunt of the loss in jobs worse than any other region.

So after the election on 6 May, what can the new mayor do to help?

Ken Livingstone, then mayor of London, travelled to the Forbidden City in Beijing after helping secure the London 2012 Olympics

Well, the role is a figurehead - central to inspiring business confidence at home and abroad.

Successive mayors have trotted the globe to countries like India and America banging the drum that "London is open".

Not just for business - but for tourism too.

The mayor will need to use their influence to convince businesses and holidaymakers they're safe and welcome to visit - subsequently bringing money and jobs to the city.

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A mixture of Brexit and the pandemic meant that 700,000 foreign-born workers left London over the last year, government figures show.

Can the new mayor help encourage workers to return to the city as well as smoothing the way for post-Brexit trading?

Funding London

A power struggle over power is also likely to continue.

City Hall has long wanted control over the money generated by things like business rates and stamp duty.

Mayors in cities like New York and Tokyo get to spend more than half of what the cities generate. In London, it is about 7%.

It will be hard, given the government's focus on a levelling up agenda - moving investment up the M1 to the north of England.

However, London will continue to act as the engine room of the UK economy, spearheading the country's post-Covid recovery.

The new London mayor will want to be at the front and centre of that.