Chicken Shop Dates, Sadiq Khan’s nightlife strategy and the joys of Menorah lighting

Alongside his wife Linda, a retired librarian who served as Lady Mayoress, he visited embassies and palaces, synagogues and mosques, as well as some of London's most exclusive private members' clubs.

Paul, Linda, Amelia and Zoe Dimoldenberg (Photo: courtesy of Dimoldenberg)[Missing Credit]

In one festive duty, the Central Synagogue member travelled to Oslo to help select and cut down the Christmas tree that was later erected in Trafalgar Square, before returning to London to switch on its lights.

Speaking to the JC a month into his political retirement, Dimoldenberg said: “Some weeks it was a seven-days-a-week task with two or three events a day.”

Dimoldenberg Booker-prize winning author Howard Jacobson (left) and chaplain Rabbi Mendel Cohen on the third night of Channukah (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]

Among the highlights was a Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony in the Lord Mayor's Parlour attended by the Dimoldenbergs’ trusted chaplain, Rabbi Mendel Cohen of St John's Wood Synagogue, and author Howard Jacobson, who entertained guests with a talk on the differences between Manchester and London Jewry.

While the mayoralty is a “non-political role,” (“I was the Lord Mayor for everyone,” he explained sincerely) it came against the backdrop of Labour's historic success in Westminster, with Rachel Blake elected the constituency’s first-ever Labour MP in July 2024, and marked the culmination of a lengthy political career.

With a Labour group in charge 2022 to 2026, Westminster Council introduced a number of policies that Dimoldenberg cites as lasting achievements.

There was expansion of free school meals for all children aged three to 14, “a very good way to help young people learn on a full stomach”; the “terrific achievement” of 500 new affordable homes being constructed; and the installation of approximately 200 CCTV cameras, “in order to improve safety and security for residents and people who work in Westminster.”

As cabinet member for city management, he also oversaw improvements in recycling and street cleanliness, while grappling with the “unexpected challenge” of electric bikes cluttering pavements.

Dimoldenberg in his mayoral robes (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]

One policy that attracted particular attention was Westminster's “After Dark” strategy, which sought to balance the needs of residents with Soho's nightlife economy. It drew derision from some over proposals for “quiet nights” featuring “reduced noise levels [and] dimmed lighting”- which the policy later clarified was to make venues more accessible to neurodiverse people.

Dimoldenberg's defence of the council’s nightlife strategy places him at odds with Labour's London mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, who has in recent weeks slammed what he sees as attempts to curb London's nightlife.

Khan wrote on X: “Complaining about nightlife when you choose to live in Soho is like living in South Kensington and complaining about the museums.”

But Dimoldenberg rejects that characterisation.

“There is always this myth that everybody in the West End is a millionaire. Some very clever and experienced people make this mistake,” he said.

“Some people have criticised it and said, 'If you choose to live in the West End, you should expect late-night parties.' But they forget that a good third of the people who live in Westminster are in social housing from the council or housing associations, and they have no choice where they live.

“They can't sell up and move to the country because they have nothing to sell.

“One of the great things about Westminster and the West End is that it is a very diverse community. Of course, there are very rich people, but there are even more very ordinary people doing ordinary jobs. They send their children to the local school, they work on the buses, they keep the streets clean, they work in restaurants and bars. They are the backbone of the West End, and people forget that,” he said.

“Our policy was all about trying to get a balance between people wanting to have a great time at night and for the local nighttime economy to develop and grow,” he said, adding that “very few late-night licence applications” are refused.

“There are hundreds of late-night licences already in operation. There is no shortage of places to go late at night if you want to have a good time in Westminster.”

Dimoldenberg with Rabbi Mendel Cohen (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]

The council has spearheaded the “spreading out” of some of the nighttime economy, for example on Victoria Street, Dimoldenberg went on, which has already seen a “terrific karaoke bar” and a bowling alley open in former retail units.

“There are very few people who live in that area, and there are lots of empty retail units with deep basements – ideal places for nightclubs, bars or restaurants and close to public transport.

“Leisure and cultural uses are all very good ways of both planning a new use for former retail premises, but also spreading out late-night activities, so they're not all concentrated in a few streets in the West End.”

Another issue that has dominated recent years in Westminster has been the weekly pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

“The sheer scale of it is on a different level, and the regular pattern of disruption to weekend life,” he said.

Dimoldenberg at a Chanukah party in Trafalgar Square (Courtesy)[Missing Credit]

Contrasting them with earlier protest movements, he noted: “There were anti-nuclear demonstrations against Trident and American nuclear bases. They were big rallies, but they were once a year or twice a year, not every other weekend.

“Generally, those rallies didn’t provoke counter-rallies... Now we have a demonstration and there is the other side as well.”

As the cabinet member responsible for roads and parking, he worked with police and local synagogues to manage the impact of demonstrations.

“There is a WhatsApp group with the council, police and all the synagogues that liaise on a daily basis about what’s coming up and the concerns being raised,” he said. “It’s pretty active.”

Despite those pressures, and a negative narrative about London on social media, amplified by Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, Dimoldenberg remains characteristically upbeat about the capital.

“We have fantastic communities, living and existing side by side. People who want to divide those communities are wrong, and I think they’re jealous of our success, and the negative narrative should be resisted.”

Away from politics, Dimoldenberg’s family life has been thrust into the public eye through his daughter Amelia.

With 3.38 million YouTube subscribers and 4.1 million TikTok followers, she is the creator and host of the hit web series Chicken Shop Date, in which she has interviewed stars including Paul McCartney, Cher and Andrew Garfield over fried chicken. 

Amelia’s sister, Zoe, two years her junior, works behind the scenes. “They work great together. They’ve done it all themselves and worked really hard,” Dimoldenberg said, chepping nachas.

Their worlds collided when, as Lord Mayor, Dimoldenberg attended the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall and invited Amelia as his guest. When organisers realised who she was, she was asked to present an award on the night.

Amelia Dimoldenberg attends the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Centre for the Performing Arts on March 12, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images)Getty Images

Now, with more time on his hands, the avuncular Dimoldenberg may find himself accompanying Amelia for one of her red-carpet interviews in Hollywood, where she has appeared at the Academy Awards and Vanity Fair.

It is a long way from the grey corridors of local government, but his year in robes means he is surely used to the spotlight.