Tag Archives: boris johnson

Nick T

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey – GLA Budget 2011: Failing to plan for the future

By Nick T | Tue 15th February 2011 - 12:55 pm

Over on the MayorWatch website, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, Mike Tuffrey, gives his take on Boris Johnson’s first budget under the coalition government. Mike believes that the Mayor’s budget “fails to grasp the opportunities offered by the coalition’s localism agenda and continues to rely on financial reserves to defer difficult, but necessary, decisions”.

Here’s an excerpt:

Three years into his mayoralty, this is Boris Johnson’s first budget since the change of government. Regrettably it fails to rise to the challenge of the new national reality.

In so doing, it exposes the direction that Boris Johnson intends to travel up to election day:

…

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Posted in LibLink and News | Also tagged | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Is the Met’s secret joker now penning words for Boris Johnson?

By Mark Pack | Thu 28th October 2010 - 8:40 am

I only ask, because after the Met Police’s triumphant document that stated it would “Contribute to the step change in the walking experience”, we now have London Mayor Boris Johnson talking of “my role driving forward the Cycling Revolution”.

Posted in Humour and London | 2 Comments
Helen Duffett

London Liberal Democrats postpone Mayoral candidate selection

By Helen Duffett | Sat 16th October 2010 - 2:15 pm

London Region Liberal Democrats have postponed the Mayoral candidate selection, possibly for up to a year – although it’s hoped that nominations will be reopened much sooner.

The Local Government Chronicle said this week:

A selection had been due this autumn after which the party hoped it could get its candidate well enough known to take on incumbent Boris Johnson (Con) and Labour’s Ken Livingstone in May 2012. But regional chair Jonathan Fryer said the process had been halted because an insufficient number of approved applicants were available to put before party members.

“There will be a reopening of nominations in about

…

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Fewer people, venue moved in-house yet costs go up: bravo, Boris

By Mark Pack | Tue 24th August 2010 - 8:42 am

Adam Bienkov has the remarkable story of how Mayor of London Boris Johnson managed to up the costs of the annual ‘State of London’ debate despite cutting back its scope, moving it from an external venue to City Hall and having fewer people attend.

One extra detail I’d add to what Adam has covered: looking at the GLA’s evaluation report, I’m struck by how many opportunities were missed to promote the event online at very little cost. In particular, publicising events via Facebook comes with no charge and can be an effect way of making a high profile event spread …

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Caroline Pidgeon

Peddling myths over London’s bike hire scheme

By Caroline Pidgeon | Sat 14th August 2010 - 11:50 am

In London one of the most exciting developments this year has been the long awaited launch of the bike hire scheme.

Despite its launch being associated with quite a number of problems – including a highly complex registration process, and a number of cyclists being overcharged – no one can deny that the scheme is proving incredibly popular.  And let’s be realistic, no major scheme ever starts without at least some minor teething problems. Of course I will be chasing hard until these glitches are resolved, and they certainly …

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Posted in Local government and London | Also tagged , and | 10 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey on London air quality

By NewsHound | Thu 24th June 2010 - 8:43 pm

London Assembly member Mike Tuffrey has been writing for The Guardian about Britain’s poor record on air quality:

Your report on Britain being given a second and final warning by theEuropean commission to clean up the capital’s air (Clean up! Europe warns Britain, 4 June) quoted a spokesman for the mayor of Londonsaying that his air quality strategy will help to “address the concerns that triggered this legal action”. I am far from convinced.

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Mark Pack

London congestion charge: 2 August deadline for consultation

By Mark Pack | Wed 2nd June 2010 - 1:20 pm

Transport for London is running a consultation on Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s plans to axe the western extension to the congestion charge zone, increase the daily charge, change the exemptions and introduce a discount for automated payments.

At heart this is the sort of consultation which gives the word a bad name: the big political decision to axe the western extension has been made, the public had their chance to cast a verdict on it via the ballot box and now this ‘consultation’ is a bit of process that no-one really believes could change Boris Johnson’s mind.

However, there are also …

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Mark Pack

So, what is the Conservative Party strategy now?

By Mark Pack | Tue 20th April 2010 - 9:20 am

In recent days we’ve had:

It’s not happening! It’s not happening!

Hence Eric Pickles telling the media the weekend that there was no Lib Dem surge detectable in the Conservative Party’s canvassing and Boris Johnson writing in the Telegraph that Nick Clegg was “by far the worst”. Yeah right.

Go right! Go right!

Hence William Hague warning of a European Union inspired catastrophe if the Lib Dems win. Guess he’s not on talking terms with Eric Pickles or Boris Johnson, because how could the Lib Dems win if they are both right? But also I guess he’s hoping we’ve all forgotten the number of …

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Posted in General Election | Also tagged , , , and | 22 Comments
Mark Pack

Two Conservative problems: Iain Duncan Smith and Boris Johnson

By Mark Pack | Sun 18th April 2010 - 11:50 am

There’s no doubt that many Tories are itching to shout “soft on criminals! soft on immigrants!” at the Liberal Democrats over the next few days.

One slight problem with the targets of choice: the Lib Dem policies on prison sentences and tackling the problem of illegal immigration. You see, those shouts of outrage should also be directed at Iain Duncan Smith (that well known soggy liberal who believes short prison sentences should be scrapped), not to mention notorious left-winger Boris Johnson (who believes in earned routes to citizenship for illegal immigrants).

I’m sure that will happen. Of course. No doubt about it.

Posted in General Election | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

It’s been another great week for George Osborne

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th April 2010 - 9:45 am

You may ask what could have inspired me to write such a headline. Well, it’s none other than George himself.

As Iain Martin has blogged – twice, he found the Tory shadow chancellor’s state of denial so bizarre – George Osborne has issued a message to Tory supporters assuring them:

It’s been another great week for our campaign.”

Hmmm, and “Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”

But then it’s not been a good day for George, having already launched friendly fire against Boris Johnson by attacking the Tory London mayor’s own policy of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

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Posted in General Election | Also tagged and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Labour falls silent over accusations of lies

By Mark Pack | Wed 31st March 2010 - 8:55 am

Adam Bienkov has the story:

Yesterday was the start of the local elections campaign here in London and the fight is already getting dirty.

One such scrap is taking place in ultra marginal Waltham Forest where the Lib Dems are furious at “Labour’s lies” about police numbers.

Labour leaflets claim that the Lib Dems “want to cut the number of police in Waltham Forest” whilst being “in cahoots with Tory mayor Boris plans to cut police numbers.”

The Lib Dems deny this, pointing to their fervent opposition to Boris’s police cuts on the London Asssembly.

The piece goes on to provide more evidence from …

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Posted in London | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments
Caroline Pidgeon

How long can Boris Johnson carry on defending the indefensible?

By Caroline Pidgeon | Sat 27th March 2010 - 10:20 am

Caroline Pidgeon is a Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and member of the London Fire Emergency and Planning Authority (LFEPA)

Walking out of a meeting as a protest is something I would not normally recommend, but last week I felt had no other option and left a key budget meeting of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). Both the Lib Dem leader on the Fire Authority, Councillor Ed Butcher from Haringey, and I knew we had to make a protest at the decision of the Conservative Chair Brian Coleman to prohibit TV cameras from filming the meeting, and Coleman’s decision to …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Boris Johnson: condensed

By Mark Pack | Tue 23rd March 2010 - 2:20 pm

With due deference to our non-London readers, here’s an ultra condensed version of London Mayor Boris Johnson and the roadworks:

Two years ago Boris Johnson promises to do something about the number of times London streets get dug up with a “holy war on holey streets”.

Two years on, the holy war has yet to start and instead it’s been reconfigured.

Now he’s promising one meeting a year.

But not just any meeting. It’ll be A SUMMIT.

A rather peaceful and slow moving kind of war really.

Posted in London | 1 Comment
Caroline Pidgeon

The grit in the Oyster

By Caroline Pidgeon | Sat 27th February 2010 - 12:50 pm

London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon sets out how the Mayor of London’s approach to problems with the London Oyster travelcard is a demonstration of Boris Johnsons wider approach to addressing issues that face Londoners:

This week at City Hall I was accused by Boris Johnson of being a “negative Liberal Democrat” when I dared to question him over some of the problems that have happened as a result of the extension of Oyster Pay as You Go to national rail services across London.

Well I stand by my questioning of the Mayor as there is no …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey – No accounting for Boris Johnson

By NewsHound | Tue 23rd February 2010 - 6:50 pm

Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free blog, Lib Dem leader in the Greater London Assembly Mike Tuffrey argues that, though the mayor of London made many promises about changing the way the city is governed, nothing has materialised. Here’s an excerpt:

Alas, Johnson’s bold claims to change how London is governed have proved to be largely fanciful. The specific promise to introduce a cabinet system at city hall – an idea introduced by Livingstone, but afterwards abandoned by him – was quickly dropped, despite my constant probing. …

The mayor has also stopped holding regular press conferences at city hall,

…

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Stephen Tall

Boris and Wolf: The two best arguments in favour of a hung parliament

By Stephen Tall | Fri 12th February 2010 - 2:30 pm

Two articles by broadsheet columnists on the prospect of a hung parliament bookended this week. In their contrasting ways, both made a convincing pitch for the attractions of neither Labour nor Tories ending up with an overall majority at the next general election.

First up is Martin Wolf from the Financial Times, writing today that Britain can love hung parliaments:

The bogeyman of a hung parliament is being used to terrify British voters. What is needed, it is argued, is a government with a strong majority, to rescue the UK from the threat of national bankruptcy. This is nonsense. The UK

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 8 Comments
Alex Foster

Daily View 2×2: 28 January 2010

By Alex Foster | Thu 28th January 2010 - 7:08 am

Smoke trails against a black skyGood morning, and welcome to Daily View this morning. 24 years ago, 28 January saw the NASA Challenger disaster.

It’s the date of the death of Henry VIII and the beginning of the Diet of Worms. (If they went to that sort of effort, I hope they lost a lot of weight!)

197 years ago today saw the first publication of Pride and Prejudice and in 1958, Lego bricks were first patented. Today’s bricks still mesh with the original 1958 system.

Birthday bunny hops today go to novelist David Lodge and hobbit-actor Elijah Wood.

2 Big Stories

Boris Johnson to stand down as chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority

Over to the Guardian for today’s first story.

In direct contradiction to his manifesto, Boris Johnson has decided he doesn’t have time to be a writer, a mayor, and a Police Authority chair, and so something had to give.

Tory Troll has a bunch of handy quotes and links on the story.

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Mark Pack

Boris Johnson gets a touch of the Gordon Brown

By Mark Pack | Tue 8th December 2009 - 11:10 pm

The Guardian, today:

Boris Johnson today signed City Hall up to the 10:10 climate change campaign.

Mayor’s Question Time, two months ago:

I supported the 10:10 campaign when it was launched in September, and have signed up City Hall to the initiative.

Re-announcing something you’ve already announced previously? How very Gordon Brown.

Mind you, it’s often been rumoured that Boris Johnson has his eyes on 10 Downing Street, so perhaps he’s just putting in some practice 🙂

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Helen Duffett

Boris Johnson’s attitude to breaches of expense rules

By Helen Duffett | Fri 4th September 2009 - 5:34 pm

Seems that the Mayor of London has a talent for picking the “wonderful”, “brilliant” and scandal-prone when it comes to expenses.

The BBC reports that Boris Johnson claimed on his MP expenses for a website which promoted his mayoral campaign and the sale of his books:

Mr Johnson claimed the £500 from his MP’s communications allowance for redesigning his website homepage in December 2007.

In a letter obtained by BBC London under the Freedom of Information Act, a parliamentary official told Mr Johnson that his claim was rejected because his website fell “significantly outside” the allowance guidelines.

The House of Commons guidance on the Communications Allowance couldn’t be any clearer –

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged and | 2 Comments
Helen Duffett

Ian Clement charged with fraud

By Helen Duffett | Fri 4th September 2009 - 2:29 pm

Ian Clement, one of Boris Johnson’s former Deputy Mayors, has been charged with five counts of fraud “in connection with alleged misuse of expenses.”

Clement was forced to resign in June over allegations that he used his City Hall corporate credit card to pay for private meals and groceries.

Adam Bienkov at Tory Troll has the full story, including the statement issued by the Metropolitan Police, and a statement from Clement’s lawyer in the Bexley Times who accuses the Crown Prosecution Service of “political expediency” for deciding to prosecute. 

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Alex Foster

Daily View 2×2: Thursday 3 September

By Alex Foster | Thu 3rd September 2009 - 8:00 am

Good morning, on this fine morning – Charlie Sheen’s birthday, and one of Nottingham Lib Dem’s “delivery days.” Here’s hoping for no rain for me and for Charlie.

Top stories

Unbeknownst to the rest of us, the Tories have carried out a coup:

Tories claim: we have seized control of Scotland Yard

The Conservatives have wrested control of Scotland Yard from the Home Office and now have its top officers working to their agenda, a senior aide to the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has told the Guardian.

Kit Malthouse, the deputy mayor for policing, has declared that he and Johnson “have our

…

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Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment
Helen Duffett

Boris Johnson brings the house down

By Helen Duffett | Sat 8th August 2009 - 11:50 am

The Mayor of London, who is in charge of the capital’s planning issues, was told to remove a wooden summer house at his Islington home because it was built without planning permission.

From the Times:

Council officers ordered Boris Johnson to remove the shed from a balcony at his home, a Grade II listed building in a conservation area of Islington, North London.

Islington Council wrote to Mr Johnson to tell him that the shed required planning permission because it was within the curtilage of a listed building.

“Planning enforcement officers advised Mr Johnson that the shed did not have planning

…

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Helen Duffett

Passengers demand return of bendy buses – after a week

By Helen Duffett | Sat 1st August 2009 - 3:45 pm

From the London Paper:

Commuters on the first route to get rid of the controversial bendy buses today declared: “Bring them back.”

Passengers on the 507 complained that the single-decker replacements were overcrowded and failed to provide enough seating.

One told of chaotic scenes when around 100 people crammed on to a Waterloo to Victoria bus during rush-hour.

Another, Andrew Cooper, 39, of Westminster, said: “There are hardly any seats. I’m not sure why they got rid of the bendy.”

Maureen Pullen, 48, of Winchester, said: “The bendy buses’ three doors allowed people to board much faster and brought down journey times.” Sine Msomi,

…

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged | 14 Comments
Helen Duffett

Road safety advice for Londoners: avoid Boris’s bike

By Helen Duffett | Fri 31st July 2009 - 1:37 pm

You might expect the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the Chair of Transport for London to be a law-abiding, safety-conscious example to the rest of us.

Not when it’s London Mayor, Boris Johnson. At the recent “People’s Question Time” in Croydon, this was his answer to the decline of the traditional English pub:

“I have just one idea, if more people rode bicycles and fewer people drove cars you would not have to worry about the drink driving laws and I sincerely believe that. I have absolutely no prohibition about drinking a pint of two of beer

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Boris Johnson breaks employment promise

By Mark Pack | Thu 23rd July 2009 - 12:13 am

From The Pink Paper:

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will not be entering the Greater London Authority as a candidate for Stonewall’s annual Top 100 employers list, PinkPaper.com can reveal.

The news comes as a surprise considering that the authority – which is based at City Hall – was ranked second in 2008 and third in 2009.

The decision has also contradicted a former promise by Johnson who, in response to a previous question, said the GLA would be entered for 2010…

Dee Doocey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member , “Last Summer Boris Johnson’s office was in such a mess at City

…

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Caroline Pidgeon

London Underground: should lines be completely shut to speed up engineering work?

By Caroline Pidgeon | Sat 18th July 2009 - 4:47 pm

The London Underground is used by as many people each week as the total number of people who use the nation’s railway network. Caroline Pidgeon sets out why modernising the underground is so important and why new ways of undertaking the upgrades might now be necessary.

At London’s City Hall I’m leading an Assembly investigation into overcrowding on the Tube and what Mayor Boris Johnson can do about it. For many years now Tube passengers have been used to cramming themselves into crowded trains wedged against someone’s armpits. More recently stations like Victoria, King’s Cross, London Bridge and Holborn have had …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments
Helen Duffett

Brian Coleman was wined and dined before awarding contract

By Helen Duffett | Tue 14th July 2009 - 1:19 pm

Such hospitality – it’s astounding!

Not only did Asset Co treat Brian Coleman (London Assembly Member and Chair of the London Fire Authority) to three dinners and a Harvey Nicks hamper before the LFA awarded it a £12 million contract – but also Mayor Boris Johnson continues to give him house room at City Hall.

After his huge taxi bills and refusal to publish his expenses at the same time as the other Assembly Members, Coleman has outstayed London’s welcome – but when will Boris do something about it?

Adam Bienkov at Tory Troll has the story:

The London Fire Authority have awarded

…

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Merlene Emerson

Opinion: Tories’ housing plot uncovered?

By Merlene Emerson | Mon 13th July 2009 - 3:45 pm

The Evening Standard published a bold article last Thursday suggesting that Hammersmith & Fulham Council and the Tory leadership were in a plot reminiscent of the days of Dame Shirley Porter (‘Plot to rid council estates of Poor’, 9 July 2009)

Hammersmith & Fulham Council is currently consulting on their Local Development Framework (LDF) Core Strategy Options which repeatedly refers to a need for ‘decent neighbourhoods’. Neighbourhoods that are currently not ‘decent’ have been identified throughout the borough.

It seems to me that if these neighbourhoods contained homes which do not meet national ‘decent homes standards’ then the Council and Hammersmith & Fulham Homes should be working to bring them up to standard. Where the neighbourhoods have residents who are jobless and on benefits, then the Council has a duty to provide training and improved skills. The solution should not be to demolish and decant whole estates.

The Council has, however, shown a preference for the easy fix by proposing the rebuilding of properties primarily for sale. The only assurance they provide existing residents is that the equivalent number of ‘habitable rooms’ (not number of units) for social renting will be preserved, and this over the next 20 years!

There are two conclusions that we can draw from this. First, many local residents will be without a home in Hammersmith & Fulham in years to come and will be likely to have to seek housing outside of the borough. Second, the Tory Council seems to be focussed on changing the demographics of their voters in this marginal constituency.

The present Labour MP Andrew Slaughter has felt suitably threatened and has raised the alarm claiming to have uncovered a trail of evidence showing possible complicity amongst the leadership of Hammersmith & Fulham Council – the Tory leadership as well as the right wing think tank, Localis – on this subject.

So what can we do about this?

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Posted in Local government, London and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
Helen Duffett

Brian Coleman in “mad, bad and sad” expenses smokescreen

By Helen Duffett | Tue 7th July 2009 - 5:56 pm

London Assembly Member Brian Coleman is refusing to publish details of his expenses, despite the Mayor, his advisors and the other 24 members of the Assembly agreeing to do so voluntarily.

Apparently a graduate of the Anthony Steen Charm School for Politicians, Coleman has blamed bloggers for being interested in how taxpayers’ money is spent:

“I won’t do it voluntarily. It’s none of the public’s business. They have coped well without knowing this kind of detail for more than 75 years. They are not entitled to drool over our personal lives. I’m not going to help the mad, bad and the

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Helen Duffett

Bexley Conservatives throw out Ian Clement

By Helen Duffett | Mon 29th June 2009 - 5:09 pm

Ian Clement may have resigned last week as Boris Johnson’s deputy mayor, but his troubles are far from over.

From the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservatives’ website:

At a meeting held on 25th June of the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservative Association Executive Council, a unanimous decision was taken to immediately suspend the Association Membership of Ian Clement in light of recent reports in the press about his conduct.

The process of formally terminating his membership has begun. By the terms of our constitution, this will require a special meeting of the Executive Council, whereby fourteen days notice must be given to Mr Clement.

Last …

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