Labour? I've always been an independent, says Ken

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

Speaking at the launch of his bus manifesto, Mr Livingstone was asked whether Labour's poor polling nationally was undermining his re-election bid.

"It doesn't matter what party label I wear, I've always been an independent," he said. "When I came back into the Labour Party, the deal I did with Tony Blair was 'you give me the money and I will spend it in a way that I think is right for London - without the Government telling me how to do it'."

Mr Livingstone added that even when he was a Labour MP, the party's whips in Parliament knew that he would operate differently from the party line.

With Labour on about 28 per cent nationally in some polls, the Mayor's rating of 37 per cent is seen by his allies as evidence that he can outperform the party by keeping his distance.

Several Cabinet ministers have campaigned with Mr Livingstone in recent days, but some in his camp believe that the Government's performance is holding him back. Mr Livingstone won the mayoralty in 2000 as an independent but was brought back into the fold ahead of his re-election in 2004.

He unveiled his bus manifesto with a fresh attack on Boris Johnson's "farcical" plans to dump bendy buses. Mr Livingstone said the choice between his policies and those of his Tory rival was one of the starkest facing voters on 1 May. He said that the increase in bus use to six million journeys a day was one of his biggest successes. Mr Livingstone added that over the past eight years the total had gone up by almost two million journeys a day.

The manifesto sets out plans for "London's second bus transformation" by making them easier to use and greener.

Key pledges are:

To increase services and improve reliability.

Introduce accurate second-by-second GPS bus journey information, both on buses and at bus-stops.

Investing in a new fleet of clean, green hybrid buses.

Improving driving standards and vehicle cleanliness.

Holding down fares.

Mr Livingstone said his policies "compare starkly with the chaos and uncosted incompetence of Boris Johnson's flagship policy of introducing "replacement Routemasters with conductors".