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Boris: I'll ditch newspaper to plant 10,000 trees
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor26.03.08
Boris Johnson today pledged to plant 10,000 street trees in London by scrapping Ken Livingstone's £1 million a year newspaper The Londoner.
The Tory mayoral candidate said that ditching what he calls "Ken's propaganda sheet" would save enough money to fund new saplings across the city during his first term.
Working in partnership with environmental charities, Mr Johnson said that the street trees would be brought to areas that need them most.
On average his scheme will plant 250 trees in each area, and all 40 areas will have trees planted by the end of the four-year mayoral term in 2012.
Mr Johnson unveiled his policy proposal, which will be part of his environment manifesto published tomorrow, at a tree-planting ceremony in Redbridge. "In the last few years a third of boroughs have seen a decline in the number of street trees - the Mayor has done nothing to reverse this trend," he said.
"Trees give the capital its identity as one of the world's greenest cities. But these trees are not distributed equally around the capital. Many London streets, particularly in deprived areas, have no street trees at all. Why should those streets with more expensive houses get trees when others don't?
"Tree planting may appear to be a small gesture but will actually improve the lives of thousands of Londoners. It is time we had a new approach in London. I am the man to bring about that change."
But Mr Livingstone's campaign claimed an extra 400,000 trees had been planted across London - including on street and in parks - since 2004. The Mayor has pledged to plant a further 600,000 trees by 2012 by working with charities and boroughs. A spokesman described Mr Johnson's plan as "incredibly umambitious".
The Back Boris campaign says that trees offer health benefits because they provide shade, cooling and moisture, and their leaves trap some elements of road pollution, benefiting asthmatics.
A tree-lined street has only 10-15 per cent of the dust of a street without trees, as well as being 6-10C cooler.
They absorb some traffic noise, as well as providing habitats for local wildlife. Street trees also mitigate the effects of global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, cooling streets that are suffering from the "heat island" effect, and by soaking up rainwater from flash floods. Urban trees can confer economic-benefits as well, the Tories say. They point to estate agents' claims that the presence of trees in an urban area correlates with higher property values, perhaps as much as five to 15 per cent higher.
Reader views (27)
I am gob smacked! I never knew that "The Londoner" was Ken's idea - absolutely disgraceful! Everyday London is polluted with millions of copies of this useless paper which nobody wants to waste.
How dare Ken tax us and chastise us for "damaging the environment" when he causes worse contamination with this!
- Daniel Howard, London,UK
It may be a drop in the ocean but if it means a million pounds more spent on doing something useful instead of telling us how great it is to have a mayor. I'm all in favour.
- Lawrence Dimery, London, UK
Another vote winner from kindly Uncle Boris. They need to ensure however that these trees are of sufficient maturity to survive the privations of the Capital's mean streets with yobbos swinging off them and trying to rip them up etc.
- Squiz, Islington
Surely this is a drop in the ocean compared to the blight of other free papers distributed every evening and morning?
- Ian, Hackney
I have regularly e-mailed the Mayor asking for his justification for this propaganda sheet..surprise, surprise,no reply! Well done Boris.
- John Bush, London, UK
Brilliant. No additional tax, elimination of a paper that cannot support itself without a £1m subsidy, ticks the green box and lastly covers off the inevitable wailing and gnashing of teeth about vital public services being cut by a Tory toff - a bunch of (ex)overpaid journalists is never going to win public support. Will also be interesting to see how Ken defends his paper to his new found best friend Siân.
Spot on and in line with the "where's the money gone" message Labour/Ken are currently having great difficulty with. I commend Boris for this action and hope he can repeat this trick in other areas.
- Patrick, London
The amount of money that Ken and his Cronies spend on P.R/Propaganda is astonishing. What we need is money spend on practical initiatives that actually improve our surrounding. Ken and his mates are a disgrace to London, Ken's answer to environmental issues is just to tax us.
Go for it Boris and why not get the Woodland Trust involved they no how to get things done.
- Simon, London
We should ask the Mayors spokes person where these 400 000 trees have been planted and where the other 600 000 will be planted... I will bet 1 million pounds that this list will be the same as the Trees for Cities list.
At the same time you should ask the spokes person how many trees have been and will be lost due to Bus improvement Schemes?
- Holly Bush, London
The ‘Million Trees Campaign’ is organised by Trees for Cities an independent charity established in 1993, the Mayor has NOT funded all the monies for this campaign. The numbers that, Paul has given are from Tree for Cities website.
The majority of these schemes were planted up with whips (small trees no more than 30/125cm high). I would hope that for a £100 for each tree that this proposed scheme will use nursery transplanted stock (at least 150cm high with a developed root-ball). The number of planted trees is NOT the headline it is the survival rate and this can only be achieved by using the right tree in the right place principal and regular management.
When will a politician make a commit to the maintenance and management to trees?
Yours living in hope Arboricultural (Tree) Officer
- Hazel Tree, London
The amount of newspapers lying around every morning and evening astound me. The cleaners just bin them. A very good idea Boris - well done.
- Jk, London
The Londoner is little more than a vanity exercise for Ken's administration...it's a total waste of natural and financial resources and should have been scrapped long ago. Nice one, Boris!
- Mark, London
Boris would always get my vote over red ken maybe ken would like to pay some of the miss spent Londoners money back that has disappeared.
- John Hewett, London
Although King Ken sounds green this is again just rhetoric. The best example of this is his plan to use excess heat from the Barking power plant to heat homes. A bright idea why hasn't any body else thought of it? Oh yes Barking Council and its District Heating Scheme. Despite the Council's best efforts the scheme was a nightmare to run and closed down in the 1980s. Tenants couldn't get rid of it quick enough
- Jerry, London
The streets around Paddington are awash with these rubbishy papers and you can't move without someone flapping one in your face and hoping you will take it from them. I never do - I go and buy The Evening Standard which is a great London paper with unbiaised views. Unlike Ken's propaganda rag. Well done Boris. I look forward to May 2nd and no more of them on the streets!
- Diana, Paddington W2, London, UK
Of course Boris would scrap the Londoner - he doesn't need it as he already has the Standard doing his propaganda 
In 2002 Ken Livingstone launched the Million Trees Campaign, which is on course for planting a million trees in London by 2012. If Boris is only planting 10,000 in four years, that's pathetic by comparison with a scheme which had seen 425,000 planted by the end of its fifth year.
- Paul, London, UK
Ken's done a couple of things I really liked, but that newspaper made me realise what a populist he is, it's pointless.
- Phil, London, UK
Someone speaking sense in politics, at last...lets get behind Boris.
- Chris Twynham, London, UK
And get the unemployed to plant them!
- Brian Moyler, Bognor,U.K.
What a great idea,the trees will clean the air of all that crap we have had for 10 years.
More ideas like this, and by the way, get the unemployed to plant them!
- Brian Moyler, Bognor,U.K.
At last! Bring on Boris, everyone has had enough of Ken and his dictatorship.
Tree lined streets are really advantageous and should be encouraged.
- Ben, London
Great idea, will also save on streets being full of discarded unread papers.
- Den, London
He has just won my vote!
- Jason Palmer, London
Boris sounds better each day.
- Neil Grinsell, London
This is really good news and I support the idea of eliminating as much waste as possible. The paper is poorly written and never gives balanced coverage. Boris: if you get elected scrap the paper on your first day in office.
- Sarah Jones, London
What a great idea! Trees rather than propagandistic junk mail.
- R M, London, UK
Excellent - a simple, positive and achievable proposal.
- Nick, London
Excellent! 10 copies of "The Londoner" are delivered and left unread by the front door. What a rubbish paper. Leave newspapers to the professionals. The media should be independent. But much more important, 10,000 trees. Really good news. I hope they grow to be guge London Plane trees. My children love them, and so do I
- Peter Martin, Clerkenwell
