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Mayor: My London plan can show Tories the way
Nicholas Cecil, Chief Political Correspondent04.08.08
Boris Johnson today championed his master plan to tackle London's social and economic problems as offering new policies for a future Conservative government.
The London Mayor made clear that his blueprint for dealing with crime, anti-social behaviour and social disadvantage in the capital may be rolled out across Britain if David Cameron wins the next election.
Mr Johnson has already brought fresh dynamism to London with plans to combat youth crime with "respect" schools for children in danger of going off the rails, parenting classes, knife offenders to face automatic jail terms and increased high-visibility policing.
He also acted decisively with his alcohol ban on the Tube and is putting hundreds more uniformed officers on the public transport system to protect passengers.
"Over the next couple of months, I will be setting out some more of the ideas that I have for the general direction of the city, and indeed for what we could be doing in London, that I think would be a good way forward for the country," he told The Times in an interview to mark his 100th day in office, which is next Monday.
"If the Conservatives are going to be coming into power next time around, then let's share ideas and let's work something up together."
Mr Johnson and Mr Cameron hold regular talks but both have previously shied away from suggesting that London is a testing ground for the next Tory administration. But the Mayor now admits that the Tory leader, who on £132,000 a year earns about £5,000 less than him, may want to adopt some of the successful policies being pioneered in the capital to address what Mr Cameron has branded Britain's "broken society".
Mr Johnson said: "They are in the general area of developing a community response to the problems of disadvantaged children going off the rails and wrecking their lives, wrecking their neighbourhood. Basically, it's developing a passionate and pro-active series of measures to tackle youth crime and disaffection generally."
Mr Johnson swiftly axed Ken Livingstone's £25 congestion charge for gas guzzlers and is reviewing the western extension of the C-charge area.
But the first three months of Mr Johnson's mayoralty have had some problems, including the resignation of his deputy mayor Ray Lewis and his chief of staff James McGrath, and he also voiced frustration at the pace of change that he can deliver in the capital on some issues, including ending the use of bendy buses which is expected to take years.
"There are some things you seem to be able to achieve very fast," he said.
"But you know those dreams you get, where you've got lead boots on, and you're dreaming you're running for the try line, and no matter how hard you try your feet just won't seem to move?
"It can be a bit like that with some things that I want to do."
Former mayor Mr Livingstone has accused Mr Johnson of presiding over London's "slow collapse back into barbarism".
Mr Johnson admits that some voters are still puzzled that he was elected to head a staff of more than 800 with an £11 billion budget.
Stressing his passion for the job, he said: "I'm still bathed in the serotonin that you get after something like this. Every day I wake up with a sense of wonderment that I'm Mayor of London.
"Obviously I realise that other people may also feel a little wonderment."
Reader views (11)
As a parent of a child at Holland Park School, I am horrified at Boris Johnson's decision to sanction selling off a large playing field to finance the rebuilding of the school. Even if the school does need rebuilding, which is in some doubt, after all over £20 million has been spent on refurbishment over the last 5 years, money is available under the government's 'Building School For The Future' scheme, so there is no need to sell off the irreplaceable recreation area at all. Just a few years ago, Queen Elizabeth College, just around the corner from the school was sold off by the council for conversion into luxury flats. When one considers the price of real estate in this part of Kensington, one can't help suspecting that someone in the council is receiving a large back-hander from a friend or relative in the property development business. Kensington and Chelsea is chronically short of state educational facilities - Holland Park School is the only non-denominational co-ed Secondary School. Look into it, Boris, before it's too late!
- Rupert Wickham, london
Boris is fast falling into the predictable pattern of buffoonish Tories, who will say anything to get elected. Oi Bozza, how do you think it's going to improve the party's standing in true blue RBKC, now that you've nodded through the contentious scheme to demolish Holland Park School and sell off one of the last open spaces in Holland Park. Er..all this wanton destruction of trees and greenery is going to help the environment, is it? And plonking a hideous 7 storey building, not unlike a young offenders' institute in the middle of Holland Park shows keen responsiveness to conservation arguments, does it? Oh get back your bike, you bozo- you're just Dave Cameron's puppet!
- Tracy Hofman, London
I was one of those who fell for the charisma of the new Mayor. Now in office he has proved to be a HUGE disappointment. It is a scandal that he has sanctioned Kensington & Chelsea's plan to sell off the playing fields of Holland Park School. With his concern for youth behaviour I would have thought he would understand the need for schools to have as much outdoor space as possible for young people to let off steam.
- Jilly, London
To 'David, London UK';
Yes, Boris has handed back £7 million to Venezuela. But frankly, I don't want London doing business with a corrupt Venezuelan socialist who supports drug smugglers and Marxist terrorists.
Boris will pay for this by scrapping the half price bus fares given to those on benefits.
So that's 2 for the price of 1- give the unemployed more of a reason to find work, and cut off a corrupt foreign leader! Great work Boris!
- Robert Cunningham, Harrow, London, UK
Breaking public promises seems to be a speciality of The Mayor but then he is a politician! His promise "No sale of playing fields" but he failed to stop Kensington and Chelsea selling off the Holland Park School playing fields. Now in Queens Park there is the strong possibility he could renage on his public statements to stop the spread of tower blocks and his promise to preserve small shops. 3 broken promises in 3 months would be quite a stunning performance. As a political commentator remarked about Tony Blair "I really liked him, so much so, that I actually believed him when he was lying! Naively a large number of Londoners also believed and liked Boris but are rapidly learning that he is no different from most politicians!
- David, london england
Simon - you don't pay council tax in London but demand the right to congest our roads and pollute our air. Get the train.
- Paul, London
I hope with the opening of the new shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush that he see's the sense to dismantle the western extension on the congestion charge as traffic which is already a nightmare due to the roundabout on the west cross route having a lane closed now for weeks with no sign of the work being completed will be an absolute nightmare for those of us who commute from out of town just to get to work due to the expensive housing in London. Come on Boris, please help!
- Simon, hemel uk
Boris' first 3 months haven't been easy, but at least when the rotten apples were found, they were ditched and not covered up. Also, he has got rid of many of Red Ken's political extravagances. Giving free travel to our armed forces vets has just got to be a big plus for him. Okay, he has fouled up. But contrast that with Gordon Brown's first 3 months in office, and who would you rather have in charge?
- Joan, London, England
I wouldn’t waste too much time listening to what he says. This is the man who promised to protect playing fields and open space and at the first hurdle agreed to the soft option of the sale of Holland Park School’s playing fields and open space. Someone who says one thing and does another.
- Richard, London England
Barbarism?
Many natives of these islands are proud of their barbarian ancestors: the Celts, Gaels, Scots, Picts, Cornish, Welsh, British, Scottish and Irish - barbarians all!
- Sarah N., London, UK
Hmmm no mention of the seven million pounds that Boris has had to hand back to Venezuela?
Boris banned booze on LT, will he now be banning Lad's Mags as Michael Gove doesn't like them?
- David, London UK
