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Mayor told by rivals to come clean over green policies
Pippa Crerar, Political Correspondent14 Feb 2008
Ken Livingstone was accused of "playing politics with the planet" at the first public showdown between the main mayoral candidates.
Rivals said the Mayor was promoting environmentally friendly issues only because he needed support from the Greens to get his budget through the Assembly.
However, he insisted in a debate hosted by think tank Green Alliance that tackling carbon emissions would be "the single over-riding priority" of his third term.
His key rivals claimed he had not done enough to meet the target of a 60 per cent cut in greenhouse gases by 2025.
Lib-Dem Brian Paddick said: "You're playing politics with the planet. You're encouraging more pollution and more congestion." Green candidate Sian Berry added: "The Mayor has put every environment policy he is able to stomach into his climate change action document and it still isn't enough."
Tory contender Boris Johnson said it was "absolutely criminal" that the Mayor's senior City Hall aides had run up huge bills on flights.
But Mr Livingstone defended his record and pledged to do even more to combat climate change if re-elected.
"The single overriding priority of a third term has to be driving down carbon emissions and taking fairly rigorous and unpopular measures if it's unnecessary to do so," he said.
The Mayor said he would encourage more people to stay in the capital for the summer rather than jetting off abroad. He suggested setting up a Paris-style city beach and cleaning up the Thames.
All four front-runners in the race opposed Heathrow expansion.
Mr Livingstone and Ms Berry went further, saying they would close City Airport if such a move was within the mayor's power.
Mr Johnson said the airport should be moved to the Thames Estuary. "It's crazy that London is the only capital where people need to fly over the main conurbation to get to the airport," he said.
However, Ms Berry dismissed the idea as "some crazy Bond fantasy" which would seriously damage the local environment and wildlife.
Brian Paddick today announced he would charge tourists and out-of-town commuters £10 for driving into Greater London. The former Met police chief hopes this would encourage a switch to public transport.
THEIR POLICIES
KEN LIVINGSTONE, LABOUR
• £25-a-day congestion charge for Chelsea tractors and 100 per cent discount for greenest cars
• low emissions zone to keep high-polluting lorries out of town
• Paris-style bike hire scheme and cycle superhighways into inner London
• all new buses to be low-carbon hybrid vehicles by 2012
• green homes advice service offering subsidies on insulation
BORIS JOHNSON, TORIES
• work with councils to make recycling easier and back "freecycle" exchange schemes
• plant more trees along London's streets
• encourage people out of cars to walking and cycling
• consider moving London's major airport to Thames Estuary
• act as green procurement force to strike competitive deals with companies for environmental products
BRIAN PADDICK, LIB DEMS
• A £10 out-of-town congestion charge for tourists and commuters
• pedestrianise Oxford Street and provide free bendy bus shuttle from Marble Arch to Centre Point
• back scheme for free insulation to 10,000 homes in 25 most deprived wards
• tackle waste by making it easier to reuse and recycle
• move London's energy supply off grid and improve energy efficiency
SIAN BERRY, GREENS
• free insulation for every home that needs it
• cut single bus and off-peak Tube fares by 20p
• free bike hire on streets of London
• planning changes and cheap loans to deliver 100,000 solar roofs by 2015
• replace City airport with a Green Industries Park and affordable eco-homes
Ross Lydall blog: Am I wrong, or has Boris become the biggest story in town?
