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Boris ‘betrayal’ as he breaks his promise
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard21 Apr 2009
BORIS Johnson was accused of “betrayal” today as it was revealed he has ditched plans for three rape crisis centres.
The Mayor was accused of failing women by cancelling the centres he promised in his manifesto — which were supposed to improve greatly the number of rapists brought to justice.
The disclosure came as Mr Johnson launched what he claimed was a strategy to cut violence against women — and as black cab rapist John Worboys was being sentenced for his string of attacks.
He was left free to prey because of a string of police blunders while a second serial rapist, Kirk Reid, was also not been caught because of failures by Scotland Yard.
Mr Johnson had claimed in his election manifesto
that he would found three new rape crisis centres, saying the cost would be met by cutting Ken Livingstone's army of spin doctors.
But today the Mayor admitted that funding for the three new centres, which would supplement an existing centre in Croydon, would not be found in his budget.
His office said he was “assessing rape crisis need in London” and would ask the Government or councils to stump up the cash.
Labour Assembly member Joanne McCartney said: “This is a complete betrayal. Boris is promoting himself as a defender of women's rights; behind the scenes he is reneging on his promise to fund new rape crisis centres.”
Green party Assembly member Jenny Jones said: “If you promise something you jolly well get on and deliver it. There's a lot of back-tracking going on and a lot of women need these centres and need them immediately.”
Yvonne Traynor, chief executive of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, said: “Promises shouldn't have been made so early as we are now very disappointed.”
The “Way Forward” violence against women strategy, which Mr Johnson was launching in Islington today, involves a new “steering group” to encourage police, councils and other public sector bodies to work more closely together to prevent the “appalling immunity” sex offenders enjoy.
Mr Johnson said: “There are a significant number of women in London whose lives are blighted by the violence of men, something which is wholly unacceptable.”
Reader views (26)
Andrew, London: London is the capital city of the United Kingdom, it is MY capital city, and I will comment on what goes on within its limits whenever it takes my fancy.
James Hennessey: I'll bow to your superior knowledge of the content of the Sun newspaper. Personally, I don't read it.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 30/04/2009 09:32
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Boris is Mayor of London and not the rest of the UK.
As such, could we please limit the contributions about him to those people who actually live or work in London and are affected by Boris.
Much as our regular contributor from Doncaster admires Boris and his flowing locks, he should stick to his local politics. I assume that Doncaster could do with some Conservative support.
Boris is London's problem. Leave it to the Londoners to solve it.
- Andrew, London W1, 23/04/2009 21:00
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Keith lonsdale,Doncaster
Here we go again, [gormless gordon and the soviet labour party] where would you be without your slogans Keith? Most of them borrowed from the sun newspaper. That explains your juvenile approach to all things political. Lets hope you don't truly represent the good people of Doncaster.
- James Hennessy, london england, 22/04/2009 18:18
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James Hennesy; thanks for the advice, which I won't be taking.
The financial situation in London is a reflection of the sorry state of affairs in the wider UK, and that is entirely down to the profligate spending and vindictive taxation policies of Gormless Clown and the Soviet Labour party. If you cannot see this, you are as blind and ill informed as Val Daniels.
Boris cannot spend money that he doesn't have, something that Captain Darling would do well to remember in his budget.
Val Daniels: "UK finances and London's budget are two entirely separate things." No, they are not, they are inextricably linked, which is why every local authority in the country is suffering as a result of the profligacy and incompetence of your beloved McBroon & Co. Your mention of the replacement of bendy busses, which have been proven to be dangerous, is a complete red herring. It will benefit all of London's road users, for whom Boris also has responsibility.
The suggestion that Boris is deliberately endangering women is quite ridiculous. He has responsibility for ALL the people of London, not just one group or another.
Where are the rape crisis centres that Red Ken opened? I dont' see you ranting about the fact that there aren't any. At least BJ has expressed intent to do something when able.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 22/04/2009 08:22
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"...would ask the Government or councils to stump up the cash."
How does this jibe with 'reneging on his promise'? He is simply trying to find alternate funding by the sounds of it. That means it hasn't happened yet, not that it never will happen.
Ask partisan opinion on this, as was done apparently, and you'll get the expected answers. How about asking also -
a) Where does it say he's given up on the idea?
b) What other major project should be dumped to fund this one, if he were to go ahead with it?
c) Where are the Ken Livingstone administration's rape crisis centres?
Ask cherry-pick questions, and you'll get the cherry-pick answers you're after (not to mention the pro-Ken comments)!
- Rogan, Irving, 22/04/2009 05:50
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The BAn on Drinking was only for Bus drivers anyway...
- Ron, London, 22/04/2009 01:56
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I'm surprised that y'all here are surprised he went back on his word!
HE IS A POLITICIAN FER CHRISSSAKE!....WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT?.........The mind boggles!!
Cheeeeeeezzz!
GERONIMO
- Geronimo, LONDON MIDDLESEX, 21/04/2009 23:26
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Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
How about having an original though of your own istead of parroting the same old slogans day after day no matter what the topic is. Maybe it would help if you started reading the articles first. Johnson has backtracked on his promise to build three new rape centres.That was a broken promise by Boris, nothing to do with Brown. Your obsession with the blond bombshell is rather suspect.
- James Hennessy, london england, 21/04/2009 17:43
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What is so hard to understand about this? There is only a finite amount of money to go round.
Personally, I would like the next Government to focus on just a small number of issues: the economy, education. NHS and law and order.
Once that is done, then move on to the less important things.
Do we really want people taking on non-jobs like smoking cessation when the economy is in total metldown?
Who are going to pay the pensions of those people who live longer due to the them no longer dying of cancer? Who is going to pay the duty on the cigarettes they will no longer be buying? It is the politics of the mad house.
Boris, I imagine, has simply taken the view that this is not sufficiently important, at this stage.
- Ian Gilbertson, Newcastle, 21/04/2009 17:38
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Well so far Boris hasn't actually delivered anything except a pointless ban on drinking alcohol on public transport (which has had zero effect anyway).
- D.W., London, 21/04/2009 17:30
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#Keith Doncaster
Your puerile comments simply confirm the view that you are lacking in the brain department. At the risk of repeating myself, I do live in the UK in the summer, but I live in Spain in the winter months. UK finances and London's budget are two entirely separate things. City Hall holds London's budget, not the government. City Hall decides how to spend it. If the Mayor chooses to spend money on rent-a-bike schemes and replacing bendy buses, instead of investing more in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of women, it says everything about him. Why do people like you have to drag the government into every post on here. This is a problem of Boris's own making and we can see where his priorities lie. The safety of women obviously comes near the bottom of that list.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 21/04/2009 16:42
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I forgot to add that in the papers distributed prior to today's meeting that it is laid out that apart from the broken promise on rape crisis centres, over half a million pounds budgetd for in 2008/9 was not been spent on community innitiatives, including women and BAME communities under the guise of having to make economies to build up a war chest to fight the economic situation in 2009/10.
See http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/budgetmon/2009/apr09/item-04c.rtf
- Passerby, London, 21/04/2009 15:21
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The trouble is that nobody really knows how much money or waste there is until you're in power. He shouldn't have promised it, if that's what he did. This should really be something that local councils provide.
- Tony C, Surbiton, 21/04/2009 15:18
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I am no Boris supporter and I think it is disgusting that he made a promise he obviously had no intention of keeping and I presume he thought that given the Labour Party's failure to properly support Rape Crisis Centres that he would gain points by making this off the cuff remark during his campaign.
However his disrespect for the reality of the crisis in rape crisis is not as bad as the Labour Party's persistent lack of support for a nationwide rape crisis strategy during their time in government. See comments by Rape Crisis (E&W) http://womensgrid.freecharity.org.uk/?p=2309 - and lets not forget that it was the Labour Party (under the leadership of a woman) that cut the funding to the London Rape Crisis centre that has led to this situation in the capital, and that other women's groups were only too happy to scoop up their grant in the same was as has happened with the grant to GLDVP to co-ordinate a VAW strategy.
As for the Greens' with their liberal attitude to prostitution, who are they to be asking these questions? Did they ask them of Ken and his token feminist when they were promoting SARCs at the expense of RCCs in line with Labour Party politcs.
Please don't use the issue of rape crisis to score party politics points. Its too important for far too many women. Please take action on the far wider issue of securing long term nationwide funding for rape crisis centres.
- Passerby, London, 21/04/2009 15:15
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Dont matter what party these politicians come from, they say one thing to get in, then do another when they get in.
UK needs new partys that actually offer the UK something, rather than the same old same old politicians we have going through the motions for self gain.
- Dom, London, 21/04/2009 15:12
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Val Daniels (are you related to McClown, by any chance?): The dire state of of UK plc's finances is is entirely the fault of Gormless Clown and his NuLiebour chums. Besides, if life under McClown is your socialist Utopia, why are you living 1500 miles away?
Boris nmade an election pledge and has since had the guts to reassess that commitment and admit that he cannot find the money to fund it.
He has not, unlike your Glorious Leader, simply reneged on a promise because of political expedience (Lisbon treaty referendum spring to mind at all?).
I am sure that these rape crisis centres would have been established if funding was available, and the suggestion that he is deliberately compromising the safety is quite outrageous. I am equally certain that Boris will continue to expunge Red Ken's politically correct appointees form their unaffordable and unnecessary non-jobs.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 21/04/2009 13:52
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Dear St. of London. Crime goes up in a recession, so does domestic violence and rape. Investment in these type of services is more important than ever. Did you actually think before writing: 'We can't all have what we want?' Are you saying that protecting women from violence is an optional luxury? Governments of every hue seem to think that women's rights are expendable in an economic downturn - look at Peter Mandelson trying to get the Labour government to drop new maternity legislation because of the recession. Politicians can always find money for the projects they want to see coming to fruition - whatever the current climate. The bottom line is that Buffoon Boris just doesn't think protecting 50% of his constituents from sexual assault is that important.
- Lindsay, London, 21/04/2009 13:36
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Why are you all so surprised. Hopefully he'll be out before 2012 so he can't embarrass us at the Olympics with his boorish behaviour. It's no good blaming Gordon Brown St., London has it's own budget, and decides how it should be allocated. It's not the government's place to make good on the Mayor's broken promises. I'm afraid you just elected a bag of wind.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 21/04/2009 13:17
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I guess getting rid of all those spin doctors didn't save that much money afterall. Who needs rape centres when you've got an open ended bus to build, hey?
- Darren, London, 21/04/2009 12:36
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It's nothing to do with the economic climate, 'St'. Boris promised to cut spin doctors to pay for this, and hasn't done so. Pretty simple. Get elected promising less spin, then deliver more spin instead. Did you see the spin he put out about St. George's Day? Pretending Ken hadn't celebrated it when he'd done so for the past four years? Press coverage like that doesn't come cheap. Bad luck women - Boris wants to make himself look good in the papers so you have to suffer.
- Paul, London, 21/04/2009 12:08
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Is there anything that Boris actually is committed to? When he announced that Rout Masters would not be coming back after all I just rolled my eyes, but back-traking on rape Centres is a disgrace. What a window Boris gives us, into what it would be like to have the Conservatives back in Power.
- Sally, London, 21/04/2009 11:36
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Unfortunately, in the current economic climate, we can't all have what we want. Don't blame Boris, blame Broon.
- St, London, 21/04/2009 11:19
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It's hardly a shock to see Boris rowing back on promises. In fact I remember a lot of fuss last year about extending the existing domestic violence arrangement with the GLDVP.
Now can we concentrate on why, far from cutting spin doctors to pay for rape crisis centres, Boris has promoted his chief spinner to run one of his four directorates, seemingly charged mainly with making Boris look good? Isn't that the real scandal here?
- Tom, London, UK, 21/04/2009 11:11
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A politician breaking promises made in his manifesto. It seems to me that item's on manifestos are just plucked out of thin air because at the time it is the populist thing to do and it will win votes. Once in power, politicians across all party lines are not held accountable if they do not follow through with their pledges.
And they wonder why people don't go out to vote.
- James, London, Maida Vale, 21/04/2009 11:08
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More back-tracking, more empty promises, more lies and fake pledges. Boris's campaign was based on hollow promises, he would have said ANYTHING to get elected. Handing over money to accountants who found NOTHING wrong with Livingstone's administration and then denying money for women who have suffered appalling crimes, it says it all.
- Sally Pearsehouse, Bethnal Green, 21/04/2009 10:29
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Boris should immediately cancel all City Hall and LDA funding towards the Olympics to pay for these centres.
- Frankie, London, 21/04/2009 09:52
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