So Boris is running for Mayor of London.

[yello]

Not a fan then Nick

I've lived in central London for 25 years. I remember the GLC and their initiatives. How it tried, often with much criticism, to govern for the people of London. I remember, with great sadness, its dismantling by the Tories. London seemed to die after that. It seemed to become a centre for business, with little consideration for the people that lived here. The Tories believed in trickle down, but there were syphons in place.

London is becoming a place for people to enjoy again. And I credit Ken Livingstone and his team for that. Public transport is costly, inefficient and crumbling but much of that is legacy. I think there are genuine efforts to address this but all of this has to happen whilst it's running. You can't shut down the network to upgrade it.

 

[spen666]

... Look for example at Galloway - he's the epitome of the 'personality' vote, he has since done nothing at Tower Hamlets, has missed most of his constituency surgerys and for what? ...

Where do you get this evidence from?

 

[spen666]

And most people are so dumb that they put large amounts of credit on their "Oyster" cards instead of using them purely on a day-to-day basis. This means that millions of pounds of their money sits earning interest in Livingstone's bank account.[/b]

That is there fault for being so stupid, and it helps subsidise the council tax for those of us who aren't so dumb. You can't blame Ken for introducing scheme that helps him reduce council tax!

Not that i support the oyster card- see your earlier reasons for why

He pays a very large salary to an American alcoholic to run Transport for London, a body which runs a public transport system which after several years of that individual's oversight is still filthy, extremely overcrowded and very unreliable.

Given PPP which he fought against, there is little Ken can do re the Tube, his hands are largely tied

Bus "timetables", in particular, are nothing but fairytales. And those stupid bendy buses are a pain in the arse. What is wrong with double deckers? Other European cities have excellent, cheap public transport. Why doesn't London?

He spends our money on advertising campaigns telling us that we are "one". Patronising, hectoring crap, and clearly untrue.

He supports the London Olympics and has connived with the ODA and the LDA to destroy the beloved Eastway cycle circuit without providing any replacement.

He may support the olympics, but there is nothing I have seen or heard anywhere that suggests he has "connived with the ODA and the LDA to destroy the beloved Eastway cycle circuit "

The loss of Eastway is a disgrace, but to blame it at his feet is I think mistaken

He is the man who dreamt up the ludicrous scheme for forcing London cyclists to carry number plates. Largely as a pathetic, spineless sop to the daily car commuters who are London's main transport problem. I haven't noticed him doing anything to make the roads of London safer for cycling. How about starting by enforcing the 20mph speed limits and mobile phone laws?

It is the responsibility of the
Metropolitan Police not Ken to enforce these laws. Indeed the Mayor would love to be able to control thepolice, but he is not allowed to- so again you are blaming him for something he is legally not able to do anything about

In short, he's just a politician like any other. Some of his policies are better than some of some other politicians' policies, and some worse, but just like them his main concern is having and wielding power. He is addicted to telling other people what they may and may not do.

 

[GaryA]

I recall 'red' Ken inviting a muslim fundamentalist who believed that all homosexuals should be stoned or gassed or whatever to his office on the same day he invited a delegation of gay rights activists.........

 

[zimzum42]

Ken is so boring, and his voice is perhaps the most annoying in the owrld, imagine if he married janet street porter......

at leat we might get the odd laugh with Boris, London could be much more fun with him at the helm........

 

[SamNichols]

[quote name='spen666][quote name='SamNichols']... Look for example at Galloway - he's the epitome of the 'personality' vote' date=' he has since done nothing at Tower Hamlets, has missed most of his constituency surgerys and for what? ...[/quote']



Where do you get this evidence from?[/quote]

How about this? http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1681096,00.html

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Did anyone see Mike Read's hilarious vote of support for Boris Johnson in Guardian Unlimited. It's so painful lots of people assumed it was a spoof, but it ain't...

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mike_read/2007/07/im_backing_boris.html

Perhaps the most excruciatingly funny thing since Brass Eye...

 

[NickM]

...you are blaming him for something he is legally not able to do anything about

So he can't require the police to enforce the law; he has no ability to sort out public transport; he certainly did nothing to preserve Eastway, and has done nothing to make London's roads safer for cycling; and I very much doubt that he has anything to do with setting the rate of council tax in SE10.

Is he actually any use for anything other than dreaming up nonsensical schemes such as number plates for cyclists?

 

[spen666]

...you are blaming him for something he is legally not able to do anything about

So he can't require the police to enforce the law; he has no ability to sort out public transport; he certainly did nothing to preserve Eastway, and has done nothing to make London's roads safer for cycling; and I very much doubt that he has anything to do with setting the rate of council tax in SE10.

Is he actually any use for anything other than dreaming up nonsensical schemes such as number plates for cyclists?[/quote]


Read my post - it deals specifically with all your points



BTW you never saved Eastway so can we all blame you for its demise?

 

[spen666]

... Look for example at Galloway - he's the epitome of the 'personality' vote' date=' he has since done nothing at Tower Hamlets, has missed most of his constituency surgerys and for what? ...[/quote']



Where do you get this evidence from?

How about this? http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1681096,00.html

Not a single mention I could see there of him having done nothing for Tower Hamlets or missed most of his surgerys



But never let facts stand in the way of a good story.



If you had tried to contact me today or yesterday, you would have had no reply on either my work number or my mobile, but this doesn't mean I wasn't working, just I was not in my office and was not able to answer calls. PERHAPS the same is true for Galloway

 

[User169]

When Ken stated that only a "ghastly, dehumanised moron" would do away with London's Routemaster bus fleet, I assumed this implied he was against the idea. It seems I was mistaken.

 

[NickM]

Read my post - it deals specifically with all your points

If I had not read your post I would not have been able to respond to the points you made, silly.

There is no need to have a reason to slag off a politician. Being a politician is itself quite sufficient reason for being slagged off.

How much is Livingstone getting paid to occupy his position of no importance?

BTW you never saved Eastway so can we all blame you for its demise?

Er... no. I didn't apply to have the poxy Olympics visited upon London either.

 

[spen666]

There is no need to have a reason to slag off a politician. Being a politician is itself quite sufficient reason for being slagged off.

Says loads about you does this post

How much is Livingstone getting paid to occupy his position of no importance?

Er... no. I didn't apply to have the poxy Olympics visited upon London either.

 

[bof]

Ken was right on one thing. He opposed the PPPs and two out of three have ended up being disasters with taxpayers having to pick up a tab that will probably come to 2bn caused by the PPP owners making it go bust by overpaying themselves to do a lousy job. A real scandal to lay at the foot of Brown.

IMO the bus service has improved out of all recognition. Not so true of the tube, though at least the ones I use are cleaner and seem a bit less prone to delay than a few years ago.

Oyster Card is a good thing, it reduces queuing to buy tickets for the casual traveller, simplifies ticket choice and saves people effing about with small change to make a bus journey and slowing the bus down. It also should reduce costs by cutting the number of ticketing staff on the underground, but now the system is demonstrating that this is possible, the unions are coming out with spurious reasons for continuing with them in places where they have virtually nothing to do.

 

[NickM]

...Oyster Card is a good thing, it reduces queuing to buy tickets for the casual traveller, simplifies ticket choice and saves people effing about with small change...

Whether Oyster is a good thing or not, it is still wrong to force people to use it by making fares paid in cash extortionate.

As for bus service quality, have you tried waiting for a 129 at North Greenwich lately? Average service interval is supposed to be 5 and a half minutes. It is far from unusual to wait for 25. Or, rather, say "Sod this" and walk...