Archive for boris johnson
Ken Livingstone attacks Boris Johnson for, er…, agreeing with Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone has me a bit confused. Hearing him attack Boris Johnson is certainly not a surprise. But hearing him attack Boris Johnson for saying what Ken Livingstone himself said previously? That’s a bit odd, shall we say. Compare and contrast now and then. The now: Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone were engulfed in a [...]
London Liberal Democrats – helping those with the smallest pockets get to work
So writes Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, setting out the party’s plan for fairer fares on London’s public transport: Boris Johnson has been Mayor of London since 2008. In just four years he has increased the cheapest bus fare from 90p to £1.35 – and he had planned to raise fares even further [...]
Fares up, fines not
Odd news from Transport for London, where Boris Johnson decided to go ahead with fare increases on 2nd January but hold off increasing fines for fare evasion until 19th February. So for seven weeks or so, the law abiding get to pay more and the law breakers get away with frozen fine levels. As Liberal [...]
Gay marriage, animal insults and a pair of Conservatives
Conservative Councillor James Malliff is in trouble with his party after attacking David Cameron’s support for gay marriage, saying that you “may as well legalise marriage with animals”. The Conservative Party says that action is being taken against him for “completely unacceptable” language. But wait, rummage through your political memories and recall this? If gay marriage was OK [...]
The Bigger Book of Boris: lots of jokes, not much politics
One of the questions that ambitious politicians often struggle to answer safely is, “Do you want to be leader of your party / Prime Minister?” Answer ‘yes’ in some form and journalists will line up to write stories about party splits, pending leadership challenges and the like. Answer ‘no’ and many will not believe you [...]
Guide dogs allowed on London Underground escalators – Caroline Pidgeon campaign success
Following a campaign by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, the legal ban on guide dogs travelling on the escalators on the London Underground is being lifted on Wednesday. Transport for London and the Government are changing a by-law which originated in the era of wooden escalators which could expand and contract depending on [...]
A tale of two holes – and a £39m price tag
In principle, I have no objection to people digging holes in the ground. Even very expensive holes. Potholes? Bad. But lift shafts, underground tunnels and other such excavations? Good. A big hole that loops back on itself and could* end the universe? That’ll do nicely. The combination of a hole, Bernard Cribbins and Lego? Excellent. If [...]
Ken Livingstone: mine won’t be a grassroots funded campaign
It was Ken Livingstone’s poor taste joke about Boris Johnson, Hitler and people who don’t vote for him being sent to burn and flayed for all eternity that got the most attention following his interview in Total Politics.* Taking a look at the printed version of the interview (and forcing my eyes to move past [...]
Bus crime in London: when down involves a lot of up
Something that regularly irritates me in the news and politics is when an average figure is reported and then someone adds, “… but in some areas it is even worse…” without ever mentioning that, averages being what averages are, that in other areas things are actually better than the average. However, on some occasions it’s [...]
How 32,000 homes from Boris Johnson became 1,431
During the London Mayor election Boris Johnson talked about how land owned by the London Development Agency could be used to provide 32,000 new affordable homes. But three years on a mere 1,431 have been built. Ealing Lib Dem councillor Gary Malcolm has more on the story over on his blog, including this quote from [...]
