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What's Boris Johnson's record as mayor actually like?

theguywithnousername [Edit] [Delete] 65 replies 12:42, 3 May '12

I was trying to think about this earlier. I mean he's definitely not had as much of an impact as Livingstone did in his first two terms and I know the Boris Bikes were a Labour idea. Tube fares have rocketed (though that was happening when he came into power) and I know/think he's had less free festivals and banned alcohol on the tube.

But that aside, what's he actually done or not done? I've not voted for him but I don't *think* his time in power has been a disaster. Or am I missing something?

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  • Don't call them 'Boris Bikes'

    Call them 'Barclay's Bikes'.

    Or if you want to rile some Tory feathers you could use "Kenny Farthings" (not my own work).

    TheoGB | 3 May '12, 12:43 | X
    • *Those Naff looking bikes what are in London

      oojimaflop @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 18:09 | X
  • the job is basically what you make of it

    Boris hasn't made a whole lot of it.

    guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:44 | X
    • That's essentially my perception of it.

      i.e. it's more that he's not been all that proactively than he's been actively destructive.

      theguywithnousername @guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:45 | X
      • *actively proactive

        theguywithnousername @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 12:45 | X
  • Remember the riots?

    Boris did that.

    Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:44 | X
    DaddyorChips and Cementimental this'd this
  • who was in power when they introduced those nauseating

    'baby on board' for pregnant tube goers? whoever did that should lose

    prison_keith | 3 May '12, 12:44 | X
    • That was the BNP candidate.

      theguywithnousername @prison_keith | 3 May '12, 12:46 | X
    • Do I have to do this again?

      It's so people know to give up their seat for pregnant women. They are a good idea.

      licky_kicky @prison_keith | 3 May '12, 13:04 | X
      • ^ this

        it's quite nice and much better than either never giving up your seat or asking every fatty (sorry) when it's due.

        84joe @licky_kicky | 3 May '12, 13:22 | X
      • This is what they want you to think.

        But the hidden motive is to mock those people who can't have kids by going 'fuck you, I'm fertile'.

        theguywithnousername @licky_kicky | 3 May '12, 13:26 | X
  • Incidentally I'd call that a bit of a disaster if that's all he's done.

    You forgot that he got rid of bendy buses and made a new bus to replace them that's only just appearing.

    He also seems to have made life better for the well-off. Woo.

    TheoGB | 3 May '12, 12:45 | X
    • The first bit might be true - if that is all he's done. Which is what I'm asking.

      As for the second half - the Poverty gap's been widening massively and was doing so when Livingstone when it charge too and has much more to do with both government policies of the last 30 years and general misguided economic direction across Europe and America. I don't think Johnson can take too much credit.

      theguywithnousername @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 12:48 | X
      • no, but he has been pretty active in his defence of the City

        and for the 50p tax rate to be cut.

        guntrip @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 12:53 | X
        • Sure - but these aren't actually things within his power as Mayor, are they?

          Even out of office (or more likely back on the party benches at the next opportunity) he'd be arguing for these things, And possibly have slightly more influence from there...

          theguywithnousername @guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:55 | X
          • no, but at the same time

            he didn't say much about the scrapping of EMA and the myriad Government policies that will affect a much larger number of his constituents.

            guntrip @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 12:56 | X
            • Fair enough.

              theguywithnousername @guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:57 | X
              • He did say something about 'Kosovo-style social cleansing' when the Tories instituted their housing benefit cap.

                However, his manifesto doesn't seem to give much a of shit about those people he expressed worry for to me.

                TheoGB @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 12:59 | X
  • lol boris what a legernd

    zxcvbnm- | 3 May '12, 12:45 | X
    deadonthestairs and TheWza this'd this
  • The whole thing with those useless vanity buses

    when we're all being told to tighten our belts and accept increases in travel costs is enough that I want rid of the little shit.

    jonny_rat | 3 May '12, 12:50 | X
    • £1.4m each

      vs £200k for a standard double decker

      :')

      guntrip @jonny_rat | 3 May '12, 12:55 | X
      • That's insane.

        theguywithnousername @guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:56 | X
        NickDS this'd this
        • it's not /really/ a fair comparison

          it's based off the first order of eight costing about £11.5m, but they're bespoke designed and as a result the first one costs a vast sum and the ones after cost much much less. i'm sure the first eight of the regular double decker type cost vastly more than £200k each.

          and i've nothing really against London having something like this because it's a global prime city and investment in transport is fine with me. but it is does seem, um, pretty crazy when you consider the fiscal climate right now...

          guntrip @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 12:59 | X
          • also they are ugly as fuck and anyone who is obsessed with routemaster buses

            needs to go back to the FUCKING PAST. boris should have created some kind of publicly-funded goodnight sweetheart system, really.

            84joe @guntrip | 3 May '12, 13:25 | X
        • It's also *very* disengenuous.

          That includes the initial design costs and only takes into account the number of busses that have been built to date. Obviously, the design cos6t is only a one off fee, and the more busses that get built the lower the cost per bus will be. What the 'optimal' cost of each bus is/will be, i'm not sure.

          Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 13:00 | X
          • speedy typing skills, spaceman

            guntrip @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 13:01 | X
            Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre this'd this
          • Approx £250-300k apparently

            The problem isn't really the money he's spent on them, but that:
            - they have little resale value
            - they're not easily convertable to left hand drive (so can't easily be sold outside the UK
            - although more efficient than older models, the hybrid technology's already been surpassed by off the shelf double deckers.

            colinzealuk @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 13:19 | X
  • Will the results for Mayor come in over night, or will they do the count tomorrow morning?

    Might stay up for a bit and watch it on TV if it's going to come in over night.

    Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:53 | X
    • I'm sure it was announced the same day last time

      because you were on here being obnoxious about it

      guntrip @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:53 | X
      • just imagine what he'll be like

        if Romney wins in November.

        charliepanayi @guntrip | 3 May '12, 12:54 | X
        • If Romney wins,

          i'll reinstate my One_Term_President account.

          Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre @charliepanayi | 3 May '12, 12:56 | X
          • SO ROMNEY...

            TheoGB @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:57 | X
        • who are you guys talking to?

          <3 lyserge

          zxcvbnm- @charliepanayi | 3 May '12, 12:57 | X
          Gringo this'd this
    • Doesn't it take until Sunday or something

      charliepanayi @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:54 | X
      this'd this
    • They don't start counting till tomrorow

      The result didn't come in until about 11pm Friday night last time, I remember because I was very drunk and very angry.

      roastthemonaspit @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 12:54 | X
      • ah, that would've been when he was being obnoxious

        I knew it was an evening at least

        guntrip @roastthemonaspit | 3 May '12, 12:56 | X
  • Fix

    TheoGB | 3 May '12, 12:59 | X
    • save it for Friday

      guntrip @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 13:00 | X
      theguywithnousername this'd this
      • LOLZ aside, I was thinking about all this alleged vote rigging stuff going on in Tower Hamlets

        which the police are currently investigating.

        Obviously the police won't come to any conclusions before the reuslts are in, but if they conclude in say 3 months time that vote rigging/fraud has taken place, will they need to re-run the whole election (or any part of it)?!

        Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre @guntrip | 3 May '12, 13:04 | X
        • Run it the day before the Olympics

          announce the result at the opening ceremony.

          charliepanayi @Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre | 3 May '12, 13:09 | X
  • Depends on your priorities I guess

    Good things I can think of offhand:
    - Freeze in council tax precept (plus £3.10 saving this year)
    - Brought Tube Lines back into the TFL fold
    - Removed a load of "street clutter".
    - Kept Crossrail and the Olympics reasonably on track.
    - Planted a load of trees around London
    - Cut some waste in City Hall (he seems to claim that he didn't bother to cut anywhere near enough now though - millions of savings still to be made).
    - Brought in the 24 hour freedom pass.
    - Cycle Superhighways.

    Bad things:
    - Promised bike hire and pointless cable car wouldn't cost the taxpayer a penny. He's not even covered half the capital costs through sponsorship, let alone running costs.
    - Spent £10m on the new bus for London when he could have just bought a load of off the shelf buses that are more efficient.
    - Held his promised consultation on the Western Congestion Charge and ignored the results by scrapping it anyway.
    - Delayed implementation of the Low Emission Zone
    - Failed to get pollution under control generally (he's resorted to gluing pollution to the ground near measuring stations)
    - Failed miserably on affordable housing... in the last 6 months we've got under 100 new affordable houses.
    - Refused to negotiate with the transport unions.
    - Cancelled a series of transport projects, some of which he wants to restart now (Limehouse Link)
    - The Cycle Superhighways weren't developed with safety as a priority.
    - Very little of the transparency that he claimed he'd bring into City Hall. Mayor's Question Time makes PMQs look like a sensible debate.
    - This whole Thames airport debacle. It's simply the wrong side of London, and I suspect he knows it.

    My main problem with him though, is that I get the impression he's just coasting on image rather than using his ability to really come up with a real vision and plan for where London should be in 4/10/20 years time. He has the ability to do great things with our capital, but seems content to just tinker around the edges.

    colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:10 | X
    • This is great - thanks.

      theguywithnousername @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:15 | X
    • This whole 'planting trees' thing.

      Am I alone in finding it completely stupid? Isn't London one of the top cities in the world for greenery? There are fucking trees EVERYWHERE already.

      TheoGB @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:26 | X
      • Perhaps.

        It really depends where you're putting them. There's some parts of London that still feel like urban ghettos and could really do with sprucing up. Even then, I don't see how more greenery could be a *bad* thing. Maybe neutral at worst.

        colinzealuk @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 13:30 | X
        • Trees are fine but it just seems a pretty lame thing to make a point of.

          Which areas of London are you thinking of that don't have trees, though? Right in the city there are few of them but I'd that's fair enough.

          TheoGB @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:34 | X
          • oh theo

            http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/07/london-worst-european-cities-air-pollution

            Trees are good

            Royter-Hatfood @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 16:08 | X
      • fuckin trees

        how do they work?

        brusma @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 15:01 | X
      • you can never have enough trees you industrialist monster

        creakyknees @TheoGB | 3 May '12, 19:27 | X
    • A word on the cycle superhighways

      Painting a blue line on the road and fixing some, but not all, of the potholes is pretty much what they amount to. They encourage cyclists to compete for space with cars, which only makes the us vs. them situation worse. Dedicated cycle lanes are what's needed, but drivers would have a shit fit if they lost any car lanes so there will never be any.

      84joe @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:34 | X
      colinzealuk and Royter-Hatfood this'd this
      • ^this, though

        until the amount of motor vehicle road traffic is reduced this is a perfectly reasonable position for the motorist to take.

        I'd like to think this could be achieved by making it easier and cheaper to use public transport to travel to work in London.

        However if you own a car there is quite strong incentive to use it to travel to work rather than pay an extra 100 plus quid for a travel card. If I had a car I would drive to work because it would save me that money.

        I don't know what my point is really, just enjoying the ramble

        the_ravens @84joe | 3 May '12, 13:45 | X
        • which I wouldn't do if I had a car

          the_ravens @the_ravens | 3 May '12, 13:46 | X
    • More on this please:

      'he's resorted to gluing pollution to the ground'

      This makes him sound like Salvador Dali which makes me want to vote for him.

      Stop me by telling me what you mean

      Lucien @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 13:43 | X
      • This...

        http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2012/apr/05/boris-johnson-pollution-london

        colinzealuk @Lucien | 3 May '12, 13:48 | X
        • *Gibber*

          TheoGB @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 14:12 | X
      • :D

        Cementimental @Lucien | 3 May '12, 14:51 | X
    • i think London should stay where it is

      it will simply cost too much to move it now, even if it would make the M25 quieter

      pieces_of_reece @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 14:01 | X
      Cementimental this'd this
    • I'd add his lack of transparency/visibility <----- irony

      Think [SUBS PLS CHECK] he abolished regular press conferences and he almost never gives interviews. Apart from that slightly embarrassing bit in Beijing he's actually kept an incredibly low profile.

      I don't necessarily want a celebrity mayor, but the lack of noticable + points and his relative invisibility contribute to my perception that he's just killing time in a job with less scrutiny than the Commons before making a bid for the Tory leadership. I get the impression he's happy with managed decline because there's less chance of a mega-gaffe, when London really does need someone like Ken who actually has, you know, policies.

      Royter-Hatfood @colinzealuk | 3 May '12, 15:50 | X
  • he set up designated snake charmer tube seating

    pieces_of_reece | 3 May '12, 13:47 | X
    theguywithnousername this'd this
  • Terrorist atrocities committed in London under Boris' watch - 0

    Terrorist atrocities committed in London under Ken's watch - 1

    The figures speak for themselves.

    eltham | 3 May '12, 14:52 | X
  • I just walked past him on Beckenham High St.

    Didn't stop to ask him though.

    Darcy | 3 May '12, 14:59 | X
  • Btw I quite like Political Scrapbook but they're really embarrassing themselves here:

    http://politicalscrapbook.net/2012/05/boris-johnson-election-day-purdah-tweets/

    theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 18:02 | X
    • Fucking hell, that's desperate stuff.

      Bon_Chic_Bon_Genre @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 18:12 | X
    • That's really really awful

      Noone should be slammed for encouraging people to vote.

      oojimaflop @theguywithnousername | 3 May '12, 18:20 | X
  • He scrapped a scheme to build a river crossing

    that would have halved the burden on Blackwall / Dartford, and linked a whole heap of poorer areas which need help to move forward. It was already well down the development road, meaning millions were wasted.

    Weirdly, when his ratings were pretty low in SE London he announced it was now back on the table.

    Funny eh?

    Plus if he'd proceeded with it, it would have only cost a few million more than it did to end it anyhow and be done already.

    vamos | 3 May '12, 18:15 | X
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