What will be different under Boris?

On a much increased turnout of more than 45% Ken Livingstone's share of first preference votes (36.4%) was slightly higher this year than in 2004; but Boris Johnson was well ahead already with 42.5% of first preferences, and scored 53.2% in the run off.

Boris Johnson has made cutting crime his top priority, and is signalling that by chairing the Metropolitan Police Authority. He also produced lengthy manifestos on business, environment, housing, 'seniors' [older people], transport and accountability. These too emphasised crime and safety. Thus the new Mayor's first policy measure has been to ban consumption of alcohol on public transport from June 1st.

Many of the previous Mayor's key policy objectives have been retained, including - support for major investments in public transport
- opposing expansion of Heathrow
- the Low Emission Zone
- delivering 50,000 affordable homes over the next three yers
- cutting carbon emissions by 60% by 2025.

Well publicised policy changes will affect bendy buses, the western extension of the Congestion Charge and the £25 Congestion Charge for certain vehicles.

Promises on public transport are:
- better value for money in public expenditure
- a no-strike deal with the RMT union
- improved orbital bus services in outer London
- better information on the whereabouts of buses
- to 'look again at having an air-conditioned tube'
- a constantly manned ticket office at every tube station.
Routemasters will not be brought back, but the Mayor will 'run a new competition to find a 21st century Routemaster that has full disabled access, runs on clean fuel and has conductors'.

The transport projects Boris backs include the Croydon Tramlink extensions, an Oxford Street tram, extension of the East London Line to Clapham Junction and extension of Crossrail to Ebbsfleet. There was no mention of the Cross River tram.

For other transport modes the new Mayor will
- make London 'a truly cycle-friendly city', with secure cycle parking (£2- million will be available for that) and a bike-hire scheme
- rephase traffic lights to get traffic moving more smoothly
- allow motorcycles to use bus lanes
- crack down on illegal minicabs
- re-instate tidal flow at the Blackwall Tunnel.

Boris's vision on housing, and affordable housing in particular, is that quality is as important as quantity. That means more family-sized homes with gardens. His aim will be 'to increase the number of affordable homes, year on year, in every borough', but not through quotas - 'Local residents should have a say in what is most appropriate for their community.' Other measures are promised to help 'people on low incomes with a variety of financial keys to the doors', protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords, and bring empty properties and 'dormant housing' back into use for priority applicants.

On the environment the Mayor will:
- 'take a zero tolerance approach to littering and graffiting' and target
...poor performance on street cleaning
- provide £6 million to make open spaces cleaner and safer
- fund the planting of 10,000 trees in residential streets
- support a ban on plastic bags and promote innovative schemes that pay
- Londoners to recycle
- promote home insulation by giving a one-off Council Tax rebate
- make the GLA family more environment-friendly, including banning
- bottled water and internal flights and switching off City Hall's
- lights at night
- give an annual prize of £20,000 for the best new ideas for low carbon
- technology from London's students.
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Deprivation and child poverty were touched on briefly in Boris's Business Manifesto. He is promising 'an exciting skills strategy' and 'greater attention to encouraging enterprise and entrepreneurialism, particularly amongst those who are currently underrepresented in London business, which includes women, those from BAME [black and minority ethnic] communities, and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds'.

The manifestos contained a forthright passage on health inequalities, but did not suggest how (outside the Mayor's own responsibilities) these can be rectified, beyond possibly following a US model. The government's proposals for a new pattern of health care in London were dismissed by implication in one short sentence.

To make City Hall more accountable, Boris has promised to:
- hold more frequent and more targeted People's Question Times
- create a Cabinet for London
- listen to public consultations
- take a less adversarial approach with borough councils
- have tough new rules for his advisers on declaring other interests
- list on his website all grants, contracts and programmes over £1,000
- launch an independent review of all London Development Agency grants.

There was no manifesto on planning. There is a very welcome commitment to 'reinstate planning rules that protect the views of St Paul's Cathedral and the Palace of Westminster and reinforce protection around new viewing corridors, initiating protection for famous views'. There were only a couple of references to amending the London Plan (to encourage designing out crime, and to prevent development on domestic gardens), plus a call for legislation, or else planning agreements, to 'preserve the existence of small, independent shops' (which were bracketed with local Post Offices). Boris promises to 'stand up for small businesses whose livelihood is threatened by giant corporations or the escalating cost of working in London' and 'crack down on binge-drinking and "name and shame" councils that fail to use their powers to tackle the
problem'.

The new Mayor has appointed Simon Milton as his senior adviser for planning (see 'New Mayor's top appointments'). Is that a clue to his approach? Simon Milton was a critic of the new stronger planning powers for the Mayor which Londonforum unsuccessfully opposed and which came into effect in April. But might things look different from City Hall?

Click here to download Boris's complete election pledges
(pdf, 117 kb)