The last time Boris sat before the London Assembly he had pretty bad morning, any hopes he might of had of an easier ride at this morning’s first session of the new term will have crumbled as one Tory AM after another opposed his flagship policies.
Andrew Boff and others were vocal in their opposition to Boris’s plans to spend London Development Agency cash on setting up City Academies, several AMs wanted him to promise huge cuts in expenditure and jobs and Brian Coleman managed not only to clash with Boris but also to dismiss David Cameron’s plans to cut MPs wages and axe their subsidised meals as “red herrings”.
Not exactly onside with central Tory policy himself, Comrade Boris lectured one Tory AM on the wider cost to society and the public purse in cutting public sector jobs.
Things got pretty heated between Coleman and Johnson, with the Mayor suggesting that those calling for cuts in expenditure while in receipt of more than one GLA salary might want to think about giving up one of them.
Bubbling under the surface there’s always been some dissent within the ranks of Tory AMs but today’s outbursts of disunity were the clearest sign yet of the gulf between Boris and his colleagues.
If getting bashed by his own side wasn’t bad enough, Labour’s Val Shawcross scored some good hits on the bendy bus front, Boris couldn’t say what their removal is costing despite it being a “flagship policy” and looked painfully uncomfortable when she pointed out that the new buses are unlikely to reduce fare evasion because they, like the bendies, allow rear door entry.
Not for the first time it was left to a Tory AM to rescue the Mayor with a coherent and fact-based argument, this time Roger Evans rode to the rescue with a case for scrapping the articulated beasts.
He looked grateful for the help but some time soon our cycling Mayor is going to need to face the Assembly without the use of stabilisers.
Martin,
“Not for the first time it was left to a Tory AM to rescue the Mayor with a coherent and fact-based argument, this time Roger Evans rode to the rescue with a case for scrapping the articulated beasts.”
…and what were these facts exactly and where can I find them?
….oh and of course, why didn’t Boris know them – is it because he has no idea what he’s doing or why?
If The Mayor for London Boris Johnson does not know how much his ” Flagship Policy ” to withdraw the Bendy Bus is going to cost , it clearly demonstrates that this Mayoralty is “Delirious and Deluded” and will ultimately lead us to a “Diabolical Mess” in many ways . I suspect that most of his Policies are going to end up in the same way , ” meaning that Boris Johnson has not a clue or answer to what is going on”. Is this what Londoner’s really wanted and voted for ? I dont think so.
It appears that even the Tory Assembly Members realise that they must be seen to question the Mayor in Public before he completely screws things up altogether , hopefully this has not been Orchestrated just to fool Londoner’s into thinking that they have some influence over Boris Johnson , nothing would surprise me with Boris Johnson’s lot when you take into account the allegations made by Boris Johnson’s Mayoral campaign team that Ken Livingston’s office was corrupt and now it has been proved that Ken Livingston and other’s were innocent.
As I previously mentioned , my own personal opinion is , that the only way to deal with mayoralty is to hold a vote of confidence to decide if Boris Johnson should continue to be Mayor for London or not.
In politics, appearance counts for a lot and the sight of Tory AMs criticising – and not even obliquely – the policies (and direction) of their own Mayor is important, and it is good news. Although Brian Coleman’s recent comments about politicians and their expenses/salaries might not be popular, it is at least honest for someone to articulate this view in public, and to point out its limited relevance to the continuing debate about public spending; the Mayor’s defence in his exchange with Coleman about spending was extremely weak and unconvincing, and there is little doubt that Coleman had the better of it. The Mayor in fact reinforced Coleman’s point for him rather well – in attempting lamely to divert the public spending argument onto perks and expenses, the Mayor simply reinforced the fact that savings made in that area would not count for one tenth of one tenth of one tenth of one percent difference to public spending, leaving the main issues totally untouched. Leo, I am as certain as I can be that this has not been orchestrated…
Let us pray , that the last Assembly session was not in part Orchestrated and now City Hall and The London Assembly wants to seriously deal with matters of imporrtance in an open and honest way with strictness if need be. City Hall and The London Assembly now needs to demonstrate to Londoner’s that it is ” Fit for Purpose ” and that they will continiously stand upto the Mayor for London Boris Johnson and others and really and Truely bring about ” Transparency and Accountablility “. Most importantly we need to restore ” TRUST ” ! .
Lastly , why in the hell , is it , that The Mayor for London Boris Johnson cannot tell Londoner’s how much his ” Flagship Policy ” of removing the Bendy Bus is going to cost ? maybe next Wednesday a Tory Assenbly Member may wish to bring about ” Transparency ” and get someone to tell Londoner’s just how much it is going to cost and who will end out paying , maybe this would be a good start to an important issue.
” Only time will tell ” if The Tory Assembly Members are really truthfully prepared to publicly stand upto Boris Johnson and his dificulties which appear to be never ending , and will take some time to sort out.
Damian Hockney
With what happened at Mayors Question Time yesterday , would it be fair to assume , taking in account that Boris Johnson was so heavily criticised for a number of his Policies and recently Ian Clement was charged with Fraud and Boris Johnson put in a claim for his Website that was refused along with other criticism regarding that website , that Tory Assembly members may well be considering a Leadership Challege at some point regarding the Mayoralty ? I do not know the legalities of such a situation but do you think that this, is a possibility ? What is your personal understanding of what other Tory Assembly Members could Legally do regarding a leadership challenge ? . Also is it possible that The London Assembly as an whole could hold a vote of confidence that would lead to a Mayoral Leadership challenge ?
I am certain that the Tory Assembly Members must be having many arguments regarding this Mayoralty behind the scene’s and I believe that they themselves know that enough is enough and this Mayoralty cannot continue in this way.
Martin said:
“the Mayor’s defence in his exchange with Coleman about spending was extremely weak and unconvincing,”
Can you name a time when the Mayor’s defence of anything hasn’t been weak and unconvincing?
Come on Martin, there must have been 1 occassion in the last year….surely?
Leo,
For the Tory mayor transparency is a one way window.
He has no answers – or he would give them, he is simply waiting for one of his team to ‘think one up’
Londoners have really lumbered themselves with a weight around their necks.
Has any AM looked up the rules for impeachment / no confidence in the mayor yet? it might be useful in the near future in order to save London from further wastage.
Leo asks: “Is it possible that The London Assembly as an whole could hold a vote of confidence that would lead to a Mayoral Leadership challenge ”
No. Details of the few circumstances which can create a vacancy for Mayor can be found here:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1999/ukpga_19990029_en_2#pt1-pb5
Martin Hoscik
Then would it be right to assume that City Hall / A London Assembly Member or Members can still request or demand ” A Motion of No Confidence ” or ” Vote of No Confidence ” be carried out regarding The Mayor for London Boris Johnson ?
Martin,
I read the link – what a great job – only 2 ways to leave, resign or fail to turn up for 6 meetings in a row.
Can you let me know when these meeting are so I can blockaed Boris in his house
After hearing Boris’s speech to New York last night I think the AM’s should be questioning his ability to do the job.
‘An Ambassador for London’ is how the mayor’s role is described, however I do not think the bizarre speech he made was anything to be proud of.
‘we gave you mad cow disease – you gave us swine flu’ – sticks in the mind as particularly distasteful.
Surely the Mayor’s performance is showing he is out of control – can we get a discussion about the Mayor’s trip – his motives and what he was supposed to achieve while he was there?
I also saw that disturbing speech and Boris Johnson appeared somewhat Agitated and his comments , that you are referring to were not coherent and you most certainly got the impression that The New Yorker’s at the speech were laughing at him and not with him .
I think that there is something ” Seriously Wrong ” with this Mayoralty and now the time has come for someone to look into Boris Johnson’s Mayoralty in it’s ” Entirety ” and do an in depth Analysis taking into account all his past history to get a complete character profile. This should also include his full employment history and any other information that would be relevant to see if Boris Johnson is fit to be Mayor for London.
Also any Application’s , Form’s , Declaration’s or Oath’s regarding this Mayoralty should then be looked at, to make sure that they are all above board and all relevant information is included.
The Mayor also can’t remember when he’s taken decisions. Recently he refused to meet campaigners over the South London Line, on the grounds that “the decision (to scrap the line) was the DfT’s alone”. Er, in fact Boris Johnson as Chair of TfL decided to axe the service under delegated powers which the DfT had to approve, as TfL had been given control of SLL. Ian Brown, the MD of TfL Rail, was the main culprit but it needed the seal of approval from the Chair of TfL – one Boris Johnson
Sadiq Khan, Rail Minister, recently wrote to Boris Johnson reminding him it was TfL that asked for and got the service axed.
Time Boris Johnson actually read some documents before signing them off to appear in EastEnders.