At the 2000 London Assembly elections, UKIP attracted just under 2% of the London-wide ‘list’ vote. Four years later, when City Hall elections coincided with the Euro elections, they gained a further 6% and two seats on the Assembly. Their time on the Assembly was short lived as I’ve recounted before, but their election proved […]
Martin Hoscik
Borrowing Boris has maxed out City Hall’s credit card and we’re going to pay
Boris Johnson loves to paint himself as a financially responsible politician, freezing his share of the council tax while driving down costs to avoid the sort of financial “black hole” he accuses his predecessor of leaving behind. Coalition austerity measures have allowed Boris to come out against cuts to London’s budgets without the wider media […]
TfL spins as Boris delivers a funding shortfall and another tacky logo
More sensitive types at Transport for London may want to look away now. I’m on record as being broadly supportive of the cable car scheme but the fact remains that the Mayor repeatedly promised it would not cost the taxpayer any money to build. That promise soon evaporated and TfL has instead found millions of […]
Boris Johnson – coming to a bookstore near you
Over the past 12 months or so, journalist and former Boris Johnson colleague Sonia Purnell has been talking to London politicians, City Hall observers and figures from Boris’s personal life. The full result of her research emerges next week as Just Boris, her unauthorised biography of London’s second Mayor (you can order a copy here). […]
Celebrating diversity on the Square
Last night Trafalgar Square was awash with the colours, smells and tastes of Malaysia Night. The event was the second celebration of Malaysia’s cuisine and culture hosted on the Square, and just one of hundreds of events to be held on it since Ken Livingstone annoyed motorists by pedestrianising one side and angered animal rights […]
