Ken Livingstone has said the future of transport in London is ‘the big choice’ facing voters next week.
Speaking earlier today Mr Livingstone said the choice facing Londoners was between proven experience and “complete incoherence” on the part of Tory candidate Boris Johnson.
On the issue of the Tube network Mr Livingstone said “I fought totally against the Public Private Partnership (PPP) on the London Underground and I was unfortunately proved right by the collapse of Metronet and the £2 billion loss to the taxpayer that resulted.”
“I simultaneously set out to recruit the best managers in the world, led by London Underground’s Tim O’Toole, to get the best possible deal from the PPP contracts for London.
As a result, despite the unfavourable PPP contracts, a huge upgrading of the performance and capacity of the Tube began – including adding an extra carriage to every Jubilee Line train, refurbishing the entire District Line train fleet, renewing Wembley Park station and starting the construction of other stations. Tube ridership, at over 1 billion passengers a year, is at an all time high.”
Livingstone has committed himself to reappointing Tim O’Toole as Managing Director of London Underground if he’s re-elected next Thursday.
Seeking to draw a clear distinction between himself and mr Johnson in the final days of campaigning Mr Livingstone said: “I have put forward a clear programme and management for the Tube in this election, whereas Boris Johnson has produced complete incoherence on a £1 billion a year programme for a system on which three million Londoners travel every day. The choice for Londoners on the future of the Tube is crystal clear.”
