Boris Johnson | The Spicy Cauldron

That’s progress?

New London mayor, Conservative Boris Johnson, has scrapped plans by his predecessor, Ken Livingstone, to introduce a £25-a-day congestion charge for the most polluting vehicles, saying that this will save legal costs. How that justification is supposed to be better than tackling climate change, who can say? But all the rich Kensington and Chelsea mothers driving little Tarquin and Princess La-la to school every day in cars the size of lorries will be grateful, no doubt. Bonkers Boris has also scrapped a proposal to allow low emission cars free entry to the congestion charge zone.

“I am delighted that we have been able to scrap the £25 charge, which would have hit families and small businesses hardest,’ said Johnson. Who’s he kidding? How many ordinary families do you know who can afford to run one of those ugly metal monsters?

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Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

tags: Boris Johnson, cars, climate change, CO2 emissions, congestion charge, Conservatives, Ken Livingstone, Labour, London, pollution, Transport for London

British turkeys vote for Christmas (with more stuffing, please)

The saddest thing about yesterday’s local elections, and that for London Mayor, is that most people voted, somewhat predictably, from an utterly myopic perspective we could term the Dodo Mentality. Did people vote against Labour on the basis of how the party has eroded our civil liberties? No. Phoney war on terror? No. Licking Dubya’s arse? No. Attacking and occupying Iraq? No.

They voted against Labour only for the things that it is arguable Labour can’t be solely blamed for, if at all: the credit crunch, the food crisis pushing up the price of basic foodstuffs, the unaffordability and current unavailability of mortgages. I have many reasons not to vote Labour. Most of them are in the first paragraph above; none are in this one.

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Saturday, May 3rd, 2008