6 months on, how is London shaping up under Mayor Johnson?

Written by Caroline Pidgeon and published in Liberal Democrat News on Mon 10th Nov 2008

Caroline Pidgeon AM, newly elected to the London Assembly in May, gives us an inside view of life at City Hall and the new Mayor of London.

As the new member of our group of three at City Hall, I have been thrown into the deep end since May, having to get up to speed on how everything works pretty fast! The Assembly is a beast very different from local government, where I have served as a councillor for over a decade. We don't run anything - that all rests with the Mayor. However, we have the power to investigate and expose what the Mayor does, and to research and develop our own proposals to benefit Londoners - being a voice in City Hall for local issues.

Londoners sent out a clear message in May. They wanted change. Change from Ken Livingstone and his perceived arrogance, truculence and rule from his ivory tower.

Boris may have been elected as a Conservative, but he has made it clear he will govern for the whole of London. As a result he is trying to be all things to all people. On transport for example, he is a keen cyclist and has made environmentally friendly noises. Yet, he is planning on treating every mode of transport in London equally, including cars, and may well scrap the popular Cross River Tram scheme.

On the one hand he talks about value for money and plans to freeze his element of the Council Tax, and yet on the other hand, he is introducing inflation-busting hikes on travel fares. Everything is such a contradiction. If someone in his team does not get to grips with this we will see London in absolute gridlock by the end of his term of office!

Boris was elected on a clear platform of open, accessible and transparent Government, following the scandals surrounding Ken and his mayoral advisers. However, nothing so far matches these fine words. We have seen Boris presiding over a complete mess with his mayoral appointments. So many people have come and gone it's hard to keep track! Another example is his much talked about Cabinet, which has not been set up, and that his planning decisions are made behind closed doors. So much for 'open government'.

The thing that has surprised me most, given the 24 hour media, is that the Mayor has held only 4 press conferences since May. This compares to weekly ones hosted by Livingstone. However, he does have a slick press operation, centrally controlled and reminiscent of Alistair Campbell in his heyday!

The Tories selected Boris almost as a brand. There was visible panic when he actually got elected. They thought that behind the scenes 'Central Office managed Tories' would run around and do all the work, decide everything, and then Boris would simply follow instructions. However, this is clearly not the case, and increasingly at Mayor's Question Time, he goes off script…..and I can almost feel his staff holding their breath!

I am sure that all Londoners are finding there is only a limited time that quotations in Greek and Latin and intellectual quips can seem amusing. Blustering words can't hide forever the fact that the Mayor does not know or have an answer to London's problems.

Boris claims to be enjoying the job of Mayor of London, but has spent the last six months looking rather shell shocked, struggling to get to grips with what political direction to take.

As a new Assembly Member, it is clear to me that we have a crucial role, looking into issues that affect Londoners such as knife crime, rail overcrowding or water quality. It is hugely rewarding to be championing such important issues and possible solutions, whilst at the same time ensuring that the Mayor - who is the only UK politician with a personal mandate from over 1.1 million people - keeps his promises and stands up for our great city.

It would be a mistake to think that Boris is a test bed for a national Conservative government. His style may be good for urban conservatives, but I can't see it appealing in the shires. The only thing Boris has shown is that Conservatives can win again. If Boris is to be remembered as a Mayor of great distinction, he needs to find the key things he wants to achieve and run with them. Londoners voted for real change. If Boris doesn't start to live up to that expectation, then he'll be the one who is changed at the next election!

Caroline Pidgeon AM is the Liberal Democrats Transport Spokesperson at the London Assembly. Do get in touch with any London issue to caroline.pidgeon@london.gov.uk