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    <title>Blog</title>
    <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog</link>
    <description>Blog</description>
    <atom:link type="application/rss+xml" rel="self" href="http://www.backboris2012.com/Blog-RSS"/>
    <item>
      <title>Thank you!</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-thank-you</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-thank-you</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Sun, 06 May 2012 17:19:47 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By Boris Johnson&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Yesterday I signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office at City Hall which confirmed me as the Mayor of London for the next four years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In my speech, I repeated my thanks to the people of London for giving me a second mandate and I promised everybody in this city that I and my team will work our socks off to deliver on our vision and our programme for London.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I especially want to thank those of you who have helped me over many months now. Without so many people from every corner of the world&amp;rsquo;s greatest city who knocked on doors, delivered leaflets, made the phone calls, forwarded the emails, tweeted in support and backed me throughout the campaign I would not have succeeded in this quest.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am honoured and grateful. I feel like some overweight Alpinist carried on the shoulders of others to the summit of a great mountain.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Your efforts and support carried me to victory and I say &amp;ldquo;thank you&amp;rdquo; for everything that you have done.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I will deploy every sinew of my body in the task of driving London forward with the 9 point plan I took to the people of London - ensuring growth, jobs, investment and a better future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thank you. The work begins.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Thank you for voting</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-thank-you-for-voting</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-thank-you-for-voting</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 17:13:39 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Thank you for taking the time today to cast your vote in this critical election.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The count will begin tomorrow morning at 8.30am and results will be announced later on Friday.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Last chance to Back Boris</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-last-chance-to-back-boris</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-last-chance-to-back-boris</guid>
      <dc:creator>Test Test</dc:creator>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 May 2012 11:06:05 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;BackBoris 2012 Campaign Director Lynton Crosby just sent this message out to campaign supporters.&amp;nbsp; Make no mistake, the battle isn't over yet!&amp;nbsp; Make sure you get out and vote before 10pm tonight.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;blockquote&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You&amp;rsquo;ve heard a lot from me recently about why the election today is so critical.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Londoners face a clear choice between going forwards under Boris&amp;rsquo;s 9 point plan for a Greater London or back to the divisive politics of the past.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now, the choice is in your hands.&amp;nbsp; There are just a few hours left to determine London&amp;rsquo;s future.&amp;nbsp; If you haven&amp;rsquo;t already, please make sure you get out and vote before 10pm tonight.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Find your polling station: &lt;a href='http://backboris2012.com/howtovote' target='_blank'&gt;http://BackBoris2012.com/HowToVote&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Together we can Back Boris and keep Greater London moving forwards.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Lynton Crosby&lt;br /&gt;Campaign Director&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;</description>
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      <title>We Back Boris - will you?</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-we-back-boris---will-you</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-we-back-boris---will-you</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>Get Involved</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2012 12:15:20 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By BackBoris2012 Campaign Team&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We are writing this today because tomorrow London will decide who is to guide our great city through the difficult times we are all facing together.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here at BackBoris2012 HQ we have been working for Boris for months now, most of us working as volunteers because we believe that he is the best person to be Mayor for a Greater London.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Many of us have never been involved in politics before. Some of us have voted Labour, some Liberal Democrat. Some of us even quit our jobs to be here.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We have come together because in Boris we see a unique individual. A man who makes London smile, a man who brings communities together, and a man who has never lectured Londoners on how to behave whilst secretly doing the opposite.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;We all have one thing that brings us together. It is our belief in Boris Johnson. What he has done in his four years as Mayor and his plans for the next.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;People are claiming that this election is about many different things.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;But actually this election is about just one - who is best placed to lead our city in these difficult times with a clear plan for creating jobs, investing in the Tube, cutting our council tax and building a better future for our families.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you share our belief that we need a Mayor who will bring London together, not divide it, and whom we can trust to lead us out of these toughest of economic times then please Back Boris as Mayor. For Greater London. For the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Please join us in voting tomorrow. Never forget that every single vote counts, no matter where in Greater London you live. And whatever you think the result is going to be, please don't leave it to others to vote - they may be leaving it to you.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Together we can help deliver a bright future for Greater London. Together we can Back Boris.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Best wishes,&lt;br /&gt; &lt;em&gt;Aaron, Adam, Aga, Ahamed A., Ahamed O., Akmaral, Alex C., Alex M., Alex W., Alicia, Amanda, Amy, Andrew, Ashish, Austin, Ben B., Ben D., Ben G., Ben M., Ben S., Benjamin, Bethany, Beth, Camilla, Carolyn, Carrie, Catherine, Charlie, Chloe, Chris B., Chris S., Daniel, Danny, David C., David L., David N., David O., Dawn, Ed, Ellie, Emma T., Emma W., Eric, Eva, Freddie, Georgia, Guy, Hiro, Ian O., Ian W., Isabel, James, Jenny, Jessie, Jolyon, Jonathan, Justin, Justyna, Karisma, Kathryn, Kerstin, Lakon, Laura, Liz, Lorraine, Luisa, Lynton, Madelina, Manesh, Marc, Marina, Mark, Matthew, Max, Michael B., Michael C., Miles, Mimi, Nabil, Nick, Paul B., Paul P., Paul S., Peter, Rainna, Ran, Robert, Robin, Rory, Sam L., Sam T., Sarah, Sebastian, Simon, Sophie H., Sophie S., Terrance, Theo, Toby, Tom, Vicky, Wendy&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Endorsements roll in for Boris's re-election</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-endorsements-roll-in-for-boriss-re-election</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-endorsements-roll-in-for-boriss-re-election</guid>
      <dc:creator>Test Test</dc:creator>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 10:06:23 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;In the last few days, Boris has been endorsed by a number of publications who have taken notice of his 9 point plan to secure a Greater London and his strong record of cutting waste and securing investment. We thought we&amp;rsquo;d share with you what they&amp;rsquo;re saying and remind you to &lt;a href='http://www.backboris2012.com/#backing' target='_blank'&gt;let us know why you&amp;rsquo;re backing Boris.&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href='http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/comment/comment/boris-johnson-the-right-choice-for-london-7697321.html' target='_blank'&gt;Evening Standard&lt;/a&gt; calls Boris &amp;ldquo;the right choice for London&amp;rdquo; and write, &amp;ldquo;Since his election in 2008, Mr Johnson has campaigned tirelessly for London&amp;rsquo;s interests, regardless of the complexion of national government.&amp;rdquo; London is best served by sticking with Boris.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href='http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2137596/London-mayoral-election-2012-Time-Boris-Johnson-true-Tory-values.html' target='_blank'&gt;Daily Mail&lt;/a&gt; writes that Boris &amp;ldquo;is undoubtedly the best man to be Mayor and represent London on the world stage during the Olympics and the Queen&amp;rsquo;s Diamond Jubilee.&amp;rdquo; He&amp;rsquo;s been a tax-cutting and cost-effective mayor, &amp;ldquo;Boris has frozen council tax for the last four years &amp;ndash; saving the average Londoner a cumulative &amp;pound;445 &amp;ndash; and plans to cut it by 10 per cent over the next four years.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2012/05/the-case-for-boris.html' target='_blank'&gt;Conservative Home&lt;/a&gt; makes the case for Boris, who they say has run a &amp;ldquo;positive, ambitious Mayoralty.&amp;rdquo; Boris has already achieved a vast amount as Mayor and has been a Mayor for all Londoners. &amp;ldquo;His mission is not complete and I hope and believe that this week Londoners will give him the power to get on with it.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href='http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/9233713/Lessons-that-the-Tories-could-take-from-Boris.html' target='_blank'&gt;Sunday Telegraph&lt;/a&gt; writes of Boris&amp;rsquo;s determination to do everything that he can to help small businesses. Boris is someone who can be relied on to do what he says and not to make promises that he cannot keep.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href='http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/comment/leaders/article1027037.ece' target='_blank'&gt;Sunday Times&lt;/a&gt; (&amp;pound;) declares that Boris &amp;ldquo;remains a far better choice than Mr Livingstone&amp;rdquo; and that he deserves another term as Mayor of London.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And &lt;a href='http://www.economist.com/node/21553441' target='_blank'&gt;The Economist&lt;/a&gt; &amp;ldquo;would like Mr Johnson to serve another term.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Taking Greater London Forward</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-taking-greater-london-forward</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-05-taking-greater-london-forward</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2012 06:00:06 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By Boris Johnson&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Mayoral election on Thursday comes when we have been going through the toughest times that anyone can remember.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The big question is therefore blindingly simple - who has the best plan for the jobs and growth that will help bring prosperity to all?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is about who will deliver the investment from central government that will take London forward.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is about who you can trust to spend that money wisely &amp;ndash; and who will be honest with you about where the money is coming from, and how it is spent.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I believe my &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/9pointplan' target='_blank'&gt;9 point plan&lt;/a&gt; is right for the future of the greatest city on earth. It secures Greater London's future by cutting waste at City Hall, reducing council tax, creating 200,000 new jobs, protecting green space, investing in transport, cutting tube delays and ensuring a true Olympic legacy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My ambition is to make London ever safer, greener, cleaner and more attractive to live, work and invest in.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By managing our budgets responsibly, we have abandoned the grandiose and wasteful approach of the previous mayor. This has allowed me to keep my promises to London over the last four years:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have put &lt;strong&gt;1,000 more police on the streets&lt;/strong&gt; and now we are taking officers out of backroom jobs &amp;ndash; putting &lt;strong&gt;2,000 officers in Safer Neighbourhood Teams&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have delivered a &lt;strong&gt;24 hour Freedom Pass&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;ndash; and we will now make sure that everyone gets it as soon as they turn 60, and we will negotiate to put it on overground rail as well.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I &lt;strong&gt;got rid of the Western Extension Zone of the Congestion Charge&lt;/strong&gt;, because it was imposed in defiance of people&amp;rsquo;s wishes.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I &lt;strong&gt;banned alcohol on public transport&lt;/strong&gt; and put another &lt;strong&gt;697 uniformed officers on the buses and Tube&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have &lt;strong&gt;got rid of the bendy bus&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;introduced a new Routemaster-style bus for London&lt;/strong&gt;, built in Britain, creating jobs in this country, the cleanest new bus in Europe &amp;ndash; and each of them costs no more than a current hybrid bus.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;I have &lt;strong&gt;saved billions in unnecessary expense at TFL&lt;/strong&gt;, disposed of 23 buildings and 25% of the directors. I have sold two police flats and cut bonuses across the board.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;And it is this relentless efficiency with your money that has allowed me to &lt;strong&gt;freeze the Mayoral share of council tax for four years. Now I am promising to cut it by 10%&lt;/strong&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The choice is clear this Thursday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is between a Mayor who invests in our future &amp;ndash; not the irresponsible proposals from Ken Livingstone that would put that investment at risk.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I know I am best placed to get the funds our city will need. I will use that money well &amp;ndash; not waste it on schemes of no economic benefit to London.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I want to unite London &amp;ndash; not try to divide one group from another.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I want to take London forwards &amp;ndash; not back to the 1970s.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I believe I am best placed to lead London out of recession, to get real and lasting value from the Olympics, and to lengthen our lead as the greatest city on earth.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I hope I can count on your vote this Thursday. For Greater London. For the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img  src='http://www.backboris2012.com/system/storage/60/73/2/1709/BackBoris_Greater_Future.jpg' alt=&quot;BackBoris: For Greater London. For the Future.&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;533&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>72hrs to secure London's future</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-less-than-72hrs-to-secure-londons-future</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-less-than-72hrs-to-secure-londons-future</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>Get Involved</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Apr 2012 05:35:52 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By Lynton Crosby, Campaign Director&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In less than 72 hours polling stations in London open and voters face a clear choice between a better future or a return the past.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;We have just 3 days to tell voters about this choice, so please sign up now and help our Get Out the Vote push: &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/GOTV' target='_blank'&gt;www.backboris2012.com/GOTV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A cross next to Boris Johnson's name on Thursday is a vote for the future. His 9 point plan to secure Greater London's future cuts waste at City Hall, reduces council tax, creates 200,000 new jobs, protects green space, invests in transport, cuts tube delays and ensures a true Olympic legacy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We have millions of leaflets to deliver and hundreds of thousands of people to call, explaining why every single vote counts and why voters should Back Boris.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Your help is vital to our Get Out the Vote effort, so please sign up now: &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/GOTV' target='_blank'&gt;www.backboris2012.com/GOTV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thank you for your continued support and dedication to keeping Greater London moving forward.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Less than 1 week...</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-less-than-1-week</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-less-than-1-week</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>Get Involved</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:54:56 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0093d0;&quot;&gt;Greater London Needs Boris &amp;amp; Boris Needs You!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With less than one week to go until Polling Day, Boris urgently needs your help to secure Greater London's future. On 3 May voters will face the choice of a better future - or a return the past.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Boris's 9 point plan to secure Greater London's future cuts waste at City Hall, reduces council tax, creates 200,000 new jobs, protects green space, invests in transport, cuts tube delays and ensures a true Olympic legacy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And now, more than ever, we need to make the investment that will grow the economy and create jobs. For Greater London. For the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There will be plenty of opportunities to join Boris on the campaign trail, so sign up today!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/GOTV' target='_blank'&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Learn More&quot;  src='http://www.backboris2012.com/system/storage/60/27/b/1576/learn_more_button.jpg' height=&quot;26&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0093d0;&quot;&gt;Twitter Q&amp;amp;A reaches 1 million&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;On Thursday night Boris did a live Twitter Q&amp;amp;A, answering 23 questions over the course of 40 minutes. Topics ranged from transport, tackling crime in the capital and what Boris has done for the outer boroughs to whether Boris likes Marmite (yes) and if he'll continue to engage with Londoners through social media (&lt;em&gt;&quot;You betcha. There will be no 'retweet' from social media while I'm Mayor!&quot;&lt;/em&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During the Q&amp;amp;A #AskBoris was the top trending topic within the UK and got as high as fourth worldwide, clearly showing the power of Twitter to help a candidate get their message across.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-boris-qa-reaches-1million' target='_blank'&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Learn More&quot;  src='http://www.backboris2012.com/system/storage/60/27/b/1576/learn_more_button.jpg' height=&quot;26&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0093d0;&quot;&gt;Follow online / Get involved&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This week Boris visited Croydon, Sutton, Bromley, Lambeth, Camden, Enfield and Redbridge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over the next six days Boris will be pounding the pavements to get his message out to Londoners, taking his 9 point plan to secure Greater London's future to even more people.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As he takes to the streets for the final days of campaigning, we'll be digitally documenting his journey across Greater London. So follow us on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://twitter.com/backboris2012' target='_blank'&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='https://www.facebook.com/borisjohnson' target='_blank'&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/53797600@N04/' target='_blank'&gt;Flickr&lt;/a&gt; and our &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/timeline' target='_blank'&gt;campaign timeline&lt;/a&gt; for all the latest updates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/events' target='_blank'&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Learn More&quot;  src='http://www.backboris2012.com/system/storage/60/27/b/1576/learn_more_button.jpg' height=&quot;26&quot; width=&quot;100&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Boris Q&amp;A reaches 1million</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-boris-qa-reaches-1million</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-boris-qa-reaches-1million</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:02:36 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By Bethany Wheatley, Digital Campaign Coordinator&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With less than a week to go until polling day voters face the choice of a better future - or a return the past.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over the next six days all the mayoral candidates will be pounding the pavements to get their messages out to Londoners. Boris has a packed schedule of borough visits and will be on the go constantly, taking his nine point plan to secure Greater London's future to even more people.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's definitely crunch time, but borough visits, walkabouts and canvassing aren't the only way to get out the vote.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Last night Boris did a live Twitter Q&amp;amp;A, answering 23 questions over the course of 40 minutes. Topics ranged from transport, tackling crime in the capital and what Boris has done for the outer boroughs to whether Boris likes Marmite (yes) and if he'll continue to engage with Londoners through social media (&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='https://twitter.com/#!/BackBoris2012/status/195572440875802624' target='_blank'&gt;&quot;You betcha. There will be no 'retweet' from social media while I'm Mayor!&quot;&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During the Q&amp;amp;A #AskBoris was the top trending topic within the UK, got as high as fourth worldwide and reached nearly 1 million, clearly showing the power of Twitter to help a candidate get their message across.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Boris chose to answer one particular question about the New Bus for London from a woman who describes herself as 'anti-Boris' in her Twitter bio. Despite his engagement, she continued to abuse him throughout the session. Inevitably, of course, you get people asking hostile questions whose minds are already made up against you and part of the fun of these kind of events is sitting with Boris as he reads the questions and answers them.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As Boris takes to the streets for the final days of campaigning, we'll be digitally documenting his journey across Greater London. Follow us on Twitter (&lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='https://www.twitter.com/backboris2012' target='_blank'&gt;@BackBoris2012&lt;/a&gt;), &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='https://www.facebook.com/borisjohnson' target='_blank'&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/53797600@N04/' target='_blank'&gt;Flickr &lt;/a&gt;and our &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/timeline' target='_blank'&gt;campaign timeline&lt;/a&gt; for all the latest updates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;And on 3 May, head to your local polling station to put your cross next to Boris's name to help secure Greater London's future.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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      <title>Back Boris: For Greater London. For the Future.</title>
      <link>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-back-boris-for-greater-london-for-the-future</link>
      <guid>http://www.backboris2012.com/news-media/blog/2012-04-back-boris-for-greater-london-for-the-future</guid>
      <category>Campaign Updates</category>
      <category>Get Involved</category>
      <category>London</category>
      <pubDate>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:43:58 -0400</pubDate>
      <description>&lt;h4&gt;By Boris Johnson&lt;/h4&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With just one week to go to polling, I urgently need your help to secure Greater London's future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Next week voters will face the choice of a better future - or a return the past.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;And I need your help to spread the word about this choice: &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/GOTV' target='_blank'&gt;www.backboris2012.com/GOTV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My 9 point plan to secure Greater London's future cuts waste at City Hall, reduces council tax, creates 200,000 new jobs, protects green space, invests in transport, cuts tube delays and ensures a true Olympic legacy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It is an honour being Mayor of this great city. Now, more than ever, we need to make the investment that will grow the economy and create jobs. For Greater London. For the future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We've made progress, but this progress is at risk on 3 May. We can go forward with a sensible, moderate and cost-effective government that delivers on its promises or lurch back to the high-taxing, divisive approach of Ken Livingstone.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Over these crucial final days we have millions of leaflets to deliver and hundreds of thousands of people to call, explaining why every single vote counts and why I need their backing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Your help is absolutely vital to our Get Out the Vote effort, so please sign up now to help: &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href='http://www.backboris2012.com/GOTV' target='_blank'&gt;www.backboris2012.com/GOTV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thank you for all you've already done for my campaign.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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