20 January 2012

Boris Johnson delivers on his promises

Response to Ken Livingstone’s claims on suburban rail services.

A spokesman for Boris Johnson's re-election campaign said: "It is the same old Ken Livingstone who spent eight years making promises but not delivering. He talked about taking over rail powers for eight years, but never acted.

"In contrast, Mayor Boris Johnson is actually delivering on his promises and is already in negotiations with Government about bringing suburban rail services under his control.

"He has also secured and is protecting £22billion to improve London’s transport and grow our economy, including Crossrail, after years of dithering under Ken Livingstone.

"Boris has rolled out Oyster cards onto the national rail network, bringing the convenience of pay-as-you-go to millions of commuters, after years of failed talks under Ken Livingstone.

"Instead of just talking about it, Boris Johnson is building London's first orbital railway with the final stages coming in on budget and three months early.

"Ken Livingstone's transport plans, if he ever introduced them, would take more than £1billion out of London's transport budget. Experts agree this would put at risk the Tube upgrade programme and result in cuts to local services, especially in outer London, while severely damaging London's economy."

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Notes to Editor:
Extension of Oyster on national rail. This was talked about for years under Ken Livingstone, but delivered under Boris Johnson and fully implemented in 2010.[1]

London Overground. This was talked about under Ken Livingstone, but delivered under Boris Johnson. He fought for and won the funding to extend the East London line thus creating an orbital railway connecting the outer London Boroughs.[2] Final phase – the extension to Clapham Junction – will open this year.[3]

Ken Livingstone plan taking more than £1billion out of London’s transport budget. [4]

[1] BBC News Online, 10 March 2008, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7286963.stm>; TfL Website, ‘Oyster on National Rail’, December 2009, <http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/oyster-briefing-document-common-questions.pdf>

[2] Mayor of London, Mayor’s Questions, 25 February 2009, <http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=24899>

[3] TfL Website, ‘London Overground’, <http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/15403.aspx>

[4] Mayor’s Question Time, Question No: 4141/2011, 14 December 2011, <http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=5744&T=9>