Johnson says no money for rival’s pledge April 11, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday attacked Ken Livingstone for making “unfunded” promises on the campaign trail, claiming that the Labour candidate has failed to identify funding for at least £2.7bn worth of pledges. In a document entitled “Can’t Afford Ken”, Johnson’s team claim to have identified 24 spending commitments made by Livingstone that go beyond the existing [...]
Boris promises £35m fund for London firms April 9, 2012 BORIS Johnson will today announce plans for a new £35m fund for London that would provide low-cost loans to the capital’s small and medium–sized businesses, City A.M. can reveal. “The fund would provide average loans of around £100,000 for each company, and if successful in attracting other funds, could drive growth for around 500 companies,” [...]
Boris warns of fuel strike emergency March 29, 2012 BORIS Johnson has warned the government is not taking the escalating fuel crisis seriously enough, City A.M. has learned, and has instructed London officials to start planning for an emergency. In a letter to communities secretary Eric Pickles, seen by City A.M., the Mayor of London said the UK was facing a “potential fuel emergency” [...]
Ken offers a fare cut as Boris pushes investment March 26, 2012 Transport has become the defining issue of this mayoral campaign, with voters facing the choice between one candidate that promises a fare cut and another that says fare rises are a necessary evil to fund investment. Ken Livingstone’s campaign experienced a surge in support after he set out the “Fare Deal” pledge to cut the [...]
Upgrades for road, rail and IT take shape March 21, 2012 THE COALITION’S multi-billion pound plans for sweeping infrastructure upgrades are starting to take shape, with £2bn of pension involvement revealed yesterday and new plans to upgrade London’s transport and technology networks. George Osborne said British pension funds have pledged the first £2bn towards a new Pension Infrastructure Platform, first trailed in autumn, with more firms [...]
Tube stops to have Wi-Fi March 14, 2012 London’s commuters will be able to connect to the internet while underground from July when a Wi-Fi network is rolled out across the Tube. Virgin Media will sponsor free Wi-Fi during the Olympics at 80 of the London Underground’s 270 stops. A further 40 stations will be added to the network after the summer, when [...]
It’s going to be a very tough fight March 5, 2012 WHEN Boris Johnson took the Mayoralty from Ken Livingstone in 2008, many observers thought a repeat victory in 2012 was a foregone conclusion. If recent polls are anything to go by, that most certainly isn’t the case: with just two months to go, the race is too close to call. “The polls are very close [...]
Canary Wharf station gets an arty screen March 1, 2012 CANARY Wharf station just got a whole lot more interesting. No longer just a place for commuters to rush through en route to work, it is – for the next year at least – home to a series of video art installations commissioned by Art on the Underground. The opening series of Canary Wharf Screen [...]
One sponsor is helping everybody else onto the Olympic springboard February 14, 2012 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 163 DAYS TO GO CBS Outdoor’s UK head explains why it is the official outdoor advertising services provider for 2012 Q. WHAT WAS YOUR BRAND’S PRIMARY REASON FOR BEING INVOLVED WITH THE GAMES? A. CBS Outdoor felt very heavily involved in the pitch for London 2012. We worked [...]
FACT CHECKER | WITH JAMES WATERSON February 8, 2012 “BORIS Johnson has admitted cutting 1,700 police officers. If I am elected, I will reverse his cuts,” pledges Labour’s mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone. Crime is a key issue for swing voters and Ken’s team hope to portray Boris as weak on policing. But how would Ken fund the extra police? And where does the figure [...]