Grasshopper Livingstone

Written by Graham Tope on Fri 19th Apr 2002

Two years on from his election the significant lack of progress Ken Livingstone has made in tackling the key issues facing London is apparent to all including, it seems, Mayor Livingstone.

On his triumphant return to London regional government he promised to make the capital great again. He would sort out its failing transport systems, clear the congested roads, make London a safer place to live, improve the quality of life for its citizens - and get rid of the pigeons in Trafalgar Square.

Have you visited Trafalgar Square lately? Was your pleasure in visiting this London landmark improved by a lack of 'flying vermin' or were you surprised to find just as many pigeons as ever, if not more? What a waste of time, Ken! When you should have been concentrating on delivering better services to London, you were more concerned with pigeon droppings.

Like a child with a new toy, Mayor Livingstone becomes excited with an issue and then drops it, half-finished, and moves on to a newer and more shiny project. He battled hard at first with the Government over its plans to privatise the Tube but when the Liberal Democrats challenged him to organise a mass demonstration against the PPP on St George's Day, he refused. Maybe he wanted to avoid any political confrontation with Tony Blair in the run-up to the local elections?

For each new project the Mayor throws his weight behind, we get treated to a few weeks of rhetoric in the media. He championed the new Wembley Stadium, he battled with Westminster Council over the pedestrianisation of Trafalgar Square, he spoke eloquently of the plight of key workers and the lack of affordable housing. But when he moved on to the next issue, what was there to show?

To be fair, his two years in office have seen some achievements. Tube and bus fares have been frozen in real terms, conductors are being reintroduced onto the buses and he is improving the policing of bus lanes. Thousands of extra police have been recruited.

However, gestures such as the concerts in Trafalgar Square and the St Patrick's Day celebrations, while popular, will not win him votes if the Tube is still a dismal mess and he has failed to deliver better services.

Ken realises that, and plans to appoint a team of elite special advisors to help him provide a co-ordinated approach to improving services for London. While covering up his lack of progress to date, he is also attempting to achieve greater success before the next Mayoral elections in 2004. Whether it will make the difference remains to be seen and in the final analysis, it will be the public - through the ballot box - who decide.