"Suicide bomb backer runs Ken campaign" and Paddick launches strong attack on Livingstone

That's the headline that Londoners will see as they pick up their Evening Standard tonight.

The Standard really is throwing the kitchen sink at Ken Livingstone.  Day after day they have been exposing the sleaze that characterises Livingstone's Mayoralty.  If Livingstone is ousted on 1st May it won't be ridiculous for the newspaper's editor, Veronica Wadley to say that "It was the Standard wot won it".

Today's p1 splash focuses on the fact that Muslims4Ken - an effort to mobilise 200,000 Muslim Londoners for the Qaradawi-hugging Mayor - is led by a man who backs suicide bombing.  Azzam Tamimi is a supporter of Hamas and has said that he would volunteer for a suicide mission in Palestine.

Also in today's  Standard is news that Paddick regards Ken Livingstone as a "nasty little man".  The Standard reports:

"Mr Paddick said he was not "equidistant" between his Labour and Conservative opponents and confirmed he seriously considered an approach from David Cameron to be the party's candidate.  "I didn't say I was equidistant between the two of them. It is very difficult to gauge where I am between the other two candidates because it is like comparing chalk and cheese.  "I seriously considered, for a few hours, the approach from the Conservatives. But on principle I couldn't stand for what the Conservatives stand for. I am a Liberal Democrat, that's where my heart lies."

In the crucial battle for second preferences this could lead to good news for Boris.

Comments

[Nicholas J. Rogers]

Crike,y looks like Paddick has gone mad!

At least he's a bit more interesting now though...

[W9Tory]

This kind of journalism does no one any good. The headline is a travesty - if you read the story there is no connection with Ken's campaign whatsoever. This will backfire for sure- an alliance with the Standard is a faustian pact.

[David]

Nicholas, I don't know about mad, but he certainly has gone missing.

A friend of mine who works for a London based charity said that Paddick pulled out of the CSJ's Mayoral Hustings this morning giving less than 30 minutes notice and that she overheard a journalist saying that it was because he had been 'shell-shocked' at the response to him at Killburn last night. Apparently the audience gave him a really hard time and now he is sulking.

[Nicholas J. Rogers]

He has been a dreadful candidate. Dull and wooden with vaguely annoying policies. People keep attacking Boris for his figures on the new Routemaster, hardly anyone has picked up on Paddick's 'trams cost less than buses' nonsense.

Now he just looks dull AND nasty.

[Jennifer Wells]

What an OTT headline.

[LondonLX]

If people read that I'm sure it'll win paddick some votes.
I'm still thinking of voting for him (then Boris, of course).
Chances are it'll still end up as a vote for Boris, but if Paddick does better in the 1st round it might be a sign I quite like some of his policies (even tho he's a bit dull)
My only concern is that it becomes paddick/boris in the final 2!

[Boris gaffe]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-mayor/article-23478688-details/My+bus+plans+will+cost+£100m%2C+admits+Boris+in+Labour+sting/article.do

Boris Johnson has admitted what he refused to admit (several times) on Newsnight. That his bus idea would cost 100 million, not the 8 million he claimed in the first place.

[LondonLX]

@"Boris gaffe"
I'm not sure what the story is there ... it was all over the news as if they were going "aaah.. caught you out"
but as he said on newsnight he wanted to get it done for the same price as the hybrid busses.
He worked out that ken was gonna pay 100million for them, so that's what his budget is.
That is no relation to the price of conductors, yet it was still reported as if he made a "gaffe".
I know the media are desperate to have him make mistakes as that's the caracterture they created for him, but this wasn't one!

[boris gaffe]

Why was he evasive about the cost on Newsnight? Did he not know how much the hybrid buses would cost (with his level of attention to detail that seems likely)?

Also, since talking with that woman, who appears to be one of Livingstone's activists, why has he reverted back to the original figure? Isn't that dishonesty?

[boris gaffe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSFJ3JCv8ec

This is the You Tube clip.

[LondonLX]

he was evasive about the costs as he didn't want it used against him -at the time ken was being shadey about his costs so would have just come up with a higher/lower figure for his if Boris had said.

What you don't seem to be able to grasp is that these are 2 seperate costs.
1 is the cost of getting the busses on the road (£100million)
the other is the cost of conductors (£8million, as long as they aren't on every single new bus 24hours a day - which seems reasonable)

[Common Sense]

Excuse me - what's wrong with the headline? Muslims4Ken is a key element of Livingstone's get-out-the-vote strategy and it's run by a proud supporter of suicide bombing.

If Ken wants to consort with terrorist groupies he can't complain when people point this out. He's a moral leper.

[Gwyn the bus man]

er, Boris's bus figures still don't seem to add up, and I'm not too sure what he's actually promising.

I mean, what is a "new Routemaster" for God's sake - there's either a Routemaster [a 1950s, front-engined, rear platform double deck bus] or there's something different!

So what will Boris actually put on the road to replace Hendy's bendies?

£100m to replace 400 bendies = £250k each, which means a fairly conventional double decker.

£8m (per annum ?) for conductors will buy you ... er

90% x 400 buses = 360 on the road per day; two shift working = 720 conductors; multiply by 6/4.5 for days off = 960 conductors needed; add 10% for sickness, training, annual leave = 1056 conductors.

Divide £8m into that and they will be on ... £7,575 pa !!

Where's he going to recruit them? China? Bangladesh?

Perhaps one of you clever Tories could tell me where I've gone wrong?

[LondonLX]

@"Gwyn the bus man" ... London living wage is £7.50, so guess you can say that's what the conductors would be on which is about £14k, so double the amount you suggest.
So there's either 1 shift, or half the buses don't have conductors.
I'm sure not every bus needs one - you're not gonna need one at the ends of the routes or at quiet times when there's only 2 people on the bus, that would be silly.
You'll have to wait and see what people come up with at the competition to get the definition of the "new Routemaster".
Expect it would end up being a standardish double-decker with multiple entrances.

[bumbling boris]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRRYDVaXdaA

Why does Boris only know what his bus policy will cost in private but not on TV?

[bumbling boris]

The transcript from BBC London News.

BBC London News
Tuesday, 15 April 2008

Speakers:

Riz Lateef

Tim Donovan

Boris Johnson

Andrew Neil

RL: Boris Johnson's bus plans have been a sticking point throughout his mayoral campaign. He promised to replace bendy busses with a new fleet of Routemasters, but for weeks he has failed to put an exact price on it. Now the Conservative candidate has revealed more details of the possible costs but not in the way he intended. Caught on the hop while campaigning, he put the figure at £100 million. But in a BBC debate to be shown tonight, he failed to give this new figure. Our political editor Tim Donovan reports.

TD: His campaign bus is an old Routemaster, and he's promised to bring it back in a new form. But the pledge looks in danger of reversing over him. Campaigning in Edgware, he was filmed on a mobile phone being asked by a Labour supporter how much his fleet of new busses would cost.

BJ: Well [inaudible] 500 new Routemasters would cost about £100 million.

TD: Moments later anxious aides were asking him what he'd just said to the woman.

BJ: What I said, I was asked, they said what are the costs of the new busses, and I said it would be about £100 million which is about, you know is 500 times 25. But I've already said...they will now go away and say the cost of the, that I'm going to spend £100 million on new busses.

TD: It is the first time he's used the £100 million figure. It shows he thinks 500 new Routemasters will be needed to replace the current 330 bendy busses. That he knows would mean extra conductors and extra drivers, costing much more than the £8 million figure he's given so far. At a BBC London debate to be screened tonight, he was asked about that figure.

BJ: No I... I stick by our figure of £8 million

[Audience laughs]

BJ: ...as the cost of...

AN: You stick by £8 million?

BJ: ...as the cost of conductors on 350, roughly 350...

AN: But there are three shifts for each Routemaster?

BJ: Would you let me finish? As the cost of conductors on roughly 350 new generation Routemasters. It is true that if you have three conductors and you have three shifts then it goes up.

[Gwyn the bus man]

@London LX
it doesn't really matter whether you think all these "new" Routemasters need conductors, or whether I think they need conductors

the key is that Boris doesn't appear to know what he's on about !!!!

There is a cogent argument that bendies have their faults;
There is a cogent argument that using buses in London would be more pleasant if conductors were to be restored (though where you recruit them is another matter)

But Boris has made this a centrepiece of his campaign without a shred of evidence that it is practical or affordable, or that he understands what he's proposing !!!

[StevenAdams]

I like the principle quite frankly, and given how much fat on the corrupted bone there is surrounding the current mayoralty, I don't think that this is going to be the straw that breaks the camels back. Halving the PR dept would do it.

I believe that the reduction of effective authoritative figuressuch as conductors, park wardens etc has contributed to the fear of crime. PCSOs are a step to address this but they are police orientated and therefore are not necessarily trusted/liked by all segments of the community. The reappearance of figures such as the bus conductor is welcome.

[anon]

I was at Kilburn and Brian Paddick did very well

[Joe James Broughton]

A fine new Routemaster could be designed, including all the improvements such as disabled access, low floor access, and clean engines.

We would need to tool up, and do not know the cost, but where there is a will, design projects can be achieved.
(We will also be saving money elsewhere in the Mayor's budget).

I would keep Bendy Buses - they don't need to be a scapegoat - the case for the Routemaster on certain routes stands on it's own.

Bendy Buses should probably be used on routes where the roads are larger or serving mainline stations, and generally should not be used on those which extend into difficult suburbs (like the 18 route along Harrow Road).

There would need to be a reshuffle of buses between routes. As some of the older (Denis) driver only double deckers come up for replacement, the most modern double deckers should move onto those routes, with Routemasters filling the gaps - but in the totality of things.

[Chris Paul]

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