Any questions for the Mayor of London?

Boris Johnson's 100th day as Mayor of London is this Thursday.

To mark the occasion the most powerful Tory in the nation has agreed to answer questions from ConservativeHome readers.

Please leave them in the thread below and Boris has agreed to answer a selection of them (chosen by ConHome) by the end of the week...

Comments

[Chad Noble]

Do you believe that lads mags like Nuts and Zoo are contributing to marriage breakdown?

[Nick Hoile]

Please, please, please can we have air conditioning on the tube?

[Ulster Tory]

I'm going to be quite boring with my first question, and make it about China. Mr Johnson once wrote that the "Chinese have neither the ability nor the inclination to dominate the world". Does he still hold the belief that China doesn't desire to be a super-power, especially with the attitude they are holding to the Olympics in mind (i.e. trying to show China as a desirable brand)?

Going on from the Olympics theme, does Mr Johnson feel that the London Olympics in 2012 should be about advertising British culture and history (as the Beijing Olympics appears to be about), or about returning it to its 19th century intention (about athletic competition and bringing nations together)?

[Lucy]

When is he getting rid of bendy buses?

[Sammy Finn]

Isn't there something sad about the way Ken Livingstone keeps turning up at your press conferences and official question times?

[activist]

Can you recommend any good textbooks for teaching young children Latin?

[Jonathan Widnall]

Will you reverse your capitulation to the nanny state by publicly casting your cycle helmet into the Thames? Or would that be seized upon as undermining your 'green credentials'?

[wtf]

What would you say to those who complain that your appointments to City Hall haven't exactly been based on merit? Isn't public school/Oxford cronyism just as bad as Red Ken's jobs for the boys?

[Dorian Grape]

I get excited about flags, me. As the matter of buildings, flag poles and flags is under your executive control can we have the Cross of St. George displayed prominently at the GLA? You could probably get away with it if you said it was the City of London without the sword.

And how about a GLA flag? You could run a competition or something and come up with one like Haringey’s: http://tinyurl.com/638jv3

But I’m pretty sure I have seen that design on a Panzer tank.

No, really. Will you fly the flag of England?

[Yogi]

How do you intend to handle the Bureacracy in the City Hall pusuing its own left wing agenda and undermine your administration - specifically TfL rephasing the traffic lights which will increase the delays experienced by motorists and the artificial congestion it creates?
Why have you capitulated to the threat of legal action by Livingstones political appointees when theywere sacked and pay them £1.6M of tax payers money?

[Westminster Wolf]

Further to wtf's question, how many of the appointees have been Policy Exchange writers and staff?

[snegchui]

There is a charge that you are not a details man, and therefore are perhaps too reliant on your team to do the nuts and bolts of administering London whilst you pursue loftier goals. How do you see the reality of your governance? Is London first on your personal agenda? Is London first on your professional agenda?

[ACT]

Why didn't you say during your election campaign that you were going to resume your Telegraph column if you won? If Labour MPs were to pass a bill explicitly preventing electing officials like you benefiting from outside payments like this, would you choose your mayoral office or your Telegraph salary?

[Dorian Grape]

And while we are at it in terms of symbology. The fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square is still under the control of the lentil baking media-twonk noddy heads. I propose that as the plinth was originally intended for an equestrian tableau that you should commission an homage to Margaret Thatcher.

Kitted out as Boadicea complete with snarling horses, battle chariot, spiky wheels and a spear piercing a map of the Falklands.

[Cleethorpes Rock]

What are you doing to replace the awful London 2012 graffiti logo, which will make us a laughing stock in front of the whole world?

[Justin Hinchcliffe]

You have been, so far, very supportive of small independent shops and community markets, such as the Seven Sisters Latino market here in Tottenham. Halting the expansion westwards of the congestion zone and refusing to sell of the TfL-own market to private property developer Grainger are two such examples, but what more can be done to help small traders - the life blood of our city?

[Sally Roberts]

Are you (and Guto Harri) aware that Ken is busily getting himself on to the radio and has been given his own programme? This is highly dangerous in the long run and must be monitored...

[Surrey_Boy]

Why do you think you can deliver a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary when Conservative and Labour governments in the past have studied the proposal in detail and found it impossible to deliver?

[NigelC]

How much waste have you uncovered so far and can Londoners expect a cut in Council tax in the next few years?

[gingeral]

Are you going to cancel Ken Livingstone's planned celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution next year (bearing in mind that Castro killed more people in his first three years in office than Pinochet managed in seventeen!)?

[AmyJ]

Is there any chance of getting the tube to run until a later time on the weekend?

[Nicholas J. Rogers]

How do you think your Mayoral record will contribute to a nation-wide Conservative revival?

[passing leftie]

1. When are you going to take up the job of Mayor full time?

2. Do you think we should look to your mayoralty as an example of what Tories do in power?

3. How many more incompetents, users of racist language or liars are you going to employ then sack?

4. How much are your new non-bendy buses, which exist only in your imagination, going to costs, and who is going to build them?

5. Are you intending to stand again?

[Alex R]

Why is Sir Ian Blair still in his job?

[Treacle]

Why is there still a congestion charge?

Turn the camera's over to the police, give the company that runs the system a yearly payment, which could be very low as they could sack all their staff except an accountant and a few maintenance men and still make a healthy profit.

We all save a pile of money and I no longer have to pay for this highway robbery.

Digitum extractum

[Oberon Houston]

When will the review of the city cycle hire scheme be complete, and when will firm proposals be announced?

[David]

Should a Tory government allow a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty? (This may not sound like a 'London' question but of course it's about all aspects of how we are governed.)

[Norm Brainer]

Can you introduce sensible motorcycling policies like hurry up and allow them into bus lanes then stop westminster making you register and pay to park.
If there must be a charge why not put in oyster readers? speaking of which when can we use oyster (or whatever it will be called if the brand is taken away) on real trains and boats?
..and when are we going to be rid of the bendy bus? - I know there's a competition going on about it, but it's not that well heard of
..and can we bring back tube-boozing? ..and scrap the congestion charge and LEZ? ..and bring back the blackwall contra-flow and remove the stupid 30mph limit, and other stupid 40mph limits as you try and get out of london on any main road?... and give me a £100,000pa job to be an advisor?

[Jake]

Will you fly the flag of England over England's capital city and not the flag of the British state?

[Dorian Grape]

Hi there passing leftie person. You had some queries?

1. When are you going to take up the job of Mayor full time?

Kenny was the consummate media whore and self-publicist. Bojo if anything has lowered his whoredom threshold.

2. Do you think we should look to your mayoralty as an example of what Tories do in power?

Yes, upset passing lefties and sort out the left over dirty laundry.

3. How many more incompetents, users of racist language or liars are you going to employ then sack?

Kenny just kept them in post but then they were genuinely racist rather than just occasionally dimwitted.

4. How much are your new non-bendy buses, which exist only in your imagination, going to costs, and who is going to build them?

http://www.plaxtonlimited.co.uk/plaxton/index.html Seem like some non-bendy sort of Yorkshiremen.

5. Are you intending to stand again?
As Churchill the talking bulldog says: ‘Ohhhhh, yes.’

How’s Kenny? Seems to turn up for the opening of an envelope these days. Probably hoping for another P45.

[Blue Ken]

Why is the GLA and LDA spending well over £3 million on taking staff to the Olympics?

[Sally Roberts]

Brilliant response Dorian Grape!

[Marcus]

Three questions:

1. Do you think there is a tension between your longstanding libertarianism and your introduction of a ban on Tube drinking?

2. Would you PLEASE do something - apply pressure, whatever - to get the 2012 Olympics logo changed from the present amateurish design?

3. Do you think there is too much use of CCTV in London?

[Dorian Grape]

2. Would you PLEASE do something - apply pressure, whatever - to get the 2012 Olympics logo changed from the present amateurish design?

Seconded. Otherwise known as Lisa Simpson and the hoodie.

[Simon]

@ Dorian - Hasn't Boris already backed a Union Jack version of the 2012 logo? Still not a great design but the flag makes it look 100 times better

[Bexie]

The Silvertown Link project was designed to allieviate the congestion at the Blackwall tunnel, whilst also potentially funding the rebore of both current blackwall tunnel bores (the old 1896 tunnel being converted to foot passenger/ pedal only)

Are you going to restore it?

[Ulster Tory]

2. Would you PLEASE do something - apply pressure, whatever - to get the 2012 Olympics logo changed from the present amateurish design?

Thirded.

[Cleethorpes Rock]

I think I was the first to mention the awful 2012 logo, but who cares who said it first- it has to go! In that case:

Fourthed!

[Simon]

While I am not a fan of the 2012 logo (as I mentioned in my above post), aren't there more important things to worry about than the logo?

[Sammy Finn]

Now the logo has been designed let's the avoid the expense of a redesign!

[Simon]

Good point Sammy, good point

[Dorian Grape]

http://tinyurl.com/5qybsv

Over at the Guardian an article accusing Boris of homophobia for pulling cash from Soho Pride is being ripped apart by the commentariat. Will Boris be removing public funding from the following?

Chinese New Year; St Patricks Day; St George's Day; Vaisakhi; Africa Day; Baishakhi Mela; Pride; Rise; Carnival del Pueblo; London Mela; Notting Hill Carnival; Liberty - disability arts festival; Thames Festival; Trafalgar Square summer festival; the Jewish Simcha on the Square; Chanukkah; Black History Month events; Diwali; Eid; Celebrating Sanctuary (refugee festival); Capital Age; Festival of Youth Arts.

If the Mayor is diverse and inclusive in the removal of Mayoral funding then no special interest group will be able to plead whateverophobia. If Boris is selective then he leaves himself open to attack.

Soho Pride attracts IRO 80,000 punters and yet the suggestion is that losing £10K from Boris will threaten its existence. That’s the equivalent of two pints of foaming London Pride ale, each.

[Adam-]

What reforms would you make to the Metropolitan Police if it was brought within your remit?

[Tom FD]

You have dual citizenship, is it reasonable to assume your long-term plans include residency at both Downing Street and the White House?

[Ulster Tory]

How would the mayor advise young (under-21) party members to start moving up the party ladder (remember- 18 year olds can be elected to Parliament), and gain political experience?

Has Mr Johnson seen Batman, and if so does he agree with IDS that the age rating was inappropiate? Also, can he see the political comparisons in characters in the movie?

[Richard Holloway]

When will you be rolling out your manifesto promise to allow motorcycles to use bus lanes?

[Chris]

The East London Line extention.
Why doesn't it come up to Finsbury Park - as per the orginal plan?

Far more useful from an interchange point of view.

[Lindsay Jenkins]

How long to the end of the congestion charge tax?

Will you remove the celebration of nationalism from the Olympic games?

And please remove the buses/taxis only lane to Heathrow.

[Nick Gulliford]

The deafening silence from the Council for Mortgage Lenders, the British Bankers Association and the Building Societies Association about the marital status of those whose homes are being repossessed makes me suspect it is Labour's conflation of cohabitation and marriage that has precipitated the credit crisis. But without relevant statistics no one can say for certain.

Now that the Conservatives control the majority of local authorities - and since December 2007 Registrars have become their employees - will you nudge the London Boroughs into signing up all marrying couples automatically to a research-based and certificated programme of marriage preparation unless they opt out?

[WHS]

Will the Mayor make sure his bods at City Hall inform local Associations when he is out and about in the boroughs?

He has been to mine on various photo-ops three times since becoming Mayor: it would have given all our troops an enormous boost just to go and touch his hem and cheer him, and made us more willing to go out on wet Wednesdays to make sure he stays in to be Mayor for the Olympics.

[comstock]

Further to the other points on the congestion charge, would you consider replacing it with a workplace parking tax, which would surely be a much more efficient way of raising money and eliminate both evasion and the dreaded fines for the forgetful.....

[JR]

I voted for you but am concerned about your level of commitment and interest in the job. Why have you, for example, decided to continue with your weekly column in the Telegrah. I was not impressed that you decided to keep this a secret until after all of the votes were safely counted. I have a sinking feeling that we would have been better off for the next four years by fielding a heavyweight candidate who was qualified for the job. But I would still like to be persuaded that you can do it.

[WHS]

Oh, forgive me a second go.

There were some pretty quick kills for you that would have backed up the idea of anti-Livingstone-pigeonholing, pro-One London idea that we got from your election campaign. Since then we've even had people like the Chairman of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign have a free jab at you for daring to cut their funding.

We all applaud the cutting of funding from special interest groups and the promotion of "we're-all-Londoners-not-whatever-box-Livingstone-put-you-into" but could you not defend the reasoning behind it more robustly and publicly, rather than letting these obnoxious views go unchallenged by default?

[David M]

Peter Hitchens has commented that given the constitutional structute of the GLA, trying to run London in a conservative way will be as feasible as trying to fly a submarine. Do you have any sympathy with this viewpoint?

[Graeme Archer]

1. I third the "hurry up and let bikers in bus and cycle lane" proposal. You have data on your side, please deploy it.

2. I know that legally you cannot sack Ian Blair- power that a Tory government must give the mayor (do you agree?). Why not make a moral stand and publicly demand his resignation? You are far too perceptive to believe his public protestations and he will work to undermine your crime and social justice agenda.

[Jamie Wright]

I don't think you're up to the job. Even this blog says it hears reports to this effect. What do you have to say to defend yourself.

[Janette Cooper]

How do you justify continuing to do work on the side, that pays more in total than the Mayor's salary? Are the people you hired allowed to do the same, say Guto working for twice his communications director salary why he is on the payroll?

[Stefan]

Why isn't your oration in Latin, at the opening of the British Museum's exhibition on Hadrian, available for all to admire in the Speeches section of your website?

[Londoner]

Please ignore those of your critics who would criticise anything you do, because they want you to fail, often for reasons of jealousy. You have made a good start.

Please will you and Sir Simon Milton progress rapidly new detailed policy and guidance to deal with tall buildings and overdevelopment (developers are still behaving according to Ken's dictates)? I am thinking of such areas as Vauxhall Cross, which need regeneration but do not need a whole cluster of very tall buildings totally alienating the area from the surrounding mostly Victorian streets. Might you seek a major arts or sports organisation to set up a national centre/performing space there, as the centre point for Vauxhall Cross regeneration, rather than a lot of tall rabbit hutch homes and offices designed only to meet some top down London-wide target?

[Hal]

Isn't it a bit odd that you are appointing people to manage Crossrail, Transport for London etc? If someone else were Mayor do you believe they would choose you to oversee one of these big projects?

[Commons mole]

What do you say to colleagues in Westminster who worry that you will mess up and/or not deliver, embarassing the party?

[Martin]

During the campaign, you said you reserved the right to make gaffes. Yet when James McGrath made one, you fired him. Did you mean that this would apply only to you?

[Dorian Grape]

Ooooh, get you, girlfriends. Itchy, witchy, let’s get bitchy.

Or is that you Ken? Go and knock another one out for the Guardian and let us get on with the job of having a job.

[YMT]

1. Since coming to office what would you say are the major bureaucratic hurdles that need to be fixed to help the city to flow better.

2. I agree with you that the Mayor of London should have power over the police. But can you outline your ideas in more details. Would the American city relationship between Mayor and a Police Commissioner be a more attractive model?

3. What are your plans to improve the situation in south east London, this area has massive problem with crime, drugs, poverty and violence which needs to be addressed.

4.From Sussex to Herts, Essex to Berkshire, London is the most important component of the economic well being of the south east do you think there is enough dialogue and co-operations between the city and the commuter belt? Do you agree that that steps should be taken to improve this relationship and that better interaction and integration would be a benefit to everyone involved.

[Cleethorpes Rock]

"Will Boris be removing public funding from the following?

Chinese New Year; St Patricks Day; St George's Day; Vaisakhi; Africa Day; Baishakhi Mela; Pride; Rise; Carnival del Pueblo; London Mela; Notting Hill Carnival; Liberty - disability arts festival; Thames Festival; Trafalgar Square summer festival; the Jewish Simcha on the Square; Chanukkah; Black History Month events; Diwali; Eid; Celebrating Sanctuary (refugee festival); Capital Age; Festival of Youth Arts."

I hope so!!

[Charles]

What is your current view on the third Heathrow runway issue? Do you still believe that Cliffe is the best option? If not, what other options do you think are viable? Gatwick or other regional airports perhaps?

[Cleethorpes Rock]

He can keep funding for St George's Day if he likes, we are in England after all!

[Question for Boris Johnson]

I have a question for Mr Johnson:

Mayor Johnson, I would like to know why you felt the need to interfere with internal US politics by endorsing Hillary Clinton and then Barack Obama for president? Protocol generally has foreign politicians - from any country - avoiding endorsements to cause embarrassment. Additionally, I really don't understand how someone who is conservative (with a small 'c') with right-wing leanings can endorse Mr Obama, who had the most left-wing voting record in the US Senate?

[A Syed]

Do you plan to introduce Air Conditioning system at public transportation, especially in the underground?

[Con Homer]

So far, what is your biggest achievement and what was your biggest mistake?

[Norm Brainer]

Do you plan to introduce Air Conditioning system at public transportation, especially in the underground?

Aircon isn't what the tube needs - it'd be impossible to install anyway and then would create too many problems elsewhere.
With it being underground the cooling system could be much smarter - like using flowing water etc, possibly pumped around by the energy created when the train stops, mainly to cool the stations which in turn will regulate the temperature in the carriages.

As I'm posting again I'll take the opportunity to pose the question of asking if crossrail will be joined up transport planning, ie. will there be parking and busses at the stations, and allow cycles (or other vehicles?) on board?

[Nicola Thomas]

Having read that you have been to the Olympics taking with you a team of fourteen or more aids. Presumably to do research for the 2012 London olympics.
Can you then, please, re-assure the British tax payer that you will not be taken in by the Chinese charade and that you will endeavour to ensure a 2012 Olympics which is within the realistic confines and affordability of the Britsh budget and not allow the Olympic committee to be carried away on a roller coaster ride to try and "keep up with the Jones"
After all let us always remember the Olympics is and always should be primarily about sport not about how people judge our country.
As a Nation we should be seen to be living within our means not building up debt for future generations to pay the cost of.

[B.Garvie]

Well done, Boris, Mr Mayor. You have got off to a flying start and brought a much needed breath of fresh air to London.

I support a much needed 3rd London airport in the Thames Estuary which will regenerate that area and prove environmentally acceptable.Revolutionary transit systems can be developed to expedite quick passenger transfer and it will become a much needed modern example of how British technology can keep pace with travel aspirations for the 21st century. It will make London a more accessable experience.

[Tim Montgomerie]

Thanks for all these questions. I'll now select 15 and pass them to Boris' office. Apologies if yours isn't one of them.