The biggest campaign fight yet: Ken vs Ken

If you thought the "Rift in the Lift" was big news, get ready for the biggest campaign fight yet: Ken vs Ken! 


Watch the latest video from the BackBoris 2012 team where Ken Livingstone battles it out (with himself) over whether he can cut fares. 

Ken as candidate makes sweeping claims about fares cuts and where the money would come from, but as Mayor he says he's unable to do the exact things he's now saying he can.

http://youtu.be/moumIhgq35M

Back Boris 2012: Countdown to the Mayoral Election

A message from Theodora Clarke, CWO Director of Communications:

Back Boris 2012 – Countdown to the Mayoral Election

There are less than three weeks before Londoners head to the polls to choose their Mayor and the stakes in this election are high. If Ken takes London and welcomes Ed Miliband into City Hall we will find attaining a Conservative majority in 2015 much harder.

Over the last four years Boris has delivered his promises to turn around the mess left by Livingstone and Labour for Londoners. He has:

• Tackled Crime by increasing the number of police on the streets pushing crime down by 10.8%.
• Kept London Moving by making public transport we all rely on more reliable and efficient and by working to smooth London’s traffic flow.
• Made City Hall Leaner and More Accountable by ruthlessly cutting out waste, making decisions more transparent, increasing efficiency in London with everything at City Hall driven to deliver more for less.
• Fought London's Corner by constantly banging the drum for investment in London and working for a fairer deal from central government to create the most competitive environment for business.
• Improved Quality of Life by investing in parks and squares using the best design and removing unnecessary and ugly clutter and by reducing London’s carbon emissions, not only protecting the environment but also saving Londoners millions of pounds in energy bills.
• Worked to make the Most of the Olympics by bringing the Games in on time and within budget and by working to achieve a legacy that will last for generations.
• Delivered Youth Opportunities by working to increase opportunities for young Londoners despite the worst recession since the 1930s, which has driven up youth unemployment to well over 15%.

This month at the official launch of his campaign, Boris set out his vision for securing Greater London's future. (watch the video here)

But there is more to do and to accomplish it Boris needs your help. CWO supporters are the backbone of Boris’ campaign and your commitment is critical to getting out his message across the capital.

That is why today we are asking you to volunteer, if you haven't done so already. With your help we can reach even more Londoners in these final three weeks.

Teams of volunteers have already been working hard across London for months leafleting stations, knocking on doors and phoning voters.

The Battle Bus will be continuing its tour of the outer boroughs and Conservative activists are out in them every weekend from now until polling day. Our call centres will be open every afternoon and evening with Monday nights being the dedicated CWO session with visiting MPs.

The choice on 3rd May is very clear – between lurching back to the high-taxing, discredited and divisive approach of Ken Livingstone, or going forward with four more years of sensible, responsible and cost-effective government in London with Boris.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the campaign and if you feel that you can do more please contact the BackBoris2012 campaign.

http://www.backboris2012.com/volunteer

Race to be London Mayor: We Can't Afford Ken

By Theodora Clarke, Director of Communications for the Conservative Women's Organisation

There are less than three weeks until the election for Mayor of London on May 3rd. Each of the candidates has presented their plan to Londoners on what they would do in office. However, Labour's candidate has repeatedly made promises which he will not be able to keep. Ken Livingstone has made at least £2.7billion worth of unfunded promises while campaigning.

A new report out this week by BackBoris2012 details each of the 24 promises Mr Livingstone has made to Londoners ‘on the record’ since becoming Labour’s official candidate for Mayor. The money, over and above the current fully funded plan, would have to come from GLA or TfL budgets.


But Mr Livingstone is refusing to say how he will pay for these promises. In fact, he has told Londoners he will not reveal his financial plans ‘until the day after the election’.


But he has been forced to admit on the campaign trail that he is ‘going to increase your taxes’.


So, to deliver on his 24 promises, Mr Livingstone would have to: 
1. Increase his share of council tax by £348 for a band D property over four years, and 
2. Increase congestion charge by 42.1% or introduce a Heathrow Congestion Charge Zone.


Ken Livingstone says one thing but does another, making promises to Londoners which he knows he can’t keep. The report raises serious questions over where the money for these promises is coming from at a time when public finances are the tightest they have been for a decade.


There is only one way he can keep his promises – by continuing his record of hiking up council tax and increasing or expanding the congestion charge zone at a time when Londoners are struggling to make ends meet.


Mr Livingstone needs to be honest with Londoners and admit he will have to hike up taxes to fund his promises, or admit that he has no intention of delivering on his promises.


Below is a brief summary of the key points of the report Can't Afford Ken:

• Ken Livingstone has made 24 promises that cost more money than is in the budget. He has made all of these on the record. It includes things like his fare cut, EMA replacement, ‘Ken-ron’ and a London wide lettings agency.

• The estimated total cost of these pledges over four years is £2.7bn. This breaks down as £1.1bn on the GLA ‘Core’ budget, £482.5m on the TfL budget and £1.14bn for his fare cut.

• The BackBoris report has been deliberately cautious in our judgement.  Each pledge has been examined and an estimate of how much it would cost based on either a) existing public sources, b) Labour’s own costings and c) independent costings, such as Channel Four fact check.

• To fund his extra spending Ken would need to find more money from the council tax precept, and more revenue from TfL.

• On the precept: He would have to increase the GLA precept by £348 at Band D over four years - £87.08 every year:
  • His extra spending falls into two parts of the GLA budget: ‘core’ and ‘TfL’.
  • The council tax precept does not fund TfL (except for a nominal £6m for VAT purposes) so in order to work out how much council tax would go up, you look at extra spending on the GLA ‘core’ budget.
  • Livingstone’s extra spending on the ‘core’ budget is £1.1bn. 
  • The GLA currently raises £935.1m through the council tax precept, which costs £307 per Band D household.
  • Livingstone claims he won’t cut existing budgets, he is unlikely to get extra Government money and he claims he won’t increase borrowing. So the GLA could only find this extra money by increasing the amount it raises via the precept.
  • So to get a figure of an extra £348 per Band D household, you divide extra spending of £1.1bn by 3,053,288 Band D equivalent households.

• On TfL revenue: He would have to raise the Congestion Charge to £15 or create new congestion charging zones, such as a £5 Heathrow congestion charge.
  • He has already claimed he would cut fares, taking £1bn out of the budget.But he has also made election promises costing at least £482.5m in revenue over four years.
  • £482.5m over four years is £120.6m a year. To raise £120.6m from the congestion charge, it would need to go up by 42.1%, which brings it to £14.21 or £15.
  • Or a Heathrow congestion charge zone (which he backed before and the Greens also back) which would need to be £5 a day to raise £120.6m in revenue.

You can download the full document here: www.backboris2012.com/system/storage/60/61/c/1601/Cant_Afford_Ken.pdf


So remember to get out and vote for Boris Johnson on May 3rd to be re-elected as your Mayor of London.  


There are only twenty days left until polling day and we need your help. If you would like to volunteer then there are plenty of ways to get involved such as knocking on doors, putting up posters, telephone canvassing, fundraising and leafletting. Sign up here: http://www.backboris2012.com/volunteer


Follow me on twitter @theodoraclarke and @conswomen