The congestion charge was hardly a disaster by anyone's reckoning and you haven't the faintest idea whether the Olympics will be a disaster or not yet.
Not that any of the above has anything to do with this thread.
The congestion charge has been a disaster, at least for anyone who drives in London it is. As someone whose bus journey to work goes along New Kent Road and Tower Bridge Road, everyone goes round there instead of cutting through London on any of the other bridges, so all the congestion is there instead of being spread out - and people won't divert off because of having to pay £8 for the privilege of another tax on motorists.
http://www.timeout.com/london/features/3916/Ken_Livingstone_on_trial.html?cpage=3&ccat=5
"The Congestion Charge has damaged business in central London. In 2004, John Lewis calculated that the Charge had resulted in a 5.52 per cent drop in sales at its Oxford Street store. The £16 billion needed to fund Crossrail means that at least three other major projects are likely to be put on ice, including the extension of the Croydon tram link to Crystal Palace and the proposed Docklands Light Railway route linking Barking Riverside and Dagenham. London’s fares continue to be the most expensive in the world. And, of course, many Londoners have still not forgiven Livingstone for ditching the beloved Routemaster buses in 2005.
Our jury’s verdict ‘The Mayor is no expert on transport and it is a socialist dream that does not work. His policies have failed singularly.’"
http://www.liebreich.com/LDC/HTML/Olympics/London/London01.html
"The Olympics has already been stated as way over the original budget - and Ken admitted to lying about the costs to get the thing here in the first place.
When the costs were examined by the Treasury, they had to be revised upwards. Ove Arup now claim the costs will be nearer to £3.6 billion. The Government now thinks £5.2 billion might be the right answer for the costs, and the shortfall would be £2.6 billion, to be funded from a combination of central government, a precept on London Council Tax and a special Lottery game."
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/04/24/cheek_by_jowell_undermines_gra.html
"No offence to the minister but to pick one figure that particularly incensed the PAC, the budget for the Olympic Delivery Authority was originally put at £16m. It is now running at £570m. The fact that Jowell "meant well" does not really cover it. "
What has it got to do with the discussion? It shows that dear Ken, so beloved to some people around here, has left a terrible mess in those two things alone, never mind all the sleaze and corruption that's still being unravelled, for Boris to take over.
Ken lied about the costs of the olympics, and who's going to be the one in office whilst all this mess is sorted out? Boris. Who's going to get the blame for a mess he inherited when it all goes tits up in 2012? Boris.
There was a picture of Ken in the free paper this evening, with a face like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle. He still hasn't got over the fact that he failed and there's no amount of spin he can put on it to get over the fact he lost.
