Darren Johnson today unveiled his amendments to the London Mayor’s annual budget. The main changes aim to lower fares; increase neighbourhood policing, and reverse many of the Mayor’s cuts to environmental projects. Darren Johnson said:
"In spite of much green rhetoric the Mayor has dropped a large swathe of projects aimed at improving the quality of life in our city. Although the Mayor is promising a zero increase in the council tax precept, his policies will be costing a typical working household £180 a year in increased fares. He is promising a greener more affordable city but his policies will make London more expensive and more polluted."
"My proposals reverse the damaging cuts to work on the environment, housing and health and increase funding for cycling and public transport. In order to create new jobs and cut household fuel bills I proposed to re-instate and expand the Green Homes Service and to invest in wind energy schemes and a household insulation programme."
The amendment to the mayor’s budget (attached) would introduce new initiatives:
* an ‘inflation only’ guarantee on bus/tube fares,
* £5m home insulation programme;
* 20mph default speed limit: carry out pilots in 2 boroughs.
Restore environmental programmes, such as:
* funds to complete the borough section of the London Cycle Network;
* 60 hydrogen vehicles programme;
* expansion of the trials of extended hours (18 hours a day) for neighbourhood policing;
* Parliament Square project;
* East London Line Extension phase 2;
This would be paid for by:
* Emissions based congestion charge;
* increasing standard congestion charge to £10;
* increasing the precept by a modest amount, just 7p per week for a Band D council tax payer;
* reducing police overtime by 10%;
* cancelling phase out of bendy buses
* cancelling rephrasing of traffic lights to speed up traffic flow.