“It will cost £17 million just to bid for the Olympics, even if we’re not successful. Right now, that money would be much better spent on improving housing and transport in East London,"said Darren.
“Supporters of the bid say it will aid regeneration, but will such promises turn into reality? We don’t want any more Dome fiascos where huge sums of taxpayers’ money are squandered on white elephants.
We need to ensure that any bid would lead to a genuine improvement in the quality of life for Londoners without us having to pay through the nose.
Whilst I am not opposed to London hosting the Olympics in principle, I strongly believe that this is the wrong bid at the wrong time.”
The Greens have four areas of concern:
• The creation of a poor legacy, leaving Londoners paying for the wrong type of developments
• A heavy financial burden: the Greater London Authority is being asked to raise £1.1 billion through an additional charge to Londoners of over £200 per household
• London’s creaky transport system being unable to cope
• Environmental damage from the new developments
It is expected to cost £17 million just to bid for the Olympics and it will not be clear until 2005 whether the bid will be successful. The financial cost of hosting the Games is expected to be around £1.1 billion.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. Darren Johnson is 37 and was selected as the Green Party’s candidate for Mayor of London in May 2003. He was elected to the London Assembly in May 2000 where he is Leader of the Green Party Group. He was also elected to Lewisham Council in May 2002.
2. The Mayoral election will be held next year at the same time as the elections for the London Assembly. At the last Assembly elections the Greens scored one of their best ever results in the Party’s history, securing 11.1% of the vote across London and winning three seats on the 25-member Assembly.
For further information and to arrange interviews with Darren Johnson contact: Keith Magnum on 07739 968 825