livingstone regrets!!!!!!

[helpmetoo]

well at last old ken has admitted to a mistake,

only one mind but thats better than he admitted to for the eight years previous,

on andrew marr show this morning,

'i do regret putting the call (admin) centre for the congestion charge in coventry',

it took a special type of idiot to have the proceeds of this onerous tax dealt with outside of london and so not at least produce any jobs for london in payback,

political madness,

his speciality,

good riddance,

[New Judge]

It�s along the same lines of his statement (shortly after his first mayoral election victory) �Only a moron would get rid of the Routemaster Bus�. Then, within three months, a programme to rid London of the Routemaster (allegedly along �Elf �n Safety� grounds) was announced, followed by an equally moronic decision to introduce as their replacement in many places, the �Bendy Bus�.

However, all this pales into insignificance when his decision to deceive both the national government and the London electorate over the Olympic bid was made. On his own admission the bill for the Olympic Games was deliberately vastly underestimated �so that the government could be conned into funding the regeneration of East London�.

London (and indeed the rest of the country) is well rid (for the second time in many people�s memory) of the odious Mr Livingstone. It�s a just a pity it took eight years to do so.

[Postdog]

Well to be fair, he did do a few good things, like the travelcard and zones back in the GLC days.

And back then if you were a black one legged lesbian, you were laughing!

[New Judge]

Yes, the Travelcard and zones were a good idea. However, they were not his brainchild and would probably have been introduced anyway.

The cost to most Londoners of his largesse in favour of minorities far outweighs any benefits most of them would have received.

[sp1814]

New Judge

Eh???

[jake-the-peg]

Just as well Boris is cancelling the half price fares for the unemployed which cost Londoners diddly-squat!

[New Judge]

Whatever it costs, jake (and I think it is not adjacent to diddly squat) it is not something that most London council taxpayers that I know like to see their money spent on.

Unemployed people receive benefits to meet their living expenses. In addition, despite what many may think, London bus fares are among the cheapest in the country. Maximum cash fare in London is �2 (Oyster is .90p). A five mile trip in rural Kent costs �3.80. A seven mile trip in Oxfordshire costs �3.50. A two mile hop in Devon - two years ago - was �2.20, A one day travelcard on the Isle of Wight is �10 (London �7, including tubes, trams, national rail and DLR). Unless the policy is adopted nationally (like the �Freedom Pass�) there is no justification to place an additional burden on London taxpayers to subside the unemployed.

Many people are also surprised to learn that (again thanks to Mr Livingstone's profligacy) children and young people under the age of 18 in full-time education are also entitled to free travel on buses, and those under 11 travel free on tubes, DLR and London Overground. This is (according to the former mayor) �to allow them to take advantage of the cultural and educational facilities the Capital has to offer them�.

This, at least in the suburbs - whose voters ensured Boris's election success - consists of them sitting at the rear of the upper deck, smoking, drinking, playing loud music, etching the windows and throwing things at passers by.

Older people used to take the bus to avoid troublesome youngsters in the street. Now they are forced to walk in the rain whilst the youngsters travel in comfort aboard their mobile drop-in centres.

Perhaps this is something else the new Mayor might like to examine.

[Sir Alec]

I was waiting for a bus after a hospital appt. recently. The man in front of me was elderly and walked with 2 sticks. His wife was also with him. When the bus arrived, around 20 teens appeared from nowhere, pushed past the elderly couple and took up the majority of the seats, playing hideously loud music and shouting over it. The old lady got a seat, but sat there terrified, the man with the sticks had to hold on to straps. I'm disabled and I too had to stand, but luckily my journey was short. People say you can't blame the parents, but havn't these kids been taught any manners?