Dibden Purlieu Saint

41. He has been a listening Mayor. There have been far more visits - including to outer London boroughs. 42. Some of the consultation exercises have actually been genuine - for instance over which parks should be prioritised and the Congestion Charge Extension. 43. 11 rundown parks are being rejuvenated with grants of £400,000 each from City Hall. 44. There has been a break with his predecessor's expensive gesture of constantly engaging lawyers - usually losing. 45. A housing strategy that promotes home ownership schemes rather than stipulating that new housing has to be for social rent. The Mayor’s First Steps Housing programme is aimed at improving the intermediate housing offer for Londoners. The programme will bring forward new products including the Up2U scheme launched earlier this year. It is also looking at ways to simplify the applications process and make the system easier for first time buyers to understand. 46. Decluttering of roads will be based on the "presumption" that each piece of equipment and obstruction should be removed unless it can be justified. "If Give Way signs at minor junctions are removed then consideration may also be given to removing the associated road markings." 47. Unveiled a statue of war hero Sir Keith Park in Trafalgar Square. 48. £9.8 million is being spent on 150 schemes to facilitate walking and cycling along eight routes to the Olympics to also be maintained after the Games. 49. Launch of the Status Dogs Unit by the Metropolitan Police with the removal of 680 dangerous and/or illegal dogs from London's streets - often pitbulls. 50. Boosted the London Jazz Festival so that it reaches more boroughs. 51. Providing 30,000 new homes by freeing up under-used land owned by the Greater London Authority. 52. Helped shopping in the West End by giving Oxford Circus a makeover. Shoppers will be able to cross the busy intersection diagonally in an 'X' as well as straight ahead - meaning the junction will be able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding. 53. Shown himself to be a mayor for all Londoners. Contrary to the unpleasant slurs of bigotry thrown at him during the election campaign he has made a point of being inclusive listening to Londoners regardless of their background in terms of race, religion or sexuality. 54. Promoted cycling with a new Cycle Hire scheme. 55. Boosted apprenticeships including 400 new bus driver apprenticeships a year in the capital. 56. Stood up to Government bullying - notably over their interference in his proposed appointment of Veronica Wadley as Chairman of the London Arts Council. 57. With his commissioner for Sport, Kate Hoey, he has given Londoners more sporting opportunities. For instance the Mayor's PlaySport London: Make a Splash programme will see two temporary pools deployed in London boroughs. The new scheme, powered by 'pools 4 people', offers swimming even if people do not live within the vicinity of a swimming pool. The pools will be spending 12 weeks in three different locations each. One pool is up and running in Ealing, the second under construction. In January, the two pools will be deployed in two different boroughs. Through this programme, over 15,000 non-swimmers (children and adults) will learn to swim each year. 58. Judo provision in London is being increased. 59. Sailing is being encouraged - for instance through support for the AHOY Centre in Greenwich. 60. Dance is being supported. For instance the Dare2Dance project which aims to increase participation in physical activity through the medium of Street Dance using Hip Hop Dance Techniques. 61. Boxing is being supported. For instance the London Boxing Academy with sites in Hackney and Haringey is being supported. 62. The requirement for 50% of housing developments to be social housing has been lifted. Rather than inflexible percentages the Mayor is concerned with the outcome - the total number of new homes built. 63. Knife crime is down by 30%. This reflects the success of Operation Blunt II - an intitiave by the police at the mayor's instigation to search for knoves which resulted in 27,000 searches and more than 500 knives being seized. 64. Action is being taken to improve air quality. For instance through hybrid buses and by working with the boroughs to tackle air quality hotspots. 65. The opening of Imperial Wharf Station. 66. There has been funding for world-class cultural developments including Tate Modern extension and a new centre for the British Film Institute and Film Day. 67. Made significant savings on cultural events and refreshed the programme with new, inclusive events like Story of London. 68. Promoting London Fashion Week, Boris appeared on the cover of Elle magazine. 69. A scheme have been introduced where young people who lose their right to free travel through misbehaviour have to earn it back through voluntary work.

I see you skirted around the question on who you're comparing him to? Personally I don't want him as PM, but I think a lot of points you've made above are wide of the mark. We've all known about this Michael Howard lie and this Darius Guppy tale (which nothing came of by the way) for ages, as I am sure you have, so none of what came out of the interview should have changed your opinion of him. I am interested to know when you proclaimed to like him, as these have been in the public eye for a long, long time. As said, I don't want him as PM, but you want Political Achievements, here you go: 1. Frozen the Council Tax precept for two years running. After allowing for inflation this means a cut in real terms. Over the eight years as Mayor, Ken Livingstone increased his take of council tax by 153 per cent. 2. The Congestion Charge West London Extension is being scrapped by the end of this year. 3. The Mayor is investing £60 million to bring empty homes back into use for affordable housing, more than three times the financial commitment made by the previous Mayor. 4. Phasing out the hated bendy buses. So far 83 of them have gone. Routes 507 and 521 were the first to see bendies withdrawn, followed by route 38 in autumn 2009. Bendies on the remaining 11 routes will be replaced by 2011 as contracts come up for renewal. 5. There are 400 more police officers for buses. 6. Free travel has been introduced for veterans. 7. Facilitated the departure of Sir Ian Blair. The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is doing a much better job - bringing in common sense changes such as the police going on the beat individually rather than in pairs. 8. Traffic lights resignalling. TfL is increasing the usage of the ‘intelligent’ SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) system from the existing 2000 sites, to 3000 sites, by 2015/16. It is also reviewing timings at 1000 traffic signal sites annually. These measures will allow traffic lights to adjust their own timings in response to traffic conditions. "There is surely not a single Londoner who has not waited at a red light at two in the morning on a deserted street and wondered why on earth they are being delayed," says Boris. TfL’s signal timing reviews are having a noticeable impact in smoothing traffic flow. He has also allowed Ealing to bag up traffic lights. 9. The various GLA bodies now employ 13 fewer press officers than under Ken Livingstone. 10. Rough sleeping has been reduced by two thirds. The successes to date have not required additional funds but are a result of better co-ordination between the agencies responsible. The estimated number of persistent "embedded" rough sleepers across London is down from 205 under Ken Livingstone to 67 now. 11. A series of new City Academies are being sponsored. The first Mayoral Academy will be Turin Grove School in Edmonton, open from September. 12. The Mayor's Fund has been launched to tackle child poverty. 13. Flew to Beijing Olympics, economy class. Gave a wonderful motivational speech. He said: "Ping pong was invented on the dining tables of England in the 19th century and it was called wiff waff. There I think you have the essential difference between us and the rest of world. Other nations, the French, looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner. We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play wiff waff. That is why London is the sporting capital of the world. And I say to the Chinese, and I say to the world: ping pong is coming home." 14. Scrapped the post of Women's adviser, which was held by Anni Marjoram, and removed four more of "Ken's Wimmin" - the total salary bill was over £400,000. Those who have gone include Ken Livingstone's partner Emma Beale, who was paid £96,000 to be the Mayor's "Administration Manager" and Socialist Action member Jude Woodward who had been the Cultural Commissar. 15. Championed the City of London against EU regulation - notably the protectionist directive on hedge funds. 16. Supporting the phasing out of road humps across London. 17. Reducing barriers for pedestrians with 20 miles of guard rail going. 18. Launched a competition for a New Bus for London, a 21st century successor to the Routemaster. The first prototype is expected to start testing by the end of 2011. 19. 1500 new street trees have been planted. 2000 more will have been planted by the end of 2010/11. 20. 12,000 affordable homes have been completed - far more than under Ken Livingstone. 21. Has issued guidance that new publicly funded social-housing homes must have higher standards. The minimum space standards recommended are broadly ten per cent higher than the 1961 Parker Morris benchmark. An end to the Livingstone era rabbit hutches. 22. Oyster extended to national rail from this year, and also to the River Bus. 23. Modernisation of the London Fire Brigade - notably in shift patterns. 24. Closing down of GLA office in Venezuela and scaling down of other overseas offices saving: £100,000. 25. Far more transparency. All spending over £1,000 is published on the website as well as expenses claims. Wrong doing is dealt with robustly rather than hidden or denied which was the culture under the previous regime. 26. Brought back Christmas - hosting various carol concerts, etc.. 27. The Queen's portrait unveiled in City Hall. 28. Restoration of drinking fountains on the capital's streets. The one in Trafalgar Square has already been brought back into use. 29. Working with the boroughs, including support for decentralising some of his power to them. 30. A successful visit to New York (paying his own fare) was held to boost tourism. Huge media coverage in the Big Apple. The ‘Only in London’ tourism campaign has boosted the capital's coffers by £50million. 31. While cycling through Camden, the Mayor saw Franny Armstrong under attack by hoodies. He set an example to Londoners by coming to her assistance. 32. Motorcycles are being allowed in bus lanes on TfL roads with the double aim of reducing congestion on the roads, and reducing the number of accidents involving motorcyclists. 33. A 24 hour Freedom Pass. 34. Scrapping The Londoner newspaper - saving £3 million a year. 35. Backing the sensitive use by the police of stop and search, which has so far taken almost 5,000 knives off the streets. 36. Boosting electric cars by ensuring that every Londoner will be no more than one mile from an electric car charge point by 2015. The Mayor is also procuring 1000 electric vehicles in the Greater London Authority Group public fleet. 37. Giving a higher priority to English tuition for refugees. The Mayor's new migration board will prioritise better ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) provision across London. 38. Classical music, neglected under the previous regime as elitist, is now getting encouragement. For instance, the No Strings Attached initiative backed by Julian Lloyd Webber where unused musical instruments are donated to be used by children. Also an annual schools music festival. 39. 100,000 more tons of the capital's annual waste will soon be turned into green energy, with £12m of guaranteed funding due to be approved by the London Waste and Recycling Board. 40. Launched the Capital Growth scheme with a target to create 2012 growing spaces by 2012 in discarded patches of London, tended by enthusiastic community gardeners. http://conservativehome.blogs.com/localgovernment/2010/01/100-achievements-of-boris-johnson-as-mayor-of-london.html

Slightly harsh comparison, but the point is valid.

The point is it is a secret. If someone asked you, in earshot of your boss and all your work colleagues if you wanted his job, what would you say? Would you say yes and undermine your boss? Or would you refuse to confirm it? We can all see your bias against Boris coming out here unfortunately, however much you try to write as impartial. Just because he won't answer questions about his private life in public it means he isn't straight talking? I don't really know what you expect and who you're comparing him to, but you're talking about a politician that doesn't and has never existed. And that bottom sentence is absolute bunkum as you well know. Lots of high ranking politicians have been on panel shows (HIGNFY).

What do you class as London?

Interesting view from a Reading fan... http://www.football365.com/mailbox/8598839/Mails I arrived home from work to my loving family, greeted by my over-enthusiastic dog, with a casual sense of a day gone well. Work had presented its usual course of challenges, which had been conquered in an efficient manner, leaving me with a sense of satisfaction, a warm glow about me as I contemplated an evening relaxing in front of the television with my partner, and hey, why not a beer or two? Served chilled straight from the fridge, naturally. And then - horror of horrors. My Henry Winter- like style overly drawn out introduction is ruined. A cold fear sweeps over me, a chill runs up my spine, a bead of perspiration filters it's way down my brow - the beginnings of the inevitability of despair. This season, as a Reading fan, has not presented us much to cheer. Several players whom we had high hopes for have failed spectacularly to live up to their wage packets (yes, you, Mr. Pogrebnyak), results have gone against us, even the false dawns of 4-0 leads against Arsenal shattered and of course, impending relegation (come on, who are we kidding?). The sacking of Brian McDermott was a real shame, a thoroughly well liked man, however it pains me to say that he probably deserved to go, based on his tactical naivety. But, the worst is yet to come. Early reports indicate that after Gus Poyet turned us down (bitterly disappointed about that, really thought he would be the man to save us), we now face the increasingly likely scenerio that Nigel Adkins will be installed as our new manager, Southampton's sloppy seconds and a man that, and please tell me if I am wrong fellow Royals, that none of us a) want, b) like or c) think is going to bring any benefit to us or anything his predecessor wouldn't have all ready. It's enough to make me weep. Sigh. Lets just hope that Anton Zingarevich is as brutal as his Russian counterpart at Stamford Bridge and disposes of him with due haste. Adam, Reading. (First time Mailboxer, feels good to pop that cherry)

What is your budget? Myself and the missus bought our first place in 2010, in Weybridge, so not too far from yourself. We have just sold and bought a new place, waiting for contracts to go through at the moment. The one tip I have is Location, Location, Location. Buy the worst property in a nice area rather than the nicest property in a sh!t area, and don't be afraid to do work to the property, you can make a lot by doing this (we made 40% profit on our property by renovating to a high standard).

Oh, so he brought up the Darius Guppy thing, that's very old news isn't it? I remember him being chewed out about that by Ian Hislop on HIGNFY in the late 90's.

Would still prefer him to Special Ed. Not that says much. Seriously, when was the last time there was a credible politician that had aspirations of number 10? I seriously can't think of one...

That's a lot of threads about Tw attoo's...

I suppose this helps some people, but not all... http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/20/budget-2013-childcare-excludes-families-need-help

Must be Argentinean to apply here...

Lopez more than Lens to me, but yes, exactly that type of player. A new Claudio Lopez perhaps...

You're almost becoming a parody of yourself there Dave...

So my mate recently got a tattoo that cost him like £600. I was like 'woah, that's mental blud, why's you slinging that kind of dollar after a trampstamp'. Personally, I don't like tattoo's, they're for pikeys and prisoners, but do you have a tattoo, what of, and how much did it cost?

Agreed. Maybe not Fonte though, I think he deserves another chance as he has been decent this season.

For me a new pacey striker is needed that can play out wide as well as through the centre. Would love Zarate from Lazio, would fit in perfectly. Also would like a new CB, even if Forren is good I believe that more competition is needed.

Stop getting Partridge wrong...

I've lost a stone so far, so not too bad considering I haven't been trying too hard recently. Still got 2 stone to go though...

Sergio Ramos...

Claridge is actually very balanced about us, even dare I say a bit on our side. Got a lot of time for him.

Lol, just beat me to it!

Just watched it, what was so bad about what he said. His point about Shaw was that he is SO good he's unlikely to be here next season, his points about Lallana were correct and he was complimentory about Lambert. God some of you guys are precious.

Hell no, not just on this thread. Looking forward to me apologies from Dig Dig et al.

You're so impatient. I can't believe you'd expect such a quick return on such difficult games. As we've discussed before, Cortese was going to make the change anyway. I don't think anyone agreed with the timing or the manner. However, if The Sheriff can get results against difficult teams coming into a new league with new players, then I think in the long run he will be an upgrade. Be excited to see him with a whole Summer under his belt, I am sure he will be more succesful through the first 10 games than Adkins was...