Litter, litter, everywhere

Written by Graham Tope and published in North West London newspaper group on Sun 9th May 2004

According to a recent report, London is one of the worst capital cities in the European Union for quality of life. Ranked 11th out of the 15 European capitals, sinking to 12th in the rankings for health and sanitation, London fails dismally compared with top-placed Zurich in terms of health, transport, housing, recreation and public services.

But you don't need league tables to tell you that. Many people just have to step out of their front door - avoiding any dog mess on the pavement that irresponsible dog owners have failed to remove - to see for themselves the poorly lit streets that are blighted by vandalism, litter and graffiti.

While house prices have shot up, the number of officially homeless families across London has also grown by 14,000 since Mayor Livingstone was elected. Years of under investment in the health service have resulted in a dearth of NHS dentists and long waits for GP appointments. And still we are waiting for the green light for vital transport projects such as Crossrail.

No one wants to see London become a sterile capital, madeover as a theme park in order to climb the rankings. Most of us think it is the number one place in the world to live, despite its myriad problems. However, Londoners do deserve much better facilities and services than they are currently getting under Mayor Livingstone.

Just for a start, cleaning up the streets would considerably improve the quality of life in the capital. Some of London's boroughs have been working hard to provide a clean and pleasant environment by sharing examples of what works best when tackling dirty streets. The Mayor, in contrast, has proposed another expensive publicity campaign to make people think twice before they litter - it would seem his earlier, supposedly 'hard-hitting' cinema ad shown back in 2001 failed to sufficiently embarrass the offenders. Let's hope this campaign is more successful!

But cleaning up dirty streets alone will not result in lasting change. The Mayor, boroughs and local communities should be working together to find long-term solutions to tackle London's environmental, social and economic problems, recognising how one affects the other. For example, providing more leisure facilities for bored young people could reduce the problem of vandalism.

There also needs to be increased central government investment and commitment to improving the quality of life for Londoners. Some of the capital's problems could be addressed by reducing the £20 billion gap between what London contributes to the country and what it receives in government funding

It's time to stop wasting council tax payers' money on flashy promotions. Instead, let someone else take charge and actually get on with the job of making the capital a truly world class city.