MY WISH LIST FOR LONDON

Written by Graham Tope and published in Paddington Times on Wed 29th Dec 2004

Now that the overindulgence of the Christmas period is over, and Auld Lang Syne has been well and truly sung, I thought it would be a chance to put forward a new year wish list for what I would like to see happen in London over the next 12 months.

The first thing I will wish for is an end to Tube strikes and Tube strike threats. Over the last year we have seen, on average, one strike threat a month from the unions, and while they may have valid disagreements with management, threatening to hold us Londoners to ransom so often cannot be the way forward.

Continuing on the transport theme, I would also like to see a clampdown on fare dodging on the Tube and buses. Around £83million is lost by the failure of Transport for London to deter, catch or recoup losses from people getting free rides. If they did, this money could be used to either invest in much needed improvements in our transport network or reduce the fare increases introduced by the Mayor.

Moving on to policing. My hope is that not only can we keep bringing down crime, but just as importantly, bring down the fear of crime. For many people, especially older people in the community, the fear of becoming a victim of crime prevents them from leading their lives normally and reduces their quality of life.

I also want people to feel more confident in the police so that they can feel able to report crime and get a good service from the Met when they do. Combined with that, I hope that the police can continue in their efforts with minority communities so that they can regain the trust of many who have felt unable to work with, or talk to, them in the past.

I think my final wish for the New Year is that Labour Mayor, Ken Livingstone, actually listens to the people of London. Legally obliged to carry out consultations with Londoners about his plans for the city, he has no legal obligation to alter his proposals regardless of what people think. In fact, in almost every so-called consultation, he has ignored what local people think and ploughs ahead anyway. To paraphrase Jimi Hendrix, he listens, but does not hear.

From the Congestion charge expansion and price increases, to the proposals for the West London Tram, local people have been up in arms about his schemes. And yet, Mr Livingstone continues to ignore their valid objections. The London Assembly, and the Mayor of London, are here to represent the views of the capital and promote the best interests of residents in out great city, not to promote our own individual hobbyhorses.

Of course there are others locally, nationally and globally - but for now I will stick to my London wish list. Being the optimist that I am, I hope that at least that some of these can come true in the next 52 weeks so that all Londoners can benefit.