‘Following up this plan is political suicide’

5:07pm Wednesday 18th October 2006

By Rachel Sharp

THE MAYOR of London has been accused of riding "roughshod over the wishes of local residents and local councillors" after announcing the West London Tram (WLT) will go ahead.

Earlier this year, Mr Livingstone said if public opinion were to move against the tram project, it would have to be reviewed.

Last week the latest figures from MORI, who conducted a survey on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), the agency behind the implementation of the proposed tramway, showed the majority were opposed to the scheme.

The results found that 44 per cent of residents were opposed to the planned tram and that only 40 per cent supported the scheme.

Speaking at his mayoral press conference on Tuesday this week, Ken Livingstone revealed the findings of the consultation, and said that TfL would be applying for a Transport Works Order for the proposal within a few months, with the ultimate aim being a commencement date towards the end of 2007.

Following questioning by London Assembly Conservative members over his decision to push forward, Mr Livingstone has admitted that no funding had been secured for the proposal - and that he would have to apply to borrow money from the Government, possibly in the 2009 spending review. The eventual cost could top £1bn.

Richard Barnes, London Assembly Conservative member for Ealing and Hillingdon, said: "The Mayor hasn't got the public support nor the cash to fund this ill-judged scheme. Following up this plan is political suicide, and it remains to be seen if those within Government who supported the Mayor in 2003 on the WLT will still feel the same in the future.

"My instinct is that they won't and perhaps the Mayor is secretly hoping the Treasury will provide him a get-out clause by refusing funding, thus allowing him to save face given that he hasn't the grace to admit he was wrong and to scrap the WLT."

He added: "Once again, the Mayor has shown his true colours by riding roughshod over the wishes of local residents and councils, and no amount of fudging the opinion polls can hide that fact.

"His heavy-handed decision makes a mockery of local democracy; the local electorate made their feelings toward this ill-advised scheme crystal clear at the ballot box, yet to no avail - their pleas have been steamrollered as surely as the Uxbridge Road and its businesses will now be."

Peter Hulme Cross, from the One London Party, said: "This is a classic case of Ken saying he knows best and ignoring the wishes of the people who live along the route.

"He still has to get this through a public inquiry and find the funding so hopefully those two things will stop him."