Ken to visit Newham for final ‘Tell Ken’ borough visit

Ken Livingstone will fulfil his pledge to spend a full day in each of 32 London boroughs later today, when Ken and his deputy running mate Val Shawcross will spend a full day in Newham.

Since the first ‘Tell Ken‘ borough visit to Merton on January 17th 2011, Ken and Val have spent a full day in each London borough, attending a series of public and private events and meeting tens of thousands of Londoners.

Over 3,000 Londoners have attended ‘Tell Ken’ evening public meetings and over 4,000 students have participated in college Q&A sessions with the Labour Mayoral candidate. Additionally Ken and Val have met thousands of residents in community meetings, business events, workplace visits and on the streets.

Every ‘Tell Ken’ visit has included a full day of meetings with residents, community groups and an evening public meeting. More on Tell Ken here –

On 30 January, Ken will visit Newham and as part of the day will take part in a Q&A with students at Newham College, talk to commuters at East Ham station about his Fare Deal plan, and hold an evening public meeting at the Didsbury Centre, East Ham.

Ken writes to Boris calling for a fair fight and a public debate on fares

Ken Livingstone has called on Boris Johnson in a letter today to “ditch the dirty tricks – and have a debate with me on the fares issue so people can make up their minds”:

Dear Boris,

There can be little doubt that the mayoral election has changed recently. Far from being the re-coronation you once hoped this contest would be, it’s now accepted that the race will be closely fought.

Even some of your own Tory supporters have started complaining that you got complacent and had started taking London voters for granted.

But no one could have expected that you would react so badly to a little bit of pressure. Suddenly the Conservative party in London is flailing around and lashing out. David Cameron has told you to raise your game. And you, in turn, seem to be getting pushed around by your campaign manager, Lynton Crosby.

It has not taken much for your party to turn to the dark side.

Some of us remember how Mr Crosby tried to import his nasty “dog whistle politics” when Michael Howard was leader of the Conservative Party in 2005.

In Australia, he had helped conservatives win with tactics that included making false claims about refugees throwing their children out of boats.

And now he’s at it again.

Home Office confirms Boris Johnson has cut the police

Home Office data published today shows police numbers are falling sharply in London. According to the Home Office there were 31,657 Metropolitan police officers in September 2011, a fall of 1,243 from September 2010. This represents a fall 3.8% over the year.

The decline in police numbers under Boris Johnson is accelerating, with 784 fewer police in the latest 6 months alone. And, in separate, slightly more up-to-date data from the Metropolitan Police Authority the decline continued into October 2011. Two days ago Boris Johnson admitted to LBC listeners that police numbers have fallen during his mayoral term. The latest figures from the Metropolitan Police Authority confirmed that Boris Johnson cut 1,782 police officers in the last 18 months. Yesterday, at Mayoral Question Time the Tory Mayor reverted to his previous stance arguing that police numbers are not falling.

These Home Office data definitively show that police numbers are falling. In fact they have fallen from their peak level of 33,260 in 2009/10 – a level of policing Boris Johnson inherited from Ken Livingstone’s budget.

Lynton Crosby has lied and should apologise to Val Shawcross

Labour has called for Boris Johnson’s Australian campaign supremo Lynton Crosby to apologise to Val Shawcross AM after he falsely claimed that Ken Livingstone’s running mate was calling for a council tax increase.

In an email sent overnight to supporters, Crosby wrote: “But Ken Livingstone’s hand picked Deputy Mayoral running mate in the Assembly is leading the Labour charge against the freeze, instead promoting an increase in council tax.”

That claim is false.

Tom Watson MP said: “Lynton Crosby is an old hand at dirty tricks, as we know from his dog-whistle tactics in the 2005 Conservative general election campaign and his right-wing career in Australia.

“Crosby put knife crime at the heart of his 2008 Mayoral election but knife crime against young people has risen in every year that Boris Johnson has been Mayor, up a staggering 29 per cent since 2008/9. Why doesn’t he mention it now?

“Now Crosby has lied about the council tax. I’m challenging him to withdraw his council tax fabrication and apologise to Val Shawcross. Anything less will expose Boris Johnson’s campaign as politically bankrupt and desperate.”

It’s official: Boris admits 1,700 police jobs lost in two years

Boris Johnson admitted in an interview with LBC this morning that 1,700 police officers have been cut from Scotland Yard in the last two years.

A spokesperson for Ken Livingstone said; “Londoners will have been shocked to hear Boris Johnson admitting that he has cut 1,700 police officers whilst robbery, knife crime and burglary were all rising in London. Only a Mayor who is completely out of touch with reality would cut police officers whilst violent crimes are rising.”

Listen to the interview on LBC here.

Londoners think Boris Johnson increasingly out of touch says new poll

Tessa Jowell said today; “This poll shows that Boris Johnson is increasingly out of touch with Londoners facing a squeeze in their living standards. They know that under Boris Johnson, fares have gone up; violent crime including knife crime and robbery are rising while the numbers of police keeping Londoners safe are being cut. Ken will put Londoners first by cutting bus, tube and train fares and making the streets safer by protecting police services.”

More on the COMRES/LBC Radio poll.

Metropolitan Police figures reveal truth about Boris Johnson’s huge police cuts

Today Boris Johnson has claimed that he has protected “police officers from cuts”. This is completely untrue and at odds with the Metropolitan Police’s own figures. The latest figures from the police have confirmed that Boris Johnson has cut 1,782 police officers in the last 18 months.

* In March 2010 there were from 33,260 police officers in London;

* By October 2011 there were just 31,478 police officers in London;

* During the last year violent crimes have risen including: knife crime (up 13%), robbery (up 13%), rape (up 10.6%) and homicide (up 7.6%).

A spokesperson for Ken Livingstone said: “This time last year Boris Johnson promised to increase the number of police officers in London by this year. In fact they fell by over 900 in just one year and over 1700 in the last 18 months according to the Metropolitan Police.

“On the Tory Mayor’s watch violent crimes including knife crime, robbery, rape and murder have all risen while he has cut over 1700 police officers since March 2010.

Boris Johnson calls Londoners workshy and lazy

Following Boris Johnson’s attack on Londoners in The Sun this morning, Ken Livingstone said; “Tory Boris Johnson is calling Londoners workshy and lazy when in fact they’re the hardest working people in the world. He’s completely out of touch with reality.

“Boris Johnson has two jobs, earning him £400,000 a year combined, so it is little wonder that he is so out of touch about how hard it is for many to find work in a city with some of the highest unemployment in Britain.

“The Tory mayor seems oblivious to the real problems young Londoners face. He should be working round the clock to create new jobs for Londoners, but instead he has been silent as his Conservative government has cut EMA and raised tuition fees.”

Boris Johnson cuts police as BCS figures show crime rising in London

Following the publication of British Crime Survey (BCS) statistics for the latest 12-month period to September 2011 (compared to same period in 2010) Ken Livingstone said; “Londoners will be shocked that Boris Johnson has cut the number of police officers in London by 1700 over the past 18 months while robbery, burglary and sexual offences have all risen.”

BCS statistics:
* Sexual offences up by 1%
* Robbery up by 13%
* Burglary in people’s homes is up by 8%
* Car crime up by 2% and other forms of theft are up by 3%

In the last quarter there have been more than 5,000 (5,205) more robberies, almost 7,000 (6,785) more burglaries in people’s homes and a total of more than 20,000 more theft offences (20,881).

Boris Johnson has cut 1,782 police officers from 33,260 in March 2010 to just 31,478 at the end of October 2011. Figures published last week by the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) showed the Tory Mayor had cut the number of police in all but one London boroughs over the last year, whilst rates of violent crimes including robbery, knife crime, rape and homicide have all risen over the same period.

Ken’s support surges giving him the lead in London

Following the publication of a new YouGov poll showing that support for Ken Livingston has surged giving him a narrow lead over Boris Johnson, Tessa Jowell MP said;

“Of course this poll is encouraging, but there will be many more polls between now and the real poll on 3 May.

“The Labour campaign is one which is touching every doorstep, on every street in every borough across London and our promises to Londoners reflect their priorities in tough times.

“That’s why there is growing support for a different Mayor – one who is on their side and will cut their fares, not a part-time mayor who only stands up for a privileged few.

“The race is wide open.”