--- election_year: 2000 party_id: livingstone party_name: Independent party_leader: Ken Livingstone political_spectrum: centre-left victory: true government_outcome: majority sections: - economy - taxation - health - education - housing - defence - foreign-policy - environment - transport - law-and-order - welfare - democracy-and-constitution - agriculture - energy - devolution - science-and-technology - local-government --- # Independent London Mayoral Manifesto 2000 * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Weekly column in the Independent * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Housing Commission ## Ken Livingstone's Manifesto for London * Introduction from Ken Livingstone * A new style of politics, a new kind of governance * Getting London moving * Working together to combat crime * Protecting London's fire service * Improving the health of Londoners * Low cost homes for Londoners * New prosperity and opportunity for all Londoners * London: knowledge Capital of Europe * Improving London's schools * A world capital for the arts, culture and sport * Sport for all * London: a sustainable world city ## Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities ## Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee top of page Home | London | The Mayor | The London Assembly ## The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Weekly column in the Independent * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review ## Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ## Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## Introduction from Ken Livingstone Dear Londoner, London is a world-class city in every sense of the word. The direct election of a Mayor and Assembly for London will give Londoners back the right to govern their own affairs and decide upon their own priorities. I am standing as an independent candidate because I believe the job of the Mayor will be to stand up for London. If candidates and policies can be imposed centrally then devolution will mean nothing. London provides an enormous net subsidy to the rest of the United Kingdom - on some estimates more than £19 billion a year. Yet London's public transport system is falling apart, and alongside the city's areas of great affluence we also have some of the most deprived boroughs in Europe. London needs a fairer deal to tackle these unique problems. More of what Londoners and London businesses pay in taxes must return to London. London needs adequate funding for the modernisation of the underground so that passengers can travel safely and cheaply on a service that is reliable. The Government's proposals to break up and partially privatise the tube are a recipe for the chaos and poor safety record we see on the privatised railways. I will fight for a proper level of government grant to a unified public service underground system with additional funds raised by the cheapest possible method. The future of the London Underground should be decided by London. All London's public services are suffering from problems in recruiting and retaining staff who cannot afford London housing costs. I will argue vigorously for London weighting allowances to be increased to compensate fully for the extra costs of living in the capital and will use the Mayor's planning powers to provide more affordable, low cost homes for Londoners. To tackle crime in London we must get back the 2,000 police that have been lost in recent years and make sure that they are used as a presence on the street to deter criminals. Finally, London government must be open and transparent. To this end I give three firm commitments: * No lobbyists will be granted passes to the GLA headquarters, nor be allowed to meet with GLA staff. * As an independent I shall not be bound by any whips or party machine. I shall also ask that the elected members of the Assembly take the same position and put the interests of London first. * There will be no negative campaigning from my campaign. Now is the time for serious debate on the issues that matter to London. back to manifesto index - Biography - Responsibilities - Contact the Mayor - Manifesto - Speeches - Independent column - Mayor's Report - Advisory Cabinet - Cultural Strategy Group - Environment Commission - Housing Commission - London Health Commission - Notting Hill Carnival Review - Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority - News Releases - Contact us - Jobs at the GLA - GLA Responsibilities - Publications ### Related organisations - Transport for London - London Development Agency - Fire Authority - Police Authority - London Transport Users Committee ## A new style of politics, a new kind of governance It is 15 years since Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC, angered by its success and popularity with Londoners. London has suffered badly from being the only major capital city in the developed world without city-wide government. Now there is the chance for London to take the lead through a new style of politics and a new kind of governance that matches the needs and opportunities of the new millennium. As an independent Mayor I will introduce the most open, accessible and inclusive style of government ever seen in the UK. Appointments will be based on what candidates have to offer London, not party allegiance. I will: * Publish a Freedom of Information code for the Mayor and Assembly guaranteeing public access to all key documents and information. * Create a new London web-site - london-mayor.com - as a means for Londoners to access information about the Mayor and Assembly and all the other public services that affect their lives, and to create an 'electronic democracy' that can widely consult with Londoners. * Publish the minutes of the Mayor's Cabinet meetings, and details of all strategic planning applications, on london-mayor.com I want to encourage as much participation and engagement by all of London's communities in the work of the Mayor and Assembly and in developing policies and strategies for the improvement of London. As Mayor I will: * Use london-mayor.com to encourage participation through on-line debates, web-casts and bulletin boards, including an annual on-line 'State of London debate' ensuring the views expressed are reported directly to the Mayor and Assembly. * Support the creation of a London Civic Forum as an independent and inclusive consultative body representing the private, public and voluntary sectors, London's faith communities and the Black Londoners Forum. * Ask the Civic Forum to organise and host the 'People's Question Time' where the Mayor and Assembly members can be questioned in public about their actions and policies. * Use the Civic Forum and london-mayor.com to ensure broader and more intensive consultation on the key strategies to be developed by the Mayor. London's new government must be seen to act for and belong to all its diverse communities. Around a quarter of Londoners are now from a non-white ethnic minority group, and this will rise to just under 30% in the next ten years. The challenge for the Mayor and Assembly is to embrace London's diversity as a source of strength and opportunity for London and to address the issues of race and diversity in the mainstream of all the Mayor's policies. I welcome the innovative requirement of the GLA Act that the mayor should 'promote equality of opportunity for all persons irrespective of their race, sex, disability, sexual orientation or religion'. This is the only effective way to respond to the challenge set to all institutions by the report of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry. As Mayor I will: * Ensure that all board and staff appointments properly reflect London's diverse communities and that targets to achieve this are set and monitored. * Work with employers in London to create equal opportunities for all Londoners, especially in the way they recruit staff. **The Mayor** * [Biography](Biography) * [Responsibilities](Responsibilities) * [Contact the Mayor](Contact the Mayor) * [Manifesto](Manifesto) * [Speeches](Speeches) * [Weekly column in the Independent](Weekly%20column%20in%20the%20Independent) * [Mayor's Report](Mayor's%20Report) * [Advisory Cabinet](Advisory%20Cabinet) * [Cultural Strategy Group](Cultural%20Strategy%20Group) * [Housing Commission](Housing%20Commission) * [London Health Commission](London%20Health%20Commission) * [Notting Hill Carnival Review](Notting%20Hill%20Carnival%20Review) **Greater London Authority** * [News Releases](News%20Releases) * [Contact us](Contact%20us) * [Jobs at the GLA](Jobs%20at%20the%20GLA) * [GLA Responsibilities](GLA%20Responsibilities) * [Publications](Publications) **Related organisations** * [Transport for London](Transport%20for%20London) * [London Development Agency](London%20Development%20Agency) * [Fire Authority](Fire%20Authority) * [Police Authority](Police%20Authority) * [London Transport Users Committee](London%20Transport%20Users%20Committee) ## Getting London moving The single most important priority for the Mayor and Greater London Authority will be to solve the crisis of London's transport system. For a city the size of London an efficient transport system is vital for both business and leisure. The present gridlock on our roads, the overcrowding on the tube and rail networks and the inefficiency of bus services are massive problems for the public and business alike. Traffic congestion clogs our streets, poisons the air we breathe and threatens jobs by making London a less attractive location for investment. The root of London's transport crisis is chronic under-investment by central government, which has had responsibility for London's transport system since the abolition of the GLC. The underground should be a showcase for the nation's capital. Instead it is deteriorating rapidly. We pay some of the highest tube fares in the world. Yet trains are grossly overcrowded, with frequent delays because central governments have refused to release the resources needed to expand and modernise the system. In frustration many Londoners take to their cars. The result is congestion and pollution on the roads and bus travel can be reduced to a crawl. Traffic speeds in central London now average just 10mph. Within 20 years all major roads into London will be severely congested all day, every day, meaning it will soon take longer to cross London by car than it did Victorian Londoners to travel around the city by horse drawn carriage. London's Mayor must break this log-jam. This can only be done by modernising and integrating our system of public transport, right across the city - so that the tube, buses and rail lines are safe, comfortable and fast. The overall capacity of the tube needs to be increased. That will take time and so it is important that the bus system also becomes a more attractive form of travel. Both bus and tube improvements have to be linked to an overall plan with the rail networks. I will give particular priority to speeding up programmes to make public transport more accessible for people with disabilities, including the introduction of low platform buses and reviewing the timescales for alteration of tube and railway stations. These improvements will require more resources from central government. The practice of central government taking billions of pounds from London every year in taxes but starving the capital's transport system of investment, must stop. London needs a Mayor who will stand up for London. As Mayor I will draw up a transport strategy to modernise and integrate all of the elements of London's transport network - tube, roads, railways, buses, taxis and waterways. 78% of those working in central London travel to work by public transport. It must be safe, cheap, reliable and fully integrated across the capital. ### Fares Since the abolition of the GLC, tube and bus fares have increased by 46% in real terms. It now costs more to travel a mile on the tube than it does on Concorde. **As Mayor I will:** * Freeze tube fares in real terms for four years. * Freeze bus fares for four years and urgently investigate the feasibility of introducing a 70p flat rate bus fare throughout London. ### Investing in the Tube The underground is the heart of London's transport system. The majority of people who work in central London, and 90% of tourists, use the tube every day. Every facet of life in London benefits from the tube. The London Chamber of Commerce rightly says it is a vital element in London's business life and London is the gateway to the whole of the UK. Yet, short-sightedly, central government has systematically starved the tube of investment even on essentials like escalator repairs. To restore a world-class underground system to London there must be adequate funds for day-to-day maintenance and repairs. As Mayor I will also work with London business and communities to make the case to the Government for a long-term investment programme to build two new lines - Cross-Rail and the Chelsea-Hackney Line. The overground railway service must also be improved. **I will work with the Strategic Rail Authority and the Rail Regulator to:** * Demand significant improvements in performance from the rail companies. * Agree increased service levels to reduce overcrowding. ### Who pays for investment? Any underground system requires immense levels of investment. The costs are so great that they cannot be met solely by passengers without sending fares through the roof. Every other underground system in western Europe is financed by a combination of passenger fares and grants. Yet for London the Government proposes to cut out grants altogether. That would place the entire costs burden on passengers. London has a perfect right to ask that some of the money it contributes to the Treasury should be returned to London to modernise the tube. As Mayor I will work with business, communities and trade unions to argue for a long-term commitment to a consistent level of grant from central government to help modernise the underground. ### Safety Tragically, the official enquiry into the Southall rail crash concluded that the fragmentation of the national rail network as a result of privatisation contributed to the breakdown of safety systems. As Mayor, I will not allow the same mistake to be made on the tube, where the results of a major accident could be horrific. I will not tolerate conflicts of interest in areas affecting safety. That is why I am completely convinced that the London Underground must remain a unified public service. The Mayor should deploy private sector expertise, wherever possible, to increase efficiency. But passenger safety must come first. So like two-thirds of Londoners, I reject the Government's present plan to split up and partially privatise the underground, giving three private consortiums responsibility for the track, signalling, stations, bridges, tunnels, lifts, and escalators for 30 years. Breaking up the tube in this way will create huge scope for buck-passing, red tape and error. The Institution of Civil Engineers warned MPs that splitting up the underground in this way would 'not help to achieve such objectives as service reliability and safety, and could well compromise them'. I agree. The Government's proposals are also the most expensive option. Private companies would require a profit and have to pay higher interest rates than the public sector. Experts calculate that the Government's plan would cost London an extra £1 billion. That would end up being paid by passengers through higher fares. Indeed the Government plan includes above inflation fare increases. The Government is intent on going ahead with this scheme without consulting the newly elected Mayor or Assembly. For the first year of the Mayor's office the Government want to retain control of the tube so that they can put in place the contracts which will then be binding on London, without any democratic mandate, for 30 years. This approach makes a mockery of devolution and I have written to the other mayoral candidates to suggest that we jointly make clear that funding arrangements for the tube must be decided by London because Londoners will have to live with the consequences. **As Mayor I will** * Fight to retain a unified underground system in the public sector. * Join business and local communities in making the case for two new tube lines. * Argue that we should finance the investment needed to modernise the tube by the cheapest possible method, which the evidence indicates is raising bonds backed by a combination of fares and government grant. * Expect senior London Transport managers to use public transport for work related journeys. * Block any proposals to provide a fleet of chauffeur-driven cars for senior management or London Assembly members. * Speed up the programme to make key tube and railway stations accessible to people with disabilities. ### Reviving buses While passenger numbers on the tube have continued to rise, the number of people using London buses has dipped over the last few years. Many people now regard buses as a third-rate form of travel. This was not always the case. When I started work in 1962 every morning I shared buses with city gents, in their pinstripes, reading the Financial Times. Like the tube, London's bus service has suffered due to a cut in government support from £200 million a year in 1990/1 to just £30 million last year. Immediate action is required to transform the bus service into an equal partner to the tube. **As Mayor I would:** * Draw up a programme to introduce new fast, high quality bus routes from outer into inner London along dedicated and well-policed bus lanes serviced by imaginative park and ride schemes. * Ensure the rapid completion of a London-wide system of bus lanes. * Enforce the bus lanes rigorously, using cameras to record the licence numbers of cars blocking them. * Commission a study of the feasibility of a 70p flat rate bus fare throughout London. * Start to get conductors back onto buses in order to reduce delays, provide a safer environment, particularly for women, and assist people with disabilities. * Improve lighting at bus stops. * Speed up the introduction of low platform buses providing easier access for people with disabilities. ### Reducing traffic congestion Congestion has now got so bad that not only is it poisoning the environment and wasting millions of hours of peoples' time stuck in traffic, but half the capital's directors now say congested roads are the main disadvantage of London for businesses. The most important lesson I learned as leader of the GLC is that it is much easier to make public transport more attractive than it is to simply make car usage more difficult. That is why my priority is to make buses, trains and the underground cheaper, more reliable and safer in order to persuade some drivers to leave their cars at home and use public transport. Overall my aim will be to reduce traffic across London by 15% by 2010. **As part of the strategy to achieve this, I will:** * Provide positive incentives to leave cars at home by holding down fares, strictly enforcing bus lanes and investigating the feasibility of reducing bus fares. * Consult widely about the best possible congestion charge scheme to discourage unnecessary car journeys in a small zone of central London, to commence during the middle of my term of office, with all monies devoted to improving transport. Motorbike users are disadvantaged by a lack of appropriate parking facilities. **As Mayor I will:** * Plan the provision of additional motorbike parking spaces in central London and seek agreement from London's councils not to charge motorbikes the same parking fee as cars. Road maintenance must be properly co-ordinated to avoid the rush to complete road works before the end of each financial year. **As Mayor I will:** * Work with London's councils to provide better planning of schemes. * Insist on co-ordination of work by utilities and cable companies to minimise inconvenience. ### Promoting cycling and walking Unlike most other major European cities London has little provision for cyclists and pedestrians. **I will:** * Ensure the completion of the London cycle network and create more dedicated cycle lanes. * Ensure priority for pedestrians and cyclists at junctions. * Support the World Squares scheme proposals to pedestrianise parts of Trafalgar and Parliament squares. * Protect and enhance green spaces so that at the end of my first term of office. Londoners can walk across the city, north to south and east to west on green pedestrian routes. Taxis and Taxicard Taxis play a vital role in London. **As Mayor I will:** * Continue to allow taxis to use priority bus lanes. * Vigorously enforce new measures to prevent illegal taxi touting, as passengers, particularly women, need to be confident that when they get into a cab the vehicle is safe and the driver is licensed. In recognition of the tremendous service that the Taxicard has provided to disabled people in London since being established by the GLC in 1984, I would: * Transfer responsibility for it to Transport for London in order to guarantee its safety and ensure that disabled people are not penalised because they live in the minority of boroughs where councils restrict or overcharge for the scheme. [back to manifesto index](back%20to%20manifesto%20index) [top of page](top%20of%20page) [Home](Home) | [London](London) | [The Mayor](The%20Mayor) | [The London Assembly](The%20London%20Assembly) ### The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ### Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## Working together to combat crime Crime - and especially violent crime - is rising again in London. The causes of rising crime are complex. But the starting point has to be a determination to work together and take collective responsibility for achieving the vision set out by Sir John Stevens, the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, of making London the safest capital city in the world. As Mayor my priorities will be to: * Restore policing numbers in London to the levels we need to deliver a world-class police service. * Play a leading role in the drive to recruit a police service that is representative of all Londoners. * Listen to Londoners about their crime, policing and safety concerns and priorities and make sure these are reflected in the Met's strategies and the plans developed by local Crime and Disorder Partnerships. ### More police on the beat I am committed to working closely with the Commissioner and establishing the right sort of constructive relationship we will need for both of us to do our jobs for Londoners. The Commissioner is responsible for the operational aspects of policing. I will work with him to achieve the necessary increase in resources, especially more police officers. In the last two years police divisions throughout London have lost officers and suffered reduced establishments. Overall numbers in London are now down to 26,000. I want to see more police officers on the beat, working with local communities. Reduced numbers limit the effectiveness of the police in every area of their work. ### Recruiting 2,000 more officers The Met is having increasing problems in recruiting new officers. Those that join often leave London after initial training and service because of the pressures of work and cost of living in London. The stark fact is that two police officers are leaving the Met for every one that joins. The Commissioner has said that he is frustrated that he cannot offer better rewards to recruits. We need to attract recruits with the experience and maturity needed for the challenges of policing London. The pay and conditions must make that possible, notably by providing a level of London weighting that fully compensates for the extra costs of living in the capital. The twelve months to last September show a rise of 8.7% in crime in London compared with the previous year, there is a particularly sharp and disturbing increase in violent crime. We need to give the Commissioner not only the police officers but also the latest technological back-up to combat crime effectively. As Mayor I will: * Agree with the Commissioner a plan for restoring police numbers to the levels London needs - initially I believe a drive to recruit at least 2,000 more officers will be required. * Call for a full review of pay, conditions, London weighting and other issues affecting recruitment and retention. * Ensure that the needs of the police service and its staff are built into the Mayor's new policies on housing for key workers. * Instigate a London-wide programme of crime mapping and crime prevention. * Agree a plan with the Commissioner for increasing resources and investment in the latest anti-crime technology, particularly DNA testing and the new generation of CCTV cameras. * Agree with the Commissioner more sophisticated and meaningful measures of police effectiveness so that Londoners can really judge how well the Met is performing. ### A police service for all Londoners We must use the opportunity of a re-invigorated recruitment drive to make much more progress in creating a police service that is truly representative of Londoners. As long ago as 1981 Lord Scarman called for increased recruitment of black and ethnic minority officers when black officers were just 0.5% of the Met. Now, the figure is still only 4% - compared with the 25% of Londoners from black and ethnic minority communities. Working for equal opportunities and achieving an accountable and representative police service, and fighting crime, are two sides of the same coin. If communities see police as outsiders they will feel reluctant to give information, co-operate with police or to serve as police officers. This impedes and reduces police efficiency and hinders the fight against crime. Building relationships with London's black communities has been crucial to the success of Operation Trident, the Met's response to the increased number of black victims of gun crime. Building bridges and co-operation through the work of lay panels and advisory groups, has been vital in achieving results - 28 firearms recovered, 47 kilos of crack cocaine seized and 32 arrests for murders of black Londoners. This is the way forward to make the Met truly 'London's finest'. It also involves pressing ahead with implementing all the recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, and working with the Commissioner to end institutionalised racism in the Met and root out the small minority of corrupt officers. As Mayor I will: * Respond to the Commissioners appeal for support in achieving a police service representative of all Londoners by taking a personal lead in the campaign to recruit and retain more black police officers. * Set up with the Commissioner a task force involving lay advisers, community organisations, the Black Police Association, the Employment Service and education and training providers to make these aspirations a reality. Advocate a policy of zero tolerance of violent crime and of harassment on grounds of race, religion, gender, age or sexual orientation. Safety for women I am determined to ensure that the Met's diversity and service strategies deliver to all Londoners. The Commissioner has rightly said that diversity is about so much more than race issues alone. As Mayor I will: * Require Transport for London to implement a wide range of measures to improve safety on trains and buses, especially for women, including more conductors and better lighting and staffing of stations at night. * Work with the Commissioner to devise and implement a new strategy and information campaign to combat domestic violence. * Ask the Commissioner to consult widely and prepare detailed strategies to respond to the particular policing and community safety needs and concerns of London's older people and the gay and lesbian community. ### Listening to communities I strongly support the Government's initiative to set up new Crime and Disorder Partnerships throughout London. They should provide the means to listen to what local people, throughout the city, say their crime and policing priorities are and to devise new partnership plans and targets for achieving real results, involving the police, local councils, the probation service and local communities. As Mayor I will: * Support and participate in the plans to hold a conference to bring together members of communities across London to eradicate drug related violence. * Lead an initiative to use the confiscated profits of drug dealers to invest in drug rehabilitation and awareness programmes across all of London's boroughs. * Commission and publish an annual audit of the work and track record of London's Crime and Disorder Partnerships and Crime Reduction Programme schemes with a particular focus on how they involve Londoners in their work. ## Protecting London's fire service We all depend on the heroism and efficiency of our firefighters for the protection of our lives and property. That is why London's Mayor must be a champion of the fire service. Since the GLC was abolished in 1986 three London fire stations have been closed, 22 fire engines have been taken out of service and the numbers of firefighters protecting our city has been cut by 1,200. I will oppose all further cuts in the Fire Brigade, lobby hard for more resources to protect Londoners from fire, and support a fire prevention public education campaign. Those who risk their lives to protect London must have the best possible resources at their disposal. Improving the health of Londoners. ### The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ### Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## Improving the health of Londoners The renewal of London-wide government is an unparalleled opportunity to improve the health of Londoners. This is a vital job for the Mayor and Assembly. It means working with the NHS and others to tackle the inequalities in health which blight the life chances of so many in London. The chances of dying before the age of 65 are almost twice as high in the most deprived areas of London as in the least deprived. The gap between rich and poor is increasing. Infant mortality rates in London are twice those in Stockholm. London's death rates of women between 20 and 40 and men between 35 and 50 are over twice the national average and increasing. In many parts of London we are failing to meet the national targets for reducing deaths from cancer and heart disease. And for the most disadvantaged the picture is bleaker still the average age at death of people who died while living on London's streets was 42 years. ## Saving London's hospitals Londoners are increasingly concerned about the crisis in our hospitals. London's hospitals are one of the capital's most important and world-renowned assets and will have a total financial deficit approaching £100 million this year. Some major hospitals are effectively bankrupt and being asked to make yet another round of spending and service cuts. There are shortages of vital staff in hospitals cannot recruit the nurses they need with many having more than 20% of nursing jobs unfilled. The effects were obvious when London was hardly able to cope with the flu outbreak this winter. Waiting lists for operations have risen again and there are lengthening queues for outpatient appointments. Senior doctors have described how patients are dying before they are able to have heart operations and older patients are being denied the dialysis they need for kidney disease. Addressing these problems is, first and foremost, the job of government and the NHS. But the Mayor must act as an advocate for London to argue for the modern and well-funded hospital services we need. It is good news that the Chancellor has been persuaded to find another £106 million for the NHS in London in the coming year, but, on its own, this will only be enough to pay off the debts incurred due to past under-funded As Mayor I will: * Meet with the Secretary of State for Health within a month of taking office to discuss NHS funding in London and put the case for more resources for London's hospitals and recruiting the nurses we need. * Work with the London Region of the NHS to develop a more effective London-wide strategy to recruit nurses and other key staff including new approaches to recruitment and training and providing more affordable accommodation. * Ensure that accurate information on the state of the NHS in London is made widely available to Londoners through london@mayor.com and other means. * Tackling health inequalities Improving transport and housing, as well as tackling poverty and social exclusion through improving education are all vital for a more healthy London. Delivering new jobs and training opportunities for low income Londoners is crucial to improving their health. London has much higher levels of serious mental illness than elsewhere in Britain with little sign of services coping with the pressures of rising demand. The causes of inequalities in health are deep-rooted and will take determined planning and work to address. As Mayor I will: * Ensure that improving the health of Londoners is a central objective of all the Mayor and Assembly's policies. * Appoint a Healthy London Commission with a broad and representative membership to advise the Mayor and Assembly on a Health Improvement Programme for London. * Ask the Commission to report urgently on how the Spatial Development Strategy and transport strategies in London can best help to improve the health of Londoners. * Ask the Commission to report on particular health problems affecting London's black and ethnic minority communities and how these can be addressed. * Set up arrangements for the London Region of the NHS to report regularly to the Mayor and Assembly on progress in meeting targets for health improvement in London and make this information widely available to Londoners through london-mayor.com * Ask the Healthy London Commission to report on resources for mental health services in London. ## Fighting drug abuse London's Public Health Directors have identified important health issues that need to be addressed more effectively on a London-wide basis. Misuse of the most harmful drugs is higher in London. As Mayor I will: * Ensure there is a stable funding base for London's drug services and a London-wide strategy to reduce harm from drugs. ### The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ### Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## Low cost homes for Londoners Having a decent home at a price you can afford is fundamental to quality of life and to good health. The Government has rightly set this as the key national objective of its housing policies. But soaring house prices and not enough affordable, low cost homes to rent mean this aspiration is out of reach for far too many Londoners. And it is making it more and more difficult to recruit many of the key staff needed to make London work ie: nurses, police officers, firefighters, teachers. Homelessness is already at unacceptable levels and rising sharply. The average weekly rent for a two bedroom flat in London is £274, more than four times the £65 a week average rent for a similar property in Leeds. These kinds of rents are out of the reach of many Londoners, as is the cost of buying a home. House prices in London rose by 23% in 1999 to an average of £157,000, and the average price paid by a first time buyer is £120,000 requiring a single person to earn £38,000 a year to get a mortgage. The average gross annual income of a teacher in outer London is £19,779 whilst a staff nurse will earn £18,225. After deducting housing costs, 26% of Londoners are in the bottom fifth of earnings, higher than any other region. There are 190,000 households on council waiting lists in London. 40,000 homeless households are still in inadequate and costly temporary accommodation and the numbers in London's bed and breakfast hotels have risen 25% in the last nine months to over 6,000. London's councils have forecast that without action the numbers of homeless households in temporary accommodation could rise by another 12,000 by 2002. ### Targets Although the Greater London Authority has no powers to provide housing, the Mayor and Assembly have a crucial role to play in dealing with London's housing problems. Housing will be a vital policy area in the Spatial Development Strategy. Current studies have shown that there are enough brown-field sites to build the homes required for future household growth in London. But the big challenges are to ensure that the land becomes available and is built on and that enough of the new homes are affordable. As Mayor I will: * Support the emergency package of extra resources which London's councils have requested from Government including an extra £900 million to provide 15,000 more affordable homes. * Commission an immediate inquiry, to be complete within three months, of London's needs for new affordable, low cost homes to provide firm foundations for the housing policies in the Spatial Development Strategy including targets across London for all types of affordable housing. * Work with London's councils, the Empty Homes Agency, businesses and others to set a target of reclaiming up to 100,000 empty homes across London to help provide affordable, low cost homes. * Use the Mayor's development control powers to ensure that all councils are making their contribution to meeting London's housing needs. ### Coming in from the cold Tony Blair was right to say that in the 21st century it is a scandal that there are still people sleeping rough on our streets. As Mayor I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of 'Coming in from the cold', the new strategy he announced last year with the aim of reducing rough sleeping to as near zero as possible. All Londoners will want to see this programme achieve its aims and the new resources of £160 million that have been made available for London offer a real chance of change. As Mayor I will: * Ask the head of the Rough Sleepers Unit to draw up recommendations on how proposals in the Spatial Development Strategy on hostel and 'move-on' accommodation could contribute to the success of her work and meet regularly with her to discuss progress. * Ask the London Development Agency to work with the Rough Sleepers Unit and organisations such as the Big Issue to support regeneration initiatives providing training for homeless people to help them into employment and off the streets. back to manifesto index top of page ### The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column ### Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ## Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ## Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## New prosperity and opportunity for all Londoners For many decades London has been a magnet for ambitious young people from the rest of Britain and the world. It is one of the world's most successful city economies and at the heart of the Mayor's job is making sure that success continues, and that all its people benefit from growing prosperity. London faces new challenges, especially from Europe, in the areas where it must compete for future jobs and wealth creation in the new knowledge and internet-based industries, financial services and banking, high technology manufacturing and tourism. ### London business capital of Europe London is well-placed to continue as the European business capital. So far the City has shown that it can continue to out-perform other European financial centres. Banking and financial services employ over 600,000 Londoners, and as a location for over 500 foreign banks, London ranks alongside New York and Tokyo in terms of trading volumes and dominates Europe's capital markets. As Mayor I will: * Work with the Corporation of London and major City institutions to ensure London remains the financial capital of Europe. * Support jobs and competitiveness in London by working with businesses and business organisations to put the case for London on key economic issues. Speaking up for jobs and investment I am concerned about the problems London's manufacturing sector is facing due to high interest rates and the high level of the pound. This is creating uncertainty and concern, for example, about the future of jobs at Ford's plant in Dagenham. That is a subject I would want to talk to London's manufacturers and trade unions about as soon as I am elected so we can together make the most effective case for lower interest rates to protect vital manufacturing jobs in London. For London to succeed, to win the investment and business it needs for future prosperity, it has to be world class in every area: in the skills of its labour force, its communications and transport infrastructure, the quality of life and London's environment. The election of the Mayor and Assembly is a unique opportunity to achieve real competitive advantage for London's economy. The Mayor will have a vital role in vigorously promoting the case for investment in London. But this can only be done in partnership with Londoners and with the active involvement of successful entrepreneurs and business people who know the support they need to create and sustain jobs. As Mayor I will: * Lead the development of planning and economic strategies that command consensus, focus on clear priorities and targets, and whose success can be readily measured by Londoners. * Appoint the best possible team to the board of the new London Development Agency with a majority of members from businesses, big and small, with a record of successful job creation in London. ### Effective and flexible planning We need to learn the lessons of the past in drawing up London's overall Spatial Development Strategy. This new strategy must avoid the errors of the old Greater London Development Plan that took a decade and a half from start to finish and was bureaucratic and inflexible. A city like London changes so fast that we need a planning strategy which can respond quickly and flexibly. I will pursue a genuinely strategic approach to planning - not interfering with decisions that should be taken by London's councils. As soon as possible after taking office I will publish proposals for the timetable for agreeing the Spatial Development Strategy and how it will be coordinated with the other strategies for which the Mayor is responsible. ### No Government cuts in London regeneration funds Despite rapid recent economic growth, London still has more unemployment than Scotland and Northern Ireland put together. Unemployment in inner London is twice the national average. Last year, 13 of the 20 poorest local authority districts in the UK were in London and the capital's level of long-term unemployment is second only to Merseyside. In inner London half of all children live in families dependent on Income Support. London's black and ethnic minority communities are particularly affected by the burden of discrimination in employment opportunities. They are nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than white people. London's deprived communities face an immediate threat from new Government proposals to change the way regeneration funding is distributed nationally. Proposals to change the Index of Local Deprivation would mean six London Boroughs - Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Hounslow, Kensington & Chelsea, Wandsworth and Westminster - would lose out altogether on major funding, while another seven - Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Camden, Greenwich, Haringey, Lewisham and Waltham Forest - would see their priority drop dramatically. Despite the huge impact on poor Londoners and the potential loss of hundreds of millions of pounds the Government has refused to publish the data explaining how they justify their proposals. As Mayor I will: * Seek an immediate meeting with Ministers in the DETR to ask for a full explanation of why it is proposed that London should lose out on regeneration funding. * Commission research to make the case for protecting London's funding and work closely with London's councils and business to win this vital argument. Investing to create new opportunities As Mayor I will ensure that the London Development Agency gives top priority to addressing the inequalities that deny many Londoners the chance to fulfill their potential. I want to see as much involvement as possible from the private sector and real additional private investment in regeneration. This must be backed up by strategic investment in new public transport infrastructure and by targeting regeneration funds on linking deprived communities with new opportunities. As Mayor I will: * Ensure the London Development Agency targets regeneration funds on areas of most need and that regeneration schemes are required to include clear outcomes for reducing poverty and inequality. * Give priority to regeneration schemes that are drawn up and led by local communities themselves and increase the funding available for local capacity building and community development. ### Small businesses engines of growth I will give the highest priority to better support for the small and middle sized businesses which will be the engines of future job growth and opportunity. Of the 60,000 new businesses which start in London each year, 80% have failed after five years. Germany's rate of loss is half this. Business support services in London have been fragmented with many new businesses simply unaware of the support available. The imminent launch of a new London-wide Small Business Service is a great opportunity to transform the quality and effectiveness of business support and to focus on increasing survival rates and encouraging the growth of middle sized firms. An important and increasing contribution is being made by black and ethnic minority businesses - almost one in five of London's small businesses and a quarter of all family owned businesses are black and ethnic minority owned. As Mayor I will: * Work with the London Development Agency and the new Small Business Service to develop special London-wide initiatives to back and retain growing businesses and to support small businesses established by London's black and ethnic minority communities. * Ask the London Development Agency to give priority to measures to encourage new micro-businesses and community businesses, in deprived areas, as part of regeneration schemes. [back to manifesto index]() [top of page]() ### The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ### Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## London: Knowledge Capital of Europe The London Development Agency will have a particular role in supporting the new knowledge-based and knowledge-driven industries. London's universities and educational institutions make it a world centre for research with one of the largest critical masses of educational and academic facilities and diverse stores of knowledge anywhere in the world. London has no rivals as the Knowledge Capital of Europe and is a world leader in IT. But we can do more to use these assets to support the growth of businesses and jobs. As Mayor I will: * Work with businesses, universities and others to support innovation initiatives in growth sectors of London's economy, including the creative, media and cultural industries, high technology manufacturing, banking and financial services, medicine and pharmaceuticals. * Foster and support London's clusters in new media and Internet industries and promote IT use amongst all London businesses. * Establish a London Agency to champion new technology and work with the Government's Envoy * Set up a London Innovation and Business Partnership that can work to bring together different sources of venture capital for the new growth businesses London needs. * Ensure the Spatial Development Strategy identifies and supports opportunities for developing new innovation clusters and science and technology parks linking universities and firms and encouraging growth businesses. * Back the case for London student maintenance arrangements which fully meet the extra costs of studying in the capital. ### A skills revolution One of the biggest tasks is to give people who did not achieve at school a second chance to get the skills they need to compete for secure and well-paid jobs. The London Development Partnership has been working hard to agree a new skills plan for London. This must be an inclusive plan to offer new opportunities for all and I want to see a particular emphasis on people lacking basic skills - nearly 700,000 Londoners need help with basic literacy skills - and on giving all Londoners the skills they need to use the Internet. The new skills plan must match training more closely to the needs of London's businesses; nearly two-thirds of employers are reporting difficulties in recruiting staff with the right skills. Training provision and London's skills plan must start from the needs of business and employers. The shortage of IT skills is a key problem - I want to see a big increase in on-line training in IT skills using the Internet delivered at a network of Learning Centres throughout London that offer guaranteed quality. As Mayor I will: * Build a consensus around the new skills plan and ensure it really delivers for all Londoners, with training much better matched to the new job opportunities. * Ask the London Development Agency to monitor and report to the Mayor and Assembly on the performance of the sub-regional Learning and Skills Councils in securing genuine employer involvement and meeting employers' needs. * Establish a partnership initiative to drive forward improvements in basic skills training and to provide all Londoners with the core IT skills needed to access and use the Internet. Biography Responsibilities Contact the Mayor Manifesto Speeches Independent column Mayor's Report Advisory Cabinet Cultural Strategy Group Environment Commission Housing Commission London Health Commission Notting Hill Carnival Review Mayor's strategies ## Greater London Authority News Releases Contact us Jobs at the GLA GLA Responsibilities Publications ## Related organisations Transport for London London Development Agency Fire Authority Police Authority London Transport Users Committee ## Improving London's schools Every year nearly £8 billion is invested in education and training in London spread between schools, further and higher education and the private sector. Getting the best return on this investment is absolutely vital for London. Although the Mayor and Assembly have no direct responsibility for schools we cannot ignore the need to raise levels of educational attainment. At present too much job related training is in fact providing people with basic skills they should have acquired at school. There are too many London schools where pupils leave with few or no qualifications. Research shows that pupils from some minority ethnic communities are disproportionately underachieving. In some areas a third of pupils are in what are formally identified as failing schools. ### As Mayor I will: * Ensure that as part of its regeneration programme the London Development Agency establishes London-wide coordination of support from business to schools. * Work with London's councils to make sure London's schools receive a fair share of additional national resources for education. * Set up a task-force to look at the particular problems of disproportionate underachievement and school exclusions among children from black and minority ethnic communities. * Ensure that the Mayor and Assembly receive regular reports and information on progress of the Excellence in Cities and Educational Action Zones initiatives and that successful achievements and initiatives are spread more widely. back to manifesto index ## The Mayor * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ## Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ## Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## A world capital for the arts, culture and sport London is a world capital for the arts and creative, media and cultural industries. Its theatre, music, film, dance, opera, and visual arts attract visitors from countries around the globe. Londoners benefit from the excellence and variety of the arts available in the city, but much of the arts activity is focussed on the centre of London and often excludes the young, older people and the less affluent. ## Access for all Londoners As Mayor my cultural policy would reach out to the whole of London. My main aims would be to: * Revitalise and unlock the creativity in disadvantaged communities outside the centre of the city. * Expand the role of the arts in London schools and education. * Make the arts more accessible to all Londoners. Working with the London Arts Board, the Arts Council of England, Sport England, London's councils, business and commerce, I will: * Widen access by forging partnerships with local communities through a range of new initiatives including festivals, education work, access pricing schemes, public art and innovative sports programmes. * Foster and seek to widen the reach of London's present arts and cultural infrastructure. * Look for new public and private sector opportunities to fund arts and sports in London. Some of my first priorities for the arts would be: * A Capital Arts Card Forge a partnership with business to provide a concessionary card to allow students, senior citizens and the unemployed to attend theatres, cinemas and concerts for just £3, one day a week. * Help schools meet transport costs to attend arts events and visits to London Zoo. * An annual London Youth Arts Festival A fortnight dedicated to young artists, giving them opportunities to perform, exhibit and participate throughout London. International exchanges would be fostered, and major London institutions would be encouraged to provide a platform for the artists of the future. * A home for the London Film Festival I will promote film making in London and create a new and exciting showcase for British film by using a major central London venue, such as Leicester Square, as the convention centre of the London Film Festival. * London Library week An annual festival celebrating the written word, and raising awareness of the role of libraries in London. * Art in Public Spaces GLA assistance to run a public art competition for a mural, sculpture, painting or installation in a public area within each borough. * Arts for Education An initiative to place the Arts at the heart of education in London. Franchises offered to companies of professional artists in any discipline: theatre, visual arts, music, opera, dance, to work in secondary or primary schools in London boroughs. * Arts for All An annual Arts festival for, by, and with disabled people to celebrate the artistic achievements of those with disabilities, to raise disability awareness London-wide, and to continue to focus on the issues of access. * Celebrating cultural diversity The diversity of London's cultural scene is one of its greatest strengths which I would seek to protect and enhance. I will: * Support the successful and safe organisation of the Notting Hill Carnival, the biggest street festival in Europe, which has been disgracefully underfunded over the years. * Back the many community organised festivals which enrich London life, such as the Greenwich Asian Mela, Chinese New Year celebrations, Turkish festivals, the Brick Lane festival, Diwali, Eid and Viasakhi. * Support the annual Lesbian and Gay Pride celebrations and Pride Arts Festival and back the efforts to secure their long-term future. In partnership with London's Irish community promote the annual celebration of St Patrick's day. ## Sport for all I will make a strategy for sport an integral part of London's cultural regeneration. London needs further improvements in its sports centres - many remain inaccessible to people. Modern and accessible facilities are expensive and require planning across more than one borough. The bulk of London's sporting activities rest on the shoulders of the people who sustain countless voluntary clubs and associations and local sports councils. As Mayor I will ensure that: * The new London sports strategy is developed and implemented in close consultation and collaboration with these grass roots groups. * The strategy secures a fair geographical spread of facilities, bearing in mind the need for easy access by public transport, and to target deprived areas which have so far lost out on funding from the Sports Lottery Board. * The Spatial Development Strategy protects existing sports grounds and playing fields and sites needed for new sport developments. * Planning policies for the River Thames and London's waterways include maximising their sport and recreational potential. I will: * Agree with Sport England a programme of 'Sports Action Zones' in London using Lottery money where it can have the greatest impact in providing facilities and resources to meet the needs of London's most deprived neighbourhoods. * Ask Sport England to develop a new plan for widening participation by women in sport in London, including new standards for childcare facilities at sports and leisure centres. * Encourage the involvement of London's football clubs and other major London sporting institutions in a new series of 'Active Community Projects' to develop new approaches to key social exclusion issues, such as truancy, teenage anti-social behaviour, racism, and crime prevention. London will expect its Mayor to give a lead in promoting and endorsing major sporting events and maximising the benefits such events can bring. * As Mayor I will play a leading role in supporting the efforts to bring the 2006 World Cup to England and the World Cup Final to a re-built and world-class Wembley Stadium with the best in new public transport connections. * Biography * Responsibilities * Contact the Mayor * Manifesto * Speeches * Independent column * Mayor's Report * Advisory Cabinet * Cultural Strategy Group * Environment Commission * Housing Commission * London Health Commission * Notting Hill Carnival Review * Mayor's strategies ### Greater London Authority * News Releases * Contact us * Jobs at the GLA * GLA Responsibilities * Publications ### Related organisations * Transport for London * London Development Agency * Fire Authority * Police Authority * London Transport Users Committee ## London: A sustainable world city London's future must be clean and green. Our economic future as well as the quality of our lives depend on leading the way as a sustainable world city. As Mayor, I will: * Put the environment at the heart of London government and provide for comprehensive environmental assessment and monitoring of all strategies which the Mayor is required to produce. * Introduce a Quality of Life index for London, adapted to the city's specific needs, including measures of crime, health, air and water quality, road traffic levels, access to green space, and re-use of polluted and derelict land. * Provide much better information to Londoners on the state of the environment and progress towards targets for improvements through london.mayor.com and other means. I also make six specific environmental pledges to Londoners. ## Transport London's transport crisis will be the biggest single problem facing the new Mayor. The crisis can only be tackled by reducing the amount of traffic on our roads, encouraging greater use of public transport and making our streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Using measures set out in detail elsewhere in this manifesto I will: * Aim to reduce road traffic by 15% by 2010. * Warm Homes for All We must use our housing stock more effectively. As Mayor I will: Take a personal lead in ensuring delivery of an effective programme of home insulation and other measures to end fuel poverty and the scandal of winter deaths from cold. ## Green Space and the River We must learn to value the rich natural heritage of London. Its parks, green spaces and rivers are home to a great diversity of wildlife and plants. Access to green spaces brings health and educational benefits to London's children and makes London a greener and more pleasant city in which to live and work. As Mayor I will: * Include in London's transport strategy the development of green pedestrian routes for Londoners to walk across the city, north to south, east to west. * Draw up a 'bio-diversity Action Plan' to give full protection to London's wildlife sites. * Begin by intervening to try to save Rainham Marshes from ugly and destructive development plans. The River Thames is London's most important and visible natural asset. The Thames provides a wide range of habitats including shingle, mudflats and grazing marshes, and is home to more than 350 invertebrate species and 115 different species of fish. The Thames and its tributaries, such as the rivers Colne, Wandle and Lee, link London to the surrounding countryside and provide a network of green corridors through urban areas. It is also an important but under-used transport artery for people and goods. As Mayor I will: * Designate the Thames a special Blue Ribbon Zone with its protection an integral part of the Spatial Development Strategy and the other strategies which I will be required to develop as Mayor. Stop Wasting, Start Recycling We must dispose of London's waste in a more sustainable way. The city produces 13.5 million tonnes every year. Far too much of it is burned or buried in landfill sites. At present, London recycles only 6% of all household waste, compared with Barcelona which recycles 25% or Berlin which recycles 30%. New markets can be generated where existing waste becomes a resource. As Mayor I will: * Develop a new waste management strategy to achieve the target of recycling 25% of all household waste by 2005. * Play a leading role in promoting financial incentives to encourage companies to recycle their own waste. * Ensure the Spatial Development Strategy gives priority to the necessary increase in the recycling facilities available. * Ensure that the Greater London Authority sets an example to the rest of London by making a commitment to buy recycled goods. ## A Green Economy We must make sure that London leads the world in creating jobs in the growing green business sector. This sector could be as important to the capital's economy in the next 20 years as telecommunications and information technology. As Mayor I will: * Set a target for London to create 10,000 jobs in new green businesses by 2005. * Use the purchasing power of the Mayor and Assembly to encourage successful, local and sustainable businesses. These jobs will come in three main areas: * Recycling and waste management Experience from the US 'Tri-City' region (Washington, Baltimore and Richmond), comparable in size and population to London, suggests that some 2,000 new jobs could be created in the collection, sorting, and movement of recyclables, and in the secondary material processing industries. ## Home energy efficiency A 15 year programme of insulation measures, targeting the most vulnerable people including the elderly and young children with respiratory and other illnesses, could create 30,000 jobs across the whole UK. London's share of these new jobs could be at least 5,000. ## Attracting investment in green technology London is well placed to attract inward investment in the sustainable technologies of tomorrow, including renewable energy and pollution control. Reducing atmospheric pollution We must make London a world leader in fighting dangerous climate change. Every year, the city emits 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. I want to make sure that London plays its full part in meeting climate change targets, and in particular the Government's stated target of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by one fifth from their 1990 level by 2010. A city which successfully reduces its carbon dioxide emissions will be well placed to benefit from the expanding market in green technology and renewable energy production which will be a major part of the world economy in the next century. As Mayor I will: * Ensure that all strategies produced by the Mayor include as part of their environmental assessment an estimate of the contribution they will make to the climate change target. * Produce an annual statement, as part of my State of the Environment report, of London's contribution to fighting climate change, following the strategy document produced for the United Kingdom as a whole.