People’s Question Time

The Great Hall at Imperial played host to the second biannual People’s Question Time, an opportunity for members of the public to interact directly with the Mayor and the London Assembly. Over 700 people attended the event, with many being members of the public that live in the Kensington and Chelsea area. The evening started with an introduction from Darren Johnson, Chair of the London Assembly, followed by a lively speech from the Boris himself featuring his characteristic humour and dubious statistics about the advances he had made since making office in 2008. According to the man himself, he has cut delays on the tube by 40% (“Or apparently [as this is] what TFL tell me”) and his 8% crime cut is enough to claim London is now the safest cities in Europe, if not the world. He also credited London for the immense export trading that we provide, heartily including Piers Morgan’s exportation to America. That’s not to say all members of the crowd warmed to his humour. Throughout the evening as topics such as transport, planning and development, housing and regeneration were discussed, hecklers constantly shouted above what Boris was trying to explain, and other members of the crowd often were left shushing the more rowdier of the members of the public.

Fire Station Closure

One topic in particular evoked a very strong response from some of the audience, and this was concerning the closure of the fire stations across the capital. Plans to shut 10 fire stations and axe 550 jobs was approved by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) in early September of this year, causing considerable distress to those in the boroughs effected. Assembly Member James Cleverly, chairman of the LFEPA, supported this decision although the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is currently considering challenging the decision. Cleverly, when explaining the cuts, said that they were in response to the significant reduction in fire risk, and Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson (who was not present) has already stated how response times will remain among the best in the UK. One woman delivered a rather emotive speech to the Mayor over the decision, deploring the idea that he was using his humour and charm to mask the decisions he was making that could potentially jeopardise the lives of her, her family and the rest of his community. However there seems there is no turning back on the motion, with the measures coming into effect next January and stations closing including those that service Knightsbridge, Westminster, Woolwich in Greenwich and Belsize in Camden.

Accommodation

Students at Imperial also took the chance to voice their views, with one student asking about implementing controls over the private accommodation sector, especially concerning landlords that “take advantage” of the students looking to rent properties for the first time. With a quarter of all Londoners renting from private landlords, Boris making a decision about this would certainly be in the interests of millions of people across the city, although he has decided to take a stance not to interfere. He stated that although it is “vital to continue to build more affordable homes,” capping the rent prices would not be happening in the near future. He stated that there is still the Voluntary Accredited Landlord scheme that should be ensuring that the rights of the tenants are upheld, but explained that he “cannot reduce values of housing stock under the laws of supply and demand.” More houses are needed to reduce rent prices as opposed to setting caps on rent prices of existing properties.

Earl’s Court renovation plans: The Earl’s Court Project

The renovation plans in the Earl’s Court area was also discussed, with members of the public voicing their disbelief over the benefits to the demolition of the exhibition centre and 760 homes in the neighbouring West Kensington and Gibbs Green council estates. Boris approved plans for the 77-acre redevelopment scheme in July, called the Earl’s Court Project, much to the displeasure of the rest of the assembly who called the decision “appalling.” Nicky Gavron of the assembly from the Labour party, implored members of the public to “Go on with your campaigning,” as the renovation plans are still not a done deal. With the new plans to include 6,000 new luxury apartments, the audience argued that the redevelopments did not include options for affordable housing.

The London Living Wage

With Boris increasing this by 25p to £8.55 this week, this was also on the agenda. The wage is considered to be the minimum people should be paid per hour to cover the basic cost of living in the capital, although it is more of a recommendation than a requirement with only five councils of the 32 London boroughs currently signed up to the scheme. Boris praised the scheme, explaining that it increases “loyalty [among workers]” and delivers an acceptable standard of living for the people of London. No-one enquired as to whether Boris was aware of Imperial College directly employing 699 people who are paid below the LLW, although this was probably because the crowd was still expending valuable energy in calling him a ‘wanker’.

Travelling around London

Buses were also on the agenda, with one man enquiring as to why buses were constantly running down his road of residence empty, including a student favourite, the number 52. On this Boris explained how unfortunately there is no “great big bus Valhalla” for buses to “recuperate in” after running during peak travelling times, so they are left circulating under capacity. It is undecided as to whether or not this warranted the man shouting in response that Boris himself is a “waste of space,” although considering the other, less imaginative heckles he received, was certainly not the only person to feel animosity towards the London Mayor during the evening. One member of the public enquired as to whether there will be an introduction of greater safety measures to the cycle lanes after accidents have left cyclists injured, occasionally fatally. However students who do cycle criticised the discussion, saying not enough was resolved or disclosed to the public about improving the lives of cyclists. Boris did state that “so many people [jostled] me as I was cycling through Holborn. Maybe they had a point to make, ” alluding to the idea that people may be taking out their anger at the Mayor using the very bikes that are colloquially named after him. The overall atmosphere of the discussion was rather tense, with audience members being very vocal about the issues that they were concerned about. However, the evening ran smoothly, and it was encouraging to see members of the public getting involved with the decisions that would affect their lives, even if it did seem that the outcome of some of the more audacious proposals are looking rather bleak for some.

The next People’s Question Time will be held after the New Year.