icSouthlondon - Livingstone got plenty of free gifts: "Livingstone got plenty of free gifts

Dec 13 2006



A LISTissued by the London Assembly reveals Mayor Ken Livingstone got hundreds of pounds worth of free gifts in six months.

Among the freebies was a leather-bound notebook from former US president Bill Clinton. There was also a silver tea caddy from the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, a painting of old Moscow from Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and a crystal paperweight from Holland.

The mayor was given the notebook in September after he attended the annual meeting of President Clinton's Global Initiative group in New York.

A spokeswoman for the mayor said it was not possible to put a value on the book - but all declared gifts are judged as being worth more than �25.

Slightly less impressive was the payment from polling experts Mori to Green Party representative Darren Johnson.


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Mr Johnson, who also serves on Lewisham council, was paid for answering questions about his attitude to the oil industry.

But he did better than fellow Green Jenny Jones and Southwark and Lambeth representative Val Shawcross, who did not receive anything worth more than �25.

Maybe they could learn from the assembly chairman Brian Coleman.

The Conservative representative for Barnet and Camden in north London got two tickets to Wimbledon, complete with lunch and refreshments, and another two tickets to see the glam disco band Scissor Sisters.

The register covers all gifts and hospitality from June to November.The previous register, covering between September last year and May this year, showed the mayor picking up 59 gifts worth more than �25.

Among the gifts were 12 boxes of vitamins, eight tins of Turkish coffee and a DVD of The Wizard Of Oz.

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congestion charge - Ken’s 212% Conjestion Charge Hike Will Hit Families Hardest.: "Ken’s 212% Conjestion Charge Hike Will Hit Families Hardest.

4th December 2006 15:02:38

If you thought the mayor of London’s latest proposal to increase the congestion charge from �8 to �25 would just hit 4x4 drivers, think again.

The SMMT - the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, has put together examples of 10 family cars - people carriers, estates and family salons that will also be liable for this 212% hike in the central London motoring tax, based on findings from an independent source, VCA data.

So if you drive any of these petrol models - Vauxhall Zafira, Renault Espace or Seat Alhambra on a 2.0 litre, Jaguar X-type 2.5 litre, Peugeot 407 estate 2.2 litre, Honda Accord estate 2.4 litre, Ford Mondeo estate 2.0 litre, Saab 9-3 estate 2.3 litre, VW Passat saloon, 1.8 litre turbo tiptronic or Citroens C5 saloon 3.0 litre - your tax band falls into the same as 4x4 that of G which means 225g/km of CO2.

But of course, dear old Ken seems to have forgotten that families like to travel abroad with their families or caravans, hence the estates, and that all children must have their own seats, hence people carriers while other families enjoy the comfort of a saloon to get sway from the ‘mumsy’ look.

So yet again the families are being hit on, families who already pay the penalty through higher road tax and fuel costs. 'Buy I diesel ' I hear you cry. Well, there is not much incentive as the initial cost is higher than petrol variants and fuel but a few pennies cheaper.

I suppose the incentive could be this preposterous proposal. But drivers across the UK be warned, whilst the congestion charge is in London, it won’t be long before it hits all major cities. I fell another car protest coming on."