The Million Vote Mandate: The Challenges facing Boris Johnson

The new Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was elected a month ago with the votes of over 1 million Londoners. This has given him a considerable popular mandate. Now, a new report from leading think tanks Policy Exchange and Localis, the local government and localist think tank, looks at the big issues the new Mayor will face in his first term as set out by some of the foremost experts and commentators on London politics.

The opening chapter of the report, written by award winning Evening Standard journalist Andrew Gilligan, analyses the positives and negatives of the Livingstone era, and suggests that if Boris is to have the same presence in office that Ken had he needs to articulate a clear vision for London.

The second chapter, written by Tony Travers, Director of the London Group at the London School of Economics, looks at the potential for reforming London’s governing institutions and recommends three initiatives that have proven effective in countering cronyism and dictatorship in the United States.

Chapters 3 and 4, written by Ealing Councillor Phil Taylor and Chief Executive of Localis and Director of the London Policy Institute, James Morris, respectively look at the delivery of Crossrail and the Olympics. Both warn about the dangers of overspending given the current economic slowdown and suggest that Boris must be at his toughest when negotiating for London with the Government.

The fifth chapter, written by Gavin Lockhart, Research Director of Policy Exchange, examines what was arguably Boris’s number one issue in the election and has become doubly important since he took office – the rise in violent crime among young people. Gavin sets out five suggestions to help get the police back into the communities and neighbourhoods they are protecting, a policy which had such remarkable success in New York, as detailed in Chapter 6 by Steve Malanga, Editor of the policy journal of the Manhattan Institute.

Finally Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative PPC for Richmond Park, details what he sees as the major environmental challenges facing Boris. Livingstone, Zac contends, got it wrong because he lost sight of the broader environmental concerns of ordinary people. Boris, however, has the opportunity to make real changes, such as providing dedicated school buses and reinvigorating the Thames as a mode of public transport, that will add up to a major fight-back against climate change.

Commenting on the report, James Morris, Chief Executive of Localis, said:

“The challenges are great in London and expectations are high. This report analyses the major policy challenges of Boris Johnson's first term and asks how he can use his electoral mandate to make the right decisions for London”. Commenting further, Deputy Director of Research at Policy Exchange, Natalie Evans added “We are delighted to work with Localis to produce the first real report highlighting what Boris Johnson should do if he is to be deemed a ‘successful Mayor’”.

The report will be launched in the Ideas Space at Policy Exchange on Thursday 12th June, where two of the contributors – Tony Travers and Andrew Gilligan, will be joined by Ian Clement, the new Deputy Mayor of London for Government Relations, to discuss the major points made in the report and answer the questions of those attending.

Please click here to read the full report