Boris Johnson's 'cycling revolution' visualised

Source: Travel in London report 4 (TfL)

The Metro newspaper wants you to work for free

An exciting offer arrives by email from the Metro newspaper:

Hi Adam,

Metro are searching for writers and bloggers that have got something to say about the Olympics to contribute to our 2012 coverage. With the biggest sporting event to be held in London on the horizon we want to share your opinions and insights with Metro’s large audience.

Having looked high and low, reviewing blogs and searching out sport professionals, we found your website and would love it if you would like to get involved. Whilst you will not be paid for your posts, you will be set up with a profile page linking to your blog or website and your social media accounts - with the potential to reach thousands of readers under the Metro brand, the opportunity to grow your own following is there.

If you would like to be considered for this opportunity please reply to this email expressing your interest and we will get back to you with further details. If you know anyone else that might be suitable please let us know too.

Kind Regards

Emma

EMMA MILLS   METRO.CO.UK

To which I replied:

Dear Emma,

Thank you for your kind offer to work for the Metro for free. Sadly, in Britain we have this thing called the national minimum wage act, that requires employers to actually pay the people who work for them. You may find the following information useful:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/payroll/day-to-day/nmw.htm

If the Metro is willing to comply with the law and pay at least the minimum wage, then I will of course reconsider your offer.

Yours sincerely,

Adam Bienkov

The Metro is a highly successful and profitable newspaper that can easily afford to pay its contributors.

If it wants "writers, bloggers and sports professionals" to cover the Olympics for them, then maybe it should consider employing some.

Boris Johnson to save households 15p a week

Boris Johnson has dramatically upped the stakes in his bid for re-election by offering London households a whopping 64p off their council tax every month.

According to the Evening Standard:

"Savings of £150 million could potentially translate into a cut of around 10 per cent [off the GLA precept] over four years, though City Hall sources said some of that money could be spent elsewhere."

Boris Johnson's previous offer of 26p saving a month has so far failed to excite many voters, but the extra 38p could make all the difference.

A man queuing up to buy some peanuts told this blog:

"To be honest I thought Boris's offer of £3 a year for me to vote for him was pretty derisory, but now that he's offering me £7 a year to vote for him I think I might. 

Boris's plans to raise public transport fares by 2% above inflation every year for the forseeable future are expected to remain.

Boris Johnson has bet all his money on a loser

So the results are in. After spending an entire month campaigning on a cut to his council tax precept, Boris Johnson now knows what Londoners think of it.

According to YouGov:

So Boris's "game-changing" £3 giveaway is the least appealing of all the major policies proposed so far. Even Brian Paddick's 'early bird' fares policy is ranked higher.

Meanwhile Ken Livingstone's proposal to cut fares (which Boris described as "the last thing that Londoners want or deserve") is ranked as the most appealing.

Asked whether they support or oppose a cut to bus fares, 68% of Londoners give it their backing with just 16% saying they're against it.

It would seem that  Tony Arbour's claim that fare rises don't matter because most Londoners don't use public transport was slightly off the mark.

And while Boris's campaign have made much of Ken being untrustworthy, the poll shows that even more people mistrust Boris Johnson to fulfil his promises than Ken Livingstone:

The character questions are also bad for Boris with just 13% believing that he is "in touch with the concerns of ordinary people." A disastrous score.

However, there is one area in the poll where Boris is still massively ahead of Ken and that is "charisma."

In a personality-based contest like the Mayoral election this is incredibly important, and does more to explain Boris's headline lead than anything else.

On policies, Boris has put all of his money on a loser. The only thing that's keeping him in the race is his personality versus Ken's.

If Ken's campaign can turn that around then they can win the election. If they can't then they won't.