The Green Party have chosen Sian Berry as their London Mayoral candidate, competing against Ken, Boris, Brian, and presumably many others. I was reading this article detailing Sian’s green policies for London.
As an occasional Green voter I was surprised to discover that I didn’t feel strongly positive about any of her policies. I thought her ideas had little relevance to London and were only “green” in a knee-jerk sense - is there really an environmental benefit to reducing the cost of the brilliant public transport system we have in London or will it result in a grotty loss-making service that people don’t feel comfortable using?
I felt most negative about the idea of having a tram down Oxford Street. Ideally I’d like to see Oxford Street pedestrianised: for a few days in April Oxford Street was closed to traffic after a fire, and it was great. There was enough room to breathe, walking down the middle of the street.
I understand that the usually cited problem of closing the street is that it’s a major thoroughfare for buses. The buses allegedly need to pass through town in order to best make use of the bus garages at the termini. Providing a tram service doesn’t help the buses get where they need to be, isn’t really convenient for people using the current bus services (who would have to change at either end) and becomes a white elephant service that I can’t imagine using when a pedestrianised street would make walking more convenient.
I didn’t at all feel like I could vote for Sian on her policies. This is the first time I’ll be eligible to vote as a Londoner, and I think I’ll be voting for Ken. He’s made some mistakes but he’s done a good job of promoting London as a world city that’s able to combine culture, sport and business while being somewhat environmentally conscious.
I’m actually really proud of London.
Ronald - Treasure London
