Does the Mayor's Budget add up asks Mike Tuffrey

6.29.00pm GMT Thu 11th Dec 2008

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today published his draft consolidated budget and put it out for consultation.

Mike Tuffrey Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the London Assembly said:

"A zero rise in the GLA's precept will be welcomed by many Londoners, but let us not forget that from January all of us who use public transport in the capital will be paying fares that rise by twice the rate of inflation. And this fare rise comes despite crucial infrastructure improvements like the cross river tram project being cancelled.

"The budget Boris Johnson is proposing makes several large assumptions too, including that the Met Police will be able to make large savings in their budget, a number of which have yet to be revealed, when they haven't been able to meet all the savings targets for this financial year yet. On the transport network passenger numbers are expected to rise when all the indications are that in previous times of economic difficulty passenger levels have decreased rapidly.

"The actions of Boris Johnson's and his advisors over the last six months haven't exactly installed confidence in Liberal Democrats that he has produced a budget that adds up, is sustainable and is not storing up major problems for our public services in London in future years. We will be watching closely to see if the Mayor can actually produce what he promises."

The Mayor's draft consolidated budget can be seen at http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/budget/index.jsp