Boris Watch

An attempt to enhance the accountability of the new London mayoralty

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There’s Probably A Bob Marley Joke In This…

July 14th, 2008 No Comments

Following the speculation of today, Simon Milton has resigned from both of his posts, and has been nominated as Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning. He will regain his salary and join the swelling ranks at City Hall.
The Press release reads thus:
“Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has today nominated Sir Simon Milton as Deputy Mayor [...]

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A Lift In The Living Wage for London

July 10th, 2008 No Comments

Following their report A Fairer London, the GLA has announced that Boris is raising the Living Wage for London to £7.45. This is 25p higher than the previous Living Wage and 35% higher than the national minimum wage.
In a statement, they report that “one in seven employees receive less than the £6.50” and “one in [...]

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How Interesting…

July 8th, 2008 1 Comment

Dave writes that, contrary to previous reports, Tim Parker - the man holding Boris’s right hand - will not submit a Register of Interest to the GLA website. Simon Barnes and Kit Malthouse have already, but it seems that Parker - “one of the UK’s most successful businessmen with an impressive track record in a [...]

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Careers Advice

June 30th, 2008 1 Comment

The London Development Agency is looking for a new Chief Executive. They dangle a ‘significant six figure salary‘ in front of prospective applicants and demand ‘truly exceptional leadership credentials gained in a complex, dynamic environment‘.
The Times, however, claims that the Agency will in fact seek ‘an entire new board when the members’ four-year term expires [...]

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‘Boris’ Wields The Axe

June 20th, 2008 No Comments

The Standard reports on an inevitable cluster of sackings:

“Boris Johnson continued his City Hall clear-out today as five senior staff known as “Ken’s wimmin” lost their jobs.
Ken Livingstone’s partner Emma Beal, who was employed by the ex-Mayor as his “administration manager”, was the most high profile of those whose posts were axed.
Mr Johnson [...]

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Signalling Through The ‘Fog Of Confusion’

June 4th, 2008 2 Comments

The members of the London Assembly have called into question “the manner and nature” of the appointment of Boris’s advisers. The Business Management and Administration Committee, to whom the revealing finance report was originally delivered, have demanded answers to a series of questions including:

The cost and length of appointment of each of the 15 ‘consultants’.

The [...]

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Why The Hell Didn’t I Apply For A Job?

June 3rd, 2008 3 Comments

In a written response to a question by Darren Johnson, Boris last week refused to reveal how much the public was paying for his team of his advisers. Today, however, we see that slyly imbedded in a report to the Business Management and Administration Committee is the admission that the pay of these consultants ‘will [...]

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This Think Tank Is A Powerful Vehicle

May 25th, 2008 14 Comments

Policy Exchange is a British think tank, whose mission statement claims that it attempts to ‘develop and promote new policy ideas’. The Telegraph described it as “the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right”, while The Guardian lambasted it as a “neo-con attack dog”. Despite the organisations claim to be “independent”, [...]

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Jack of five trades, master of none?

May 15th, 2008 14 Comments

Hello, Boris-watchers. My name is (strictly speaking, not) Mr. Stop Boris. You may know me from such web sites as StopBoris.org, such blogs as the Stop Boris blog, and such lyrical outings as MYR of LDN. Rarely in the history of the blogosphere has one man dedicated so much time to so many closely related [...]

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