Boris Watch

I haven’t blogged in ages. All the action’s over on Twitter these days [although I think Tom’s the main tweeter through our account, for clarity], as this quick post perhaps shows.
The RMT’s calling yet another strike. Boris has tweeted:
Can’t believe the RMT leadership. Urging a strike in this economic climate is simply monstrous.

(Apparently it took [...]

Well, this is singularly unsurprising…

“BORIS Johnson was accused of “betrayal” today as it was revealed he has ditched plans for three rape crisis centres…
…today the Mayor admitted that funding for the three new centres, which would supplement an existing centre in Croydon, would not be found in his budget.
His office said he was “assessing rape [...]

Rebecca Hutson writes in Seven Magazine…
“It was therefore a welcomed relief when bumbling, politician Boris Johnson made rape crisis centres a central aspect of his mayoral manifesto, promising to pour £744,000 into the existing centres and build three more. He even went so far as to write to Liz Kelly, Chair of End Violence Against [...]

Via The F Word, this is disgraceful…
“Jenny Jones, Green Party Assembly Member, today forced London’s Mayor to admit that he will not deliver new rape crisis centres in London on the scale he promised in his manifesto.
Before being elected, the Mayor pledged to provide £744,000 a year to fund the one existing rape crisis centre [...]

We know from Boris’s reticence about explaining quite with whom he ‘consulted widely’ that, er, he didn’t consult widely at all about forcing out Sir Ian Blair.
But now it’s emerged that Boris’s other line of defence – that it was Ian Blair’s decision alone to resign, and he hadn’t been expecting it at all – [...]

A spokesman has ‘clarified’ Boris’s ‘piffle’ remarks:
“”These are the qualities he is keen to encourage in teenagers across London, where a lack of purpose, discipline and self-esteem lead many to wasted lives and violence.
“David Cameron is right to highlight that serious and destructive social breakdown.
“Politicians who pretend there is not a problem are [...]

Having discovered that even the Express gets things right sometimes, I’m going to base this post on the assumption that the following two statments from the Daily Mail web site are accurate.
The Reverend Chris Newlands, chaplain to the Bishop of Chelmsford, said: "The Bishop of Barking did speak face to face with the Mayor at [...]

Dave Hill’s uncovering more holes in things Ray Lewis has been saying:

He isn’t and has never been a magistrate
Newham Council isn’t funding his Academy any more

Unfortunately I’m out for the rest of this evening. I trust my fellow Boris-Watchers will keep an eye on things.
I’m looking forward to the Tory Troll’s report from [...]

On the Today programme, Boris was asked questions about a memorandum of understanding, which pledges that Londoners, in the case of Olympic overspending, will not suffer from an “increase in the Council Tax precept or an increase in Fares”.
Boris “ha[dn't] seen” the document, but was sure that it was “not central to the issue“. Later, [...]

Following the Rise revelations, Munira Mirza has been rushed into action with an article for Comment is Free. Titled ‘Doing anti-racism for real’, it appears to be a poorly veiled attempt to discredit its promotion.
The article is in quotes and my comments are bolded.
“To give some background: in 1996 the Trades Union Congress and various [...]