While Boris Johnson may be the London Tory Mayoral candidate
known by most, some are now questioning whether his sense of
fun and some say childish sense of humour is what London
really needs should current Mayor Ken Livingstone be deposed
at next May’s election.
Another Tory candidate is the wife of former Manganese Bronze
Chairman and self-admitted lover of taxis, Jamie Borwick.
Victoria Borwick shares her husband’s admiration for the
London taxi driver, but would that make any difference if
she knocked Ken off his perch and became Mayor? Call
Sign asked Dial-a-Cab drivers for questions
to Victoria Borwick…From Call Sign’s Poppy (whose
partner drives for DaC)
 What
is your view on increased provision for public toilets, both
on the streets and on the transport system? They are now
woefully inadequate not only for drivers and others working
outside buildings who may need toilets at any time, but also
for sufferers from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis?
Victoria Borwick replies:
Definitely – I know this is a real problem for taxi drivers,
and these are needed for driver’s health. When I get
elected, please let me know locations that you think would
be suitable for the green huts and then we can work on this.
From Laurence Kelvin (W88)
 Under
the Barnett formula devised in the 1970s, England and London
especially, sends a disproportionate amount of money to
subsidise Scotland. Scottish voters have a say in English
matters such as health, education and transport, yet have
complete control over their own systems without English
interference. How would you like to resolve this?
Victoria Borwick:
The current system is unfair. Whilst I am a great supporter
of the Union it is right to say that England and
particularly London subsidises Scotland. This is all the
more perverse considering that English MPs have no vote over
most Scottish matters.
As Mayor, although I could not directly change what is a national
issue and would be a matter for the government of the day, I
would fight for London to get a greater share. The views
seems to be that London’s streets are paved with gold – but
we have areas of great poverty and high unemployment here in
London and Londoner’s needs should be given greater
priority, and we should not always be subsidising the rest
of the Country.
From Bernie Silver (G08)
 Would
you keep the Congestion charge as it is and do you think it
is working?
Victoria Borwick:
We were promised the congestion charge would mean better air
quality and more investment in public transport. As usual
with Livingstone’s promises, this has not happened. After a
small benefit at the beginning when it was first introduced,
London’s traffic has become as slow as it was before – and
in some cases even worse. TfL figures say that traffic in
the Strand is now 2.5 mph and I disagree with all the
artificial restrictions on traffic flow and traffic movement
– I don’t agree that access for Taxi drivers into the
Strand, as an example, should be made so difficult ie I
don’t want bus routes that exclude taxi drivers.
I think we have to look at the whole road space and then decide the
best way of using it.
Just taxing motorists is just taking more money from people, what
benefits have we seen?
From David Marks (R22)
Could you see yourself as Mayor ever allowing private
hire vehicles to ply for hire on London’s streets?
Victoria Borwick:
No
From John Dixon (B67)
 Would
you as Mayor give priority entrance to the Olympic Village
for London Taxi drivers in 2012 for picking up and setting
down passengers? Cabbies in other Olympic countries were
promised the earth, but when the time came, were given no
priority at all.
Victoria Borwick:
I certainly think there should be a large area for taxis to
pick up and set down and plenty of space for queuing – we
have all seen recently the fiasco at the O2 arena and we
need to learn from our major sporting events to make sure
that the Olympics really runs efficiently. I |
understand there are proposals for "red routes" to get the
athletes and officials there on time, so that means more
queues for the rest of us…. From Divyesh Ruparelia
(V59
 Many
Londoners and probably most taxi drivers consider that
having too many buses causes much of London’s traffic
problems. A good transport system is important, but is not
Ken’s bus policy a case of overkill?
Victoria Borwick:
I agree. Livingstone has actually further slowed the traffic
by putting so many buses on the roads. If you go down Oxford
Street you can’t move because of the queue of buses and then
in some areas there are not enough buses.
However my other bugbear are the "sightseeing buses." I think there
are too many of them blocking the streets, and as for the
bendy buses – they can go back to Munich where they belong.
We need a Routemaster for the 21st Century, not
buses that are a danger to other road users.
From John Riley (K38)
 Would
you, as Mayor, be happy to see pedicabs working the streets
of London as they currently do? They cut up traffic, ride on
the pavement and take terrible chances whilst having
unsuspecting tourists on board who are often fleeced with
the cost?
Victoria Borwick:
No. They are a danger not only to passengers and the
riders themselves but also to other drivers. The majority of
them are not licensed and are incredibly unsafe.
From Stewart Lewis (D20)
 Ken
is trying to work out how private hire cars can use bus and
taxi lanes. Do you not think that would nullify the benefit
buses and taxis currently have?
Victoria Borwick:
I am very wary of extending who can use bus and taxi lanes.
If too many vehicles are allowed to use the lanes they no
longer have any purpose. However I do think from all road
users point of view the times that bus lanes are in use
should be consistent across London, I think it is very
frustrating at certain times of the day when the roads are
less busy – particularly those bus lanes in roads in the
suburbs to have long stretches of unused road space. This is
all part of my plan to look at the total road space as a
whole, to get the traffic moving again.
From Brian Flanagan (T79)
 What
is your view on Ken’s version of a ‘green’ London? Many taxi
drivers consider that his time limits at the licensed taxi
driver’s own expense were very unfair…
Victoria Borwick:
It is important to improve London’s air quality. I don’t
think the current system is working, but we would all
benefit from cleaner air. Realistically, that means the
older cabs will need to be phased out over a period of
years, and also other polluting vehicles will need to go.
However in order not to put businesses "out of business"
this must be phased in over a sufficient time.
From Joe Brazil (K16)
 What
would you say were Ken Livingstone’s best and worst
decisions since taking power?
Victoria Borwick:
Where do I start with his worst decisions? This has to be
crime. The Mayor’s responsibility is to keep his citizens
safe. Yet every day you open the paper, turn on the news and
hear about another horrific crime. Whilst Ken has been
Mayor, violent crime (according
to the Met Police figures) has gone up 52%. Yes certain
crimes are reducing, but not street crime, crime on
public transport, knife crime and I
bet each and every one of you knows someone who has been a
victim of crime. This should not be the reputation of our
City. It is all very well to say that Ken does not have
direct control over the appointment of the Commissioner, but
that is not the point, the Mayor has influence, backed by 7
million Londoners. My first task would be to make London’s
streets safe again. This is not just working with the
police, but a hearts and minds campaign – across all of
London’s communities.
My next criticism about Ken would be how much he is now costing
Londoners – He is now taking an average £300 a year from
London council tax payers, on top of our Council Tax, to pay
for him and his cronies at City Hall. I want to see far
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greater transparency about what happens to our money.
I like using my Oyster card – but again I know this has come at a
significant cost and is fine for Central London, but again
we need to extend the coverage of this system.
From Martin Freeborn (C67)
 I
live in Barnet where the Council has removed most of
the speed humps without any dire consequences. Would you
like to see other councils follow this example and find a
way to control traffic that doesn’t make it so uncomfortable
for passengers?Victoria Borwick:
Yes. Speed bumps are not only uncomfortable for passengers
but also bad for vehicles, particularly emergency vehicles.
They also increase pollution. Councils seem to have a knee
jerk reaction and whenever they want to slow traffic down
they introduce speed bumps.
From Alan Green (E52)
 Would
you like the London Mayor to have tax raising powers? If so,
how can this be reconciled with the need for central
government to keep control of the money supply?
Victoria Borwick:
He already does have tax raising powers – his precept is on
top of our Council tax. However you are right – most people
don’t realize that there are two separate amounts in their
Council Tax bills now that Ken has put his "Ken Tax" precept
up to over £300 a year. I think that we need to see two
separate bills, and then it will be much clearer to everyone
what they are paying. As the Leader of Westminster Council,
Sir Simon Milton has pointed out that if Ken goes on
increasing his tax at the current rate, we shall be paying
more to Ken than we will be paying to some London Councils
for all the services that they provide!
The Mayor already wastes an incredible amount of money. I want to
make City Hall more efficient. Last year TfL spent £220
million on advertising alone. London’s Mayor should be a
hands-on chief executive with a clear focus on doing the
practical things that would make London a safer, more
pleasant place in which to live and work not an outrageous
spender who goes on foreign jaunts at Londoners’ expense. I
would bring business experience, experience of strategic
planning and I want to examine very closely how Londoners
money is spent, so that we can reduce the costs. Everything
is an extra tax – the precept, the congestion charge and
then the cost of the Olympics.
From Bill Kibble (K86)
 There
are road works and congestion all over town with the renewal
of water mains. This could be completed in a third of the
time if work were carried out at night as well as during the
day. In many places such as Strand, there are few residents
to disturb and elsewhere surely people would prefer to get
the work completed quicker rather than have heavy traffic
outside their houses for months on end. Is it something you
would look at if elected?
Victoria Borwick:
I would definitely look at such a proposal. There are many
competing demands for the roads and we need to schedule the
work in times that causes least disruption.
And the last word goes to Victoria Borwick. She told
Call Sign:
"We are now down to the last four of who will be the
Conservative Candidate for Mayor for London. Everyone on the
electoral roll in Greater London can vote for the
Conservative candidate.
To receive a voting form / ballot paper, you need to call a premium
rate number (this enables the Party to cover the costs of
this voting process). You will be sent your voting form to
complete, which must be returned to arrive by 22nd September
2007.
It is anticipated that from a BT Landline, the cost of a call will
be between £1.00 - £2.00. Other operators and networks may
vary.
The telephone number for your voting form is 0906 555
5050. It is available between Monday to Friday
8am - 9pm, Saturday 9am - 9pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm.
If you want to vote for a serious candidate who cares about London
– I was born in London and have lived here all my life. Now
is your chance to vote - I hope you will vote for Victoria
Borwick…"
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