Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2008 15:40:15 GMT
From The Guardian
The Tory candidate for mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has set himself on a collision course with tube workers in the capital after holding a series of secret talks to find a transport chief to take on the RMT.
The Henley MP, who was ahead in the latest opinion poll, says he wants to negotiate a no-strike agreement with the union if he wins on May 1, claiming it has had its "thumb around the windpipe of London commuters" for years.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Johnson confirmed he was holding private talks with senior executives, although she said no job offers had been made.
The RMT dismissed the no-strike plan, and said it would publish the results of a strike ballot held among tube engineering staff later today that could trigger a polling day walkout on May 1.
"Boris Johnson is living in cloud cuckoo land if he believes this kind of approach could ever work," said a spokesman. "The RMT does not sign no-strike deals and would never give up its right to strike.
"More working time is lost in Britain through injuries sustained as a result of poor employers than through industrial action."
The outcome of the London mayoral election is expected to shape the political landscape across the UK in the run-up to the next general election.
According to the latest opinion poll Johnson has opened a 12% lead over Ken Livingstone, the Labour incumbent, although most analysts still believe the race is too close to call.
Steve Norris, the Conservative candidate in the previous two mayoral elections who has been tipped as a possible member of any future Johnson administration, said yesterday that he had been working closely with the campaign for the past six months but maintained he had not been offered a job yet.
"I would be extremely pleased to be part of Team Boris but there has been no job offer," he said.
It is understood that, if he wins, Johnson is considering a replacement for Peter Hendy, the commissioner of Transport for London, and a new TfL chairman - a position held by Livingstone.
Both roles are crucial to running the capital's buses and tubes. Christopher Garnett, the former boss of the failed GNER rail franchise, was considered but he is now thought to be out of the running. Nicola Shaw, head of FirstGroup's bus operations, and Jay Walder, a partner at McKinsey and a former TfL executive, are among the names being mooted.
Since Johnson took a lead in the polls, David Cameron and senior shadow cabinet ministers have taken a closer interest in his campaign.
Earlier this month Johnson was accused of incompetence after an independent transport analyst uncovered a £100m hole in Tory plans for London buses and it is thought that Central Office wants to avoid any future mishaps.
A senior Conservative figure told the Guardian that Cameron "will not allow" Johnson to damage the party with a gaffe-prone tenure as mayor. He said that experienced figures would be drafted in to guide him and rein in his undisciplined streak if he won.
Last night Tony Travers, the director of the Greater London Group - a research centre made up of experts in various aspects of London's government - at the LSE, said he expected Johnson to act as a "chairman of the board" if the Tories win, with a team of deputies underneath him to counter repeated accusations that he is inexperienced.
But he added that the RMT would prefer a Johnson victory because the union believed that despite his posturing the Tory candidate would be easier to beat than Livingstone, who had been "hard and canny" in negotiations.
"If they [the Tories] really are going to bring in a union-busting transport leader he or she is going to have to be very tough because the RMT are lethally strong," added Travers.
Tube strikes cost the UK economy around £50m per year.
The Tory candidate for mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has set himself on a collision course with tube workers in the capital after holding a series of secret talks to find a transport chief to take on the RMT.
The Henley MP, who was ahead in the latest opinion poll, says he wants to negotiate a no-strike agreement with the union if he wins on May 1, claiming it has had its "thumb around the windpipe of London commuters" for years.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Johnson confirmed he was holding private talks with senior executives, although she said no job offers had been made.
The RMT dismissed the no-strike plan, and said it would publish the results of a strike ballot held among tube engineering staff later today that could trigger a polling day walkout on May 1.
"Boris Johnson is living in cloud cuckoo land if he believes this kind of approach could ever work," said a spokesman. "The RMT does not sign no-strike deals and would never give up its right to strike.
"More working time is lost in Britain through injuries sustained as a result of poor employers than through industrial action."
The outcome of the London mayoral election is expected to shape the political landscape across the UK in the run-up to the next general election.
According to the latest opinion poll Johnson has opened a 12% lead over Ken Livingstone, the Labour incumbent, although most analysts still believe the race is too close to call.
Steve Norris, the Conservative candidate in the previous two mayoral elections who has been tipped as a possible member of any future Johnson administration, said yesterday that he had been working closely with the campaign for the past six months but maintained he had not been offered a job yet.
"I would be extremely pleased to be part of Team Boris but there has been no job offer," he said.
It is understood that, if he wins, Johnson is considering a replacement for Peter Hendy, the commissioner of Transport for London, and a new TfL chairman - a position held by Livingstone.
Both roles are crucial to running the capital's buses and tubes. Christopher Garnett, the former boss of the failed GNER rail franchise, was considered but he is now thought to be out of the running. Nicola Shaw, head of FirstGroup's bus operations, and Jay Walder, a partner at McKinsey and a former TfL executive, are among the names being mooted.
Since Johnson took a lead in the polls, David Cameron and senior shadow cabinet ministers have taken a closer interest in his campaign.
Earlier this month Johnson was accused of incompetence after an independent transport analyst uncovered a £100m hole in Tory plans for London buses and it is thought that Central Office wants to avoid any future mishaps.
A senior Conservative figure told the Guardian that Cameron "will not allow" Johnson to damage the party with a gaffe-prone tenure as mayor. He said that experienced figures would be drafted in to guide him and rein in his undisciplined streak if he won.
Last night Tony Travers, the director of the Greater London Group - a research centre made up of experts in various aspects of London's government - at the LSE, said he expected Johnson to act as a "chairman of the board" if the Tories win, with a team of deputies underneath him to counter repeated accusations that he is inexperienced.
But he added that the RMT would prefer a Johnson victory because the union believed that despite his posturing the Tory candidate would be easier to beat than Livingstone, who had been "hard and canny" in negotiations.
"If they [the Tories] really are going to bring in a union-busting transport leader he or she is going to have to be very tough because the RMT are lethally strong," added Travers.
Tube strikes cost the UK economy around £50m per year.
