Spot on.. There really was no option there, no way to get round that "pesky" Disabled Access legislation. The Bendy Buses have their faults, but frankly, I thought the Routemasters were archaic and rather pathetic (not to mention bloody freezing in winter...), and they were completely impractical for disabled people AND mothers with push-chairs. Nah, they had to go... Boris' plans are to get rid of Bendy Buses and replace them with...well, what exactly....? He's just gonna scrap them and effectively waste all the money already invested in them purely because he wants to take a contrary position to Ken... Arsehole.... <_<

 

I'm in two minds about the Olympics, the costs seem prohibitive, BUT it really was the only way to get investment and regeneration into an area of London which should have had it over 20 years ago.... Ken did what he had to do, just a shame it took a bloody Olympic bid in order to actually achieve it... Says everything about the way this country is run if you ask me......

 

Today he has announced a ban on drinking alcohol on buses and tubes in London, while it is probably impossible to police it is a sign to me that he intends to crack down on the chav culture in London and make it a safer place, words have to be backed up with deeds but I think he means well

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7387113.stm

 

Edited May 7, 200817 yr by Tim Barnes

Meaning well is all good and well, but in all honesty will these chavs readily give up their alcohol? :lol: The actual people who will be enforcing this have had no say as to whether this is at all operable...

Today he has announced a ban on drinking alcohol on buses and tubes in London, while it is probably impossible to police it is a sign to me that he intends to crack down on the chav culture in London and make it a safer place, words have to be backed up with deeds but I think he means well

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7387113.stm

Oh good. So, when I come home from Wembley on Saturday, I won't be able to have a drink on my way to Waterloo. What happened to the Tories constant complaints about Labour's control-freakery and the nanny state?

Edited May 7, 200817 yr by Suedehead2

Heh heh, I'm with Suedehead - I'm sure I've had a crafty can or two on the tube before. I'd say he should tackle the drink problem overground before he heads underground.

Well, mate, you say that, but I reckon he achieved plenty as an Independant Mayor during his first term...

 

not according to ken on tv last week... thats why he re-joined, to get the support for initiatives that wouldnt be forthcoming to an independant.

God help us. I have no idea why on God's green Earth the guy was elected, I don't believe he should have got the job. Some people are quick to put Ken down, but they should remember all he's done for London, if it wasn't for him London wouldn't be half of what it is now.

 

I'm all for giving people chances, i.e. Boris, but I feel people will soon start to regret voting him in...maybe he'll prove me wrong we'll see.

not according to ken on tv last week... thats why he re-joined, to get the support for initiatives that wouldnt be forthcoming to an independant.

 

Nah, I think that's just an excuse he's using to sell out his principles tbh.... I dont think he needed to go back to Nu Labor at all... It was a purely political decision.... He got a lot of criticism over it, so he's just coming up with an excuse.... He detested B-Liar and everything 'Nu Labor' stood for (he was one of Nu Labor's fiercest critics in the beginning, and his very strong anti-war, anti-Bush stance got him a lot of support), and B-Liar was certainly no fan of Ken's....

 

Today he has announced a ban on drinking alcohol on buses and tubes in London, while it is probably impossible to police it is a sign to me that he intends to crack down on the chav culture in London and make it a safer place, words have to be backed up with deeds but I think he means well

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7387113.stm

 

 

Excuse me, but that's just utter bullsh!t, a total half-measure.... What, exactly, will banning alcohol consumption on buses achieve without a ban generally on drinking on the streets (which I would almost certainly support...) backing it up...? Answer - Nothing...

 

Who's gonna enforce this then...? The bus drivers...? Tube drivers...? Yeah, like they should be expected to put themselves at risk, possibly facing a bunch of knife-wielding chav scum with little or no back-up at all.... I bloody wouldn't, it aint MY job to enforce the law, I think you'll find this is what the POLICE are for... Boris is gonna issue all bus and tube drivers with body armour and stab vests then I take it.... Or is he gonna have a police officer on EVERY bus and tube then...?

 

Nice in theory, poorly thought out, no joined-up thinking at all...... Sign of things to come from Mayor Boris methinks......

Excuse me, but that's just utter bullsh!t, a total half-measure.... What, exactly, will banning alcohol consumption on buses achieve without a ban generally on drinking on the streets (which I would almost certainly support...) backing it up...? Answer - Nothing...

 

Who's gonna enforce this then...? The bus drivers...? Tube drivers...? Yeah, like they should be expected to put themselves at risk, possibly facing a bunch of knife-wielding chav scum with little or no back-up at all.... I bloody wouldn't, it aint MY job to enforce the law, I think you'll find this is what the POLICE are for... Boris is gonna issue all bus and tube drivers with body armour and stab vests then I take it.... Or is he gonna have a police officer on EVERY bus and tube then...?

 

Nice in theory, poorly thought out, no joined-up thinking at all...... Sign of things to come from Mayor Boris methinks......

 

I never said I agree with the policy, its nice in theory but will be impossible to enforce in practice but it shows that he is determined to do something about anti social behaviour even if he is going about it in an ill thought out way, better to do something and f*** it up than to sit and do nothing at all like Livingstone seemed to do

I never said I agree with the policy, its nice in theory but will be impossible to enforce in practice but it shows that he is determined to do something about anti social behaviour even if he is going about it in an ill thought out way, better to do something and f*** it up than to sit and do nothing at all like Livingstone seemed to do

 

Livingstone did "fukk all" as you put it, because he was smart enough to realise that it was impractical and nigh-on bloody impossible to enforce..... Unlike Boris, Ken was not prepared to put London Transport/London Underground employees at even MORE risk of violence and assault than they already are.....

 

....How typical for a fukkin' TORY to put the lives of the decent tax-paying, WORKING CLASSES at even higher risk..... <_<

If the bus drivers and tube drivers of London were to hold a strike ballot on this issue (because it would almost certainly put the safety of tube workers and bus drivers at a heightened risk if they were to be expected to enforce an alcohol ban and confront people ignoring the ban...), I would certainly support them.... If for no other reason than to make Mayor Boris look like a fool....

 

...Mind you, not that he needs much help to do that.....

Livingstone did "fukk all" as you put it, because he was smart enough to realise that it was impractical and nigh-on bloody impossible to enforce..... Unlike Boris, Ken was not prepared to put London Transport/London Underground employees at even MORE risk of violence and assault than they already are.....

 

....How typical for a fukkin' TORY to put the lives of the decent tax-paying, WORKING CLASSES at even higher risk..... <_<

 

As far as I know Boris wants to have a police officer on every underground train, whether that is practical or affordable is a different matter but as far as I recall he wants an officer on every train

 

It is also my understanding that he has had consultations with Rudy Giuliani who transformed New York with a zero tolerance policy towards petty crime and serious crime so if Boris achieves even half as much as Giuliani London will be a lot better place to live

As far as I know Boris wants to have a police officer on every underground train, whether that is practical or affordable is a different matter but as far as I recall he wants an officer on every train

 

It is also my understanding that he has had consultations with Rudy Giuliani who transformed New York with a zero tolerance policy towards petty crime and serious crime so if Boris achieves even half as much as Giuliani London will be a lot better place to live

 

Guiliani's policies were discredited though, and the man's a fukkin' racist..... And again, we're cribbing notes off the Yanks... Why...? Do they have a "perfect society"..? Like fukk... If we are to take ideas from anyone, perhaps we should be looking at how they do things on the Continent, or in Scandinavia, where "chav culture" seems to be practically non-existant (i've happily walked the streets of Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Munich, Stockholm at 3am with no real fear for life and limb)... And, with the added bonus of these countries NOT acting like a bunch of authoritarian fascists....

 

His ideas of putting police on every underground train is utterly laughable..... :lol: :lol: How many police does that leave to actually patrol overground where most of the crime is taking place...?

 

Again, another dim-witted idea, poorly thought out, purely to grab headlines and attract gullible/thick voters into voting for the fukkwit....

If the bus drivers and tube drivers of London were to hold a strike ballot on this issue (because it would almost certainly put the safety of tube workers and bus drivers at a heightened risk if they were to be expected to enforce an alcohol ban and confront people ignoring the ban...), I would certainly support them.... If for no other reason than to make Mayor Boris look like a fool....

 

...Mind you, not that he needs much help to do that.....

 

It would be workable if the courts do their job, if assaulting a public transport worker resulted in automatic PRISON upon conviction then that would help matters but thats a central government / judiciary thing but if Boris got commitments from them that harming a tube or bus worker is automatic jail then this could be enforced

 

There needs to be a lot of prisons built in this country, 30 or 40 new prisons need to be built, we have disused oil rigs, old military bases, retired ships could be converted into prisons.

 

Provided penalties were toughened up then these workers you go on about would work safer but thats up to Brown not Johnson

 

Another thing that needs addressing is the homeless on the streets, as well as being a bloody eyesore they are also a massive source of crime, intimidation and so on on the streets, I would make it a criminal offence to be homeless on the streets of London as homeless druggies and winos and lets face it 99% of them are are a massive cause of crime in London, they are also an eyesore for tourists too, if I went somewhere to another country and had druggies shouting at me from shop doorways my image of the country would be very bad and I wouldnt want to go there again

 

Locking up the homeless druggies should be Johnson's top priority ahead of pissheads on the tube, those establishments I listed above would be perfect place to lock them up

Edited May 8, 200817 yr by Tim Barnes

Another thing that needs addressing is the homeless on the streets,

 

..And what did your "blessed" Tory Govt do about this issue, exactly when it was in power....?

 

Made the problem a thousand times worse, that's what..... <_<

 

Turning homeless people into 'criminals', purely by virtue of the fact that they are homeless, is hardly going to help is it...? You have no clue as to why the majority of homeless actually end up that way do you...? No, you just paint them all as "bad people"..... A lot of homeless have mental disorders, and, thanks to YOUR party with their "care in the community" bollocks ended up with no support, and on the streets through no fault of their own, another fact is that many young homeless people are actually fleeing abuse from their parents or foster "care".... But, hey, that's right, the homeless, they're all just scum aren't they, round them up, stick them in detention camps.....

 

You, my friend, are a bit of a Fascist.....

 

..And what did your "blessed" Tory Govt do about this issue, exactly when it was in power....?

 

Made the problem a thousand times worse, that's what..... <_<

 

Turning homeless people into 'criminals', purely by virtue of the fact that they are homeless, is hardly going to help is it...? You have no clue as to why the majority of homeless actually end up that way do you...? No, you just paint them all as "bad people"..... A lot of homeless have mental disorders, and, thanks to YOUR party with their "care in the community" bollocks ended up with no support, and on the streets through no fault of their own, another fact is that many young homeless people are actually fleeing abuse from their parents or foster "care".... But, hey, that's right, the homeless, they're all just scum aren't they, round them up, stick them in detention camps.....

 

You, my friend, are a bit of a Fascist.....

 

We have been out of power 11 years now Labour have had more than enough time to reverse any policies that we introduced so stuff that happened over 11 years ago bears no relevance as the current homeless on the streets Labour have had more than enough time to reverse stuff like Care In The Community so it is a Labour issue not a tory one

 

A good offline friend of mine (5 months pregnant) walked from Tottenham Court Road to Euston a few weeks back late at night and she was literally shaking when she phoned me off the train at Euston because she had been harassed along that walk by homeless people making crude sexual comments and demanding money

 

A pregnant woman being intimidated and harassed by druggie homeless is not acceptable in a modern day society so even if there are a few genuine cases who are fleeing abuse the fact is that there are far too many, vast majority infact , that are causing problems for the situation to be accepted so locking the whole bloody lot of them up would be far safer for the people of London

 

I dont think it is fascist at all i think that it is a common sense measure to make London safer and to improve its image to tourists, I am hardly talking about Brazillian death squads here lol purely taking a problem sector of society out of circulation to enable the streets of London to be safer

 

I am far more interested in the safety and welfare of pregnant women walking the streets of London than I am the 5% of homeless with genuine sob stories, nothing has changed my position that they should be taken off the streets and put in detention camps or prisons where they can also get treatment and help for their problems, its not fascist at all

Edited May 8, 200817 yr by Tim Barnes

We have been out of power 11 years now Labour have had more than enough time to reverse any policies that we introduced so stuff that happened over 11 years ago bears no relevance as the current homeless on the streets Labour have had more than enough time to reverse stuff like Care In The Community so it is a Labour issue not a tory one

 

A good offline friend of mine (5 months pregnant) walked from Tottenham Court Road to Euston a few weeks back late at night and she was literally shaking when she phoned me off the train at Euston because she had been harassed along that walk by homeless people making crude sexual comments and demanding money

 

A pregnant woman being intimidated and harassed by druggie homeless is not acceptable in a modern day society so even if there are a few genuine cases who are fleeing abuse the fact is that there are far too many, vast majority infact , that are causing problems for the situation to be accepted so locking the whole bloody lot of them up would be far safer for the people of London

 

I dont think it is fascist at all i think that it is a common sense measure to make London safer and to improve its image to tourists, I am hardly talking about Brazillian death squads here lol purely taking a problem sector of society out of circulation to enable the streets of London to be safer

 

I am far more interested in the safety and welfare of pregnant women walking the streets of London than I am the 5% of homeless with genuine sob stories, nothing has changed my position that they should be taken off the streets and put in detention camps or prisons where they can also get treatment and help for their problems, its not fascist at all

 

An unfortunate story... But firstly, how do you, or your friend, know they were, in fact, genuine homeless and not just general Chav/Pikey/Criminal scum (plenty of beggars on the streets of London are, in fact, professional beggars or part of criminal gangs, and not 'homeless' at all)...? Wearing a neon sign were they...? And, sorry, but locking people away purely because they are in an unfortunate position (and, if your life was as sh!t as theirs is, I think you'd probably want to take drugs or drink to "escape" as well...) , is the sort of thing that would occur in a Fascist, Latin American regime, so I dont take back what I said at all...

 

No, what these people need is genuine help to get back on their feet, not being locked away in a prison camp and treated like a criminal, when all they're really doing is trying to survive...

 

And your abdication of responsibility for this social problem on behalf of your party is probably the biggest act of hand-washing since Pontius Pilate.... Pathetic... The govt YOU VOTED FOR created this sh!t in the first place (like all the sh"t that's turned this country into a virtual toilet).... Yes, it is disgusting that Nu Labor has done very little about it, but it certainly DOES NOT absolve the Tories of the original "crime" of Thatcherism.....

An unfortunate story... But firstly, how do you, or your friend, know they were, in fact, genuine homeless and not just general Chav/Pikey/Criminal scum (plenty of beggars on the streets of London are, in fact, professional beggars or part of criminal gangs, and not 'homeless' at all)...? Wearing a neon sign were they...? And, sorry, but locking people away purely because they are in an unfortunate position (and, if your life was as sh!t as theirs is, I think you'd probably want to take drugs or drink to "escape" as well...) , is the sort of thing that would occur in a Fascist, Latin American regime, so I dont take back what I said at all...

 

No, what these people need is genuine help to get back on their feet, not being locked away in a prison camp and treated like a criminal, when all they're really doing is trying to survive...

 

And your abdication of responsibility for this social problem on behalf of your party is probably the biggest act of hand-washing since Pontius Pilate.... Pathetic... The govt YOU VOTED FOR created this sh!t in the first place (like all the sh"t that's turned this country into a virtual toilet).... Yes, it is disgusting that Nu Labor has done very little about it, but it certainly DOES NOT absolve the Tories of the original "crime" of Thatcherism.....

 

It is impossible to clean up London without ridding the city of beggars, homeless, prostitutes in red light districts and squeegy merchants cleaning cars at traffic lights and demanding money, I consider those people to be a far bigger problem than people having a can of beer on a tube train, I have done that dozens of times and don't think someone drinking on a train is a big problem if they are not committing crimes

It is impossible to clean up London without ridding the city of beggars, homeless, prostitutes in red light districts and squeegy merchants cleaning cars at traffic lights and demanding money, I consider those people to be a far bigger problem than people having a can of beer on a tube train, I have done that dozens of times and don't think someone drinking on a train is a big problem if they are not committing crimes

 

Hang on, somebody who has openly admitted using prostitutes in the past is getting on their high-horse about prostitution...... Pot calling kettle black mate.... -_- Are the Prossies themselves the problem...? Are they fukk..... The people who exploit them (pimps, kerb-crawlers) are the problem as far as I'm concerned....

 

Legalised, registered Brothels and clearly defined red-light districts that are FAR AWAY from residential areas (making places like Soho a regulated red light district would be a good idea IMO...) are the only logical solution to this problem... Of course, let's see if Boris actually has the sense to think this one up himself.....

 

And, to be honest, I dont really see many examples of "squeegy merchants" on the streets nowadays... And I travel around various parts of London on a regular basis for work, pleasure, etc....

Hang on, somebody who has openly admitted using prostitutes in the past is getting on their high-horse about prostitution...... Pot calling kettle black mate.... -_- Are the Prossies themselves the problem...? Are they fukk..... The people who exploit them (pimps, kerb-crawlers) are the problem as far as I'm concerned....

 

Legalised, registered Brothels and clearly defined red-light districts that are FAR AWAY from residential areas (making places like Soho a regulated red light district would be a good idea IMO...) are the only logical solution to this problem... Of course, let's see if Boris actually has the sense to think this one up himself.....

 

And, to be honest, I dont really see many examples of "squeegy merchants" on the streets nowadays... And I travel around various parts of London on a regular basis for work, pleasure, etc....

 

Wrong in a way Scott, I used escort agencies who offered "additional services" big difference from red light district stuff, same services but a totally different discreet thing, I never kerb crawled I never used the services of one on the streets in a vice district or out of a London phone booth it was highly professional structure, big difference