By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982
This morning's New Statesman says that Tory leader David Cameron and his Mayor of London Boris Johnson are at "breaking point, with new and potentially damaging divisions over the mayor's plans for London."
James Macintyre, who wrote for LabourList yesterday, sayss the fresh schism has arisen because of Cameron's opposition to Johnson's general election manifesto policy proposals:
* The first is Johnson's backing for Crossrail, the scheme linking Essex, Canary Wharf and Heathrow, which the government and Johnson are backing but the Statesman says Cameron will not. Crossrail is crucial to London's future as a financial capital, and is supported by City financiers and ordinary Londoners.
* The second is Johnson's plan for a new airport on an island in the Thames estuary. Tory HQ hasn't made its position clear on this, but remains opposed to a third runway at Heathrow. However, this week Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told a constituent in a letter that that "vote blue, get green" policy and opposition to the third runway would be revisited once the Tories were in power and the realities of office would force them to address issues more closely.
* The third cause of dispute is Johnson's wish for enhanced powers for the London Mayoralty. Cameron's opposition to this will call into doubt his commitment to devolving power away from Westminster and into local communities.
The reports throw further light on Ken Livingstone's assertion last week that Cameron was "horrified" when Johnson won the mayoralty.
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A few years ago NuLabour (ToryLite) performed a great con on council house tenants. They refused to allow tenants to vote for the fourth option of keeping the homes under council control and people were only offered ALMO or Housing Association. Nonetheless dear Auntie Tony p[romised that if tenants voted for either of these options extra funds would be made available to upgrade their homes by 2010 (Prescott's Decent Homes nonsense).
Today the government announced that £150 million earmarked for several London boroughs to carry out this upgrading and decency has now been "refocused". In other words, crumbling old council homes will NOT be bought up to decent standards.
How typical of this cowering. cowardly, so-called "Labour" government that they chose to make the announcement the day AFTER Parliament rises for three months.
Nice to know NuLabour has it's priorities right, though £150 billion for the banks and two fingers for the poor.
At the moment, Manchester to Liverpool (30 miles or so), or Manchester to Leeds (40 miles max) both take around an hour by train. Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire together almost more than equal London's population (although not the whole metropolitan area), but they are massively less served by train communication.
Boris is not a lap dog, and as a conservative is doing what he thinks best for London.
Cameron as conservative party leader is planning on doing what he thinks best for the country.
Sounds pretty good to me.
Have you run out of barrel to scrape?
Yes, the man who described Gordon brown as a "towering figure".
Laugh, I thought I'd.....piece more cake, vicar? :)
As a side issue, the current green paper worked on the assumption of 5% growth in air-travel since 2000, it has failed to grow by that much at all making the capacity issue far less urgent than argued.
If you follow the link 'revisited once the Tories were in power' it details a comprehensive slapping down of the unfortunate MP by the Shadow Transport Secretary and Cameron himself.
Still don't let the facts get in the way of a story.
I don't know about this story - I thought there was more evidence for a schism in the Evening Standard interview with Boris a few weeks ago.
As for a Boris v Cameron split; I cannot see how there are many journos very close to both of them for the story not to out somehow. I'm sure they will disagree on areas of policy but that's all part and parcel of the job. I think people forget how it was before being 'on message' appeared.
Nothing to see. Move along please.
Come 2018 Boris - as a sprightly 54 year old - will, after two magnificent terms as Mayor, be ideally placed to accept the baton of Conservative PM (Cameron having resigned after his two successful stints at the helm).
Please don't all choke on your muesli!
I think Boris is being smart and clearly his position on the issue mentioned is right. I think Cameron will lose over that debate. London Mayors do seem to be a little more in touch. I am not sure any politician has a "magnificent term" I think you need to lower your expectations as you are heading towards deep disappointment, I wwould way that to anyone on politics.
They will be OK-ish... Which is still 'magnificent' in comparison to their Labour alternatives.
It's more bunker-speak wishful thinking and the New Statesman wonders why it's losing readers.