IT’S BORIS VERSUS KEN

Landslide victory in Tory poll means Henley
MP will stand in London mayor contest

By Will Davies

It's official — Boris Johnson has been chosen as the Tory candidate to challenge Ken Livingstone to become the next Mayor of London.

In a vote open to all Londoners, Henley’s MP won a massive 78.23 per cent of the votes with 15,661 of the 20,019 turnout. His nearest challenger was businesswoman and Kensington and Chelsea councillor Victoria Borwick, with 1,869 votes.

After a month-long campaign touring London boroughs, the Henley MP’s pledge to ‘work as hard for people in zone six as in zone one’ proved successful in securing the Tory party nomination.

Speaking yesterday morning (Thursday), he said: "I’d like to thank Londoners for giving me this opportunity. As I visited all of London’s 32 boroughs in the last few weeks the message was loud and clear — King Newt’s days are numbered.

"Across London I’ve met people fed up with paying so much to City Hall and getting so little in return."

Mr. Johnson, who has been Henley’s MP for six years, has promised to tackle crime, address London’s housing crisis and encourage more cycling.

"The job of the mayor is simple — to get people to work on time, to ensure people feel safe on the streets, to help people find a place to call home, to celebrate our diversity and to champion our success," he added.

"I want to be a mayor that will listen, will learn and will lead."

Mr. Johnson also announced yesterday that if elected, he will relinquish his duties as MP for Henley. The election takes place next May.

All's 'fair' in town trading

Commitment sees Henley designated a Fairtrade town

By Will Davies

HENLEY has become a Fairtrade Town — joining over 240 towns across the UK working to guarantee a better deal for Third World producers.

Last year Henley was declined the coveted status by The Fairtrade Foundation, when, coupled with a lack of interest from schools, the town council failed to pass a resolution supporting Fairtrade, citing a need to offer ‘choice’ — in spite of a petition signed by over 500 residents.

But in November the resolution was passed and some schools adopted the scheme, fulfilling the list of five goals the town must achieve.

Proud mayor Terry Buckett said: “It may not seem popular but it is very well supported in the town — and for the right reasons, too.”

The Henley Fairtrade Initiative, set up by Peter Slip and his small band of mainly Quakers and members of Christ Church, have worked to convince councillors, businessmen, community leaders and shop, cafe and restaurant managers to introduce Fairtrade products in the town — and have enjoyed considerable success.

With a population of 10,300 Henley requires four retail outlets and two catering outlets selling two or more Fairtrade products to be awarded the status.

In his report, Fairtrade Towns Co-ordinator for the Fairtrade Foundation, Bruce Crowther, applauds the town’s success in not just meeting the targets set, but far and away exceeding them.

The town now has five shops and eight catering outlets selling Fairtrade products and has established a Fairtrade Directory for Henley.
“It is great that there are so many outlets offering Fairtrade in a relatively small town like Henley,” he said.

“It is especially good to see smaller independent retailers like the Green Olive and Garnett and Stone offering Fairtrade options.”

The town’s major supermarkets now stock a wide range of products; Waitrose, whose constitution promotes ‘a better form of business’ leads the way, offering 32 Fairtrade goods which include not just tea and coffee, but biscuits and even wine. Henley’s recently enlarged Tesco offers 15 products.

Crowther adds: “It is important that this commitment is translated into products on shelves. We now look forward to seeing more outlets and a wider range of products offered by existing outlets.”

Fairtrade changes lives. Many farmers and workers in developing countries struggle to provide for their families. Poor market access and unfair trade rules often mean that the price they get for their crop does not cover the cost of production.

Peter Slip says: “As well as guaranteeing producers a fair and stable price for their products that covers the cost of production, with Fairtrade they also receive a social premium; extra money that has to be spent on community projects.

“In Tanzania, tea pickers have chosen to spend their social premium to set up shop selling affordable food for their families. Now they want to invest in building materials to improve their homes.”

Another string to Henley’s Fairtrade bow has been getting products into the town’s work places and community groups. All but one of Henley’s six churches have subscribed to help lift Third World farmers out of poverty and six work places — including not just Oxfam but Invesco Perpetual — have also thrown their hat into the ring.

One Achilles Heel in putting Henley on the Fairtrade map has been the schools. But staff at Shiplake Junior School are now offered Fairtrade tea and coffee and The Henley College students’ union is fully supplied by Henley’s sole Fairtrade-only cafe, Bloc 2.

In his report, Mr. Crowther praises the steering group’s hard work garnering support within schools, offering an olive branch to other schools in the form of the Fairtrade Schools scheme, launching this month.“There will be a great many resources for teachers and pupils to support them in making Fairtrade a part of their school or college.”

He added: “It is important that the organisations involved continue to promote Fairtrade to others and ensure that the support already gained is developed and deepened still further.”

Boris hits the campaign trail

By Will Davies

BORIS Johnson launched his campaign to be the Tory candidate for London mayor on Monday.

Taking to the stage as punk anthem London Calling raised the roof at City Hall, Mr. Johnson, 43, who has been Henley’s MP for six years, promised to tackle crime, address London’s housing crisis and encourage more cycling.

“London is the greatest city on earth. I love this city and I want it to be greater still,” he said.

Citing house prices as ‘the biggest single worry for Londoners’, Mr. Johnson, who is favourite to become the official Conservative candidate, said there was ‘huge scope’ to help young people onto the property ladder, by taking a more imaginative approach to shared-ownership schemes.

If elected, the former shadow minister for higher education said he would modify but not scrap the capital’s congestion charge, and bring back the classic Routemaster bus to London’s streets — in a 21st century form.

“It is time we got this city moving and have the transport system we deserve,” he added.

The former editor of the right-of-centre Spectator magazine criticised potential opponent Ken Livingstone’s recent deal with leftist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, whereby Transport for London will receive $32 million in discounted oil, intended to fund half price bus fares for low income Londoners. “You won’t see me doing deals with left-wing dictators,” he said.

Speaking exclusively to the Standard on Wednesday, Mr. Johnson said so far his campaign is going ‘very well’.

“I’ve just been looking at some neighbourhood policing in Blexley and there seems to be a strong desire to get Ken Livingstone out,” he said.

“I’m very encouraged by the first few days and although it is very hard to know exactly what it going on, there is definitely a good feeling out there.”

Mr. Johnson spent the day touring London boroughs, which included taking to the wheel of a Routemaster 70, which he said was ‘an absolute doddle to drive and lots of fun.’

Singing his praises, chairman of South Oxfordshire Conservatives, John Walsh, who has worked closely with Mr. Johnson, believes the Henley MP has what it takes to be mayor of London.

He said: “In contrast to Ken, who hasn’t made a good job of being mayor, Boris will take a fairly chunky budget and use it to improve core issues, like transport in the capital, which at present is a nightmare. Although he has only been an MP for six years, Boris has the ability to put concepts across using colourful language, which gets them noticed.

“Coupled with an ability to examine problems with fresh eyes, he decides on a solution and delivers — without being afraid of the populist view.”

The Tory candidate will be announced at the party’s conference at the end of the month. The mayoral election itself will be held on Thursday, May 1st, next year.