Boris Johnston, the new mayor of London, is being welcomed into
office by the business community, who are collectively keen to see him
tackle the City’s weaknesses.
Skills, transport and the 2012 Olympics have been firmly put at the top
of his enterprise agenda, following calls from the CBI, the employers’
organisation.
In line with the group’s wishes, Mr Johnston said before he was elected
that he would help equip Londoners with the “skills they need to
achieve their ambitions.”
His commitment was two-fold: firstly he hinted he wanted to improve the
calibre of graduates entering the workforce, for their own futures as
well as their employers’.
Secondly, he vowed to promote “enterprise and entrepreneurialism”,
particularly to those excluded from it the most; women, the
disadvantaged and black or minority ethnic individuals.
On transport, he said the City’s infrastructure must set “the right
conditions for entrepreneurial success” – meaning it should be
efficient, affordable and provide value for money.
On the Olympics, he said it must be used to “drive employment
opportunities” and regenerate east London. After becoming mayor, he
also said he would introduce a system of financial controls given its
spiralling cost.
Partly to this end, lobby group London First has said it is prepared to
help the new mayor choose a team of advisors from the City who would be
suitable to run the mayoral agencies.
Political observers say careful choices about these appointments are
vital: the former mayor was accused of cronyism, and aside from being
editor of The Spectator, Johnston’s management experience is limited.
“Boris has been elected with a mandate for change,” said Baroness Jo Valentine, the chief executive of London First.
“There are several transport issues – preventing gridlock in the
capital; securing long term investment in the Tube; and ensuring
Crossrail is built to specification, on-time and on-budget.”
“Plus there’s no doubt it’s time for a radical shake-up of the London
Development Agency. Again, he can rely on the commitment and support
from our business members in tackling each of these as well as any as
yet unforeseen challenges over the horizon.”
Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, said Mr Johnston will
bring “vigour and enthusiasm” to the London mayoralty, but that alone
won’t be enough.
“It is important the mayor continues to protect and promote the city’s
strengths, as well as address its weaknesses, particularly skills,
infrastructure and transport,” he said.
The group called for “more detailed proposals” from Mr Johnston, adding
that the “right advisors” must be selected, a process they believe
should involve London’s firms.
Meanwhile, London First pointed out that Mr Johnston has taken office
at a time of challenges, not least because he will be expected to steer
the capital through the “difficult global economic situation.”
Similarly Colin Stanbridge, of the London Chamber of Commerce, told the
Financial Times that the capital needed decisive leadership to fend off
international rivals, such as Mumbai, Shanghai and Dubai.
Positively, London’s global status has already been singled out by Mr
Johnston as a priority, though any details on his international
policies are currently lacking.
“We must never forget,” he said on the campaign trail, “that most
[large businesses] can just as easily conduct their operations from New
York, Shanghai, Dubai or Mumbai - and we must keep striving to be the
best.”
Yet the-then Tory candidate was careful not to exclude smaller and
one-person businesses, in particularly those in the creative
industries, from his enterprise vision.
“Our famous financial services sector employs hundreds of thousands of
the brightest and best minds from around the world, themselves drawn
here by London's dynamism and prosperity,” Mr Johnston said.
“But this success is not just powered from the glittering citadels in
the square mile and the large multinationals based there; it has also
been driven by London's growing creative industries, its small and
medium enterprises and sole traders.”
Since his comments, mayor Johnston has agreed to meet the Federation of
Small Businesses once a month to “find out the real issues affecting
people running their businesses,” Startups reported.
And although the Green Party’s mayoral candidate Siân Berry claims Mr
Johnston was second to her as the FSB’s preferred candidate, he has
pledged to scrap the £25 congestion charge for commuting business
owners, a move that all business groups would welcome.
May 6, 2008
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