The new Mayor of London

I got my first chance today to visit City Hall since Boris Johnson was somehow elected as Mayor of London. As I approached, City Hall appeared to look the same as ever. Outside there were tourists milling about mingling with some very sharp suits heading to and from the More London office buildings. Entering City Hall was the same as usual. I still get the urge to remove my staff pass and say hello to who ever is on reception even though it is 4 years since I left the GLA.

The security staff were as friendly and helpful as ever - some of them still remember me which is nice. The first change I noticed was to the London Map. The map is in fact a carpet which has a google earth type map of London on it and is found at the bottom of the spiral ramp on the lower ground floor. I used to like walking around on that map helping visitors identify there house. Now something curious has happened to the map. A big table in the shape of Great Britain (no Northern Ireland) has been placed on the east end of the map of London. The outer boroughs of the London map carpet have been removed. The very boroughs that are responsible for electing Boris. What could this mean? Has a disgruntled Ken loyalist sabotaged the map defacing those outer boroughs who voted for Boris? Who knows but it does make the lovely map carpet look very sad indeed.

The atmosphere was subdued in the City Hall cafe in fact the best way to describe the atmosphere is to say it was like an intake of breath after a shock. I am guessing that is how most staff at City Hall feel right now. They are taking a deep breath and waiting for everything to settle and become clear. It looks like many people could lose their jobs.

When I got home tonight BBC London ran a story saying that Boris Johnson has refused to honor Ken Livingstone's weekly press conferences. Boris says he doesn't need to talk to the press every week and be held accountable. Even though he fought his election campaign on the pledge to be more transparent than Ken! Of course I am not surprised by this but I hope all those people who voted for Boris because they believed him when hw said that he would be more transparent than Ken and more willing to talk about what is going on at City Hall, recognise that he is not true to his word. I don't think Ken was perfect - I worked for him so I should know - but even when things were really tough he met with the press every week and allowed them to badger and question. I know how important these press conferences were because I sometimes had to contribute to the brief which was given to Ken so he could answer the probing questions thrown at him during the press conferences.