• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 October 2005

You never refer to it anywhere, do you, in your interviews or in anything else? You refer only to the quick and cheap MORI poll. Let me ask you: what role would you see yourself playing in Animal Farm when all the rules that are written up keep getting rewritten secretly overnight?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 October 2005

As far as I am aware, your own MORI poll was an attitudinal survey. It was also quick and dirty, was it not? It was one of those that was, `Quick ' grab 2,000 people'. I understand that only 1,000 of those were actually from the existing zone or thereabouts, but that it was so heavily weighted that, in fact, in the end only 63 interviews contributed to the 41% reflecting their opinions on this charge. It was a pretty cheap and quick kind of thing, was it not, compared to your consultation?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 October 2005

Is it not extraordinary that despite your changes, you got even more people coming out against it? It does not seem you can do anything to make people like it, Mr Mayor.

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 18 October 2005

Nevertheless, what is the point of your report, which is published with some flourish just ahead of these sessions, if it does not actually reflect the full situation as far as major policy decisions? It seems to me extraordinary that you could have spent something like £3 million and asked literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of households, and somehow the whole thing is airbrushed out of history. Why was that the case? Why was your report, which is an important document and, I would imagine, meant to be a record of your governance, not mentioning the main consultation?

• Question by: Damian Hockney
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

Mayor, I realise that the Congestion Charge protesters have mostly gone, but you have to understand that the people of Kensington and Chelsea and west London do oppose the Extension of the scheme. They are unhappy with it, and I think you referred to opinion polls just now. I just have to say one of the problems I have with listening to that is this: when there was an opinion poll that your office ordered on another matter, we were clear that the questions were leading questions. They led towards an end point. When we then tried to scrutiny it...

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

Thank you. Will you also consider the setting up of an emergency volunteer reserve force to assist the emergency services in the case of an attack? We saw the number of volunteers who are wishing to help with the Olympics, so why not in this area?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

Yes, well that is one idea for spending the unnecessary money that you intend to spend on the Extension. There are other ways, I am sure, that people would prefer to see that money spent, rather than on the Extension. As you know, Mr Mayor, there are many people who simply do not see any of the benefits that you claim there will be under the Extension, and many of them are here today in the audience. I just wonder why you felt it necessary to sneak into this building through the back this morning. Whatever happened to the man...

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

May I also ask you, since we are talking about consultations: do you stick by your remarks that the whole thing that you have invited Londoners to participate in is actually a charade?

• Question by: Angie Bray
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

Okay, one final question: in your perfect world, a government would be elected. There would be no scrutiny of any sort. There would be no consultation of any sort, and for four years or five years, you would simply do as you want. Is that really what you would prefer? You do not think consultation is the sensible thing to have as an adjunct to government?

• Question by: Geoff Pope
• Meeting date: 14 September 2005

Are you aware that our policies propose more than just putting more people into the transport network? There needs to be better training, and also, we need to be better prepared for an attack. There is a proposal to produce an emergency volunteer reserve force and to have permanently staffed police boxes at mainline stations, so that the public know how they can get support, and so that it is better established. None of these things have yet been addressed. Is the Mayor intending to do anything on those?