• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

If you do not get the money you want from Central Government, will you abandon plans for the Thames Gateway Bridge?

• Question by: Eric Ollerenshaw
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

The gamble then is an extra increase in Government grant whatever happens and you have not denied that there are going to be Council Tax increases if you get back, so that is fine. What if the Government in general election year " the year after the election for mayor " cannot cough up this extra money because of commitments it may have in other parts of the world, let us say for instance, and therefore you do not get this grant? Does that mean we are going to get the cuts that already seem to be going ahead or...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

I must say, Chair, I do not know how long this is going to go on but I am quite happy to spend two and a half hours duelling on this. I must say that the Mayor has clearly had a much more sheltered and naïve electoral life than, I suspect, anyone else in this chamber if he has never experienced any of this before. Certainly, I have experienced it time and time again from the Conservative and Labour parties over the last 30 years. Chair, I have a list here of false claims made by the Labour candidate. I...

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Well, I am sorry to hear that, Chair, because there were four claims made where it was proved that Labour have made misleading statements. I think the Mayor is right in one thing: this does presage the campaign for next year, which, as with tomorrow, will again result in a Liberal Democrat victory next June. That clearly is what is really bothering the Mayor today.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

I think, Chair, all I need to say is thank you very much to the Mayor. He has now given the headline for today and tomorrow: London Mayor predicts Liberal Democrat victory in Brent East. Otherwise, why would the Mayor, who happens to live in Brent East and probably knows what the result is going to be tomorrow, use his oral update solely to speak about a by-election campaign in one constituency? Perhaps, as this is Question Time, I should ask the Mayor whether he saw Newsnight last night and would like to comment on Michael Crick's report on the...

• Question by: Toby Harris
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

I was waiting for the Mayor to respond to Eric Ollerenshaw's question. My question follows on from Eric's because I think Eric raises a very interesting point about the nature of local in the context of London politics. Obviously, London is a mixture of villages and different localities and I would welcome the Mayor's views on the importance of local links and local relationships of people who stand for public office. In particular, obviously he is aware of the long record of Robert Evans's links with Northwest London as a former MEP and the untiring work that he has done...

• Question by: Noel Lynch
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Will you sign the international petition calling for a truly independent scientific panel to look into this?

• Question by: Meg Hillier
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

Can I applaud the Mayor for his leadership and attention to the responsibilities of his office in dealing with public health? He has rightly highlighted that it is very much as issue of equality and we can talk as much as we want about education and that is very valuable work but actually, it is the poorest children in London who suffer most from tooth decay. What I would ask is whether he would support a wider public health programme in addition to any debate about fluoridation, that would reduce the unnecessary onslaught of sugar on children's teeth. You will...

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

You say that you are doing all that you can but clearly the Government inspector does not think you are doing all that you can otherwise they would not have ordered this change.

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 September 2003

No, but you have hit the nail on the head when you said people are happy to travel for leisure but really do not want to spend, if they can avoid it, half the morning and then half the evening travelling to and from work. Public policies can actually make significant impacts on that one way or another.