The Big Smoke

Why does London need a Green Mayor?
‘Ken’s recent green proposals are down to our influence. The annual cycling and walking budget was only £20 million in 2004. Now the Greens have the casting vote over the Mayor’s budget [ie he relies on us to get it through] and it’s £63m a year – that’s a threefold increase. Livingstone finally gets it, but nothing moves fast enough. As Green Mayor I’d triple this again.

You want to cut transport fares, triple the cycle budget and build new trams. How will you fund all this?
‘We’ll cancel all new road projects and stop the Thames Gateway Bridge [the £450m proposed thoroughfare connecting the A406 at Beckton with Thamesmead]. We’ll introduce a free bike scheme for short journeys, which will virtually pay for itself. And we’ll build an orbital rail link that connects outer London with inner London, and introduce 24-hour trains [to stem overcrowding]. The Government just doesn’t have the courage to push road pricing through. But that’s just fear of car lobbyists.’
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Many cycling lanes are dangerous – such as the one outside the Time Out building on Tottenham Court Road. Do we need a complete road redesign?
‘We’ll axe four one-way gyratory systems, including the Tottenham Court Road one. We also want to encourage businesses to invest in their local area by funding cycling facilities.’

How are you going to get people in the suburbs out of their cars?
‘We need to expand car access by increasing car clubs and parking space for them. We’d create dedicated bays within controlled parking zones across London. Every home should have a car club space within a five-minute walk by 2012. I’m not anti-car, I just want people to realise there are alternatives. People think being green is a middle-class choice but if they can see it involves saving cash [in the long term] it begins to make sense.’

Many Londoners feel unfairly targeted by the congestion charge. How do you respond to their concerns?
‘The congestion charge has worked. We’re the only major city which is increasing the share of people using public transport. Traffic isn’t getting worse, in contrast to every other UK region. I’d keep the policy of having a higher charge for gas-guzzlers, especially as other cities are adopting similar schemes. I would plan to strengthen the emissions requirements over time.’

How are your other policies, such as housing, different from the other candidates?
‘We’re offering free insulation for all homeowners, not just to pensioners and people on benefits. Insulating solid Victorian walls is a problem. You either have to put the insulation inside, which is difficult, or clad the outside, which is ugly. But we can stimulate the market to overcome this problem and find a better solution. One idea is to get gas and utility companies to fund the scheme.’

What would you do about crime?
‘It’s not about quick-fix gimmicks such as metal detectors or ultrasonic ‘youth deterrents’. Instead, I’d give Safer Neighbourhoods teams more police officers and make more people available around the clock. Security for the Olympics and embassy events should be paid for by private investors.’

Aren’t the Olympics going to be an environmental disaster?
‘Now that we’ve got the Games, we need to ensure they’re staged in the greenest possible way. It’s sad that we’ve got sponsors such as Coke and McDonald’s. I’d try and make them source products locally and use organic ingredients. So, organically produced Coca-Cola, if there is such a thing!’

Your background is quite different from the other Mayoral candidates. [Berry was part of the green ‘guerrilla’ group Alliance Against 4x4s]. Do you think this gives you an advantage?
‘The traditional route into politics lowers your horizons, you stop seeing what can be done. I’ve done many jobs, including working in call centres and supermarkets. It has helped me to become focused and refuse to take no for an answer.’

What do you think of Boris?
‘I don’t trust the Tories. Their record on green issues has been poor, despite David Cameron’s fine words. They are scared about an upcoming general election and are worried about core voters. To the Tories, the environment means not dropping litter or tolerating graffiti. With Boris as Mayor we’ll see the halt or reversal of many of the strides forward that have been made. The Tories will let London down.’

Your questions
1. If you had to vote for one of the other candidates, who would you vote for and why? (Sumeet Vermani, Croydon)
‘We’re recommending people put Ken as number two, after us, to prevent Boris gaining votes.’

2. Would you consider installing mobile phone reception on the Underground? (Oliver Grubin, SE1)
‘Absolutely! It’s important not just for commuters but for the emergency services. But we’ll need a new etiquette.’

3. Will you fit fans in tube stations, link them to generators and create enough energy to power all the lights on the Underground? (Pat Hay, Middx)
‘I love hearing new ideas. The big thing we can do to recover energy is use regenerative braking on trains. This transforms the heat produced by braking into new energy. We hope the entire system can run off it by 2020.’

4. How long will you allow the Thames’ tidal flow to remain unexploited? (Paul James, Bromley)
‘For as little time as possible. It shouldn’t be too long before tidal farms can be used to tap the whole estuary for energy. It could possibly power the whole of London.’

5. What single thing could Londoners do to help the environment? (Danielle Barton, NW5)
‘In a word: walk.’