Cameron and Johnson at breaking point

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

This morning’s New Statesman says that Tory leader David Cameron and his Mayor of London Boris Johnson are at “breaking point, with new and potentially damaging divisions over the mayor’s plans for London.”

James Macintyre, who wrote for LabourList yesterday, sayss the fresh schism has arisen because of Cameron’s opposition to Johnson’s general election manifesto policy proposals:

* The first is Johnson’s backing for Crossrail, the scheme linking Essex, Canary Wharf and Heathrow, which the government and Johnson are backing but the Statesman says Cameron will not. Crossrail is crucial to London’s future as a financial capital, and is supported by City financiers and ordinary Londoners.

* The second is Johnson’s plan for a new airport on an island in the Thames estuary. Tory HQ hasn’t made its position clear on this, but remains opposed to a third runway at Heathrow. However, this week Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown told a constituent in a letter that that “vote blue, get green” policy and opposition to the third runway would be revisited once the Tories were in power and the realities of office would force them to address issues more closely.

* The third cause of dispute is Johnson’s wish for enhanced powers for the London Mayoralty. Cameron’s opposition to this will call into doubt his commitment to devolving power away from Westminster and into local communities.

The reports throw further light on Ken Livingstone’s assertion last week that Cameron was “horrified” when Johnson won the mayoralty.

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