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Tom Barry · January 22nd 09, 11:52 AM posted to uk.transport.london

wrote:

How much did Ken suffer for getting rid of the Routemasters after all?
People knew they were going when he was reelected.

The cognoscenti date the Bendy Jihad from the Policy Exchange pamphlet
in 2005, so at the 2004 election it wasn't an issue.

The bendy/RM policy was included in Boris's manifesto in 2008 for
tactical reasons to deprive Ken of the high ground on transport. In a
sense it came out of the recognition that you couldn't fight him on
better policies, so inventing a fake controversy was a better bet (same
with crime, judging by Boris's fulsome welcome of the latest figures).

So in a sense the RM issue ensured Ken suffered from not being able to
stand on his record. Quite clever, don't you think? Of course, it does
nothing for the development of transport in London, which is why I make
a big deal of it - to attempt to stop any future politician of either
party thinking they can try the same trick, and force them to actually
think about their policies as practical implementations rather than
electoral gimmicks.

Tom