Boris: The bankers’ best friend

Boris Johnson, forever defending the indefensible over bankers’ obscene bonuses, has held more meetings with bankers and the financial services industry than with government ministers, the Met police, his electors or the press since coming to power, new figures out today reveal.

Boris-Johnsons-meetings-May-2008-Jan-2011
Between May 2008 and January this year, the Mayor held 70 meetings with bankers and financial services types, 60 with ministers, 43 with the Met, and only 13 public meetings with Londoners and five press conferences.

Labour candidate for Mayor Ken Livingstone said of the latest stats:

“These latest figures show that bankers, not the majority of Londoners, are the Mayor’s priority and that is reflected in his political choices, calling for lower taxes for the richest whilst putting up fares and cutting police services for the majority.”

While in an article in this week’s Tribune magazine, he says:

“The Tories deserve to be behind in the polls – even before the full scale of what they are planning has come on track. I have never known party lie so brazenly during a campaign. Cameron’s big idea is a Robin Hood in reverse.

“The majority is being forced to pay through fees, fares, VAT, cuts and reduced living standards, pay and conditions for an economic situation they did not create, while the bankers sit pretty.

“The Tories’ representative in London, Boris Johnson, was correctly described by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott as ‘rattling the begging bowl on behalf of the starving rich’.”

Oakeshott was last week forced out from his role as Lib Dem Treasury spokesman for standing up to the government over bonuses; as shadow chancellor Ed Balls said:

“It is symbolic of the shambolic and panicked way that the chancellor has gone about agreeing this weak and toothless deal with the banks that the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman in the House of Lords has been sacked…

“It is a sad commentary on this Tory-led government that Lord Oakeshott has been forced to pay the price for daring to tell the truth.”

Also last week, it was revealed that more than half of Tory funds come from the City – double the proportion of when Boris’s chum David Cameron came to power. No wonder the Tory leader said:

“The City is in my blood.”

http://twitter.com/igology/status/38663110638309376 Iggy

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/politically01/status/38664623062257664 mrs muffy

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/fletchersimon/status/38665363910705152 Simon Fletcher

The graph says it all >> RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/kerryabel/status/38665708862840832 Kerry Abel

RT @fletchersimon: The graph says it all >> RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/politic_animal/status/38665784813293568 Political Animal

RT @fletchersimon: The graph says it all >> RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/simontreanor/status/38666678279741441 Simon Treanor

RT @fletchersimon: The graph says it all >> RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
Trakgalvis

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/dianehain/status/38671575372795904 Diane Hain

RT @fletchersimon: The graph says it all >> RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
http://twitter.com/ldtuc/status/38672195165229056 L DTUC

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend: http://bit.ly/emAjNS reports @ShamikDas
Dave Citizen

It’s ironic that Boris is still applying the classic Tory economic logic of meeting rich bankers needs so they can make enough profits to lift our living standards just at a time when banks are making mega profits but we are still warned to expect a worsening lot for years to come. For Tory logic read self serving deception.
Mr. Sensible

Surprise…
http://twitter.com/benfolley/status/38742635896115200 Ben Folley

Boris: the bankers best friend http://t.co/fBGEBuA via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/fio_edwards/status/38746844225863680 Fiona Edwards

RT @benfolley: Boris: the bankers best friend http://t.co/fBGEBuA via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/darrenjohnsonam/status/38888491668475904 Darren Johnson

Our @mayoroflondon too busy to chair police authority, manages 80 meetings with banks. @leftfootforward http://bit.ly/eRNRRk #ukuncut
http://twitter.com/southwarkgp/status/38888679527288833 Southwark Greens

RT @DarrenJohnsonAM Our @mayoroflondon too busy to chair police authority, manages 80 meetings with banks. http://bit.ly/eRNRRk
http://twitter.com/adamramsay/status/38891885506478080 AdamRamsay

RT @DarrenJohnsonAM: Our @mayoroflondon too busy to chair police authority, manages 80 meetings with banks. http://bit.ly/eRNRRk
http://twitter.com/spsot/status/39346973328941056 Spir.Sotiropoulou

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend http://bit.ly/h6cJGT
http://twitter.com/press_not_sorry/status/39348185721872385 Press Not Sorry

RT @spsot: RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend http://bit.ly/h6cJGT
http://twitter.com/rockythehamster/status/39651163997605888 Rocky Hamster

RT @leftfootfwd: Boris: The bankers' best friend http://bit.ly/h6cJGT
http://twitter.com/one_society/status/39683662622494720 One Society campaign

Boris Johnson's diary serves as evidence of the disproportionate lobbying power of the City: http://tiny.cc/ax004 #ukuncut
http://twitter.com/multimedian/status/39689566491381760 Ian Parker

RT @One_Society: Boris Johnson's diary serves as evidence of the disproportionate lobbying power of the City: http://tiny.cc/ax004 #ukuncut
David Mullen

I cant say I’m surprised either but what do you expect from someone who gets paid ridiculous amounts of money for not doing much that is constructive. He’s probably looking for a nice cushy sinecure in a mulinational bank once his political career comes to an end.
http://twitter.com/myinfamy/status/39828337048297472 Daniel Pitt

Boris Johnson: A banker's best friend http://bit.ly/emAjNS #ConDemNation
http://twitter.com/lauraxsynthesis/status/39828549649174528 Laura Synthesis

RT @One_Society: Boris Johnson's diary serves as evidence of the disproportionate lobbying power of the City: http://tiny.cc/ax004 #ukuncut
http://twitter.com/salardeen/status/39828693362802688 salardeen

RT @myinfamy: Boris Johnson: A banker's best friend http://bit.ly/emAjNS #ConDemNation
http://twitter.com/hlcheathrow/status/39875012685078528 hlcheathrow

RT @One_Society: Boris Johnson's diary serves as evidence of the disproportionate lobbying power of the City: http://tiny.cc/ax004 #ukuncut
http://twitter.com/hanlemic/status/40916132529442816 Michael Hanley

@bexsternator http://bit.ly/hoNrFr