Britannia Radio

Allowing for the fact that the Mail has stolen a march on the others 
by producing this astonishing report after the morning papers have 
all been printed (it owns the Evening Standard too!) this shows it 
can be done.

The report is heavily reliant on "Sources close to Mr Johnson" but 
the likelihood is that this is 'kosher' stuff!
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If he's looking for more savings this Council Tax payer would be glad 
to see the Olympic 2012 levy (£33 pa ad infinitum)  removed
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DAILY MAIL   10.9.08
London mayor Boris Johnson wields 15 per cent spending axe as 
template for Tory rule
By BENEDICT BROGAN


Tightening the purse strings: London mayor Boris Johnson is due to 
announce plans for a huge cost-cutting drive

Boris Johnson will offer David Cameron a possible blueprint for a 
future Tory Government  when he announces plans for a huge cost-
cutting drive.

The capital's mayor will unveil details of a major restructuring of 
the Greater London Authority that will see spending cut by up to 15 
per cent on a vow to 'do more for less'.

He says his overhaul will mean reductions of nearly £500million in 
the mayor's £3.2billion annual budget.

The scale of the measures will delight grassroots Tories who have 
been pressing Shadow Chancellor George Osborne to slash waste in 
Whitehall.
Mr Johnson plans to present his shake-up as a model of what the 
Tories should do if they win power under Mr Cameron.

But the move will also be seen as further proof that the mayor is 
keen to use his mayoral post to establish himself as a potential 
successor to the Tory leader.

With the public finances in crisis, Mr Cameron is bracing himself for 
some painful decisions on spending.

Mr Osborne signalled on Monday that the Tories expect to 'inherit a 
complete economic mess' from Gordon Brown.

Sources close to Mr Johnson said the announcement would give a clear 
signal of what a Conservative Government could deliver.
'It's a 15 per cent cut in the next financial year,' the source said. 
'Over the next 18 months it be a question of whether the GLA needs to 
be as big as it is or whether it needs to be involved in certain 
things.'

Areas facing the axe include environmental initiatives and youth 
crime, where Mr Johnson believes too much is being spent on 
programmes run by outside firms that achieve too little.
'The GLA is not going to do things that others can do better. This is 
not about doing more but about doing less,' a source said.
'We are giving a clear idea of what the Tories could do in power.'

Tomorrow's announcement is part of a raft of initiatives by Mr 
Johnson running up to Christmas designed to get his administration 
back on track after a series of high-profile departures.

He is due to make a speech to the Tory conference in Birmingham in a 
fortnight that is being billed as one of the big crowd-pullers of the 
event