The Scoop

Ken Livingstone slipping behind in transport battle

Adam Bienkov | Tuesday 20 March, 2012 09:22

Ken Livingstone is losing the battle on transport in the Mayoral election, a new BBC poll suggests.

Asked which candidate has “the best ideas so far” on transport, 36% chose Boris Johnson and just 31% chose Ken Livingstone.

Previous polls by other polling organisations, have given Ken Livingstone a significant lead on transport related questions.

Ken’s policy of cutting fares is still overwhelmingly popular with 72% of those polled supporting it.

But the headline figure suggests that he has not done enough to set out a broader agenda for transport in the capital.

It also suggests that headlines such as “London’s transport would face collapse” under Ken Livingstone may have had an effect.

The launch of Boris’s new bus could also have had an impact on the results, although it is impossible to tell from this one poll.

Other results suggests that Boris Johnson’s campaign to portray Ken Livingstone as untrustworthy is having little effect.

The public believe Ken and Boris to be almost equally trustworthy with 31% thinking Boris the most trustworthy, 30% thinking Ken and 20% thinking neither.

Ken Livingstone is also still well ahead on the question of “who most understands the concerns of ordinary Londoners?” 49% of Londoners picked Ken and just 26% picked Boris.

The poll will make dismal reading for Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick.

Paddick, who is a former policeman came in fourth place behind Green Party candidate Jenny Jones on all issues apart from crime.

Even on crime, just 8% of Londoners believe he has the “best ideas” on the issue.

Update A new poll has just come out showing that Boris has widened his lead over Ken.

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