Brian Paddick's first speech as Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor

13 November 2007

Brian Paddick today made his first speech as the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor, pledging to create a capital city that everybody can be proud of.

Speaking this morning, he said:

(Check against delivery)

"I am delighted to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, particularly when you consider the other two exceptionally able contenders, Chamali Fernando and Fiyaz Mughal. I am looking forward to working with them in the campaign ahead.

"I am delighted because I can make a valuable contribution to London as Mayor.

"First and foremost, I am a Londoner who has seen practically every facet of London life first hand in practically every part of London.

"I was born, raised and went to school in South London.

"With more than 30 years experience in the Metropolitan Police I have worked in almost every part of the Capital.

"I saw the challenges facing Londoners and experienced many of them myself, particularly dealing with what was then and is still their number one priority - crime.

"Investigating burglaries on run-down inner city council estates and in the homes of millionaires.

"Caring for people robbed of their old age pensions and others robbed of their Rolex wrist watches.

"I have dealt with the whole spectrum of crime and a broad range of victims.

"I have worked directly with practically every community in London, from Asian to Caribbean communities, from disabled to gay communities, from Christian to Muslim communities.

"And I have looked beyond the criminal activity to understand the issues behind the crimes - poverty, housing, education, health, business and employment - and I have worked with those agencies responsible for these aspects of London life.

"What I would ask the people of London to do, what I would ask you to do, is look at my track record.

"I have successfully led large organisations.

"As the police commander in Lambeth, for example, I had responsibility for over a thousand staff and a £37m budget. I changed the way the police were led, I adopted liberal policing policies that produced real results, and I transformed police community relations.

"As a police sergeant in 1981 I stood behind a plastic shield while the people of Brixton threw paving slabs and bricks at me. 20 years later, they were protesting again, this time demanding my reinstatement as their police commander.

"So what am I going to do next May when I take over from Ken as Mayor of London?

"I am going to work with the Commissioner to transform the relationship between the police and Londoners so that all but the tiny law-breaking minority will have trust and confidence in, and be justifiably proud of their police service. The effect on crime and disorder will be dramatic.

"I am going to represent Londoners - a novel concept given past experience but that is what I am going to do. I am going to listen to London’s 33 democratically elected local authorities and I am going to work with them, not against them.

"I am going to genuinely consult Londoners and I am going to reflect their concerns and their views and address their issues, whether it is on housing or transport or policing.

"I am not going to surround myself with my friends and my cronies and let them dictate what is right for London. I am going to advertise openly and select on merit the best experts in every field of my responsibilities as Mayor, experts who are willing to listen and to be held to account.

"These are not policy statements; the Liberal Democrats in London will produce a comprehensive package of measures that London MPs, Assembly Members and the Mayoral candidate have agreed, following as wide as possible consultation with Londoners.

"I am very proud to be a Londoner but not everyone who lives and works in London feels the same way. I want to create a London where everyone, whatever their background and wherever they live or work in this great city, where everyone is proud of London and everyone wants to work together, to do whatever they can to make London an even better place.

"It is easy to forget, if you seldom venture from your glass tower on the river, how far your responsibilities reach. I am just as interested in the suburbs where my mother lives as I am in the inner city where I live.

"I am just as concerned about the lack of co-ordination of public transport and unjust fare zones in outer boroughs as I am about making sure the congestion charge does what it says on the tin and deals with congestion in central London.

"As a Liberal Democrat, you will not be surprised to hear, I believe in local democracy.

"One of the best examples of local democracy is the London Assembly. The combination of identifiable constituency representatives and proportional representation makes the Assembly more truly representative than most political bodies.

"The Assembly’s views are important and anyone who dismisses them out of hand devalues London democracy and is clearly not interested in what London’s truly democratically elected representatives think.

"Without an effective Assembly, there is no check on the Mayor between elections, as we have seen to our cost.

"Londoners have had enough of Ken Livingstone; even some of his supporters think eight years is long enough, let alone twelve if he were to be re-elected.

"The part-time Member of Parliament for Henley-on-Thames, part-time quiz show host, part-time right-wing columnist, is never going to represent Londoners, even if he was prepared to stop playing the fool - which he’s not.

"I am the only serious alternative to Ken Livingstone and I have the background, the skills and the experience to do the job and do it well.

"Some might say I am not really a politician, well thank goodness for that!

"I have a hard-earned reputation for being open and honest, for telling the truth even when it is not what people want to hear. I am not going to throw that reputation away now.

"I am not going to ask you to take my word for it, that I am going to be a very different Mayor. I am asking you to judge me on my record of delivering public services to Londoners, listening to Londoners and acting on what they say.

"I’m not going to be like any other politician you’ve ever seen before - that’s why I’m going to win.

"I’m on London’s side - whose side are you on?"

Applicability: this item refers to England. Due to devolution, detailed policy may be different in other areas of the UK.