London mayor tells assembly he is arguing against 'dramatic and deep cuts' in the capital

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Boris Johnson, the London mayor, today expressed fears that the government will "cut into the bone and sinew" of London's economy which could see some of his flagship projects scrapped and frontline police numbers cut.

The Conservative mayor argued today that the Conservative-led coalition should protect London from the full scale of spending cuts being imposed on other areas because of "substantial savings" he is seeking to make at the Greater London authority.

The mayor, who served his first two years under a Labour government, issued a special pleading for the capital in light of its role as the "motor" that drives the engine of the UK economy, despite giving his backing to the coalition government's plans to drastically cut back spending to rectify "the shambles" left by the previous government.

He told the London assembly today he is trying to "make the case" to the government against "dramatic and deep cuts" to London.

The mayor, who has made tackling crime and improving London transport two of his key objectives for the mayoralty, told members: "It would be a great mistake to cut frontline policing in this city and it would be a disastrous mistake to cut investment in transport infrastructure."

The mayor is particularly concerned that vital tube upgrades and the £16bn Crossrail project – an east-to-west rail link across the capital which will increase London's rail capacity by 10%, remain unscathed.

Doubts about the future of Crossrail first surfaced in the runup to the general election when the then Tory shadow minister for London, Justine Greening, was unable to guarantee that the scheme would continue.

However, the mayor scotched uncertainty about the major infrastructure project, which is already underway, when he told the assembly he had spoken last month to Philip Hammond, the transport secretary, who had told him that the "whole project was going ahead as planned", and had also secured reassurances from the prime minister, David Cameron.

Today, Johnson seemed less sure of the project's footing as he rammed home the importance of the transport infrastructure projects going ahead.

"It is very easy to cancel these projects without incurring huge political unpopularity," said Johnson. "But such decisions would do huge long-term damage to London."

Johnson believes that his efforts to cut waste and make efficiencies over the past two years should convince that cuts across the UK should not be made "pari passu" (on an equal footing).

In comments that are likely to infuriate local government, which has collectively achieved billions of savings through waste cutting and efficiency gains, Johnson told the assembly: "It is quite wrong to treat us [London] in the same way as other more spendthrift areas of Whitehall."

Earlier this year, Johnson appointed an adviser on a salary of £127,784 tasked with cutting billions of waste at the Greater London authority.

The mayor is also spending £1.8m on consultants to restructure the finances of the soon-to-be abolished London Development Agency, which Johnson wants to bring in-house.

Nicholas Griffin, a former managing partner at City consultants Deloitte, told a London assembly committee yesterday that the Conservative mayor plans to cut back office functions at the strategic London body by 20% – equivalent to almost £450m over two years.

Johnson has cited a cull of jobs across GLA bodies, including more than 100 of rank-and-file staff at City Hall, as part of his drive to make efficiencies.

But John Biggs, deputy leader of the Labour group, pointed out that the mayor has at the same time increased the number of his senior team on top salaries of more than £100,000 to 18.