More Britain

You are in > Britain

Britain

by James Cross / February 20th 2007

Red Buses

The traditional red colour of London’s buses has become deeper than a coat of paint. Thanks to a deal between Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and Venezuela’s revolutionary government, the poorest people in Britain’s capital city will benefit from half-price travel.

Today in London’s City Hall, Mayor Ken Livingstone signed an agreement with the Venezuelan oil company Petróleos de Venezuela Europa for a 20 per cent reduction in the price of fuel for London's bus fleet. The beneficiaries in London will be the 250,000 citizens who subsist on ‘income support’, the state benefit which provides a basic income for the unemployed, single parents, people who are caring for disabled relatives and others among the poorest of British society.

Mayor Livingstone

Venezuela will benefit through the provision of London’s technical knowledge in infrastructure, urban planning and tourism.  

Ken Livingstone, who has become known as ‘Red Ken’ for his left-wing initiatives, said today:

“This agreement will benefit up to a quarter of a million of the lowest income Londoners. Those on income support will be eligible to receive half price bus and tram travel – a benefit worth at least the equivalent of £280 [equivalent to 550 US dollars or 420 euros] a year.

“Other programmes by Venezuela to reduce the impact of energy prices on the least well off sections of society, such as Joseph P Kennedy II’s Citizens Energy programme in the US, have used this for heating homes. However in London too few people use this form of heating for it to be effective, whereas London’s transport system, in particular its bus network, is one of the largest in the world and used by all parts of the population.

“At the same time it is a good deal for Venezuela. That country has started on the road of using its oil riches for the benefit of the majority of its population, which lives in cities, prioritising areas such as improving health care and the environment, public transport, better housing and town planning. This will gradually transform the quality of life for the majority of Venezuela’s population, including replacing slums with modern towns and cities served by first class public services. London has invaluable expertise to contribute in this field and this will save Venezuela millions of dollars. Both London and Venezuela will be exchanging those things in which they are rich to the mutual benefit of both.”

Although London is Europe’s richest city, many of its residents can be virtually imprisoned in their local streets by the price of travel. To the capital's more affluent citizens, the price of a bus ticket is a trivial sum. But to a single unemployed person, whose cash income is between £6.50 and £8.20 per day depending on their age, the £2 cost of a return bus journey can be prohibitively expensive.

Beauty- at a price. Regent's Canal in London

Venezuela’s Minister of the Popular Power for Foreign Affairs, Nicolas Maduro remarked:

‘This agreement will strengthen relationships between the peoples of London and Venezuela. It is a win-win strategy that fits within the policy of integration and the character of the Bolivarian Government of President Hugo Chavez.’

In an interview, Maduro added that the Venezuelan government wants the agreement to be a model of cooperative programs with other cities.

“London will help us in a big, historic task, which is reorganizing the city of Caracas,” Maduro said. “Venezuela is living a social, political and economical revolution and we now want this revolution to have an impact in the urban quality of life.”

Negotiated directly between public sector bodies, the deal by-passes the profit-seeking transnational companies which usually dominate international trade and investment. It is therefore likely to provide good value for money.

Mutual benefit

The complexities of the relationship between Ken Livingstone and Britain's ruling New Labour Party means that government ministers are reluctant to openly criticise the deal. But the Conservative Party, trying to find a way to oppose the project, discovered a touching concern for the welfare of people in the Third World.  Bizarrely, Richard Barnes, a Conservative member of the Greater London Assembly, used anti-imperialist rhetoric to attack the initiative:

“Why does London, one of the richest capitals in the world, need to exploit a developing nation?” Barnes said in an e-mailed statement. “This money would be better directed at the poor of Venezuela.”

The response of the Green Party, a largely middle-class organisation which claims to promote the environmental cause, was also peculiar. Darren Johnson, a Green party member of the London Assembly, said:

“The mayor is telling Londoners to take action on climate change by driving less, then he sends out the opposite message by grabbing at the chance of some cheap oil.”

This critique is sheer opportunism. Access to cheaper fuel from Venezuela will not increase the pollution from London's bus fleet. In addition, the expertise which London will provide to Caracas includes assistance to the Venezuelans in reducing their carbon emissions.

London suffers in comparison with other First World cities, due to a long-term problem of under-investment in its infrastructure. It is also negatively affected by the British Government's insistence on privatisation.  Mayor Livingstone has fought hard but unsuccessfully to challenge the central government on these issues. Nevertheless, London has much to offer Caracas in managerial and technical knowledge. As Alejandro Granado, PDVSA’s Vice-President of refining and PSDV Europa’s Chairman of the Management Board pointed out:

“Venezuela is very rich in energy resources while London has great expertise in successfully managing the infrastructure services that characterise a modern city. It is, therefore, very fitting that this co-operative initiative, proposed by President Chavez, focuses on these two areas of complementarity. This agreement, I am sure, will promote solidarity and bring forward mutual benefits for both the people of Venezuela and London.”

The winter of our content. London's Hampstead Heath.

Home page image: Buses on Route 24 heading East along the North Embankment of the River Thames. Their destination, Hampstead Heath, is one of the capital's rare spots of natural beauty.