I think I'm going to like Mayor Boris...

[AtheneNoctua]

He appears to be ending the (outrageous!) partnership with Chavez. And saving some money for Londoners. (by shutting down unecessary overheads like embassies for London -- why did Ken need these???)

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7419227.stm

So, no one else is glad to see ties cut with Chavez?

i'm thrilled! why the hell did we need an embassy in venezuela??

Im glad I don't live in London tbh- whatever he is doing, he is still a pompus arse.

"a team of officials from the Greater London Authority agreed to work in Venezuela advising on recycling, waste management, traffic and on reducing carbon emissions."

"the office set up in Caracas to oversee the deal would be closed, saving an estimated £67,000 per year in running and staff costs"

Why was it outrageous?

Are Londoners really more concerned with saving a few pounds in south america over the appalling level of street crime in London?

Surely he should attempt to tackle this?

"I think many Londoners felt uncomfortable about the bus operation of one of the world's financial powerhouses being funded by the people of a country where many people live in extreme poverty" ??? so where is it more "ethical" to get fuel from?

£67,000 is why it was outrageous. That and Chavez is raging lunatic who keeps his people happy by keeping that all at an equal level of poverty. He is a horrid man. The less we have to do with him the better.

quite francesca, now tell me again that country that exports oil to Europe that has no pverty or corruption...
Russia
Saudi

Chavez and Venezuela look postively glowing in comparison...

I didn't feel uncomfortable about it franca! At least Chavez is trying to do something about poverty in Venezuela.
And round my way, with two vicious fatal stabbings in the past three weeks, I'm certainly much more bothered about knife crime.
IME Ken lost many more votes over his seeming lack of real concern about murderous violence on the streets of London, than he did over his links with Chavez.

plus hit by the Labour effect
The Brown curse they call it.
Damned hard to get voted back in when recession looms

Oh yes, the lovely regime that is Saudi piffle. That would be the place where immigrant workers are treated like shit, I think?

£67,000 is very little for an office. It sounds like one advisor's salary. The Venezuala deal works well in Boston and NYC and bought cheap fuel to London at a time when fuel prices are out of control, losing that deal will cost us more than £67,000.

Now we can get expensive fuel from the Saudis instead of cheap fuel from Venezuela. Is that a step-forward for international human rights?

Call me an obtuse leftie, but I kind of prefer Chavez to Putin or the Saudi family...

But artichokes, those on income support will lose their half-price fares in August - I'm sure that will make up the difference

I am shocked that anybody can consider £67,000 an outrageous amount for that kind of function!!!

I used to work with a guy whose brother in law is Venezuelan. He signed the petition to petition to boycott Chavez. Chavez got hold of that petition and announced that everyone whose name appeared on it would never work again. Chavez followed through with that threat. If you dared to oppose him you now live in Venzuela in poverty unable to work and provide anything for your family. This guy was a qualified engineer. Made a good living. He lives in poverty now. This is the kind of guy that Hugo Chavez really is.

I think someone who needs to be compared to Putin to come up favourably hasn't really got a lot going for him.

!
But do you feel more comfortable to depend, for instance, from Russia? I don't.

lol. I agree with that. I was under the impression that Chavez was making important changes in his country though.

oh yes i'm thrilled to have a right wing tory in charge. I just love politicians who make no bones about the fact they want to see poor people curl up and die. You really know where you are with them.

And sod the congestion charge, i shall drive my planet destroying monstrosity wherever i darn well please.

I think we need to cut costs in the forthcoming recession, and not think things like oh well it's only £67k. That's £67k we could spend on London. And it's only one embassy. I hoope they are cutting a lot more costs in alot more places. The taxpayers can not afford this waste... especially not when you consider what the olymics is going to cost.

Athene - I don't think any of us are arguing that Chavez is a good guy, what we are asking is whether the alternatives are any better?

Oh franco, I have preached 'til I'm blu on Putin (and his successor) many times on this website. He is dangerous. And, incidentally, he is buddies with Chavez. SAme goes for that crazy man man running Iran (Amadineejad -- I'm sure I spelled that wrong).

" That's £67k we could spend on London"

no it is not. because we have lost the cheap fuel and will spend the £67k on the expensive fuel.

I'm not morally opposed to concept of inporting oil. I'm morally opposed to doing business with Chavez, and am therefore delighted to see Boris has cut those ties.

In what sense was this Caracas office an embassy, btw?