Thread by @ShaunBaileyUK

After receiving a £1.6bn bailout from Gov in May, @SadiqKhan is now demanding another one.

It's easy for the Mayor to blame the virus.

But if he had managed TfL's finances properly, he wouldn't have needed one bailout, let alone two.

THREAD 1/15

standard.co.uk/news/transport…

It's easy for @SadiqKhan to blame TfL's current financial crisis on Covid.

After all, TfL revenue took a hit during lockdown.

But if the Mayor had built up reserves, grown the network and paid off debt during the last four years, these bailouts would not be necessary.

2/15

So let's look at what happened.

In 2014, when Boris was Mayor, he was told that TfL would need to become ‘self sufficient’. The Mayor was given the power to collect business rates, but the Gov grant was cut.

In essence, the two cancelled each other out.

3/15

Boris identified £12bn in savings — the vast majority. So the next Mayor would have to find just £4bn extra in savings.

But when @SadiqKhan won the 2016 election, he stopped the process of looking for savings. He identified zero.

4/15

Instead, he chose to spend £640m on subsidising TfL travel for tourists, while travel card costs rose.

5/15

theguardian.com/politics/2016/…

One of the world's largest credit rating agencies told @SadiqKhan not to do this.

Just 3 days after he was elected, Moody’s warned him that plans to subsidise fares would be ‘credit-negative’. In other words, bad for business.

6/15

cityam.com/moodys-just-wa…

Since 2016, the Mayor has run huge TfL budget deficits.

As a result, debt today stands at £13bn.

That's the highest it has ever been and the maximum it is legally allowed to be.

And we have to spend £400m a year on interest.

7/15

cityam.com/tfl-delays-inv…

.@SadiqKhan delayed or cancelled 22/26 major infrastructure projects. Crucial investment in London's transport network dried up. As a result, the transport network hasn't grown.

And that meant no new revenue sources coming from extra passengers.

standard.co.uk/news/transport…

8/15

TfL missed out on £1.35bn in lost revenue because of repeated delays to Crossrail.

And the delays themselves have cost £3.6bn.

The extra capacity & income from Crossrail would’ve put TfL in a much better financial position than it’s in today.

9/15

theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/d…

Since 2016, the number of TfL staff being paid over £100,000 has increased to 557 (an extra 99 people).

City Hall office costs have increased by £527m (320%).

@SadiqKhan's PR budget has increased 26%.

He even spent £760k on two ‘beach parties’.

10/15

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan…

And he continues to spend millions on giving free travel to the housemates and flatmates of TfL employees - a trade union perk that he refuses to renegotiate.

11/15

standard.co.uk/news/london/tf…

After @SadiqKhan's last bailout, I wrote for the @EveningStandard to outline the structural financial issues facing TfL - and to set out what I believe needs to happen to fix TfL's finances for the long term.

You can read it here.

standard.co.uk/comment/commen…

12/15

The truth is that four years of Sadiq Khan's financial mismanagement have bankrupted TfL.

The Government had to bail him out. And it now looks like they will have to do so again.

But it’s Londoners who will pay the price.

13/15

In a rushed effort to make up lost revenue, @SadiqKhan has increased and expanded the congestion charge to £15 and 7 days a week.

This will hurt, not help, London's economic recovery.

Read what Michel Roux thinks about that.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/1….

14/15

This matters. TfL’s bankrupt. If a city can't move, then its economy can't grow.

The country is looking to London to drive the recovery.

For that to happen, @SadiqKhan needs to take responsibility for his mistakes and fix TfL's finances.

15/15