Thread by @SilvertownTn

In a recent interview for @marieclaire, @SadiqKhan claims he 'didn't want (#Breathe) to be a book where I'm not being honest'. There are 5 pages in the book justifying his biggest project as Mayor, the Silvertown Tunnel. Nearly every claim in those 5 pages is false.🧵 1/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan First, @MayorofLondon justifies building Silvertown because 'the Blackwall Tunnel wasn't built for today's' traffic levels'. In fact, Silvertown isn't designed as, and can't be, a replacement for Blackwall. 2/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon On the North side of the river, Silvertown terminates in a low-capacity signalised junction in Canning Town. TfL themselves show 80,000+ vehicles a day still using the Blackwall Tunnel - the main desire line, on the A102 -, even after Silvertown opens. 3/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon This means building Silvertown doesn't prevent the main issue at Blackwall - short delays caused by diverting of drivers of over-height vehicles, who are not aware of the height restriction at Blackwall. These drivers will continue to attempt to use Blackwall. 4/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And given the shared approach road from the South, these short blockages will continue to cause congestion on the approach to both tunnels. TfL have a much better, proven, solution to this problem: low-cost information campaigns. fleetworld.co.uk/campaign-cuts-… 5/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Next, the 108 isn't one of the most unreliable bus routes in London, not even close (it's about the 85th least reliable). carolinepidgeon.org/node/2037 6/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And it's very well used: mylondon.news/news/east-lond… 7/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Mayor Khan didn't make any big changes to the scheme in 2016. It's still a massive new road, for cars, vans and trucks. He added a commitment to 14 new cross-river buses an hour, at peak, for 3 years. 8/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon But those bus services - which TfL will need to pay for out of existing budgets - are there to *remove some of the extra car traffic generated by Silvertown* - not to take existing car traffic off the road (which is what new public transport services should be doing) 9/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The Mayor claims that TfL's models for Silvertown predict 'reduced congestion' and a 'positive' impact on air quality. This is straight up false. 10/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon TfL's own modeling shows that building and opening Silvertown leads to 15-30% more traffic on the A102/A2/A13/A12 corridor - and so, more pollution, more widespread congestion, worse air quality, and increased CO2 emissions. 11/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Even if Silvertown is tolled, traffic & pollution still increases, unless the toll's so high that no-one uses the new tunnel. But TfL & the Mayor never show the public (or politicians) the real modeling for Silvertown. In fact, they refuse to do that: 853.london/2022/06/10/sho… 12/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Instead, they conflate the effects of building Silvertown with the effects of putting a new toll on the existing Blackwall Tunnel that removes as much traffic as Silvertown generates. They give the public this modeling, and call it the modeling for Silvertown 13/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon But, of course, a toll on Blackwall isn't a tunnel at Silvertown. A toll on Blackwall can be implemented, and used to reduce traffic and pollution, independently of building Silvertown. 14/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon TfL and the Mayor deliberately conflate the effects of two separate schemes to give the false impression that Silvertown doesn't increase traffic and pollution, when it does. 15/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon They also fail to tell you that there's no legal obligation for anyone to actually implement a Blackwall toll, in the future - so given London's politics it's likely that that scheme will either be removed, or never implemented at all - so traffic & pollution will increase. 16/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Full explanation of the trick they're playing here:

https://twitter.com/SilvertownTn/status/1518233634595123202

17/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The Mayor then claims that 'neither taxpayers nor TfL' will pay for the Silvertown Tunnel. Again, this is false. It'll be paid for from TfL's income, mostly from public transport fare-payers. 18/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Building Silvertown doesn't allow TfL to generate any additional income (because they propose that cross-river traffic at Silvertown/Blackwall won't increase). 19/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon If there's a toll at Silvertown/Blackwall - that will raise approximately as much money as can be raised by tolling the existing Blackwall Tunnel - a revenue stream that's available without building and opening the Silvertown Tunnel 20/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon That toll might allow TfL to *balance the books* - but, right now, TfL's income comes mostly from fare-payers, and the relatively small additional income from tolling Blackwall/Silvertown won't change that fact. 21/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon So most of the £65m/year that Mr Khan has committed that TfL will pay for Silvertown for the next 25 years ends up as a direct subsidy for motorists from fare-payers - and is sucked away from investments in public transport and active travel 22/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Mr Khan claims that there is a duty to monitor traffic, noise, pollution etc for the 'duration of the project'. Again, not true. There's an obligation to *monitor* for the first 3 years, only. & no legal obligation *at all* to mitigate if traffic & pollution increase: 23/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The STIG group Mr Khan refers to as 'democratic engagement' is a group of representatives from councils and other stakeholders. It has no power to alter the project; all it can do is make recommendations to TfL, Riverlinx or the Mayor, which they have no duty to implement 24/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Meanwhile Mr Khan ignores determined democratic opposition to the tunnel from the elected representatives of the boroughs around the scheme: 25/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon In his determination to cast opponents of the scheme as a 'vocal minority' he ignores the motions voted against the scheme by democratic local councils: 26/n theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/m…

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And he ignores the hundreds of residents who've marched against the project: 27/n socialistworker.co.uk/news/hundreds-…

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon As well as a huge majority of his own party in London: independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi… 28/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Worst of all, though, he ignores the opinion of every climate, air quality, traffic and public health expert who has looked at the scheme: independent.co.uk/climate-change… 29/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon Including those who support the ULEZ: standard.co.uk/news/transport… 30/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And he has failed to listen to doctors and health workers from East London who've condemned the project: theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/j… 31/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon In fact, there's virtually no support from this scheme from anyone doesn't take a salary from TfL or from the Mayor's Office - in effect, from anyone who doesn't depend on the Mayor for their job. The Mayor is effectively a vocal minority of one, on Silvertown 32/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And he is pushing forward with this polluting, climate-wrecking scheme against the advice of the overwhelming majority of climate, traffic and pollution experts, health-workers, and local politicians - who have repeatedly advised him against it. 33/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The victims of the Mayor's stubbornness, recklessness, and refusal to listen to good professional advice will be exactly the people he claims to care about; the poor kids in Newham, who'll grow up with stunted lungs and brains. 34/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon And, meanwhile, he advertises himself to the public as a climate activist - while deliberately pushing on with a project that will substantially increase emissions - and lying to the public about the climate & air quality damage that project will do: 35/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The Mayor claims his book is a 'guide to tackling the climate emergency'. As is clear from the above, the Mayor's actual response to those of us who are genuinely trying to tackle the climate emergency is to call us a 'vocal minority', & ignore us. 36/n

@marieclaire @SadiqKhan @MayorofLondon The rest of his book may be as 'honest' as he claims. Or it may be a deeply cynical act of greenwashing designed to cover up a commitment to fossil-fuel-intensive 'business as usual', in a climate emergency. We will leave it to the reader to decide. /End.

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