EAST London desperately needs at least one (probably two) new road crossings over the Thames. West London has dozens, but it has taken Boris Johnson over a year to accept that East London is in desperate need. One of the Mayor s first acts was to scrap

EAST London desperately needs at least one (probably two) new road crossings over the Thames.

West London has dozens, but it has taken Boris Johnson over a year to accept that East London is in desperate need.

One of the Mayor's first acts was to scrap plans for a Thames Gateway Bridge. Now, a year on, he has been forced to accept what we knew all along. Only now any bridge is years away.

The lack of enough road crossings in East London is a barrier to growth and a better life. Employers are put off investing here and unemployed workers have limited options due to jobs on the 'wrong side of the river' being too far away.

We have built rail crossings, but these are bursting at the seams, and as Blackwall is the only real serious road crossing my constituents near the tunnel face foul air pollution and gridlock at busy times seven days a week.

Politically I'm not one of the Mayors greatest allies but there are a range of issues - the Olympics, Crossrail, promoting London - where I am happy to work with him. On this one issue, however, I think he deserves the universal condemnation of East London. Why should we continue to be forced to wait another decade for something that the well heeled West of London takes for granted? It is a form of political victimisation. Now that the Mayor has finally accepted the need for a road crossing, we must make sure that he acts and for once makes East London a priority.

John Biggs

London Assembly Member for City and East London