Suburban Payback

From The Times:

"The suburban outer-London boroughs helped to elect new Mayor, Boris Johnson; and now they are demanding payback...[they] had long complained that Ken Livingstone was a 'Zone 1' mayor who prioritised inner-city areas over the fringes and Conservative council leaders have presented Johnson with a suburban-focused list of policy requests... 'There are high levels of expectations that Mr Johnson will realise where his constituency is and will be open to suggestions that come to him,' says David Williams, the leader of Merton Council. Outer councils also want clarity on how far Johnson will push powers that enable him to overule local planning authorities. They say that the Office for National Statistics underestimates the number of people living in London, which has strained local services. 'We expect Mr Johnson to work much more closely with the boroughs,' says Barry Macleod-Cullinane of the London Councils' Conservative Group."

Yeah, I want to know that too, Barry. I mean what if Barnet and Redbridge drag their feet over helping Mayor Johnson meet his 50,000 "affordable" target by the end of 2011? Will Boris bollock them? Or will he push the likes of Labour Hackney and Tower Hamlets around instead?