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Sir Peter Hendy will be a hard act to follow as boss of TfL Sir Peter Hendy will be a hard act to follow as boss of TfL
(about 17 hours later)
Now that a Conservative transport secretary has made Sir Peter Hendy chairman of the board of Network Rail, it’s funny to think back to when Boris Johnson became mayor in 2008 - OK, not that funny - and the chorus of Tories calling for his removal as Transport for London commissioner. The standard howl was that TfL stood for “Transport for Livingstone” and the supplementary whine was that Hendy was the overpaid mastermind of a covert Marxist plot to nationalise every Ford Mondeo in Bromley. Now that a Conservative transport secretary has made Sir Peter Hendy chairman of the board of Network Rail, it’s funny to think back to when Boris Johnson became mayor in 2008 - OK, not that funny - and the chorus of Tories calling for Hendy’s removal as Transport for London commissioner. The standard howl was that TfL stood for “Transport for Livingstone” and the supplementary whine was that Hendy was the overpaid mastermind of a covert Marxist plot to nationalise every Ford Mondeo in Bromley.
Hendy had even been a Tory target during the election campaign. Lynton Crosby’s crew once attacked him for praising the bus service at a City Hall public meeting, suggesting he never took a bus himself. In fact, he’d used three to get to work that very morning. The ludicrous “Boris”-poodle Evening Standard of the time devoted pages trying desperately to prove he was improperly helping to defend the articulated “bendy buses” Ken Livingstone had introduced and that their boy had pledged to get rid of, as if the TfL boss was somehow supposed to be working for Johnson already. Hendy had even been made a target during the election campaign. Lynton Crosby’s crew once attacked him for praising the bus service at a City Hall public meeting, suggesting he never took a bus himself. In fact, he’d used three to get to work that very morning. The ludicrous “Boris” poodle Evening Standard of the time devoted pages trying desperately to prove he was improperly helping to defend the articulated “bendy buses” Ken Livingstone had introduced and that their boy had pledged to get rid of, as if the TfL boss was somehow supposed to be working for Johnson already.
Some Tories still cling to the idea that Hendy is a leftist roadblock to all that is fine, free, chronically underfunded and horribly congested, but those in the capital with influence over Johnson and their heads screwed on knew from the start it would be wise to keep him on. And, as it has turned out, far from thwarting the Tory mayor, Hendy has overseen the delivery of just about everything he’s asked for.Some Tories still cling to the idea that Hendy is a leftist roadblock to all that is fine, free, chronically underfunded and horribly congested, but those in the capital with influence over Johnson and their heads screwed on knew from the start it would be wise to keep him on. And, as it has turned out, far from thwarting the Tory mayor, Hendy has overseen the delivery of just about everything he’s asked for.
A bus-lover to his marrow, Hendy rose with relish to the challenge of introducing Johnson’s “New Routemaster,” complete with a trio of doors to help it better emulate the efficiency of the “bendys”. It wasn’t the only case of common cause. Mindful of a darkening financial climate, Hendy shed few tears over Johnson’s early shelving of several schemes Livingstone had put into the TfL pipeline and welcomed his readiness to grant a succession of inflation-plus fares hikes and the consistent boost to TfL funds these provided. A bus-lover to his marrow, Hendy rose with relish to the challenge of introducing Johnson’s “New Routemaster,” complete with a trio of doors to help it better emulate the efficiency of the “bendys” at letting people on and off at stops. It wasn’t the only case of common cause. Mindful of a darkening financial climate, Hendy shed few tears over Johnson’s early shelving of several schemes Livingstone had put into the TfL pipeline and welcomed his readiness to grant a succession of inflation-plus fares hikes and the consistent boost to TfL funds these provided.
Despite the coalition’s cost-cutting, he and Johnson together extracted decent long-term funding from the Treasury and extricated the London Underground upgrade programme from what were becoming the calamitous public-private financing arrangements the Labour government had forced on Livingstone. “We’ve re-nationalised the Tube!” Johnson told me once in the course of a mild scolding for giving this triumph what he considered insufficient coverage. Hendy’s successful stewardship of the transport network during the 2012 Olympics despite endless predictions of chaos was his most famous success, and earned him his knighthood. Despite the coalition’s cost-cutting, he and Johnson together extracted decent long-term funding from the Treasury and extricated the London Underground upgrade programme from what were becoming the calamitous public-private financing arrangements the Labour government had forced on Livingstone. “We’ve re-nationalised the Tube!” Johnson told me once in the course of a mild scolding for giving this triumph what he considered insufficient coverage. Hendy’s successful stewardship of the transport network during the 2012 Olympics, despite endless predictions of chaos, was his most famous success, and earned him his knighthood.
The mayor has praised Hendy for “ten years of superb service to London” and overseeing “the biggest programme of investment in transport since Victorian times, from Crossrail to the Tube upgrades to the cycle superhighways.” His tenure as the capital’s transport chief is the longest since that of Lord Ashfield, whose memorial at London Underground HQ describes him as the “creator of London Transport”.The mayor has praised Hendy for “ten years of superb service to London” and overseeing “the biggest programme of investment in transport since Victorian times, from Crossrail to the Tube upgrades to the cycle superhighways.” His tenure as the capital’s transport chief is the longest since that of Lord Ashfield, whose memorial at London Underground HQ describes him as the “creator of London Transport”.
Hendy couldn’t please everyone. Inevitably, TfL is the first target for public wrath when public transport goes wrong. He won’t be sorry to leave behind his battles with London’s cabbies or the Tube unions, though even some of the more strident among the latter have had the realism to regard him with a respect that he returned. For some, he’s taken too many taxis and been far too well paid to head a public sector organisation they regard as too large and too opaque. But Hendy has always offered the stout defence that he could have made a shed load more money working in the private sector, where he was highly successful before joining TfL in 2001. Hendy couldn’t please everyone. Inevitably, TfL is the first target for public wrath when public transport goes wrong. He won’t be sorry to leave behind his battles with London’s cabbies or the Tube unions, though even some of the more strident among the latter have had the realism to regard him with a respect that he returned. For some, he’s taken too many taxis and been far too well paid to head a public sector organisation they regard as too large and too opaque. But Hendy has always offered the stout defence that he could have made a shed load more money working in the private sector, where he was highly successful before joining TfL in 2001. His record, he believes, speaks for itself.
Many of his senior staff have stayed with him during his time at the helm and while critics will question parts of what he’s done on both Livingstone’s and Johnson’s behalf, few who’ve had dealings with him would doubt his devotion to his work. He is a transport nut. It is a basic requirement for being head of TfL. He’ll be a very hard act to follow.Many of his senior staff have stayed with him during his time at the helm and while critics will question parts of what he’s done on both Livingstone’s and Johnson’s behalf, few who’ve had dealings with him would doubt his devotion to his work. He is a transport nut. It is a basic requirement for being head of TfL. He’ll be a very hard act to follow.