Boris Johnson’s significant lead on 1st preferences and the clear win after the 2nd preferences were allocated has been widely attributed to the suburbs coming out to vote on the Mayoralty like never before. Notwithstanding the excruciating counting process imposed by the quango London Elects and the seemingly errors inflicted by them on us locally, the result was clear, the suburbs felt Mayor Livingstone did not represent their views.

Certainly Boris Johnson has an opportunity to work with the outer London Councils on the many issues that face us, housing growth that meets the nature of the suburbs, traffic infrastructure investment that isn’t Zone 1 centric and a traffic policy that gets London moving. Boris’s transitional team will now swing into action and I don’t envy him the task of trying to halt the organisational juggernauts of the London Development Authority and Transport for London, let alone turning them around to reflect the new priorities of his administration.

The good thing is Boris has a mandate, an unprecedented number of voters poured out at the polls for the Mayor and Assembly last Thursday. In some parts of the Borough turnout was as high as 60%. It demonstrated a real interest in the election by residents in our suburbs, and a keenness to ensure their hopes and fears were expressed at the ballot box.

In particular, many Barnet residents want to see the local environment protected and preserved, but also worry about levels of crime, particularly low-level disorder.

I am therefore glad the new Mayor, Boris Johnson, has taken this on board and is bringing forward his radical proposals to tackle crime in the capital.

As a Borough which contains some of the worst Bus Routes for “Code Red” Emergency Calls, Barnet residents will, I am sure, be pleased by his plans to root out antisocial youths that make life misery for law-abiding passengers.

His moves will see more than 400 extra Police recruited to keep our buses and stations safe, and is launching his impressive Boris’ Operation Payback initiative, where troublesome youths will have their rights to free travel suspended.

Boris Johnson has also pledged to protect our pleasant suburban communities by safeguarding our gardens from development. Front and back gardens currently enjoy little protection from bulldozers, being classed as “Brownfield” land, and Mr. Johnson’s move is a victory for those of us who have long fought for a change in these rules.

If the campaign proved anything, it showed that Boris is not just a serious politician, but he is also a listening one, who has taken on board the views of all Londoners, not just those who live in Zone 1. As Leader of one of London’s 32 Borough (plus, of course, the City), I look forward to working with him to put his plans into action.