Clash of the candidates

Ken Livingstone has set himself on a collision course with his Tory mayoral rival Steve Norris in what is looking increasingly like a two-horse race.

The Mayor used a hustings meeting to attack Mr Norris while emphasising the key successes of his first four years - 5,000 more police and 1.75million more daily bus journeys.

His advisers believe this now presents voters with a clear choice, with frontrunner Mr Livingstone proposing to extend the congestion charge and build the Thames Gateway bridge, and second-placed Mr Norris committed to scrapping both "on day one".

It has also left Liberal Democrat candidate Simon Hughes looking isolated in third place, unable to attract wavering Labour and Conservative voters and accusing Mr Livingstone of stealing his ideas on modifying the congestion charge. At last night's London Business Board hustings, supported by the Evening Standard, Mr Livingstone reaffirmed his commitment to take the congestion charge into Kensington and Chelsea by 2006, but with one crucial new get-out clause - only if it is " possible to achieve a consensus" in favour.

He said: "Do we really want to go back to the state of our roads two years ago? I think that would be a disaster. I don't

expect you to love me. I do expect you to say we have made more progress than any of us felt possible. I think we can do a lot more in the next four years."

The hustings at City University saw the three main candidates tackle questions ranging from tackling graffiti to improving the Tube and increasing the supply of affordable housing.

Both Mr Norris and Mr Livingstone promised to take police numbers to 35,000, but the Mayor outlined the stronger purge on anti-social behaviour.

"They see you dropping litter, you will be charged," he said. "They see you riding a bike on a pavement, you will be arrested. They see you spitting, you will be arrested."

Mr Norris, a former bus company chairman, highlighted the huge subsidies being paid to bus firms. He said the rules encouraged them to run empty buses. Mr Hughes said he would clamp down on excessive costs at City Hall.