Mayoral front-runners clash

A row has broken out between the two leading candidates for London Mayor over affordable housing for NHS workers.

Ken Livingstone and Steve Norris will face each other at a major health debate tonight on the proportion of new homes they believe should be set aside for key workers and low-income families. Labour's Mr Livingstone claims 20,000 affordable properties - offered for rent or sale below market-rates - will be lost if his Tory rival wins the 10 June poll, because he will replace the target of making 50 per cent of all new homes affordable with a 35 per cent rule.

Mr Norris claims the lower target would place fewer restrictions on developers and enable more affordablehomes to be built overall. The clash will be publicly aired as the pair address the London Health Hustings at St Thomas' Hospital.

Supported by the Evening Standard, the event will also feature Lib-Dem Simon Hughes and the Green Party's Darren Johnson.

All the candidates believe whoever is elected must tackle the root causes of ill-health, such as inadequate housing, unemployment and poor air quality.

However, ensuring that homes can be found for NHS staff is key in attracting workers and ensuring they stay in London.

Mr Livingstone will say: "Key workers are not just nurses, teachers and police. The people who clean and porter at London's hospitals are key workers too. It is relatively low-paid staff in the NHS who stand to lose the most from Steve Norris's plan." Mr Norris says the Mayor is pursuing a "class war" agenda, adding: "If you make the target too ambitious, development simply doesn't happen."

New government figures show 18,919 new private and housing association homes were completed in London in the year to April - the most in a year since 1980.

Mr Hughes, who supports the 50 per cent affordable homes target, wants "one-stop shops" at London hospitals. He said: "With so many people unable to get on GP lists across London, it is vital that new and innovative ways of allowing people access to basic health services is found." Mr Johnson wants to tackle causes of ill-health such as obesity and traffic pollution by promoting cycling and walking and banning junk-food vending machines in schools.