Norris attacks 'credit card Mayor'

Ken Livingstone's four years in office are hitting Londoners in the pocket, Tory mayoral candidate Steve Norris will claim today.

He is to reveal figures which show how the Mayor's share of average council tax bills has risen almost 100 per cent, from £123 in 2000 to £241 from next month.

Further rises are in store to pay for massive loans being proposed to boost London's transport infrastructure, Mr Norris warns.

He called Mr Livingstone the "credit card Mayor" for his plans to borrow £2.5billion over the next five years with government

approval. Mr Norris claims this will eventually add an extra £88 a year to a typical household's bill.

Conservative Party leader Michael Howard will join Mr Norris on the campaign trail today as the Tories step up their campaign for the 10 June mayoral election.

Recent polls put Mr Norris in second place but well behind Mr Livingstone, who has been readmitted to the Labour Party.

Mr Norris will highlight examples of what he claims are the Mayor's extravagance. These include:

Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Simon Hughes joined the attack saying the expenditure was greater than the Prime Minister spent on his Downing Street "spin machine", a claim Mr Livingstone disputes.