The first Mayor's Question Time of the new City Hall term will have a bit of added zip now that Mayor Johnson has declared his wish to hold on to his job post-May 2012. Boris's decision was undoubtedly connected to the progress of negotiations with the government over the continuation of funding for Crossrail and the Tube upgrades, though I suspect some of his more recent public bellicosity was largely for public consumption - don't forget, he was all set to declare his candidacy way back in June until he changed his mind.
For all that, his reply to Val Shawcross's request for a detailed account of his representations to ministers and their responses will be interesting (it's third on the list). Any follow up on cuts to the rest of the transport budget may be more interesting still - those are the ones that seem likely to hurt Londoners most. There are some other good questions on transport issues and Joanne McCartney's on the News of the World phone-tapping scandal could shed useful light on the relationship between the mayoralty and the Met.
As well as MQT, which takes place on Wednesday, I'll be exploring some more angles on London's deepening housing crisis, considering the situation of the capital's small shopkeepers and showing you what a dead cycle hire docking station looks like. I might also tip a second toe into the shark-infested waters of the Tower Hamlets mayoral campaign, but not only if I've time to sharpen my harpoon.
