Ken Livingstone, candidate for the role of Mayor of London, said he would call upon pension funds to help fund infrastructure projects in the capital if he wins the elections on 3 May.

The Labour candidate said a new wave of rail and home building, which is needed in order to cope with the booming population in the capital, would need to be funded by pension funds.

According to Reuters, Livingstone, who previously held the position of Mayor of London between 2000 and 2008, said he would have "a good chance of unlocking" the investments London needs to prepare for the future.

He told reporters at an event in parliament: "I will be saying to pension funds, invest in building homes in London ... or invest in building Crossrail 2 or 3."

The Crossrail project, on which work is underway already, is scheduled to be finished in 2018 and has been estimated to cost a total of £15bn. It should link various commuter towns East and West of London with the City, Canary Warf and Heathrow Airport.

Livingstone's plan is to have similar links with commuter towns to the South and North of London, crossing the river Thames.

The homes Livingstone wants to build in the capital should prepare the city for an expected future population boom, which should see nine million people living in London within the coming decade.

The former mayor is behind in the polls at the moment to the current Mayor, Conservative Boris Johnson.

First published 18.04.2012

azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk