Ignore the London taxpayer at your peril

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Stadium Spin doctor Mike Lee played an important public relations role in helping the Olympics to go to London and Rio and the World Cup to be awarded to Qatar.

But, hired by Tottenham Hotspur, Lee seems to be struggling desperately to win the public opinion battle over the 2012 0lympic stadium.

A BBC London poll today suggests 81% of Londoners are against the Spurs plans to dismantle the stadium and build a football ground it its place.

Bid rivals West Ham want to use the stadium for athletics and football and our poll suggest most Londoners (72%) are behind their plans.

Now, I've known Lee for many years and he'll say it is the opinion of the movers and shakers on the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC)'s Board who matter in this.

They are the ones who will put forward the name of one of the clubs for approval from London Mayor Boris Johnson and the Government.

But there's one massive difference in this campaign to the ones Lee has won in the sports world.

The International Olympic Committee, who decide on the Games, and football's world governing body FIFA, who vote on World Cup hosts, are not answerable directly to the public.

The public don't vote for them and quite frankly, they can ignore public opinion completely. They certainly seemed to when they awarded the Olympics to China and the World Cup to Qatar - in most countries anyway.

But the OPLC is paid for by taxpayers. It is jointly owned by the Mayor and the Government.

Boris Johnson certainly can't ignore a poll of Londoners suggesting voters are so vehemently against Tottenham's plans. The Mayor faces re-election just over two months before the Games and politicians don't like "hard sells".

And some of the members of the OPLC are certainly tuned into the views of the public much more than most IOC and FIFA representatives I've talked to over the years.

Lord Mawson, for example, knows more about the regeneration of east London than anybody else I've met. He works with east Londoners every day. The streetwise lawyer and sports official Nick Bitel won't be fooled by spin.

So this is a rare bidding campaign in sport where the public and especially Londoners, who will end up paying for the Park if it is full of white elephants, really matter.

It's only one poll but it certainly will have an impact.

More: BBC London 2012

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adrianwarner/2011/01/ignore_the_london_taxpayer_at.html

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