No London 2012 Olympic Bid

We, the undersigned, urge the GLA and the Mayor of London to withdraw London's bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012, on the grounds that:

1) the construction work associated with Olympic sites in the Lea Valley will destroy, or make unavailable for several years, a large number of existing quality football pitches which local people use intensively, and there is no guarantee that the new or "improved" sports facilities developed for the Olympics will be later available to local people free or at a reasonable cost

2) the Games will result in a cost to London council tax payers of £875 million, money which Londoners need for other pressing priorities like schools, transport, housing, health and other public services

3) the Olympic sites will destroy several valued wildlife sites such as Bow Back Rivers and Bulley Point, which the public have supported by conservation work over many years

4) the predicted 7000 "new jobs" are unlikely to be filled by existing Londoners, amongst whom construction skills are in scarce supply, resulting in a need for housing for incoming workers which needs to be addressed before non-housing construction projects are started. Moreover, several thousand jobs will be displaced from the southern Lea Valley, currently an important home for much-needed "bad-neighbour" businesses which cannot easily find alternative sites

5) the Olympic bid has been imposed from above without adequate public consultation about its cost, environmental and other impacts for the city as whole. It is an expression of sport as big business, which does not meet Londoners' needs. Moreover the ban on political demonstrations and related activities during the Games will be used as an excuse for oppressive restrictions on freedom of association and of movement.