London wek ahead: Tube strike, homelessness and the 2012 sporting legacy

When the 24-hour strike by RMT and TSSA members of London Underground staff begins at five o'clock this evening and many Londoners ask out loud why, oh, why is this happening they might find a few answers by focusing on the wider political picture. The unions say the dispute is about passenger safety, which they claim will be reduced as a result of 800 job losses resulting from the closure of a number of ticket offices, reduced opening hours at others and the accompanying redeployment of some staff to different duties. Transport for London stresses that no redundancies will be compulsory, that every Underground station will be continue to be staffed at all times and that there is a greater police presence at many stations than before.

Ken Livingstone announced ticket office closures and staff re-deployments in 2007, but in those pre-credit crunch days coupled it with an increase in LU jobs, not a reduction. As Dan Milmo reports the anticipated cuts to London's transport budget is likely to hit parts of LU where the unions are strongest, so today's strike sends a warning about the future too. Boris is laying on extra buses. Ken will be at Rayners Lane station inviting commuters to ask what happened to Boris's manifesto pledge to negotiate a no-strike agreement.

Also this week, I'll be looking at responses to the government's plans to change the way that homeless people are counted. Has rough sleeping in London been tackled as effectively as some claim? Also, the amazing saga of Labour's process for selecting a mayoral candidate for Tower Hamlets was finally completed yesterday, but I've a feeling the story is not yet over.