LONDON Mayor Ken Livingstone has called the recent Labour administration of Ealing Council "incompetent" and said the loss of control had come as "no surprise".

Speaking during his weekly press conference last Tuesday, Mr Livingstone said: "The Labour-run council in Ealing were frankly not good enough in their performance, and the people were deeply unhappy with the incompetence."

And in a twist yesterday Mr Livingstone conceded that if public opinion continues to move against the West London Tram the project will have to be reviewed.

Peter Hulme Cross, a member of the London Assembly Transport Committee and long-time opponent of the West London Tram, said: "Ken Livingstone clings to his dubious opinion polling evidence when the electorate have spoken in a real election. How much more evidence does Ken need than catastrophic losses along the whole proposed route?

"Ken conceded yesterday that the next opinion poll will determine the future of the tram. It is therefore vital that it is a fair poll, giving residents along the route the chance to support other alternatives to solve congestion issues."

Richard Barnes, London Assembly Conservative member for Ealing, echoed the view, saying: "I have always been totally opposed to the West London Tram and, judging by the recent local election results, the majority of the people of Ealing are too.

"The manner in which the Mayor has deflected blame for the local election results onto the ineptitude of the previous Labour administration in Ealing reminds me that greater love hath no man than he that lays down the political lives of his friends for his own'.

"It is about time he accepted his error of judgement in proposing the West London Tram scheme, rather than continuing to plough taxpayers money into a doomed project that the Ealing electorate clearly do not want."

Today the new Conservative administration will formally reverse Labour's support for the West London Tram and rescind their position as joint promoters of the scheme.

The decision will be made at a full council meeting, where councillors will vote to stop backing the £650m proposal "with immediate effect".

Council leader Jason Stacey, said: "We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our neighbouring boroughs and do whatever it takes to see off this ill-thought-out scheme."