The Conservative group for the London Assembly has stated that all London Underground trains should become driverless.

In a proposal to London mayor Boris Johnson, the Tories said that such a move would halt strike action while saving up to £141 million each year in wages. According to Transport for London (TfL) staff who are currently employed on Underground trains fulfil a number of valuable roles, including providing information, passenger reassurance and assistance and general customer service.

However, the London Assembly Conservatives, in their statement to Mr Johnson, claim that driverless trains would offer faster, safer and more efficient levels of service. The further added that such a move would break what they called the stranglehold that militant unions have over the London tube network.

The Tories pointed to the Victoria and Central lines as services already using new technology which has left drivers as little more than door openers, and the recent move to have TfL manage the Underground operator Tube Lines marks the ideal time to launch the initiative across the wider city. The Northern, District, Jubilee, Circle, Piccadilly, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City Lines are all currently undergoing upgrade work and could easily become part of the driverless scheme.

However, groups such as the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union claim that staff are essential, especially in times of emergencies or signal failures when the public looks for assistance from staff. The union has also slammed the Tory request as impractical and ill-thought, and defended the attacks on staff.