Author Archive for Simon

Arriving in Inboxes Across London…

Published by Simon on November 27, 2008 in LondonSays. 4 Comments

I’m writing to update you on the activities of Progressive London - a new coalition launched earlier this month. You can sign up for regular updates from Progressive London here.

First, I am pleased to provide more details of the first Progressive London event - a conference that will take place on 24 January 2009 at Congress House, Great Russell St, WC1 and will address key issues to keep London at the cutting edge of the world today, including the international financial crisis, culture and art, and community relations.

Among those who have confirmed as speakers are Assembly Members from Labour, the Greens and Liberal Democrats; minister Tessa Jowell MP; MPs and MEPs from across the parties; leading trade unionists including from Unite, Unison, the FBU and NUT; intellectuals such as Eric Hobsbawm; artists and cultural practitioners; community activists; campaigners for a better deal for young people; student representatives; leaders of the peace movement; and city government experts.

The media partners for the event are Comment is Free.

I hope you will be able to come along and take part in the discussion. To be sure of your ticket, register for the conference now by emailingevents@progressivelondon.org.uk and we will contact you with more information soon.

Tickets will be £10 waged, £5 unwaged and £20 per person for organisations. Details of new speakers and sessions will be frequently updated on the website at http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=85

Progressive London aims to bring you information and debate about the key issues in London. The website includes news and articles sections so that you can read more about the latest important stories in the capital. We also feature guest blogs such as from Jenny Jones AM on why she is so angry about the planned above-inflation fares increase. Read Jenny’s blog here.

Also on the blog, Koy Thompson of the London Cycling Campaign says why London’s new bus lane policy is ill-thought out, and Rob Miller discusses international social progress, whilst you can also find updates on cuts to cycling funding, why we need to campaign for more social-rented housing for Londoners, and how to secure the future of London’s economy. All of this can be found at the Progressive London blog here.

I hope you will be able to visit the blog regularly and check the news updates on the site.

Finally, as you may know, this January the Mayor plans to raise fares by six per cent, with some increasing far more: the price of a single bus journey on Oyster will go up by eleven per cent, to £1. Yet at the same time the Mayor is throwing away millions of pounds by cancelling measures like the planned £25-a-day charge on the worst polluting cars, like Chelsea Tractors, in central London. At a time of financial crisis politicians should be helping Londoners by holding down fares and investing in key public services like transport. The opposite is happening. The Fare Deal Campaign is calling for the fares rise to be cancelled: to read more about this and to sign up for regular updates on Progressive London’s campaigns, clickhere.

You’ve received this email as someone who signed up to support my election campaign earlier this year. If you don’t wish to receive any more emails from Progressive London simply reply to unsubscribe@progressivelondon.org.uk and we will make sure you are removed from the list.

I hope you will find that Progressive London is a useful addition to London’s political life and will support its activities. We have made a great deal of progress over the last few years and London’s future depends on progressive Londoners continuing to take the city forward. If you want to help, don’t forget to sign up for regular updates here.

We won’t pass on your email address to anyone else.

Yours sincerely

Ken Livingstone

So, that answers my earlier questions… it’s a leftish, Boris-bashing organisation. If Ken can keep enough of his base on side, and a stalking horse for Labour’s nomination doesn’t make themselves known, the next couple of years promise to be interesting.

Parish Power in London?

Published by Simon on November 24, 2008 in LondonSays. 2 Comments

LondonSays’ latest publication, Parish Power in London?, has been published today.

Written by Andrew Stevens, Simon Hughes MP, Alan Jones, Jess Steele, Geraldine Blake and Greg Taylor, the paper is an examination of the possibilities that more local government could offer the capital, and the problems which it may also cause.

From the introduction to the pamphlet:

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, spoke recently about her faith in the role which parish councils can play in “putting power in the hands of local people, to make the key decisions that act their local communities”.

The Secretary of State went further to indicate that she would like to see the largely rural model of parish councils translated to towns and cities across the UK, “empowering communities”. What would such a move mean for London and its already complex system of government?

LondonSays asked a number of figures from across different levels of government and community engagement to give us their thoughts on these proposals. The varied and thought-provoking articles contained within this pamphlet are their response.

You can download the full pamphlet here. Please let us know your thoughts.

Progressive London: Legacy or Future?

Published by Simon on November 13, 2008 in LondonSays. 2 Comments

200811131050.jpgKen Livingstone has lauched Progressive London, a ‘coalition… to promote progressive policies in the city’.

With a logo which echoes Mr Livingstone’s previous “LondON” branding, and with a hint of his independent-purple colour scheme, the organisation has a distinctly leftish tinge. So what is it for?

MayorWatch reports that “the coalition is expected to campaign against Mayor Johnson’s recently announced above-inflation fare increase.” So, it’s a campaigning body, right?

However, not all on the left are happy - Workers Liberty call it “quite transparently a vehicle for Ken Livingstone to return to City Hall in 2012″ and then go on to castigate Mr Livingstone’s convenient memory-loss over his own above-inflation fare increases.

Mr Livingstone has stated that he’d like to return to his old job in the past. Is Workers Liberty correct to assert that this enterprise is his poorly-disguised Trojan horse?Until Progressive London do more, it’s going to be hard to tell.

Perhaps Mr Livingstone himself is unsure - this could be his swan-song: creating a leftish coalition for the capital in order to combat the blueish tinge which currently covers local government. His legacy would be a new candidate, built from the grassroots, and a prize for himself as the grand old man of London politics. Of course, that could just be wishful thinking.

Your thoughts?

UPDATE: Andrew Gilligan writes eloquently on Progressive London and what it means for the capital here.

People’s Question Time

Published by Simon on October 13, 2008 in LondonSays. 0 Comments
200810131013.jpg

The details for the latest People’s Question Time have been released and can be found below:

Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm (doors open at 6.00pm)

Main Hall
Bromley Civic Centre
Stockwell Close
Bromley BR1 3UH

How to get there

Tickets to attend People’s Question Time (PQT) are free, but you should request your ticket(s) in advance.

How to get tickets

Your opportunity

People’s Question Time is your chance to ask the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and members of the London Assembly what they are doing for the capital and its people. This PQT meeting will be chaired by the Bromley & Bexley London Assembly Member – James Cleverly.

PQT happens twice a year. The four main issues it will focus on are policing and safety, transport,environment and the London Olympics Games in 2012. There will be an opportunity at the end to raise other issues not already discussed. Each section will be allocated approximately 20 minutes.

Your Mayor

The Mayor makes long-term plans for London’s transport, planning, culture, sport, environment and economic and spatial development. His plans set out priorities for organisations from boroughs to bus companies. The Mayor also sets budgets for the Metropolitan Police Authority and London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Transport for London and the London Development Agency.

Your London Assembly

The London Assembly examines and questions the Mayor on his decisions and strategies and holds him to account for his actions. It may also amend the Mayor’s budget if two-thirds of Assembly Members agree to do so. The Assembly also investigates important London issues – from the emergency response to the 7 July bombings to the state of London’s transport services.

Your questions

If you would like to put a question to the Mayor or London Assembly at PQT, you can fill out theonline form or else email your question topeoplesquestions@london.gov.uk. Some questions submitted in advance will be asked on the night. Any questions not answered on the night will be responded to afterwards.

Ken’s Met

Published by Simon on October 13, 2008 in LondonSays. 0 Comments

200810131015.jpgWhilst Ken Livingstone harbours ambitions to be Mayor once again his ’shadow administration’ continues to provide good copy for the media. On this occasion he has waded into the mess which is Sir Ian Blair’s departure:

Ken Livingstone has defended the right of London’s mayor to dismiss the Met Commissioner, while still criticising the manner of Sir Ian Blair’s exit.

Mr Livingstone said elected mayors must have the right to hire and fire chief constables and their senior officers.

But he told the BBC that Sir Ian was undermined by the media and his record in office did not justify his removal.

[BBC]

Personally, I fail to see what Mr Livingstone gains from such an intervention - as much as he tries to angle his words to be critical of the Mayor’s approach, he basically backs granting him further powers, and supports Mayoral intervention. Is the former Mayor trying to have it both ways?

Boris’ Met

Published by Simon on October 3, 2008 in LondonSays. 1 Comment

200810030925.jpg

The resignation of Sir Ian Blair as Metropolitan Police Chief comes five months after Boris Johnson first expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of London’s policing. As such it shouldn’t be seen as a surprise. However, the nature of the resignation, and the surety of purpose from Mr Johnson as he takes over as Chairman of the MPA, marks a final step in his politicising of crime in the capital.

During his evolution as a candidate and then in his early days as Mayor, Mr Johnson spoke repeatedly of his belief that there should be a “democratic mechanism” to hold the head of the Met to account. His push for the introduction of crime maps was greeted wearily by the Met, and his focus on crime tonally different from that of Sir Ian.

Having watched crime fall in New York under the tenure of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor outlined his strategy as: “that if you tackle petty crime and deal with the so-called quality of life offences, then the serious crimes begin to diminish”.

The resignation of Sir Ian marks a tectonic shift in power from the Mayor and Home Secretary (who actually holds the hiring/firing power), and from the Labour Government to the Conservative administration in City Hall.

Sir Ian has set a dangerous precedent, tacitly admitting that without Mayoral backing his post is untenable, but doing so without a democratic mandate in place to hold the mechanisms of London to account for such a move. His successor will have a difficult task in tending to three masters - the Home Secretary, the Mayor, and the popular opinion of Londoners.

The Government must urgently move to fill this deficit, ensuring that the Mayor’s power is not allowed to trample unchecked over the supposedly independent police chief. We have covered moves to ensure that this is done earlier on this blog.

On Monday the Mayor will chair the MPA for the first time. One can only imagine that the pre-published agenda will be changed in light of yesterday’s moves. Meanwhile, the Mayor must work with Sir Ian until Dec 1st, and then his Deputy, Sir Paul Stephenson, until a successor is chosen.

Relations with the Home Secretary, cool at best, will now be increasingly difficult. Jacqui Smith has already attacked the Mayor over Sir Ian’s resignation.

Boris Johnson has shown a sure touch in his attitude to crime. In his campaign for Mayor he realised that it was many Londoners’ number-one concern and forged policies which would address the “slow creep” of small crime. He has increased numbers of community support officers, transport police, introduced crime maps, and made genuine efforts to understand and tackle knife culture.

The Mayor should be applauded for these efforts. The clean sweep which Sir Ian’s departure offers is a chance for the Mayor to shine further. However, the politicisation of the Met should be stemmed, and the Mayor’s powers in this area not allowed to run unchecked.

A significant plank of the Johnson election platform lay in the belief that Ken Livingstone had overreached himself and relied too much on his own judgement and that of a coterie of advisors. Mr Johnson should remember that accusation and ensure that he lives up to the standards which his own campaign tacitly endorsed. The Met must remain apolitical and Mr Johnson’s dealings with it transparent.

Transport Manifesto Published

Published by Simon on September 23, 2008 in LondonSays. 4 Comments

As you may have noticed from our front page, we published the Transport Manifesto today.

The document has been updated since the core articles were featured in this blog, with some of the ideas within timely given City Hall’s statement of intent regarding a new estuary airport.

Please download the full thing and let us know what you think.

Coming soon…

Published by Simon on September 11, 2008 in LondonSays. 0 Comments

Tomorrow we post the first article by a new LondonSays blogger, Greg Taylor.

Greg’s bread and butter is local government, but his passion is the cinema. His blog tomorrow takes the Mayor to task for under-promoting the British film industry, and failing to take full advantage of the London film festival, which his office sponsors.

The culture of London, thankfully no longer Cool Britannia, is a large part of what makes the city so great. We have a vibrant theatre, film, art and social scene - Greg’s article will be the first of a series on LondonSays which examine them, and their impact, further.

—

If you can think of any areas which you feel the LS blog should be examining but isn’t, please drop us a line. Contributions are always welcome!

Mind the (Funding) Gap

Published by Simon on September 11, 2008 in LondonSays. 1 Comment

We’ve been following the story of the Tube upgrade shortfall on LondonUnlocked for the past couple of days - below is an edited version of the article which appeared on that site earlier today:

—

200809111059.jpg

Following the news of the funding gap now faced by TfL, the Department for Transport (DfT) has given short thrift to suggestions that it should make up the shortfall:

“We have already agreed a generous long-term settlement with TfL, providing more than £40bn for London transport over the next 10 years.

“This took into account the possibility that the costs for delivering tube improvements could be higher than originally envisaged, as well as providing funding for Crossrail. It is now for TfL to manage this to deliver the high quality transport its users expect.”

At the time of the original settlement negotiation (by Ken Livingstone’s administration), concerns were expressed over a possible funding gap. Those concerns have now become a reality.

Where this leaves TfL, its passengers and London rate-payers still remains unclear. The DfT’s statement can only be the opening salvo of the public negotiation which will now take place. Already, in The Guardian, TfL has shot back by painting a picture of a London which doesn’t meet the funding gap:

Either the bill must be met, or less work will be done. The result, according to tube boss Tim O’Toole, would be that “the tube will become less reliable and capacity will shrink” - which means stations being shut down to prevent overcrowding and fewer trains to carry record numbers of passengers.

Quite obviously this is not the vision which the Government would want to promote of Britain as the first tourists start arriving for the Olympics in 2012. Someone has to step up.

As we stated yesterday, cost-cutting is the order of the day. In City Hall the Mayor is throwing everything which is not buckled down overboard, whilst long gestating projects are being shrunk and diverted in scope. These measures, whilst admirable in their aims, are short sighted, and will not make a dent in the “up to £3bn” funding hole faced by TfL.

Make no mistake, the plug for this hole will be found - the real question is how much of a hit Londoners will take in supplying their part of it. That is the negotiation which is playing out now.

UPDATE: Londonist has a great editorial on the same subject here.

Crime Maps

Published by Simon on September 3, 2008 in LondonSays. 0 Comments

200809031225.jpg

Boris Johnson’s election pledge of making crime maps of London available to the public has been met. You can now access the maps here and drill down for information on your area once on the site.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said about the scheme:

We have found that in some cases Londoners’ perception of crime is higher than the reality and the crime maps may help to reassure communities about the general safety of their local area.

LondonSays has argued in their favour in the past - what Mr Johnson and Sir Ian Blair do with them is now the issue. Electorally, this is going to be a mixed bag for anyone facing re-election, providing a wealth of “under x’s tenure this has gone up” statistics for their opponents.

A bold move by the Mayor and the Met.