Brian Paddick, Lib Dem challenger for Mayor, was kind enough to lend his support to LondonSays in the following statement:
For too long London has been without a think-tank dedicated solely to the challenges which it faces. London is a great city, and any contribution to the debate about its governance, and engaging people in the conversation, is welcome.
I welcome LondonSays’ cross-party, pragmatic approach to finding fresh solutions to the issues London faces, and look forward to reading their proposals over the coming months. I wish the LondonSays team the very best of luck.
Many thanks to Brian for his kind words, and best of luck to him in the upcoming election.
Siân Berry, Green Party candidate for Mayor, has kindly taken a moment from the hectic campaign to speak about LondonSays:
London can be a great place to live, but we are facing some huge challenges as well. For too many people, daily life is a struggle, and climate change is a crisis that needs London to act for the sake of its own citizens, and to lead the way for other cities around the world.
The LondonSays project is a really exciting contribution to the debate on how we take London into the future with confidence.
We would like to thank Siân for taking the time to talk with us, and look forward to hearing more from her over the course of the campaign.
Boris Johnson has been kind enough to take time from the campaign trail and speak about LondonSays and our aims:
I welcome any effort to encourage interest in the governance of London. A think tank specifically aimed at London is long overdue.
I look forward to receiving developments from them over the forthcoming months and will keep tuned to submissions from members of the public on the site.
I predict LondonSays.org will be a great success.
As we work towards securing our final few patrons and authors it is heartening to know that our efforts are being watched by those whom we hope to influence.
In the next few days we will roll out our next high-profile endorsement - stay tuned!
We are happy to announce our second patron, Jean Lambert, MEP for London and Vice-President of the Greens/European Free Alliance of MEPs.
Jean has been an active member of the UK Green Party since 1977 and was Principal Speaker for the Green Party of England and Wales from 1992-93 and 1998-99. Jean was chair of the Green Party Executive in 1994.
Since her election Jean has developed a close working relationship with community groups, NGO’s, trade unions and policy makers across the capital. By visiting projects, organising and speaking at conferences, responding to public consultations and listening to Londoners’ concerns she has been able to ensure the capitals voice is at the front of European Policy making on key issues ranging from social security and social inclusion to asylum and immigration, from energy and sustainability to human rights and peace.
Her special interests include Democracy and Human Rights, Refugee Rights, Anti-discrimination and Social Inclusion and getting a Green employment strategy in place. She has also written a book on Green politics, “No Change? No Chance.”
Jean is a passionate advocate of Green politics in London and is a welcome voice to our board of patrons.
