Well, the Havering Park dinner last night was my final engagement - that puts the lid on 2008. It's been quite a year.
The high point had to be the election of Boris in May. We all put a great deal of hard work into that campaign, out in all weathers, sometimes it seemed like it would never end. The 'doughnut' strategy meant that more work was expected from Havering & Redbridge than in previous elections, but our efforts paid off with a whopping majority of over 43,000. Thank you so much to everyone who helped, it was a fantastic result and ours is now the third safest assembly seat in London.
We had a stuttering start, not surprisingly. The GLA was a vehicle designed and built by Ken Livingstone, so anyone else was going to find it like driving a diesel car on petrol, but over time people came to realise that they could work with us. Some notably Livingstonian policies - WEZ, deals with Venezuela, bendy buses - are on the way out and Boris showed his teeth in the removal of Sir Ian Blair. A frozen precept increase is in the pipeline for 2009, for the first time in GLA history.
The Conservative group is now eleven strong - the largest group ever elected to the assembly. Not quite enough to achieve a majority, but we do have two deputy mayors and the chairman of the fire authority. They are an experienced and able team who have bedded in well, and it is a privilege to lead them - thanks guys, for all your hard work this year.
It's resolution time - I need to lose a stone, raise my profile, find a partner (perhaps) and write a sequel to my first book. With a European election and the distinct possibility of a general election, 2009 promises to be a busy year.
The high point had to be the election of Boris in May. We all put a great deal of hard work into that campaign, out in all weathers, sometimes it seemed like it would never end. The 'doughnut' strategy meant that more work was expected from Havering & Redbridge than in previous elections, but our efforts paid off with a whopping majority of over 43,000. Thank you so much to everyone who helped, it was a fantastic result and ours is now the third safest assembly seat in London.
We had a stuttering start, not surprisingly. The GLA was a vehicle designed and built by Ken Livingstone, so anyone else was going to find it like driving a diesel car on petrol, but over time people came to realise that they could work with us. Some notably Livingstonian policies - WEZ, deals with Venezuela, bendy buses - are on the way out and Boris showed his teeth in the removal of Sir Ian Blair. A frozen precept increase is in the pipeline for 2009, for the first time in GLA history.
The Conservative group is now eleven strong - the largest group ever elected to the assembly. Not quite enough to achieve a majority, but we do have two deputy mayors and the chairman of the fire authority. They are an experienced and able team who have bedded in well, and it is a privilege to lead them - thanks guys, for all your hard work this year.
It's resolution time - I need to lose a stone, raise my profile, find a partner (perhaps) and write a sequel to my first book. With a European election and the distinct possibility of a general election, 2009 promises to be a busy year.
4 comments:
Hello,Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all of you.May this New Year bring lot's of Joy and tremendous Happiness to all..
Cheers….Keep smiling:)
Gifts to Chennai|Gifts to Bangalore|Gifts to India
Best wishes for the New Year, Roger.
Boris was right to express his lack of confidence in Sir Ian Blair, and I gather his work with the City of London is gathering praise.
We've all got to be far more confident about underlining Labour's stupefying incompetence at every level of Government - and acknowledge faults where they occur in Conservative administrations.
Happy Christmas to you Roger, and a productive New Year.
Here is my sexy, temptress Christmas present.
Many thanks, Weggis - Happy Christmas to you also.
And thank you for the link. Looks like something I might try, just don't tell my mother or the News of the World...
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