Boris in Loxford

This morning I joined Boris and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall for a visit to the East London Rape Crisis Centre at Loxford. This was the first time I had met the Duchess and I was very impressed by her down to earth attitude.

We met volunteers from the Hackney based Nia Project and local Victim Support. The East London centre is unusual in that provides support for male victims of sexual violence as well as for women. I also spoke to DI Tim Wilkinson and DC Sadie Juncal who work for the Met's Project Sapphire in Havering and Redbridge - they also live in my constituency so they have a detailed knowledge of the area.

After visiting the centre we walked back to Ilford Station, accompanied by Cllr Michelle Dunn, the newly elected deputy leader of Redbridge Council Conservative Group and her colleague Cllr Matthew Chaudhry who represents Cranbrook Ward.

Ilford Lane is a very diverse shopping area and Boris visited butchers, sweet sellers, fashion boutiques, jewellers and the local pharmacist. Boris is hugely popular on these occasions and we were accompanied every step of the way by a photographer from local newspaper The Nation.

At Ilford Station Boris got a first hand view of the poor facilities which are supposed to be upgraded as part of the Crossrail project. Recent rumours are that Network Rail are cutting back on the overground elements of their part of Crossrail, but improvements to accessibility and security at Ilford Station are essential.

Striding Around South East London

It's been a sunny weekend but not too hot - ideal for walking, so I decided to cover a large chunk of ground. After all we never know when it will snow again...

Day Two - Falconwood to Grove Park

This relatively short section - just over 4 miles - is also mostly along level ground. A leisurely saunter, beginning at Falconwood Station.

A concrete bridge takes the path over the railway and the A2 in its deep cutting. The path leads onward through Eltham Park South before following a track past the training ground for Eltham Football Club and a venue - the Butterfly Club - which no doubt sees some action in the evenings.

A long road walk bypasses the centre of Eltham, concluding at the impressive Eltham Palace, the country seat of royalty until Henry VIIIth decided to move his household to Greenwich. The place was sacked by Cromwell's Roundheads who had no respect for history and remained in ruins until the Courtauld family bought it and reconstructed the building in its current stylish form.

Beyond the palace, King John's Walk follows a ridge affording great views of Canary Wharf and the City. Horses are much in evidence here, a clear case of 'bringing the village to the city' as Boris would say.

Down the hill, we cross a railway bridge and scurry over the busy A20 - a pedestrian crossing has been provided since I was last here, so thank you TfL. Entering Mottingham, there is a brief encounter with the borough of Bromley and James Cleverly's constituency. It is very pleasant here, no wonder he got over 100,000 votes!

The village is an odd mix of very old houses and some unattractive blocks of flats, the whole scene dominated by Eltham College where Mervyn Peake was a pupil before he went on to write the Gormenghast trilogy, which I plan to read some time.

Behind the college is a path leading eventually to Grove Park Station, following the Quaggy River - made famous when Boris fell in whilst helping to clear out road cones and shopping trolleys. Of course Ken would never have fallen in the Quaggy River, because it isn't in Zone 1...

Day Three - Grove Park to Crystal Palace

The longest stage of the walk is, at 8.6 miles, a considerable undertaking for us desk bound types. Of course back in the North East we would have knocked it off before breakfast, but things have changed since then...

A long footbridge crosses the main line at Hither Green, affording a view of the train depot and the site of the 1967 derailment in which 49 people died. We tend to think of railway tragedies as a modern phenomenon but a study of history provides a clearer perspective.

In Downham, the path passes the fire station - a far flung outpost of Brian Coleman's empire - before entering the Downham Woodland Walk. This follows a narrow band of trees - miraculously preserved during the development of the area, for over a mile. Lewisham Council had provided some unusual and attractive artwork when I first came this way, but over the years it has deteriorated and become overgrown. Wooden sculptures are half concealed amongst the bushes, so you need to look for them now.

Hurrying over the A21, the walk enters the large Beckenham Place Park, alive with dog walkers on a Sunday morning. There were relatively few unpleasant mastiffs in evidence although mauled branches and tree trunks show that people have been exercising their 'devil dogs'. Winding through woodland, climbing steep steps, you find yourself in the middle of a golf course. The facility is administered from the mansion itself, a grade II listed building constructed by John Cator, a timber merchant whose family name features heavily in these parts. The whole park is in public ownership having been acquired by the London County Council before the War.

Outside the park the route leaves Lewisham and returns to Bromley, and there is the first sighting of the Crystal Palace TV mast - the end of today's walk. It isn't as close as it looks, particularly as the walk winds about a fair bit. The mast will remain tantalisingly on the horizon for the next hour or so...

Crossing the valley of the Pool River seems to take forever. Much of the area is made up of playing fields that once formed recreation grounds for large public utilities and private companies. as costs were cut in the nineties many of these fell into disuse and the owners sought permission for development, which never came. Since I was last here things look to have improved, with new users taking a more active role, funded by modest partial development. I passed the grounds of Kent County Cricket Club, Crystal Palace Football Club and the HSBC Sports Club.

A winding route through parks and streets finally arrives at Penge East Station where it is tempting to drop into the newsagents and buy up anything edible. However I restrained myself, knowing that the dynamic centre of Penge was just around the corner. There is also a surprisingly good cafe just inside Crystal Palace Park.

Sunday is very busy here with huge numbers of small children. A cola lolly helped to restore my E levels to normal whilst I struggled with the map - because they have changed the route...

The new way turns left and leads up alongside the Dinosaur Ponds, definitely worth the detour. Next comes a view of the athletics stadium which is looking a bit rundown, and at long last a close encounter with the TV mast which has dominated the last few miles. Here also is the station and the conclusion of the walk.

Day 4 leaves South east London behind, threading its way north of Croydon whilst avoiding the more built up central areas. I'm looking forward to it.

Capital Ring Day 3 - Photographs

Pictures from Day three feature the railway at Hither Green, Beckenham Place, Penge and Crystal Palace TV mast.

Capital Ring Day 2 - Photographs

Pictures from day 2 show Eltham Park South, Eltham Palace, the superb view from King John's Walk and Mottingham Lane.

Why I Decided to Stand Down

After two and a half years as Conservative Group Leader, I have decided not to seek election to the post this year. This has not been an easy decision, but several factors have weighed heavily in my choice:

First, I want to devote more time to my constituency. The Leader's role is exciting and rewarding but it does entail a lot of meetings and desk work. I prefer to get out and meet people and I will be doing a lot of that in the coming year.

Second, I want to involve myself in more non political campaigns. City Hall is a pretty relaxed place when it comes to party whips - particularly compared to Westminster - nevertheless if I promote issues whilst I am still Group Leader, they are bound to be viewed as Conservative party policy, at least to some extent. I have been speaking fairly freely recently and want to do more of it.

Third, I believe that this is a good time to make a change, as we enter the final year of the Mayoralty. The atmosphere is likely to be more combative in coming months and the Group need someone who will take the fight to the opposition and lead the election campaign.

Leading the Conservative Group is a real privilege. Not only is it the largest group ever elected to City Hall - with eleven members - I also believe that it is the most able and experienced group ever elected. I have enjoyed great support from my officer team: My Deputy James Cleverly, whose 'can do' attitude is really refreshing and valuable in politics. My Whip Richard Tracey, who has given me fantastic advice during some tense and tricky negotiations. My office manager Robert Rams, who effortlessy runs a big and complex department, producing vital briefings and supporting some demanding members.

Finally, I would like to place on record my gratitude to all our professional researchers and caseworkers who carry much of our daily load.

And I have enjoyed working with Boris - a unique and positive experience from which I have personally learned a great deal.

The new team of officers will be elected by the Group on 29th March. I wish them well and undertake to give them my full support in the run up to the 2012 election and through Boris' second term.

A Battering at Battersea

Last night's Question Time was hosted by the Battersea Arts Centre, a trust occupying the former Battersea Town Hall. The building is supposed to be one of the birthplaces of the Labour Party, but relaxing in the bar with Martin of Mayorwatch, it was hard to believe that such an aberration could have crawled from such a pleasant venue.

The audience were pleased to see Boris and they gave us an enthusiastic welcome, although this was tempered by the number of special interests demanding public cash - don't they realise the economic climate has changed. Local assembly member Richard Tracey chaired the event, opening the meeting with a short speech extolling the virtues of his constituency. He concluded by congratulating Wandsworth Council on their low council tax, to cheers from the audience, and a few hisses from isolated socialists.

Boris then wowed the crowd with his report, stating his intention to put the village back into the city with much needed environmental improvements. He congratulated Wandsworth on exporting TV aerials to China, and referred to the discovery of an iron age jewelled shield at Battersea Bridge - a civilisation that had collected the wealth of its residents and thrown it in the river, rather like Gordon Brown's government...

Assembly Chair Dee Doocey kept her comments brief and we were straight into the questions:


Policing

Richard rather generously selected the Labour Leader from Wandsworth to ask the first question and was rewarded with an accusation that police numbers were being cut. Boris begged to differ, stating that numbers would increase by 1,200 over his term in office. John Biggs accused him of lying, which did not play well with the audience. Kit Malthouse made an excellent contribution, dealing with the change in numbers and the planned redeployment of sergeants out of some neighbourhood teams.

Another questioner raised the possibility of 'insurrection' and asked if the police were ready to deal with more riots. The Mayor reassured him that the police were prepared to deal with all eventualities, including flood, epidemics and of course 'insurrection'.

A nice blonde lady congratulated Boris and the Assembly on our efforts to reduce knife crime and youth crime. Matthew from the UK Youth Parliament asked for more opportunities for police and young people to build positive relationships. Boris talked about joint sporting events, outreach programmes and police cadets.


Transport

The first complaint - that Boris had failed to extend the Tube to Croydon and Wandsworth - seemed a bit premature, only three years into his term.

A request to extend bike hire to Wandsworth attracted a more positive response. Cycle Superhighway 7 already runs to Wandsworth and Boris proudly declared that he had used it to get to the meeting.

A blind man complained that there were no staff to help him at Kings Cross, Victoria and Upton Park. This is inexcusable particularly at such busy stations and Boris promised to take the matter up with London Underground.

A lady from Age Concern complained about poor bus driving standards, cyclists using the pavement and excessive street furniture - all issues the Assembly has raised in the past, and it appears we will have to return to them in the future.

There was a brief discussion of airport capacity, with Boris stoutly defending his call for more flights to London, and his 'Boris Island' plan for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.


Environment

Residents raised their long running concerns about Thames Water's Super Sewer. Tony Arbour stated that Thames Water had failed to do their homework, relying on the easy option of building on available green spaces. He was pleased that the plan to use the Barn Elms site had been shelved.

A councillor from Northcote Ward complained that Labour Lambeth Council were going to allow a giant camp site on Clapham Common as part of the Royal Wedding celebrations. This would attract 10,000 people damaging the common and disturbing residents. Boris replied that this just showed how much Lefties loved the Royal Family...


Olympics

The Mayor of Merton asked for reassurances about security and transport for the Olympic tennis venue at Wimbledon. Boris assured her that LOCOG were planning for every eventuality and extending Cycle Superhighways to Wimbledon would be considered.

There was a vexed discussion about ticket allocation, with Dee Doocey making much of the tickets allocated to London boroughs and government which would 'all go to politicians'. Of course the tickets will be charged and are more likely to be allocated to local charities and sporting groups. Nevertheless, this exchange highlighted a moral minefield and I'm pleased to say that in Havering and Redbridge we have decided to turn down the ticket offer and save ourselves the associated controversy.

Exclusive Olympic traffic lanes were mentioned and I decided to pitch in, noting that the privileged users included not only athletes, but foreign dignitaries and journalists. I added, to some applause that we should limit the lanes as far as possible, tightly controlling their use and removing them immediately after the games. Emboldened by colleagues behind me I added that perhaps we should hire some mini buses, to make more economic use of the road space and avoid the spectacle of limousines and cavalcades sweeping past frustrated Londoners. At this point Boris shouted "BOLLOCKS!" and I began to wonder if I had gone off message... There goes my career.


Next Meeting

The session concluded with a few questions about housing provision and planning. The Albert Bridge closure was also raised and Richard Tracey assured residents that the bridge would be reopened in September after being 'largely rebuilt'.

He then closed the meeting, adding that the next Boris Question Time would be on 7th June at Kingston's Rose Theatre.

And the next official Peoples' Question Time will take place on 7th November at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch.

Redbridge Roundabout

On Sunday morning I paid a visit to Redbridge Roundabout with Cranbrook Ward Councillors Matthew Chaudhry and Ashok Kumar.

The major junction, where the North Circular and the A12 meet is maintained in part by TfL and in part by the council. Access across the roads is afforded by several concrete subways. These are not pleasant places but the proximity of Redbridge underground station means that they are quite busy during the mornings and evenings and this discourages crime. Not so for the rest of the day and night, unfortunately.

Graffiti has been cleared recently and the concrete walls are looking about as good as they ever will. However litter has started to collect again and the area could do with a good tidying up. More seriously the lights have failed in the subway linking to Studley Drive and this needs to be fixed urgently. So do the drains in the subway linking to Royston Gardens where water has backed up to submerge the grates - rain often leads to flooding in this subway, effectively making it impassable.

These faults will be reported to TfL for action.

Let's Go Round Again

It has been a few years since I last completed the Capital Ring, a 75 mile circumnavigation of London, so I have set out to do it again this year.

Saturday was cool but sunny as I set out on stage 1, a 7.1 mile walk through the green spaces of Greenwich, from Woolwich to Falconwood. There is a lot of climbing on this section which makes for quite a demanding start to the walk.

With the Woolwich Foot Tunnel closed, I started at Woolwich Arsenal DLR station. I haven't visited Woolwich since the 1990s and rebuilding works make the town centre confusing. Luckily I have a very good sense of direction and I set off from Starbucks filled with confidence - ten minutes later I was back at Starbucks having gone the wrong way...

The route proper begins at the Woolwich Ferry and a pleasant stretch along the river followed, with good views of the Thames Barrier. Just before the barrier the riverside path is forced away from the river and there are some close encounters with heavy traffic before entering the green oasis of Maryon Park.

At this point the walk climbs away from the river, ascending a long flight of steps and further gentle slopes through Maryon Wilson Park, passing an animal enclosure festooned with dire health and safety warnings.

Reaching the top of the hill the walk enters Charlton Park, a favourite venue for weekend footballers. Here also is the Jacobean mansion, Charlton House. It was originally built for Sir Adam Newton, tutor to King James I - they certainly knew how to reward teachers in those days - and now it houses a community centre and library. The picture in the earlier post shows the house in all its glory, but the ha ha is difficult to make out.

Onwards, through Hornfair Park and across the open expanse of Woolwich Common. Crossing the busy South Circular, the path enters woods and climbs steeply to the derelict Severndroog Castle. This unusual structure was built to commemorate Sir William James, who captured an Indian fortress of the same name. Severndroog also marks the highest point on the Capital Ring - it's all downhill from here.

On the descent I met some nice ladies from Lithuania who were admiring the view. It is so often the case that visitors value the unique aspects of our city more than those of us who live here. I paused for a quick photograph.

The next section threads its way through Oxleas Wood on a maze of paths, helpfully signposted by Capital Ring and Green Chain markers. A busy cafe at Oxleas Meadows provides refreshments - two bottles of water - and a great view. There are always lots of dog walkers here and the place echoes to the sound of barking and owners' shouts as they try to control their pooches. Nice to see that most of the dogs were family pets - very few status mastiffs were on show.

Descending through the woods, I encountered a group of volunteers clearing brush and cutting back the undergrowth. A couple of workers prepared tea and biscuits on a trestle table - a fine example of the Big Society in action.

The blasting of traffic in the deep A2 cutting signalled a return to 'civilisation', and it was a short walk to Falconwood station and the train back to town.

The next stage from Falconwood to Grove Park is much shorter and easier, but it has some great views and an encounter with Eltham Palace. I'm looking forward to it already...

Capital Ring Day 1 - Photographs

A lovely morning in South London. Pictures show the Woolwich Ferry, The Thames Flood Barrier, Charlton House, Severndroog Castle and Oxleas Meadows.

Campaign Progress - and Fund Raising Dinner

The campaign to save our accident & emergency unit continues. This afternoon a delegation from Redbridge visited the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) HQ in Buckingham Palace Road. The rather complex title belies the fact that these are the people who will give the thumbs up or down to the closure plans.

Arriving early, I took the opportunity to speak to the board secretary about our campaign and he assured me that the board would consider all submissions fairly.

I was joined by Redbridge councillors Andy Walker (Labour, and the driving force behind our objections) and Chris Cummins (Conservative chairman of the health scrutiny committee), and we handed in a letter drawing attention to the overloading of the services at Queen's Hospital and pointing out that they were in no condition to carry the extra demand which would be created by the KGH closure.

The next step will be a fund raising dinner on Friday evening in Chadwell Heath.

UPDATE: The dinner at the Tamarind in Chadwell Heath was a great success, raising several hundred £s for the campaign. Thanks to Cllr Andy Walker for organising the event. I'm adding a picture of the evening...

Alternative Funding

With funding cuts and government struggling to recover from Labour's financial mismanagement, the hunt is on for alternative methods of funding capital projects. The budget committee spent a couple of hours taking evidence from experts in TfL and the GLA yesterday morning.

Crossrail, Tube upgrades and Thameslink are all able to go ahead but other projects, notably the extension of the Northern Line to Battersea will need to be funded by innovative methods. Because transport projects usually generate an increase in property values along the route, some form of land value taxation could be considered. This was always a favourite with former TfL deputy chair Dave Wetzel, but unfortunately he was not around to offer his opinion.

Battersea Power Station has been an ill starred development site for a long time, with various proposals coming and going whilst the giant building - closed thirty years ago - falls into dereliction. The latest plans look like coming to fruition and as it is now just about the last bit of undeveloped river bank, they look to generate considerable profits. However as always there was a risk that land values would fail to rise and the revenue would not be created, or that the balance between residential and commercial uses would fail to maximise income, or that the amount raised would still cover only a fraction of the cost of the line extension - the experts differed on this, predicting that anything from a tenth to two thirds of the cost could be raised.

Of course some of us remember Ken's predictions that rising land values in the Lea Valley would pay for the Olympics, and that the house he bought for Bob Kiley would be sold at a profit...


Crossrail

Discussion turned to the community infrastructure levy (CIL) which will generate some £300 million for the Crossrail project. In effect this will be a 'planning gain' charge attached to developments within Greater London. Local authorities already raise money in this way, but its use is restricted to major developments. The CIL will apply to all non domestic planning applications.

The plan has raised major concerns amongst London's councils and Bromley have agreed to mount a legal challenge - not for the first time, for those who remember 'Fares Fair'.

The first problem is that the CIL will only apply within Greater London. The extra cost of development will tend to push businesses over the border into the Home Counties, particularly from outer London boroughs. There is also a reasonable argument that Crossrail is a project with national benefits, so the whole country should pay. A stretch to ask Scotland and Wales to cough up perhaps, but Crossrail will actually stop at Brentwood and Maidenhead, so it is only fair that they make some contribution. It feels like the London only Olympic levy all over gain.

Then there are concerns about the distribution of the charge within London. The legislation that enables the CIL does not allow the charge to be focused along the route where the benefits will be felt. The only variation that is allowed across London is based on existing property values and there are three charging bands. Luckily Havering is in the cheapest band and Redbridge is in the middle band - both get the benefits of access to the route and new stations, so far so good. However Richmond is in the top band and the line goes nowhere near them - needless to say they are not happy, and other north and south London boroughs share their concerns.

CIL only applies to Crossrail at present, but the witnesses accepted that it could be used to raise money for other transport projects, including a resurrected Cross River Tram. The legislation seems blunt and doesn't consider London's size and variation - not for the first time - so the witnesses did agree that the government should be pressed to make changes next time the matter came up for debate.

London Conference

Saturday saw the London Conservative conference, kindly hosted at Hammersmith Town Hall. Left wing bloggers billed it as a 'secret gathering' and promised a large demonstration - but as it started early on a Saturday morning and it was pouring with rain very few people turned up to man the picket lines - I guess the revolution will have to wait.

Inside a packed hall, we were addressed by Boris who outlined his achievements and his plans to seek a second term. He takes his opponent seriously, describing Ken as a 'seasoned campaigner - more than seasoned, marinated perhaps or even embalmed.' He took some good natured questions and our own Cllr Nick Hayes made the best of the opportunity to seek assurances that the overground improvements which form part of Crossrail would still take place. Boris pointed out that Network Rail were responsible for the stations in Redbridge and Havering, and that he would lobby them to ensure the essential improvements were made.

Lynton Crosby spoke to us about the campaign, revealing all the secret details which I won't repeat here. Then we had sessions on the No To AV campaign and the upcoming boundary review which will see London lose several Parliamentary seats.

Then we were addressed by Transport Secretary Philip Hammond, who talked about his support for Crossrail and his commitment to transport in London. Governments always face pressure from Scottish and Northern MPs to cut London's funding so it is reassuring to have the Minister on our side. He acknowledged that he faces a fight over high speed rail but is determined to press ahead with it as the only viable alternative to airport expansion in the south east.

We broke for lunch with our MEPs, providing them with an opportunity to talk about their work and face the tough grilling that this subject always attracts at party meetings.

Then it was on with the afternoon, and a session on local government chaired by Wandsworth Leader Edward Lister and featuring a star panel - including myself. I spoke about how proportional voting had twisted London Assembly politics, giving Lib Dems and Greens far more power than they merited, and talked about the sometimes tense relationship between my team and the Mayor's office. We also had a good discussion about cutting waste, sharing services and improving procurement to get a better deal for taxpayers.

With that session completed it was time to slip away. I had to miss the final session with London's new MPs because I was off to the Havering Mayor's fund raising evening. A very exciting boxing match and dinner hosted at the Prince Regent Hotel in Chigwell. There was just time for me to get home and change for the event.

A productive Saturday with plenty of jabs and crosses hitting the target!

Big Budget Day

Wednesday saw the agreement of 2011/12 budgets both at City Hall and Havering Council.

Greater London Authority

Boris presented his final budget to a full meeting of the assembly. He had noted our concerns about plans to spend £6 million on the 101 single telephone number for public services in London. He assured us that he would be reviewing the project. Having received this assurance, the Conservative Group withdrew that part of its amendment.

Political groups presented amendments that remained largely unchanged from two weeks earlier, with the exception of the Greens who wanted to spend £4 million on the Year of Walking. None of the amendments attracted enough votes to clear the necessary two thirds hurdle required for their adoption.

John Biggs lost his temper with the mayor, calling him a 'lazy liar' and a lot more before the chair proposed a vote to exclude him from debate - which was passed. Biggs is often casually rude but it seems to arise from thoughtlessness and I don't take offence. There is however something about Boris that gets under his skin and sometimes he really loses it. This was one of those occasions and it was the first time in its history that the assembly voted to silence one of its own members - not a very welcome precedent, particularly as the session was going out live on BBC Parliament.

With no amendments, the mayor's budget was approved by default, giving Londoners another year's council tax freeze, the third in a row - contrasting with Livingstone's 154% increase over his term of office.

London Borough of Havering

With riots and the police called to some council meetings, we were on the edge of our seats in the evening. However there were no protests and the meeting was very civilised.

Over the years Havering has become accustomed to being short changed by central government, so the council is used to introducing efficiencies and sharing services to save costs. The difficult budget was masterfully constructed by Cllr Roger Ramsey and his team of finance officers, working with the unions who therefore did not find it necessary to wave placards outside the meeting.

The Labour opposition didn't propose any alterations to the budget, although a couple of them did dedicate their speeches to polishing Gordon Brown's reputation, after young Conservative councillors made references to the dreadful economic legacy he had left.

The Official Residents' Association councillors proposed introducing free parking in their wards and paying for it by cutting special responsibility allowances and consultancy fees. This is pretty much what they do every year.

The Independent Resident's Association Group (yes, it really is like Monty Python's Life Of Brian) proposed spending £5,000 on a legal challenge to force more grant from the government, but this was disallowed by the Mayor because they had failed to identify where the money was coming from and £5k won't get you a cup of tea at the High Court these days.

With little else on the table the opposition groups congregated around the free parking amendment which fell to the overwhelming Tory majority. However there was some consolation for them in the Leader's announcement that several committees would be scrapped along with the chair's allowances (my own Partnerships Scrutiny Committee included). The Deputy Mayor would also have his allowance ceased, although he would still fulfil his duties.

The administration budget was approved, freezing the council tax at £1,505 for a Band D property.

Save The Accident & Emergency

Following last week's council resolution, there was a meeting of representatives from Havering and Redbridge on Friday, to plan the way forward.

New figures obtained from the plans show that outer London is set to lose out again. With A & E focused on Queen's Hospital for three London boroughs, that overstretched unit will have to serve a population of over 700,000. This compares unfavourable with the North East Inner London hospitals each serving a single borough of just 200,000 people. No doubt the statistics claiming that Inner London has greater 'needs', poverty etc. will be trotted out again but account never seems to be taken of Havering's large elderly population. Older people need more hospital services.

And whilst Waltham Forest Council have decided no to oppose the changes, we noted that there had been no assessment of the additional pressure that will be placed on A & E at Whips Cross Hospital. Residents of Wanstead and Woodford are far more likely to present themselves there rather than travel all the way to Romford.


Consultation

It was noted that the response to the original consultation had been very low. Of 57,000 questionnaires sent out, only 3,080 (5.4%) had been returned. Of these, 29% were returned by NHS employees who obviously have access to more information about the changes and who view them largely from their position as providers rather than users of the service.


Campaign dates

The main event will be the rally on Friday 8th April, with a march starting from Queen's Hospital at 4pm. The march will conclude - for those who stick with it - at Ilford Town Hall where all the MPs from the two boroughs will address the crowd. There will also be some words of support from former Mayor Ken Livingstone.

The day before - Thursday 7th April - will see a visit to Downing Street by a delegation of six councillors from both boroughs, to deliver a letter making the case for keeping the A& E at King Georges.

And campaigns always need money so we are arranging a fund raising dinner for 11th March, venue to be announced, but somewhere convenient for both boroughs is being sought.

Our next campaign meeting will take place on 4th March.


After the meeting Redbridge Cllr Andy Walker did a short interview with me and it can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlTr909EYYs

Tube Summit

This afternoon I joined other politicians for a meeting with Kulveer Ranger, the Mayor's transport advisor.

Our main concern was the recent disruption on London Underground, for once not the result of industrial action, but a consequence of equipment failures. Kulveer explained that much of the new equipment needed several weeks to bed in. Making changes to the Tube during running hours was like performing heart surgery on someone running the marathon - well perhaps not quite that challenging, but you get the picture.

Jubilee

The worst problems have centred around the introduction of a new moving block signalling system. This will enable automatic train operation and is being welcomed by train drivers as a massive improvement. More trains can be run and irregularities in the timetable will be corrected automatically. But the new system is having teething troubles and there have been rumblings of discontent at Canary Wharf and Westminster.

Kulveer told us that he had spent two weeks visiting the line on the Mayor's personal instructions to see the problems for himself. He was convinced that they were being resolved and the a good, reliable service would be available soon.

Victoria

A similar situation, this time arising from the introduction of new trains. Here the sensitivity of the doors had led to failures of service, but again Kulveer assured us that the worst of the problems was behind us now.

The renewal of escalators at Victoria Station was going to cause rush hour congestion and passengers were advised to find alternative routes at busy times. The work would be done quickly, but even so it was expected to take seven months. Interestingly, the Victoria Line escalator at this station is the second busiest in the world - not a lot of people know that...

Central

I have noticed that our own Central Line has been experiencing delays too. In this case the culprit was a faulty signal card, which sets the timetable and operates the signals accordingly. After two breakdowns the fault had been rectified and the line was now operating a good service.

I was very impressed by Kulveer's detailed knowledge and his clear commitment to passengers. He is optimistic about the quality of service in the future, but he knows that I will be back to see him again if things don't improve.

Budget Day (Number One)

Thursday saw the first of two budget debates, with the Mayor presenting his proposals for 2011/12. The Assembly has the power to amend the budget if two thirds of the members can support the change - but that has never happened...

The Budget

Boris led off with his budget speech. Once again he had frozen the council tax precept, a continuing policy which now amounted to a 10% cut in bills over three years, and contrasted with Livingstone's 152% inflation busting increases. Council tax impacts particularly on pensioners and others on fixed incomes, and Boris felt that they would welcome his value for money approach, particularly as so many are struggling in the financial mess that Labour bequeathed them.

Discussing policing, Boris was proud to announce the end of the recruitment freeze. Money vired from the Fire Authority budget would help to boost police numbers and the Mayor promised that there would be more police on the streets by next year than there were when he came to office - a proud legacy. Moving to single patrolling in quieter areas had also freed up another 330 officers, and the concerted effort to move them out of desk jobs and onto the streets would continue.

For transport, Boris pleased London's boroughs by announcing that funding from TfL would be held at 2011/12 levels for two more years - this had originally been slated for a cut, but they had found £22 million for environmental and transport improvements at local level. The Mayor emphasised that support from the boroughs was vital to the delivery of his policies - a welcome contrast with Ken who always seemed to be at war with council leaders.

LDA funding was still sketchy as negotiations with central government continued, but Boris hoped to be able to bring us more good news soon.

A short statement from budget committee chairman John Biggs followed, then there were two hours of questions. As these concluded, each group was invited to move its amendments.

Conservative Group

We sought to produce yet more savings and cut the precept.

Firstly, by seeking a 15% cut in the support budget for all political groups. At a time when front line services are under threat, protecting the political support budget cannot be justified. Last year we made the same proposal but the other groups vetoed it, no doubt unsure if it could be achieved. Over 2010/11 we have made considerable savings by sharing some personal assistants and researchers, and removing some of the management. Having proved that it can be done, we would like to see the other groups follow suit.

We also sought to delete a £6 million spend on the 101 telephone number project. Always a questionable investment, improvements in technology and changes in behaviour now make a universal phone number for public services obsolete.

Other than these suggestions, we welcomed the Mayor's budget, especially the council tax freeze and the greater support for boroughs.

Labour

Whilst agreeing with the precept freeze, Labour had different priorities.

They would use TfL reserves to hold down bus fares, fund step free station access projects, and guarantee more Tube station staff, in a nod to Ken's rail union supporters. They also proposed ceasing the project to smooth traffic flow by removing unnecessary traffic signals.

At the Met they would provide 200 more police officers and invest more in tackling youth crime, to be paid for by savings in the overtime budget and the police media department.

Interestingly they supported the Fire Authority budget, despite having voted against it at the Authority's earlier budget meeting. A case of Ed Milliband's 'blank page' perhaps?

Liberal Democrats

There were no signs of 'coalitionism' at City Hall, as the Lib Dems promoted their own ideas:

Once again they proposed their One Hour Bus Ticket, a big idea which featured in last year's offering. Another big idea was an Inner London Low Emission Zone. £10 million would be saved by delaying the roll out of cycle superhighway routes 2,5,8 and 12. Route 2 runs from Aldgate to Bow and I am already getting demands from Redbridge to extend it to Ilford. They would save another £15 million by ending free travel for partners of TfL employees.

In policing, they also targeted the directorate of public affairs for a large cut and sought to save £500,000 by cutting our payments to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). Extra police would be used to bolster neighbourhood teams and to deal with child trafficking at Heathrow and St. Pancras.

Greens

As usual, Darren and Jenny came up with the most radical proposals:

Cutting police overtime, cutting back on surveillance and reducing the Territorial Support Group (the controversial unit which polices demonstrations) would provide savings to be spent on supporting safer neighbourhood teams. £3 million would be spent on traffic policing, and £1 million would be invested in training to improve public order policing.

A 'retro' transport budget would save money by retaining bendy buses and reintroducing the congestion charge Western Extension Zone. Scrapping work on river crossings in the Thames Gateway would save a further £1 million. Congestion charge would be whacked up to £16, with a special charge of £30 for highly polluting vehicles. The money raised would be used to introduce a new 'Very Low Emission Zone' and to increase funding for cycle lanes, pedestrian crossings, and 20mph zones.

At the LDA they proposed cutting the academy programme and scrapping the 101 number project, to pay for more home energy efficiency.

Common Ground

Needless to say none of the above alternatives commanded a two thirds majority.

The three opposition groups got together to pass a critical motion which ensures the budget process will continue with a final vote on 23 February.

And finally, seeing the Green's proposal on the 101 number, we set up another motion calling on Boris to scrap the plans. This was supported unanimously by all four groups and was actually the only constructive proposal that we could all agree on!

Now Boris will go away and consider our comments. He will also continue negotiations with central government over the LDA budget, returning with finalised proposals in two weeks.

Councillors United

Last Wednesday saw a rare example of councillors uniting across the political divide to save the local accident and emergency unit. The Health Service proposal to close the unit at King Georges Hospital in Redbridge and to move the service to Romford's new Queen's Hospital has been debated for several years.

At Redbridge there is great concern about the loss of the borough's accident and emergency unit. Ambulances will take longer to get to Queen's Hospital and where accident victims are involved, time is vital. Visitors will also struggle if they don't have access to a car, as public transport to Queen's is poor in some parts of Redbridge. In some cases a two stage bus journey via Romford town centre will be unavoidable.

There is cross party opposition at Redbridge Council and on Wednesday two councillors, Bellwood and Walker, made up a delegation to Havering, urging the council to join them.

In Havering there will also be problems, because the new hospital is struggling to manage the number of patients it already serves. Lack of capacity has been an ongoing problem and there is also a shortage of visitor parking, despite the council's insistence that more places be provided when the hospital was built. Havering has many elderly people who need to use the already stretched hospital.

Furthermore, other health services have also been moved to Queen's creating more pressure on the hospital. I was surprised when my own doctor's surgery stopped taking blood samples and referred me to the hospital - being a busy person, I haven't had time to attend, and I wonder how many other patients have missed out on care in similar circumstances.

The Redbridge delegation were delighted when Havering councillors lined up to support them. I denounced the proposal as a diabolical plan that will harm the residents of both boroughs and more widely in East London and Essex. Labour leader Cllr Keith Darvill worried that the plan was risky in current circumstances. Independent Residents Association councillor Jeff Tucker pledged to leaflet his Rainham ward in support of the campaign and to bring his megaphone to any protests. Conservative Cabinet Member Cllr Robert Benham had already attended one protest march and he commended the cross party support he witnessed. Streetcare Boss Cllr Barry Tebbutt voiced his concern that the Queen's site would need substantial extra building to accommodate parking and services. Opposition Leader Cllr Clarence Barrett pledged the support of his Residents association Group.

After a passionate debate - which featured several members discussing their own experiences with the health service - the council unanimously approved the following motion:

This council agrees to oppose the withdrawal of services from King Georges Hospital to the detriment of health care for the residents of Havering, to protect and improve services at the Queen's Hospital, and requests cabinet to examine the implications of these proposals and to send a delegation of members of the council consisting of at least one representative of each political group to meet with the all party group of councillors of the London Borough of Redbridge to work with them.

A protest rally is planned for 8th April when many political leaders from both boroughs will line up to voice their opposition.

Business Management Committee

This morning the committee of senior members who oversee the scrutiny function met. The main business was to take evidence from Deputy Mayor Richard Barnes, who presented the annual equality report.


Equalities

In an era when much needed front line services are under threat, it may seem strange that the equality agenda is still such a high priority. At City Hall we have been seeking to mainstream equalities practices within existing management structures, thereby dispensing with much of the specialist equalities team that grew up during the Livingstone years. In 2008 there were 22 diversity officers and this number was rapidly halved to 11 after Boris came to power. Subsequently staff turnover has reduced this number to five. At LFEPA Brian Coleman has removed all the diversity officers.

Yet there has been much useful work. Richard Barnes is particularly proud of 'Diversity Works', a scheme to help businesses harness the benefits of a diverse workforce and supplier base. The innovative scheme is being taken on by the devolved Welsh and Scottish governments and plans are in train to apply it at a national level, possibly culminating in an industry standard similar to the respected 'Investors in People'.


Audit

As Chairman of the Audit Panel, I supported a proposal to use MPA auditors at City Hall in future. This would provide an annual saving of £24k from the current contract and is a good example of sharing services across the GLA to make savings. The MPA audit team currently do a good job on the police service and have qualified staff who work to CIPFA best practice.

An audit plan will now be agreed by the audit panel on 8th March, providing 350 days of cover, and this will be reviewed in the middle of next year.


Civil Contingency Arrangements

With the mayor taking on responsibility for resilience and civil contingency, it was agreed that our committee would take on the responsibility of scrutinising this aspect of his work, on a temporary basis. The impending abolition of the MPA will lead to a reorganisation of Assembly functions and at this point the resilience work will be allocated permanently to a more appropriate committee.


GLA Staffing Changes

In 2008 GLA staff levels stood at 701. Under Boris, the number fell to 582 by September 2009, but it has drifted back up to 623 since then. Although the reorganisation has achieved significant savings, the committee agreed to carry out a review of this downsizing to get a clear picture of the organisation before the effects of the impending localism legislation.

With staff turnover down to 8%, City Hall is clearly a much more attractive place to work.

Mayor's Questions - Opposition Get Their Act Together

This morning saw the first Mayor's Question Time of 2011. For once the three left wing groups had decided to work together on a common theme - 'the Mayor has misled Londoners'. Perhaps we will see more of this cooperation as the year progresses. The public gallery was also much thinner than usual.


Airport Capacity

The 'progressives' led off with the mayor's recent declaration that London needed more air capacity because there were more flights to China from Paris and Frankfurt. Labour accused Boris of providing misleading figures and a slightly torrid argument about the number of planes between China and London ensued - the crux seemed to be whether Hong Kong was included in the total.

There was broad agreement that Heathrow expansion was beyond the pale, but nods of approval were given to using Manston or building a new Thames Estuary airport, with Stansted, Gatwick and Luton getting mentioned too. Wherever is designated, there will be much local opposition which I suspect means that expansion won't be happening.

Conservative, Andrew Boff spelt out his worries about expansion at City Airport, following the unfavourable court decision earlier this month. Residents are concerned about the increase in flights and consequent noise and pollution in East London.


Cycling

Green, Jenny Jones, had another go about cycling. Given the almost religious zeal which animates Boris on this topic, it is perhaps not the best point to attack - this time she was accusing him of underspending the budget. Andrew Boff made the point that after cycling to work almost on his own for many years, he was now accompanied by many new bike users of all shapes, sizes and ages. So more cyclists, lower spending, sounds good to me. Clearly Jenny knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, as they say...


GLA Pay

With pay for AMs and senior staff frozen this year, Labour's Len Duvall asked if Boris was satisfied with pay rates at City Hall. This gave the Mayor a good opportunity to highlight the decrease in the payroll from Livingstone's £27 million to the new slimline £19 million. In the bad old days 52 people were earning over £80k per year and now this was reduced to just 32 people.


Main Line Railways

Lib Dem Caroline Pidgeon set out to blame Boris for problems on the main line railways, which seems a bit unfair as they are the only part of London's transport network that he doesn't control. She felt there should be more staffed stations and urged the mayor to demand control of the network, within the boundaries of Greater London.

Boris said he was seeking greater involvement in the award of franchises to operators and lauded his success in getting them to accept Oyster pay as you go

Conservative James Cleverly warned of so called 'railheading' during the Olympics, as travellers from outside London parked up in the suburbs to use the transport network. Cheaper tickets for travel to the games would alleviate the problem. Dick Tracey suggested park and ride schemes based on brown field development sites for the duration of the Olympics.


Banksters

Labour's John Biggs attacked the mayor for suggesting that banks might leave the country - after all, they hadn't gone had they? Had Boris been excessively alarmist? John tried at one point to draw a distinction between moral and immoral banks - a very grey and subjective area. For someone who represents the Square Mile and Canary Wharf, John doesn't exactly ooze enthusiasm about their main businesses.

I pointed out that these institutions (moral or immoral) employ many more people than just the highly paid experts we always hear about. Furthermore, they provide essential custom for small businesses that spring up in the shadow of their gleaming towers. Apart from some vague talk about manufacturing, the progressives had failed to articulate an alternative business model to sustain the capital if the financial sector did decamp to Zurich.


Environment

Boris was on the receiving end of a lecture from Lib Dem Mike Tuffrey about reducing the CO2 output at City Hall. The figures were still being calculated but the Mayor expected to have come close to reducing emissions by 10% during 2010. James Cleverly suggested that staff could help by turning off their computer terminals at night - on the 6th floor, which houses the Conservative Group 95% of computers were turned off. On the 7th floor, the home of Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and the Climate Change Fan Club, only 93% were turned off - another case of the progressives preaching rather than practising.


Tube Strikes

Chairman Dee Doocey followed the example of transport chair Val Shawcross, clamping down on Conservative attempts to raise the strike issue again. They seem very keen not to discuss union militancy, possibly because Livingstone is supported by the unions. Unfortunately for travelling Londoners, the matter just won't go away...

And this afternoon we saw the results of the 'progressives' efforts in a brief Evening Standard piece, evidently based on a joint press release which gave credit to Labour, Lib Dems and Greens, without naming any individual member. The article mentioned several matters which were not even raised during debate, indicating that the release had been drafted and sent out before the meeting took place. The intended message was 'Boris misleads Londoners' but the real message is 'Vote Labour, Green or Lib Dem if you want Livingstone back'.

Upminster Depot

2009 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the London Underground depot at Upminster. Situated at the most Eastern extremity of the network, this is where the District Line trains are stabled overnight. There are also workshops for routine maintenance and more complicated repair jobs.

On Friday morning I joined local councillor Clarence Barrett and local residents for a visit to the depot, to hear about their plans for the next 50 years.

S Stock Trains and the District Line Upgrade

The new trains are already in operation on the Metropolitan Line, and will be introduced on the District Line in the run up to 2014. The 191 trains will have better CCTV coverage, more standing space and a lower floor to reduce the step up from the platform and make boarding easier. Most importantly they will all be seven cars long, reducing overcrowding. A new signalling system will enable more trains to run, improving the frequency and reliability of the service.

More and bigger trains mean that the depot will have to be enlarged. At Upminster this can be achieved within the existing site, with extra sidings being added on the north side of the site. Work will begin in the summer and should be completed by March 2012.

For the homes backing on to this part of the depot, there will be disturbance whilst the work is taking place and the clearance of an overgrown area will leave them with uninterrupted views of trains and the maintenance shed at the bottom of their gardens. Whilst the residents accept that the project will benefit the whole of London, so it must go ahead, we all want to mitigate the impact and preserve this pleasant middle class neighbourhood.

So the visit focused on ways to preserve some of the more mature trees that have grown up along the boundary, whilst planting new trees which will - in time - grow to fill up any gaps.

Security

Unfortunately the railway are engaged in what could be described as a war with idiots who try to break in and daub graffiti on the trains. Not only does this cost London Underground thousands of pounds every year to clean up, it also places the graffiti morons themselves at risk. Moving trains and live rails are dangerous and tragedies do happen.

So a 2.8m steel fence with narrow mesh that cannot be climbed and a roll of razor wire along the top is now needed along the boundary of the depot. This needs to be set back from any trees and needs to be still higher where sheds and outbuildings in the gardens could be used to climb over. The fence will be a further intrusion on the scene and the best that can be done is to paint it green so that it doesn't stand out too much.

Wildlife

The overgrown area has become a have for wildlife, including nesting birds, squirrels and even a couple of urban foxes. Adders are reputed to live there - I wore strong boots and knee length socks, just in case - and a survey is being carried out to ascertain numbers. An adjacent area will be left overgrown and the animals encouraged to move there before work begins.

This House Believes...

Yesterday's Assembly meeting did not conclude when transport questions finished. Often motions are placed on the agenda for debate and this time there were five of them:

Dangerous Dogs

Conservative Steve O'Connell proposed a motion calling for more action to tackle the growing problem of dangerous dogs, particularly legislation outlawing so called 'weapon dogs' in the same way that guns and knives are controlled. The proliferation of unpleasant mastiffs is noticeable across London and Steve's constituency saw a very nasty death with a dog involved recently. This dog, whilst clearly dangerous, was not one of the breeds currently prohibited. The motion was approved unanimously.

GLA Pay Freeze

In accordance with government policy and reflecting the current economic challenges, pay is to be frozen for members and staff. The Green's Darren Johnson proposed exempting the small number of staff on Grade 3 or below from the freeze, again in line with government policy. He was supported by the Liberal Democrats and given that the total cost would be only £50,000 the rest of the Assembly agreed. Nobody wants to disadvantage the poorest employees during these difficult times.

So far, so consensual - but things were about to get more interesting.

Olympic Legacy

Lib Dem, Dee Doocey vacated that chair so that she could propose a motion demanding public sector funding for new developments in the Olympic Park, to encourage a more mixed community. The Conservatives opposed this motion, with Olympic spokesman Andrew Boff explaining that the existing £9.3 billion should be sufficient to lift anywhere off its knees. As a resident of Hackney he wanted the East End to be dynamic and self sufficient, rather than continuing to need public subsidies once the games left town. The motion was approved with support from Greens, Labour and Independent Richard Barnbrook.

Although nobody could say where the money would come from...

New Year Sponsorship

This year the free travel home was provided courtesy of consumer credit firm Wonga.com . There has been a lot of controversy about this sponsorship deal, although the complainers weren't rushing to stump up the money themselves. Labour's Jennette Arnold proposed a motion attacking the mayor and calling for a code of ethics to be applied to advertising and sponsorship deals.

Attacking Boris is par for the course and naturally we opposed them, but the suggested 'code of ethics' is potentially more worrying. For who is to judge what is acceptable? I know that lots of Labour and Green politicians think they are uniquely equipped to provide such guidance - indeed in some cases it's what lights their candle and motivates them to seek election - but do we really want politicians as arbiters of good taste?

I gave my team a free vote - and three members, Gareth Bacon, Victoria Borwick and Brian Coleman, chose to abstain. Conservative James Cleverly used his background in financial services to pick the flawed motion to pieces, but it was approved in the end by the Labour, Green and Lib Dem members.

Tube Strikes

Conservative Dick Tracey tabled an urgent motion condemning ASLEF for their threat to strike on the day of the Royal Wedding. To debate this at such short notice we needed the Assembly's agreement, but this was not forthcoming. Labour, Green and Lib Dem members voted not to accept the motion for debate.

At this point the meeting ended.

Transport Questions

This morning Boris and transport commissioner Peter Hendy appeared before the full Assembly to take questions. Each of the groups had one lead question and this time my team went first:

Transparency

We led off by asking what was being done to increase transparency at TfL, an organisation that has historically been more of a closed book than most public authorities. Boris vowed that every invoice over £500 would be published on line by the end of January. He also claimed that TfL dealt with over 2,000 questions and 2,500 pieces of correspondence from Assembly Members every year. With only 25 members this sounds like a lot, but over a year it is only two queries per week and I am sure that my office is responsible for its share. I asked how many of these were reminders because TfL had failed to respond adequately and Mr Hendy undertook to provide a breakdown by subject area.

Peter felt that TfL provided a very good service compared to his time running a private bus operator in Northampton where letters from politicians had not been treated as a priority, indeed had not been responded to at all quite often.

We highlighted the lack of political representation on the board of TfL and suggested that the Mayor appoint some Assembly Members to create greater accountability. He promised to consider this wise advice...

Cycling

Next came the Greens, praising cycle superhighways and the cycle hire scheme, but claiming that Ken should get the credit. Jenny Jones claims to be standing for the mayoralty herself but all her efforts go into boosting the Livingstone campaign - hardly surprising as she was Ken's deputy mayor for a year.

I asked why cycle superhighway number 2, originally intended to run out to Ilford, was now being terminated at the Bow Flyover. Newham Council have objected to running the highway through their borough, thus preventing it reaching Redbridge. Boris promised to review the decision with TfL and committed himself to encouraging cycling in outer London boroughs like Redbridge.

Value For Money

The Labour Group - managing their time effectively for once - used a broad question about value to raise public transport performance issues.

Their first concern was the recent safety scare on Metroline buses, reported in the Evening Standard. Peter Hendy reassured the Assembly that the story was exaggerated and the worrying statistics were the result of over zealous inspections by one individual.

Next Val Shawcross complained about ongoing maintenance work and the delays and line closures on the Underground. Peter Hendy placed a lot of the blame on Gordon Brown's PPP, claiming that the new Victoria Line trains had not been run in properly before they started service, resulting in delays when the doors jammed open in some cases. On the Jubilee Line resignalling work had fallen behind schedule, leading to the current poor service. More bad news was expected on the sub surface network as the tracks would need to be reconfigured to run longer trains. All this work will improve reliability and capacity but the disruption continues to be considerable.

For a bit of light relief we asked Peter about Livingstone's record, and he confirmed that he had advised against a fares freeze before the election. Subsequent large increases were necessary to make up the budget shortfall.

Boris Buses

The Lib Dems were less than enthusiastic about the new buses, which are due to take to London's streets later this year. Green Member Darren Johnson went further, saying that he was pleased the Routemaster had gone, and that he didn't see why the capital needed a special bus design.

Boris promised that we would all welcome the new 'Routemaster for the 21st Century' with its disabled access, clean engine and iconic design. I was pleased to hear that the trend to remove seats to create space for buggies and wheelchairs had stopped - with TfL admitting that most mobility impaired passengers needed seats. Jennette Arnold made a telling point about the existing wheelchair ramps not working, citing one case where 23 buses on one route had failed to provide access. The mayor promised to review the case and ensure the ramps were available in future.

The session was both entertaining and informative, Boris was very confident and sure of himself throughout, with Peter Hendy providing detailed responses when needed. They took performance concerns seriously and promised improvements - within the constraints of operating a complex network in a large metropolis. This was a reassuring session.

Evening Standard Poll

It turns out that the prospect of trains without drivers has not left passengers "filled with dread" as one comment on the last thread suggested.

Tonight we have the result of a poll in the Evening Standard. The question was:

Would you be comfortable using automated Tubes with no driver?

The response:

YES 67%

NO 33%

So, approval of the Mayor's comments by more than two to one.

Boris at the Mansion House

Last night saw the annual dinner for London Government, hosted by the Lord Mayor at the Mansion House. Boris was the main speaker and he treated the star studded audience to an entertaining and informative progress report. Gone are the days when Ken used to turn up and drone his way through an economics lecture prepared by his staff - Boris appears far more relaxed in this environment.

In amongst the anecdotes and plugs for the City, his comments on London Underground caught my attention:

When the Jubilee works are complete there will be three lines in London, the Jubilee, Victoria and Central which will operate on an automated system and it is a fact - though not a widely known fact - that as we speak most of the Jubilee Line currently operates under automatic train operation, from Stratford to Neasden.

In other words the driving of the train is done by computer rather than manually. Of course there will still need to be someone aboard the train, just as every DLR train is staffed but thanks to the advanced signalling being installed it is also a fact that anyone in this room could in a matter of weeks acquire the qualifications necessary to supervise an underground train and the huge potential implications of that change will be obvious to everyone.

So I say to our colleagues in the trade union leadership that I respect and understand the vital role of unions in a free society to secure the best terms and conditions for their members but I hope they will recognise that the patience of Londoners is not endless and that they should abandon the recent pattern of pointless strikes and work with us to use this settlement to improve the Tube, to modernise the service and the best way to achieve a happy and contented workforce on the Tube is not just to have excellent pay and conditions but above all the satisfaction of providing an ever better service and that is what we are going to achieve with 33 per cent increase in capacity.

Last year my colleague Dick Tracey presented a report which concluded that London could introduce driverless trains in much the same way that other cities around the world have. The Mayor's team were not exactly supportive of the idea, but we plugged away, seeking to persuade them. Far more effective than our efforts has been the behaviour of the Tube unions. TfL know what to expect from the RMT under Bob Crow and prepared to grit their teeth and run the best service possible in difficult circumstances, but I think it was ASLEF's Boxing Day strike and their threat to disrupt the Royal Wedding that finally convinced Boris to look again at the proposals. Londoners are sick of the disruption and they will welcome the Mayor's words.