Budget Committee

The Mayor appeared before Thursday's budget committee and used the opportunity to announce his fares package for the coming year. This naturally overshadowed the rest of the business which covered budget plans for the Fire Authority and the London Development Agency.

Fares Package

Boris announced a fares increase of inflation plus 1% on average, although this will vary with some ticket types rising by less. He claims that this rise is needed to fix a 'black hole' left in the budget by the previous incumbent, although there were claims from other members that some of his new policies were adding the extra costs. I'm inclined to give the Mayor the benefit of the doubt for several reasons:

1. Changing this organisation is like turning a super tanker. Boris has only just started to bring in his policies so any costs incurred will be minimal. The TfL representative confirmed that new policies had not been considered when planning this fares package.

2. Livingstone had previous form. Four years ago he promised fare cuts before the election then put them up several months after he had won. History is repeating itself.

3. During the election correspondence from TfL emerged, showing that officials were concerned about the gap they had identified in the Livingstone's budget.

4. Livingstone in fact agreed the inflation plus 1% increase at a TfL board meeting which he chaired before the election. He then changed his decision as the election approached, causing consternation at TfL.

There are a lot of claims and counter claims being made, so I was pleased that the Mayor responded positively to my request that TfL's advice to his predecessor be released to committee members so we can see exactly who decided what, and when.

Meanwhile, there was good news on the 24 hour Freedom Pass, now due to go live with the new fares package in January. The cut price fares for claimants on income support have also been maintained, despite speculation that they would be abolished along with the Venezuela oil deal.

Fire Authority

Chairman Brian Coleman provided a typically assertive performance, telling the committee that he was aiming for zero growth in his budget. It will be challenging to turn around a settlement which has relied on raiding the reserves in recent years, but he had some interesting ideas, including the sharing of corporate functions with other GLA functional bodies - always possible since the creation of the GLA, but never before seen as a priority -, a review of training services, and plans to move the Fire Brigade Museum to a more accessible location.

Brian undertook to maintain the number of front line fire fighters and appliances, indeed there are plans to open a new fire station in Havering, the first new fire station in many years.

The authority will also fund resilience costs - equipping us to respond to terrorist attacks - if the government refuse to provide the money, as they have in the past.

London Development Agency

The previously troubled LDA quickly came under new management and chief executive, Peter Rogers, made his first appearance before the committee. He is rightly keen to establish new priorities with his board before speculating in a public forum, but he did indicate that future funding would be focused on larger projects where the returns would be more reliable and the burden of monitoring would be eased.

We were pleased to hear that board meetings would be held in public, and that a standing public item would allow discussion of the Mayor's directions to the authority. This level of transparency was one of the key recommendations from Patience Wheatcroft's forensic audit which followed the new Mayor's election.

So, a lot of ground was covered in a couple of hours. The committee plans to monitor future activities of the functional bodies and also plans to do some stand alone reviews, including an informative look at the true costs of transport policing. It promises to be a full and interesting year.

Western Extension Consultation Starts Today

This morning the mayor launches his consultation on the future of the congestion charge Western Extension. The extended zone has been controversial since it was introduced by the last mayor and has attracted opposition from local residents and traders groups. The zone was a contributory factor in Kit Malthouse's stunning London election victory.

I don't know what the result will be, but in my opinion Boris would do well to abolish the extension which has harmed local business, failed to raise much revenue and serves as a perverse incentive for all the residents who receive a discount to drive their cars more often.

There was always a sniff of class warfare in Livingstone's decision. The planned Eastern Extension (covering largely Labour supporting areas) was never progressed and the proposal for a charge at Heathrow never got off the drawing board.

Playing Scrabble Without the Vowels

We were all pretty cheerful on May 2nd. Not only had Boris defeated Ken, against all the odds, we also had a larger Conservative group - now numbering eleven, over two fifths of the 25 strong London Assembly. But at the count one Labour member sounded a note of caution - 'You are about to discover that Assembly Members are lower than dirt on the mayor's shoes.' he predicted.

Well, thanks to a less dictatorial approach from Boris, that particular prediction has not come to pass, but members who spent the last eight years in opposition have had to adjust to a new role - opposing the opposition, as it were. The powers of the Assembly are severely limited in any case, and I used to describe the role as 'Playing Scrabble without the vowels', yet this is even more the case for a group supporting the mayor, with opportunities for scrutiny severely curtailed. In eight years Labour never really got the hang of it, hence the dirt on shoes analogy.

So as the GLA prepares to return to work in September, it is timely to ask the question 'What is the purpose of the Conservative group?'


Safeguarding the Budget

The only opportunity the Assembly has to restrict the mayor's activities comes with the budget vote, for he needs our approval for his plans. However he only requires the support of a third of the members and some quick arithmetic shows that 11 Conservatives can block the proposals of the other 14 members, assuming the other four parties can get their act together and agree on what they want.

But I believe the role should be greater than just protecting the mayor's budget. We need to actively promote his proposals, across our constituencies, from Havering to Hillingdon, from Barnet to Bromley. There is a great opportunity for AMs to sell London Conservative policy, but it will require detailed liaison between the group and the mayor's team, well in advance of the budget debate in the New Year.


Question Time

Every month AMs enjoy the privilege of questioning the mayor at a Wednesday morning session screened on the Parliament Channel. Labour always struggled with this under Ken, with some members pushing too far and arousing his anger, whilst others asked toady questions placed by the mayor's team or even tried to provide answers instead of the mayor. The performance of sycophantic Labour backbenchers at PMQs provides a textbook example of behaviour to avoid.

So how do we help the mayor and Londoners, without toadying? I believe that the answer lies in constituency based questions. I know that my caseload has exploded since the election. There was a huge turnout in May and those voters now reasonably expect Boris and his AMs to solve their problems. The functional bodies that make up the GLA can be infuriatingly slow at resolving constituency matters, so what better way to create urgency - and publicity - than to raise them at question time? Concerns about bus routes and police response times may appear tediously parochial, but our constituents expect us to be able to address them.


Functional Bodies

The law requires the mayor to appoint some members in executive or semi executive roles. A statutory deputy mayor must be appointed from the assembly - a role admirably filled by my colleague Richard Barnes. AMs have to be appointed to the Police Authority and the Fire Authority, ensuring that most members end up with some executive role. Boris has also appointed an AM - James Cleverly - to the London Development Agency board.

Beyond this, Boris has appointed outsiders to major roles, often because the complex legislation leaves him with little alternative, but also to bring in the specialist skills and experience that he requires. Unfortunately there have been several high profile casualties, but a glance at Labour's Government of All The Talents (GOAT), demonstrates that appointing non politicians can be risky.

With a mayor's office that is worked off its feet, there is certainly an opportunity to exploit AMs' experience to a greater extent in the coming four years.


Scrutiny

The bread and butter work of the Assembly is scrutiny of the mayor, and we have learned enough in eight years to do it well, within the constraints imposed by the GLA act. The initial response of the other parties to their defeat was to gang up and exclude the Conservative members from every influential scrutiny chair. This leaves them attempting to run the Assembly with just 13 AMs (having also excluded the BNP member), a considerable challenge for four years.

We can expect the committees to keep up a constant barrage of complaints, some justified but many insignificant, indeed we have already seen this during the appointment of mayoral advisors - a process which would have benefited from constructive scrutiny rather than the constant carping which actually took place.

I see Conservative AMs having a role in applying some realism to the scrutiny process, highlighting genuine findings amongst the morass of unfounded grumbling which could easily be the result of one sided scrutiny.


We are aware of the need to meet voters' expectations and to make a difference to our capital over the next four years - and the time will fly. Boris will be judged most stringently on his performance in the job, but the Assembly elections take place at the same time and a reaction against the mayor is certain to drag down many of the Conservative AMs in its wake. We are all in this together - as David Cameron would say.

Everytime I go Away...

I've just returned from a week in North Yorkshire which was great because I got to see my family, including Joe, my 2 year old nephew who is growing up very fast. The other good thing is that mobile phone reception is a bit patchy up there, so I was blissfully incommunicado for a few days. The message that Tim Parker had stood down as TfL chairman and first deputy mayor did get through - rendering my last post out of date literally overnight.

Funny thing - last time I went away, to Sorrento, I was 'enjoying' an English newspaper over lunch on the terrace high above the harbour, and I was equally surprised to read of Ray Lewis's resignation as deputy mayor.

We've only got four deputy mayor's left now, so I'm going to spend the rest of the year resolutely in London, just in case I'm jinxing them. I might just risk going to Birmingham for the party conference...

Board of TfL Named

The Mayor has announced the board of transport for London:

Chairman Tim Parker, about whom much has already been written. The mayor sees Parker as 'Agrippa to his Octavian'.

Deputy Chairman Christopher Garnett, formerly chief executive of GNER and a member of the previous TfL board. Good to see someone with practical experience of running a railway occupying this position.

Members:

Kulveer Ranger, the mayor's director of transport policy.

Stephen Norris, who needs no introduction amongst Londoners.

Tony West, former assistant general secretary of ASLEF. The board is clearly going to be a 'big tent'.

Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, yes the Paralympic medal winner joins the board and will be able to raise mobility issues. Her appointment is likely to be the big news story here.

Bob Oddy, representing the LTDA. About time that black cab drivers got a voice on the board.

Steve Wright, representing the private hire taxi trade.

Eva Lindholm, previously on the board, a director of JP Morgan, giving the City a stake in the board.

Keith Williams, chief finance officer for British Airways. Should make for an interesting discussion when the third runway is raised.

Patrick O'Keeffe, deputy regional secretary for Unite, another 'big tent' appointment, on the TfL board since 2004.

Peter Anderson, director of finance for Canary Wharf Group plc.

Judith Hunt, another member of the previous board, a consultant in leadership, equality, race and diversity issues.

Sir Mike Hodgkinson, formerly chairman of the Post Office.

Charles Belcher, formerly Chairman of National Rail Enquiries Ltd.

Daniel Moylan, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea. This is a welcome affirmation of the mayor's promise to work more closely with the boroughs.


All in all, an interesting and diverse group. Some of the industry expertise is very welcome, as are the voices for black cab drivers, private hire and the London boroughs. Did we need to keep on quite so many of Livingstone's old appointees? I suppose that some measure of continuity is wise.

Oyster Cards at Romford Station

I've had a go at National Express in the Romford Recorder this week. The story, at www.romfordrecorder.co.uk concerns the lack of facilities for pre paid oyster card users at Romford station. This is an ongoing disgrace which discriminates against Romford residents by denying them access to cheaper oyster 'pay as you go' fares. There are two issues:

First, the main line rail companies refuse to accept oyster pre paid tickets - as opposed to oyster travelcards which are accepted - because they don't want to incur the costs of installing oyster readers at every station. This would require the introduction of ticket barriers at many places, Gidea Park and Harold Wood being good examples, and they are resisting the extra expense. They seem not to realise that the barriers will be a benefit in themselves, restricting access to the platform and improving safety in many places. Livingstone did his best to get a deal and Boris seems to be making progress with some operators, but their foot dragging has to stop.

Second, the ticket barriers at Romford cannot read oyster cards of any type including travelcards. This means that oyster holders have to queue on the stairs to exit the station via a tiny gap where the station staff check the tickets with hand held machines. The staff are great, and long suffering, but the same can't be said of the inspectors who are sometimes drafted in. New barriers have been promised for months but again no progress from National Express.

We all want to stop ticket evasion, but a lot of people who are fined genuinely believe that their oyster pre paid ticket is valid, and after all they have paid their fare so the injustice of a fine is pretty obvious. Better information for travellers at Liverpool Street and Stratford stations would be a good start.

Motor Show Heads East

This year the Motor Show is taking place at Excel in Docklands, and it is well worth a visit. I was there on Thursday, along with my fellow assembly member, Victoria Borwick. there is a strong focus on alternative fuels this year, with electricity, hydrogen cells and hybrid engines all featuring strongly. There is also much satisfaction that the new London regime is more car friendly and recognises that many people need their cars. But it's not just about selling vehicles - TfL and the Department for Transport also have stands providing information about fuel efficiancy and safe driving.

Despite the credit crunch, oil price hikes and fears of climate change, there were plenty of visitors, and some of the exhibits were quite crowded.

Gallows Corner - Further Delays

According to the Romford Recorder, the work at Gallows Corner will now take even longer as TfL have discovered corrosion in the safety railings that prevent cars falling onto the roundabout beneath the flyover. Meanwhile the overpass is going to be opened to traffic in one direction only.

Coincidentally, I am due to receive a briefing from TfL on the work here, some time next week. Let's hope they have some good news.

Visit to GE 19

This morning the transport committee visited the East London Line works at Shoreditch. We wanted an explanation for the incident which took place in May at Bridge GE 19, shown in the picture.

The bridge is a truly immense steel structure which will carry the East London Line over the tracks coming out of Liverpool Street to the new Shoreditch High Street station, then on to the viaduct running north to Dalston. Climbing out of the old line's cutting, the bridge is on a 1:30 slope - steep for a railway.

Investigations are still in process but it appears that having slowly pushed the structure into position over the line, some of the temporary bearings on the East abutment slipped out, causing the whole bridge to drop by around 20mm. This in turn tilted the bridge and materials resting on it toppled off, landing on the railway below where they were struck by a train leaving Liverpool Street.

Things could have been much worse, but London Underground and Network Rail are now working with their contractors to rescue the timetable and the bridge work will be completed on target later this year.

It's The Cid

In today's Guardian columnist Tristram Hunt, urges Labour to let Livingstone go and move on. In a well written piece he notes that:

The raw psephological truth is that Livingstone's rainbow coalition was not enough to keep him in office in 2008. His studious nurturing of a radical, internationalist, urban core saw him lose the vote of the suburbs and white working class. Outside central London, the electoral map was daubed deep blue. And no number of press releases, Today programme phone ins or fringe speaking engagements is going to bring those votes back for Ken.

The real loser is the London Labour party. To win back City Hall, the party needs to rid itself of the Livingstone past and speak afresh to the capitals' needs. But it can't begin to honestly analyse Livingstone's failings and develop new strategies if the former mayor is still dictating the debate.

Tristram makes a good argument, but he is a voice in the wilderness if attitudes at City Hall are anything to go by. Labour members grab scrutiny posts on the grounds that only they can hold a Conservative mayor to account (a tall order given the weakening of Assembly powers at the hands of their own government), yet they also cling on to executive positions in the functional bodies like limpets exposed by the ebbing tide.

Meanwhile the ex mayor returns regularly, the above picture taken at Question Time last week, propped up in the public gallery to give heart to his dismayed followers, much as the leader's corpse was strapped to his horse at the end of the Hollywood epic, El Cid.

Almost two months after the election, Labour don't even understand that they lost, let alone why it happened and what they should do about it.

Boris Saves the Bus

On Tuesday afternoon a delegation from Romford visited City Hall to deliver a petition calling for the retention of the 500 bus service and an improvement to public transport provision in Havering-atte-Bower. Arriva's plans to axe the route would leave the village and St Francis' Hospice without any access to public transport, despite TfL's stated commitment that every Londoner should be within 400 metres of a bus route.

The Mayor received the petition and met with myself, Andrew Rosindell MP, Cllr Michael White and other local councillors. We had a long discussion with several alternatives considered and the result is that TfL have offered to operate a service between Romford Station and Passingford Bridge, which would serve the village.

On its own it is not enough and the service really needs to be more frequent and more reliable, but at least a service will be in place to cover for the 500 when it is withdrawn in July.

Fiesta!

The weather stayed fine for the Elm Park Fiesta on Saturday. The picture shows Cllr Pam Light, the Deputy Mayor of Havering, opening the day's festivities accompanied by local MP James Brokenshire.

I was on hand along with my colleague Cllr David Grantham and parliamentary candidate Simon Jones, so when someone was needed to blow up inflatable palm trees and hand out programmes there was plenty of help available.

The local traders really make an effort with the Fiesta, which attracts a lot of extra business to the shopping centre. This year they produced a calendar and commemorative stamps to mark the occasion.

Still Waiting

On Wednesday I visited St Francis' Hospice in Havering-atte-Bower. the bus stop pictured is their only public transport link and even that one bus service - the 500 operated by Arriva - is soon to cease.

Staff at the hospice and visiting relatives will have no alternative other than to drive. There is also a brand new educational centre at the hospice, which is used by health authorities and medical professionals from around north east London. How will those people travel there?

I was also surprised to see how new the bus shelter in the picture is. Clearly TfL must have failed to foresee the future, installing a shelter and sign so soon before the service will cease. They will remain, a monument to bad planning.

I have a meeting next week with Boris to discuss how bus services can be retained and improved in Havering-atte-Bower. I will also be suggesting that he visits the hospice to see the good work being done there.

London Travelwatch

Conflict yesterday morning when the Labour controlled transport committee voted to sack the chairman of London Travelwatch, Brian Cooke, following comments he made giving his support to Boris during the campaign. A bit over the top - we certainly voted against the decision, and the green member abstained - but Labour, their vision still clouded by a red mist, steamrollered the decision through with support from the Lib Dems.

Meanwhile Travelwatch are advertising places on their board at www.Londontravelwatch.org.uk/vacancies.php . The board represents consumers in London and the Home Counties, but the applications are usually dominated by producer interests and people from inner London. Better representation of outer London would be a very good thing, so why not visit the Travelwatch site and see if you could help.

It's That Bridge Again

Back in January, Liverpool Street Station was closed for two days longer than expected because of work on demolishing a bridge over the line, which ran late. Perhaps there is a jinx - part of the new bridge fell onto the line last night, leading once again to the closure of the station.

Passengers on a fast train leaving the station had a lucky escape when the driver managed to brake in time and keep the train on the tracks. Passengers on other trains were left stranded and eventually walked to safety along the tracks. I just missed the incident, passing through the area on a train into town about thirty minutes before the debris fell. The return journey later in the evening involved taking the Central Line to Newbury Park then the 66 bus to Romford.

The station was closed this morning but the good news is that Liverpool Street is now open again and services are getting back to normal.

UPDATE: Today's Evening Standard report that TfL contractors have been banned from the site by Network Rail until the accident investigation is complete.

Mayor's Answers

Written answers are now available from last week's Question Time. A record of the verbal exchange will soon be cleared by the Assembly Chair:

GANTS HILL STATION

Roger Evans: Can the Mayor ensure that TfL reinstate fortnightly cleaning of Gants Hill Station as a matter of urgency?

Boris Johnson: It is important that station facilities, including the subway, remain at a good standard of cleanliness for the safety, comfort and convenience of users. I will ask TfL to liaise with Redbridge Council to see how they can better work together to improve the conditions at this location. This will include reviewing the frequency of the subway cleansing.

GALLOWS CORNER

Roger Evans: Can the Mayor arrange a TfL briefing on the work currently being done at Gallows Corner and plans for the future?

Boris Johnson: Certainly. TfL will be in touch with your office to arrange a suitable time and date.

MAYBANK ROAD / MULBERRY WAY SUBWAY CCTV

Roger Evans: Can the Mayor instruct TfL to install CCTV cameras in the subway between Maybank Road and Mulberry Way?

Boris Johnson: TfL is aware of the concerns of local people regarding personal security and anti social behaviour and that the London Borough of Redbridge would be content to monitor CCTV cameras provided that TfL secure funding for their installation. I have asked TfL to prepare a business case for CCTV camera provision, to determine the case for funding this issue against competing demands.

Boris Johnson Faces First Question Time

On Wednesday Boris took questions from the London Assembly.

The question time format provides a useful opportunity to raise constituency matters, so I started by asking about the withdrawal of bus route 500 which serves Havering-Atte-Bower. For some years now we have been trying to get TfL to provide a decent bus service to the village, not only for local people, but also for visitors and staff travelling to St Francis' Hospice, including up to 20 day patients. Livingstone's administration always refused to consider providing a service, preferring to focus their efforts on inner London. Boris made a good start by expressing support and agreeing to meet with myself and Romford MP, Andrew Rosindell, to discuss possible solutions, including extending existing bus services to the village.

I also raised the level of cleaning in the Gants Hill subways, and the Mayor has promised to have this reviewed.

Labour members chose to snipe away, with a puerile stunt involving a cycling helmet and detailed questions which no reasonable person would expect to get an answer to without providing notice. Perhaps they were asleep for the last eight years, because they should have remembered that Livingstone never gave a detailed response, and the MQT format allowed him to avoid doing so - clearly they need to go away and rethink their approach, as with so many things...

And former politicians Peter Hulme Cross and Ken Livingstone were in the gallery, the latter looking sour and out of place. The quality of political groupies has declined since April.

Term Limits

I understand that Boris has written to the Government, asking them to impose a two term limit on the Mayor's job. The effect would be to prevent anyone serving longer than eight years in the post. This follows a failed attempt to insert a two term limit in the act which extended the GLA's powers recently.

Term limits are common in America, but are unheard of here, and I have mixed feelings. We showed that in London, it is possible to beat a strong incumbent who supposedly holds all the advantages, so is a limit really needed?

Term limits would have cut Margaret Thatcher's rule short in 1987, and ended Tony Blair's reign in 2005 - would this really have been a good thing?

For my own experience, I did three terms as a Waltham Forest councillor and by the end I was getting a bit stale, I would not have wanted to do four. On the other hand, I'm on my third term at the London Assembly and - thanks to the change of Mayor - it really does feel like a new job.

Now, I do think we should be writing to the Government asking them to end 'proportional representation' for the London elections, but that is a different story...

Term limits - good or bad?

New Brooms at City Hall

SJM asks how things have changed at City Hall. The atmosphere is different:

In the old days silence would fall when Conservative members entered the lift. Conversations ceased, papers were clutched to chests (to avoid a Caroline Flint style leak), backs pressed to walls. As you left the lift on the sixth floor, talking would resume...

Now the staff are more keen to speak to us. Several times people have asked me if I am one of the 'new intake' or the 'old guard', because there are plenty of new faces around. Amongst the existing staff there is relief that Boris has not pursued a scorched earth policy, and quite a number have found interesting new jobs working for him. Meanwhile, we have been bombarded with unsolicited CVs from people who want to work for Boris.

On the Mayor's floor, the new team is taking shape. The Mayor is gathering around him a London version of the Government of All Talents, with imaginative appointments including Ray Lewis and Kate Hoey, along with experienced Tories like Steven Norris. I have been up there more times in the last eight days than I did in the eight years that Livingstone was in charge. Old names above the office doors hark back to the past era, but many of them have gone elsewhere. Some changes are needed - under the old regime the floor was a maze of partitions and barriers (now being removed), and some of the offices were pretty grim, one being more like a lurid pink telephone kiosk than a place of work.

On the seventh floor the remnants of Labour, the Liberals and the Greens have had the mother of all battles over office space (despite having fewer members), however they did get their act together sufficiently to grab all the top Assembly jobs, shutting out the 11 Conservatives and the BNP member. Obviously they feel they can run the Assembly with just 13 members, but the prospects are not good as they tried and failed with 15 members eight years ago. Expect them to come crawling back for help within six months...

The Conservative group occupy the sixth floor once more. With seven new members, there is a lot of enthusiasm and climbing of the learning curve. Richard Barnes is group leader again, I am deputy leader again, and new member Richard Tracey is group whip. There has never been such a large political group at City Hall, so keeping everyone in the loop will be a challenge.

And BNP man Barnbrook has taken up residence in the office formerly used by UKIP (who became 'One London'). He raised a number of challenges at the assembly AGM and clearly sees himself as some sort of enfant terrible. However much we detest his views, he was democratically elected and has a right to play a full part in assembly committees, so we wait to see how he will interpret his role. He supported green member Darren Johnson in his bid to be deputy chair of the assembly...

Last of the Londoner

The Mayor has made good on his election promise and ceased publication of 'The Londoner', Livingstone's supportive propaganda sheet.

This move will save £2.9 million from the City Hall budget and Boris plans to invest £1 million of this in planting new street trees around London. This instead of cutting trees down to make newspapers. Where the trees will go is still to be decided, so any suggestions would be welcome - I will pass them on.

Under the old regime, Transport for London, the Met Police and of course the LDA, were forced to contribute to the cost of producing the Londoner. TfL had to buy three full pages of advertising in every issue. Only the Fire Brigade escaped the 'Londoner Tax' because members of its authority were brave enough to reject Livingstone's edict.

Boris has made a flying start in his first week - long may the new broom continue to sweep clean.