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.

Thank You

The result of the election in Havering & Redbridge was as follows:

Roger Evans Conservative 78,493
Balvinder Saund Labour 35,468
Farrukh Islam Lib Dem 12,443
Lawrence Webb UKIP 12, 203
Ashley Gunstock Green 9,126
Leo Brookes English Democrat 6,487
Paula Warren Christian Peoples Party 5,533
Peter Thorogood Independent 3,450
Carole Vincent Left List 1,473

Giving a conservative majority of 43,025. The large turnout also helped to elect Boris Johnson and gives us a Conservative group on the Assembly of 11 - the largest political group to be elected to City Hall in the GLA's short history.

Can I thank everyone who campaigned for us and everyone who took the time to vote - this was a great result for democracy as well as my party. I return as the member for Havering & Redbridge, an area I am proud to represent, and I will work for all my constituents regardless of their politics, over the coming four years.

Winter Campaigning

We were out this morning, leafletting and meeting residents around Airfield Way in Hornchurch. Despite the unseasonal weather, we covered a lot of ground and got a generally positive response from people who want to see Boris win.

In this picture, I'm accompanied by James Brokenshire, the local MP, as we wait to cross the road. There has been a lot of new development on the east side of Airfield Way and the pedestrian crossings are no longer conveniently located for the people who have moved in. That is why I'm asking Havering Council to consider installing a new crossing in a better location.

Post Office Protest

Yesterday morning I spent several hours protesting outside post office in Woodford Avenue with local councillors. Feelings are strong and only one person refused to sign our petition, which Ilford North MP Lee Scott, intends to present to the government.

Many of the customers were older people who were worried about the extra distance the closure would force them to travel. I also spoke to a local businessman who was concerned about the security of the alternative post offices, and to a Labour supporter who was happy to sign our petition because he agreed with the cause.

Five post offices are slated for closure in Redbridge and there is widespread anger and concern. I worked for the Post Office for ten years back in the eighties when there was often talk of privatisation, but never of implementing cuts as deep as this. I can't understand their psychology, but one of their representatives is coming to see me on Monday, so perhaps they will explain.

And our London 'watchdog', Postwatch has been pretty toothless about this as well. Some of their comments show a resignation to the cuts, rather than a desire to fight for the customers.

Boris in Havering

The neighbourhood police team in Harold Wood are one of the most popular and successful teams in North East London, so it is no surprise that Conservative Mayoral Candidate, Boris Johnson, wanted to meet them and learn about their work.

Here he is pictured with PCSOs on bicycles which were purchased for them by local businesses. Boris heard how they had used their bikes to combat the 'mini moped' nuisance over the summer, chasing rogue drivers across country. Mini mopeds are now a thing of the past in Harold Hill.

Boris also visited the refurbished library and spoke to shoppers, who gave him a very enthuisiastic welcome.

He went on to be interviewed live by community radio station, Link FM and gave a well received speech at a packed dinner.

Special MQT Alert

The Mayor will be attending a special meeting of the Assembly on Thursday evening at City Hall to answer questions about some of the funding allegations that have been made in recent weeks. It promises to be a sparky meeting.

Mysteries of the LEZ

New LEZ signs have been proliferating around London recently. This sign is at the end of Stanley Road in North Chingford. But what is it telling us?

Stanley Road is a dead end - about 200 yards further on it is blocked by a railway line. Neighbouring roads are also dead ends, and they also have these new signs. Is the LEZ confined to these roads? - of course not. The sign isn't even on the boundary of the zone - you are in the LEZ whichever side of it you stand.

So why is it there?

I stand corrected - Station Road is the boundary of the zone, so the sign is correctly located. However I can understand the concerns of residents who cannot see why their short dead end roads are included in the zone. Perhaps in this case the railway line would have been a more suitable choice.

Leyton Campaign

Yesterday morning I joined campaigners in Leyton, where there is a by election caused by the well documented resignation of Labour councillor, Miranda Grell. There were a dozen of us and the reception we got was friendly, despite the traditionally low level of support we have enjoyed here. There were signs of activity from other parties - a couple of Labour people passed us in a car, there was one Liberal delivering newsletters (and quite a lot of Liberal posters) and Green party leaflets lying around.

The picture of local activists includes London Assembly candidate Alex Ellis, and Waltham Forest opposition leader Matt Davies.

TfL Blow the Budget

At this morning's budget committee TfL presented their reasons for overspending their consultancy budget by £35 million (which is significant on a base of £130 million). The main items they highlighted in their report were:

London Underground

Expenditure on professional and consultancy fees at £34.8m was £4.1m above budget as a result of additional legal costs of £2.5m relating to claims including Chancery Lane and the Northern Line tripcocks. Operational consultancy was overspent by £2.4m in connection with work to ensure that line upgrades were achieved.

Surface Transport

Expenditure on professional and consultancy fees at £40.8m was £10.0m above budget as a result of the additional requirements for IT and engineering consultancy services particularly for the Tour De France (£2m), Traffic control infrastructure (£2m), TLRN cycling (£3m), Road network management support (£2m) and Road network scheme design (£2m).

London Rail

Expenditure on professional and consultancy fees at £28.9m was £7.0m above budget as a result of the acceleration of the Stratford International Station project as well as legal and corporate finance consultant costs for the refranchise of the North London Railway (NLR). The budget for the letting of the NLR concession assumed that there would be a separate East London Line (ELL) concession, however, during the year it was agreed to include the operation of the NLR and ELL under a single concession agreement.

Corporate

Expenditure on professional and consultancy fees at £60.6m was £13.6m above budget as a result of additional expenditure on the Business Improvement Programme - primarily new projects to enhance the functionality and efficiencies delivered by the SAP system.

Anonymous Beneficiaries

City Hall largesse has been spread far and wide over the last eight years. The Mayor is sometimes reluctant to tell us who has benefited.

Brian Coleman: Will the Mayor of London list the financial donations made by the Mayor of London for the organisation of the London Peace Reception on Wednesday 5th December, the costs the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition are paying towards the London Peace Reception and will the Mayor of London publish the guest list to the London Peace Reception?

Ken Livingstone: The estimated £5,500 cost for the London Peace Reception is being met from existing GLA budgets held in the international team. Publication of the guest list would breach data protection principles.

Data protection - useful on so many occasions...

George Galloway is Contemptible

After a long absence on 'infighting leave', Galloway makes an appearance in the Guardian's Comment is Free, telling us why we should support Livingstone. It's all a bit like throwing a drowning man a lead belt, but his diatribe does contain the following:

It seems clear that he (Livingstone) treats the Greater London Assembly with contempt. But that is surely not helped by the fact that most of the members of the GLA are contemptible.

Which, coming from a supporter of Saddam Hussain, feels like high praise indeed.

What have we done to earn George's contempt? Not enough cat impression, perhaps? No appearances on Big Brother? Or maybe we haven't been saluting the indefatigability of tin pot dictators...

Galloway is standing for the London Assembly (it's not even called the GLA, George), so we can look forward to his ill informed comments during the campaign and possibly his tedious company for the next four years. He tells us he will put the Mayor under real pressure...

Yeah, right.

From Venezuela With Love

With the budget under discussion next week, a look at the publicity around the controversial Venezuela deal seems timely:

Roger Evans: How much was the total cost - including design, printing, distribution, and the cost of advertising space - of the Transport for London posters advertising cheap petrol for buses, which includes the branding of the republic of Venezuela?

Ken Livingstone: Promotion of the scheme has used mainly 'broadcast' advertising such as posters, magazines and radio, together with the distribution of literature and 'face to face' activity. Costs incurred to date including media placement and production total £1.1m.

By 'broadcast' I assume he includes this:

Sally Hamwee: A double decker bus running down Kilburn High Road recently had an advert along its side advertising tourist visits to Venezuela. Which organization commissioned this advert and did they pay standard TfL fees for the advertising space?

Ken Livingstone: TfL 'wrapped' two buses as part of the promotion of the discounted fares scheme. The promotional budget for the discounted fares scheme forms part of the administration costs, which are costs payable by Petroleus de Venezuela Europa (PDVE) under the agreement.

If Not Ken, Then Who?

setting aside the wild accusations that Livingstone's current critics are 'neo cons', or even in the pay of Mossad, it is a fact that much of the clamour of discontent is coming from people on the left. Several blog posters have even voiced the unthinkable - who would be the ideal Labour candidate, if they dispensed with Livingstone's services.

So who should they be running? Some of their people drop by here every now and then, so I'm sure some advice would be appreciated - better still, they could tell us themselves.

A Very Short Press Release

Visitors to the http://www.london.gov.uk/ will have become accustomed to lengthy press statements, usually running to two or more pages, worthy texts on climate change, rambling rebuttals of Evening Standard stories - so the latest release is unusually brief:

The BBC last week asked the GLA whether Rosemary Emodi had visited Kamp Africa, a holiday resort in Nigeria. She was therefore formally asked by the GLA whether this was true. She stated that this was untrue and that she had never visited Kamp Africa. The GLA informed the BBC of this. It has now become clear that the formal statement made by Rosemary Emodi was untrue. She has resigned with immediate effect. There is no suggestion any GLA funds were used for this trip. However all GLA staff are required to honestly answer questions put to them.

Further details of this story are available at http://www.bbc.com/ .

Dispatches Alert

I know where I will be at 8:00pm this evening. The much trailled Channel 4 'Dispatches' investigation into the Mayor's office will be on show, and well worth a look no doubt.

Over the weekend allegations that the Mayor was drinking heavily at the Ilford 'Peoples' Question Time' event surfaced. I spent the evening chairing the proceedings and, to be fair, he didn't seem any the worse for wear. Indeed he was much the same as usual, long on rhetoric and short on answers...

The Mayor's office have released a statement claiming that Dispatches is discredited following its film challenging climate change doctrine last year. So now questioning the Mayor is equal to questioning 'end of the world' theories...

Trouble on the 174

Following on from the bus crime league table, the Romford Recorder gives the 174 a mention this morning. Whilst not in the top 10, the 174 which runs between Harold Hill and Dagenham is in the 40 worst routes, along with the 247, Barkingside to Romford service. Problems are reported to include knife attacks, egg throwing, verbal abuse and general rowdiness.

The 174 has also been under performing against its timetable, between Romford and Harold Hill. Councillors and Angela Watkinson MP, have raised complaints about this and London Buses tell me that the service is failing to meet targets. The reason is thought to be congestion in Romford town centre, but TfL have agreed to investigate and bring about an improvement.

Transport Committee Alert

The Transport Committee meets on Thursday morning, fresh from publication of the high profile Crime and Anti Social Behaviour on London's Buses report. We can expect some complaints from Labour members who have had their strings well and truly tugged by Livingstone over this.

On Thursday we will be covering two important subjects:

Roadworks, which seem particularly prevalent at the moment. How can we minimise disruption? How can the utilities be persuaded to plan together and to reduce the time they spend on site? What happened to the government's charging for time trials in Camden and Middlesbrough a few years ago?

And the old favourite, Articulated Buses. Back in October figures revealed a high number of accidents on these vehicles and concerns were aired at a public meeting in Ilford, at which the Mayor said he thought the Transport Committee should investigate. We are happy to oblige and will be considering the statistics.

Bus Crime League Table

TfL have produced a list of the bus routes with the most 'driver incident reports'. They are, from 1 to 10:

38 Clapton Pond - Victoria, new to the top position, up from number 4 last year. Hang onto your bags!

25 Oxford Circus - Ilford High Road, the old faithful slips back from its number one position over the last three years. The committee watched ticket inspectors and police at work on this articulated bus and it was clear that paying your fare was seen as optional by many passengers.

29 Wood Green Station - Trafalgar Square, down from number two last year.

73 Seven Sisters - Victoria, up from number six last year.

51 Orpington - Woolwich, a newcomer straight in at number five this year, and the only one of the top ten running entirely south of the river

149 Edmonton Green - London Bridge, down a place from number five last year, a bendy bus with pickpocketing problems.

18 Sudbury - Euston, holding its position at number seven, another articulated vehicle.

5 Canning Town - Romford, double decker new on the list at number eight, locals have complained about anti social behaviour.

8 Bow - Victoria, much improved from the number three position last year, buses have CCTV and a screen which shows the passengers what the cameras can see.

176 Oxford Circus - Penge, slips back from number nine, the only route in the top ten which crosses the river.

Everyone Agrees That Crime and Anti Social Behaviour are a Problem for Bus Passengers

Except for the Mayor...

This morning sees the launch of a cross party report from the transport committee which focuses on bus crime. Avid bus users will know that the committee has taken evidence from groups representing passengers, transport providers and police. Some of the most damning evidence came from bus drivers who find themselves in the front line of the battle against youth disorder. We also carried out two visits to observe policing on the buses in Bromley and in Stratford.

Two years ago, crime rose sharply and the slight decline over the last year has done little to compensate. This coincided with the start of Livingstone's free travel schemes for under 16s and under 18s, a fact that is dismissed as coincidence by his Labour colleagues.

The committee makes a number of constructive suggestions, including:

Use of live CCTV in situations where the driver has sounded the alarm. This would enable a faster and more effective response.

Considering more powers for revenue protection staff and PCSOs, to make life harder for criminals.

Better training for drivers who have to deal with some threatening situations.

We hoped that the mayor would accept these in the same constructive spirit, but this morning his Labour acolytes were criticising the report and claiming there is no problem - obviously they don't use the buses.

Meanwhile it is good to see that Boris Johnson has supported measures to trial live CCTV.

Gang Murders a Key Issue in May Election

Today the Boris for Mayor campaign comes out fighting with this advert in the Evening Standard. The murder of 27 teenagers last year is a tragedy, but with two more murders already in the first week of 2008, the death rate is increasing, in line with the growth in violent crime.

Boris proposes the wider use of hand held detectors so that police can find knives and guns without the time and bureaucracy required for a physical search. He is also in favour of trialling live CCTV monitoring on board buses, which are viewed as a no go area by some people, following the introduction of free travel for under 18s.

But it's not all about catching criminals. Boris sees a role for community volunteers who do so much good work to keep young people occupied and entertained - without resorting to crime. Some of the current funding for questionable projects could be diverted to support positive activities for young people.

More Problems at the LDA

This time it's the building:

Peter Hulme Cross: Please can the Mayor update me on progress with the faulty wind turbines removed from the LDA head office roof?

Ken Livingstone: The wind turbines were removed due to a product recall. The LDA is pursuing the installation of replacement wind turbines following the re-engineering of the software that controls the wind turbines as soon as possible.

New Year - Same Old Londoner

The January edition of the 'award winning' Londoner has hit the streets. Amongst this month's highlights:

p1 Tackling London's Housing Shortage, fifty thousand new affordable homes for London over the next three years

p2 Single fares frozen this year

p4 £161 million for local transport

p5 Londoners on income support can get half price bus fares

p6 New police teams are tackling crime on buses in London

p7 Strategy to improve training in the capital

p8 Save up to £300 a year by saving energy

p9 Your views about eating and drinking on the Tube (bizarre survey shows that 27% of Londoners want eating sweets banned on the underground)

p10 More new low cost homes for London

p12 Win a place in the London Marathon

p14 Letters to Ken - How are you going to make London greener; India trip will boost jobs in London

Advertising for TfL on three full pages supports this edition, as usual. There are also adverts for Climate Change (?), the Russian Winter Festival, and the LDA's childcare affordability programme.

One Great Shambles

This was a dreadful first day back for commuters from East London and Essex. The Christmas closure of Liverpool Street Station 'overran' this morning and passengers were being told that services would only run all the way into town after 9:00 am.

My early train was more crowded than usual because a number of other trains were cancelled. At least it ran quickly on an otherwise empty line, terminating at Stratford, with a conveniently empty Central Line train standing adjacent. Everyone raced across the platform in the dark and crammed in, only to find the train setting off Eastward. Yes, the One Great Eastern train had terminated on the Eastbound platform and nobody had thought to warn the commuters who were now going the wrong way!

At Leyton, the next station on the Central Line, it was virtually everyone out and across the footbridge to the Westbound platform. London Underground staff looked on in bemusement as we packed up four deep. The next train was jammed and we returned to Stratford like sardines, only for even more people to squeeze on. All this took place just after 7:00 am, so Lord knows what it was like when the rush hour really kicked in. I was surprised by how good natured the crowds were, or perhaps they were too tired to protest.

And at 9:00 am the promised service did not resume. Perhaps we can expect more of the same tomorrow.

This incident highlights two of the problems that repeatedly bedevil our rail network above and below ground:

Project Management: They so often overrun. Rail engineers need to improve their ability to predict disruption and to ensure that timetables are adhered to. The impression all too often given by engineering professionals is that passengers are an obstacle to running the service rather than the reason it exists in the first place.

Information: Nobody saw fit to tell passengers what was happening. There was no guidance at Stratford, which I understand was closed because of overcrowding later in the morning. There was no warning at Liverpool Street underground station to tell people that the main line platforms were still closed when I returned home in the afternoon - resulting in an optimistic but fruitless trek up the escalator and back down again.

Hope that 'One Great Eastern' sort their act out overnight - and now we hear there is snow on the way...

Collier Row Action Day

New Year started with an action day in Romford, delivering around 2,000 leaflets to homes in Collier Row and Chase Cross. We got a positive reception and hope for a good level of responses to our survey on page two of the double spread newsletter. Romford Conservatives are looking forward to the London campaign and the opportunity to remove Labour's Mayor from City Hall.

Hylands Ward Christmas Dinner

We had a post Christmas dinner for Hylands Ward at the Harrow Lodge indoor bowls club, on Saturday night. Despite the difficult date 77 people attended and the venue was excellent. Hylands Ward will be part of the Romford constituency at the next general election, following the latest round of boundary changes.

The picture shows Hornchurch MP James Brokenshire, Leader Of Havering Cllr Michael White, myself, and Romford MP Andrew Rosindell. In the front row are Paul and Sharon Clifford who organised an excellent evening.

Resolutions

I'm back from my Christmas week with the family in Yorkshire. This was a good year and I got to see many of my relatives and their friends, including my nephew Joe, who is learning to talk. Next time I see him I will probably be able to hold a full blown conversation.

Now my attention is turning to those New Year resolutions. Scientific research has shown that men are more likely to keep them if they set themselves targets, so resolutions need to be quantifiable. I guess mine will be along the lines of:

Losing weight / getting fit
Getting re-elected in May
Writing and publishing a sequel to my novel, Gremal Quest
Saving more money and spending less
Visiting my cousin in Cornwall
Going abroad on holiday in the Summer

Any other suggestions would be welcome. I would also be interested to know what my readers' resolutions will be for 2008.

Merry Christmas

To all my readers. this Christmas tree is at Havering town hall and is one of the best on the patch. Thank you for sticking with me through another year.

Cop Out

The Mayor has found a new way to avoid answering questions:

Graham Tope: How much has the MPS spent on hire cars in each financial year since 2000/01 to date? What additional costs have been incurred in each of these years for failure to return vehicles in time, damages and any other penalties?

Ken Livingstone: Your question does not directly relate to the exercise of Mayoral statutory functions. In accordance with my letter to the Chair of the Assembly of 5 December 2007, I therefore suggest that you refer your question to the relevant authority or agency.

This standard response is given to a number of written questions, however the MPS budget is the single largest component of Livingstone's precept. It is set by the Mayor and he spends a lot of time boasting about falling crime rates and new initiatives, so it is surprising that he classes it as 'not directly related to the exercise of Mayoral functions'.

There will be more question ducking as the election approaches.

Golden Buses

My latest question about the new generation of hydrogen buses shows more money splashed around carelessly:

Roger Evans: What is the unit cost of each bus?

Ken Livingstone: TfL is procuring 10 vehicles at a cost of £9.65m, the bulk of which is made up of capital cost of the vehicles. However since the contract also includes procurement and maintenance costs and fuel cell replacement during the first five years of operation, it is not possible to provide an exact cost per bus.

Unlike the bendy buses, they won't be calling these the 'free buses'.

Under 18 Bus Passes

The latest costs for the controversial scheme are revealed in a reply from November's Question Time:

Richard Barnes: What is the latest lost revenue estimate for both the under 18 and under 16 free bus pass scheme.

Ken Livingstone: I replied to Andrew Pelling a few months ago that free bus travel for the under 16s was estimated to have reduced fares revenue by around £35m p.a. and free bus travel for 16/17s by £20m p.a. The estimated revenue reduction remains in line with these figures.

So that is a total cost of £55m.

The Long Walk Home

Yesterday morning Chris Wilson from the Redbridge Pensioners' Forum took me to see the subway under the A12 near his home. This one is at the top of Somerville Road and it looks pretty uninviting. I'm going to try to get TfL to clean it up and improve security, because Chris and other older people have to use it to get to the Post Office on the North side of the A12, since their local office was closed.

It astounds me that the Peoples' Post Office went ahead with this closure after being shown the subway that their customers would have to use. Recently the Taxpayers' Alliance published their public sector rich list, which highlighted Post Office chief executive Adam Crozier as the highest paid public sector employee in the country, earning well over £1 million per annum, and making TfL look like a stingy employer.

I wonder if Mr Crozier would care to collect a months pay in cash then walk home through here on a dark November afternoon...

The Auditors go in

Yesterday the Assembly voted to advise the Mayor to call the auditors in for a full investigation of the recent grants controversy. Let's see if he takes our advice...

Meanwhile there was another auditor's report on the agenda. Who remembers Bob Kiley and his consultancy contract? It was a short report but it made some sound points:

the nature of the services provided by Mr Kiley has been such that there is no written documentation available to demonstrate that value for money has been received. TfL has not requested written reports from Mr Kiley, rather advice has been taken in meetings between the Mayor and the Commissioner and Mr Kiley. The consultancy agreement requires Mr Kiley to provide details of days spent performing the services to TfL. TfL has not to date requested such details from Mr Kiley or put in place any other monitoring arrangements. Whilst we understand that the consultancy was set up on a retainer basis, the absence of a documented monitoring process is, in our view, a weakness.

There's a familiar theme here...

And on the subject of the agreement itself:

We also note that the terms of TfL's remuneration committee have since been amended so that the remuneration committee is now required to agree to the terms of any compromise agreements with senior officers. However, the Chair of TfL is also the Chair of the remuneration committee. This, in our view, is an unusual situation. The Combined Code on Corporate Governance (which applies to listed companies) states that the members of the remuneration committee should be independent non executive directors.

TfL's response is that their Chair is unpaid, so that makes him independent...

And on the money paid:

from our discussions I understand that TfL does not intend to make payments to Mr Kiley while he is ill and not available to provide services to TfL. Specifically, if Mr Kiley submits an invoice for the payment due on the contract date of 1 July 2007 this will not be paid while Mr Kiley is unwell and not able to work. TfL should also consider whether any part of the payment made on 1 January 2007 for the six months commencing on that date should be allocated to future services provided, as Mr Kiley has not been available to provide advice since late March 2007.

TfL respond that it is 'not considered appropriate to seek reimbursement.'

So the curtain falls on another Labour scandal involving poor financial controls and waste of public money. Nothing more to see here - it's time to move on...

Question Time Alert

It's the monthly Mayor's Question Time tomorrow morning. I suspect that the matter of financial controls at the LDA will feature prominently, after the Mayor came out fighting at his press conference this morning. He has secured the support of several community figures - Sir Herman Ouseley, Richard Taylor, Rev Nims Obunge and Dawn Butler MP.

A motion for urgent debate has just been circulated by the Lib Dems:

In light of the articles in last week's Evening Standard, and the allegations levelled in those articles about some of the London Development Agency's processes and the role played by one of the Mayor's advisers, this Assembly calls on the Mayor to refer these allegations to the District Auditors of the GLA and the LDA and asks that the District Auditors investigate and report back their findings in as short a time frame as is possible.

Given the political balance, this or something quite like it is probably going to be approved. We will then see if the Mayor is willing to comply.

Costly Caracas

A recent question about the Mayor's obsession with Venezuela revealed the following:

Angie Bray: When will the GLA office in Caracas be open for business? Can the Mayor detail how many staff from the GLA family will be seconded there, and what will the annual running costs be?

Ken Livingstone: A 12 month lease was completed on an office in Caracas at the end of July. It is currently being set up.

No staff from the GLA will be seconded there.

Running costs for 12 months are estimated to be £77,200.

So an office was leased in July but is still not in use...

There may be no GLA staff on site, but two locals will be employed at the office and they are being recruited.

Friday Night in Romford

It's getting very festive in Romford town centre. Tonight I was out meeting the street pastors who do a vital job looking out for people in what can be a hostile and intimidating situation. Safety has improved greatly in recent years with the introduction of live CCTV and close working between police and nightclub security staff.

Here we are outside the newly opened Liquid Nightclub in South Street. Standing at the back is General Manager, Colin Goodwin. In the yellow jacket is hard working Romford MP, Andrew Rosindell. I'm the one in the unusual but fashionable headgear.

Now I'm back at home, but outside the party has just started!

West London Waste

The West London Tram is dead, killed by the determined opposition of local residents and their councillors - but the cost lingers on...

Roger Evans: Can the Mayor confirm how much money was spent on the West London Tram?

Ken Livingstone: The expenditure to mid October 2007 was in the order of £34.8 million. This was necessary to meet the level of detail required for a Transport and Works Act application. The money funded work including engineering, transport modelling, consultations, legal advice, scheme drawings and the Environmental Impact Assessment. Recent expenditure has focussed on closing down the project.

Much of the work already carried out by Transport for London on the tram project will assist in the planning of any new public transport solution for local journeys in west London.

Is that the sound of 'bendies' approaching?

Boris Demands Answers

Today's Standard carried a number of disturbing allegations about grant funding in Livingstone's administration. Local television is picking the story up and running with it. Boris has issued the following statement:

If these reports are true, huge sums of money have not been getting through to community groups who need and deserve support. That is a scandal.

There will be volunteers across London who will be appalled to learn that all this money has been wasted or simply trousered - when it could have been used to give life changing opportunities to kids across the city.

We need to know urgently what the Mayor knew and when and what action he proposes to take. Londoners are paying more and more for the current Labour Mayor - and yet he seems determined to treat the taxpayer with contempt.

Today I have written to the Mayor to demand answers on this issue. I am still waiting for the Mayor to explain what he knew about the serious allegations of fraud in the Metropolitan Police expense accounts.

Livingstone's in tray is filling up...

To be fair, the Mayor's response to the Standard story is here:

www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=14798

Full to Bursting

Yesterday, Boris joked that desks were being sawn in half at City Hall to create space for all the bureaucrats. A humourous exaggeration perhaps, but based on reality, as the following exchange shows:

Richard Barnes: Further to your answer to 2381/2007, rather than a minimum estimate based on desk numbers and people, how many people in City Hall actually hot desk?

Ken Livingstone: As was previously stated in question 2381/2007 City Hall currently has 691 desks which accommodate 732 people of all categories, this excludes staff such as security and mail room who do not need a desk to perform their duties. By virtue of these numbers, this means that at least 41 staff share desks, which is equivalent to 5.6%.

We do not currently hold data on the precise number of staff who actually hot desk; this information will only be known to the individual teams. However, as part of the accommodation strategy review process we are seeking this information.

Lest we forget, City Hall was originally designed for a lean, strategic authority, with 400 employees.

May the Boris be With You

Boris Johnson hosted his Christmas party at the Star Wars exhibition last night. The next Mayor of London gave a rousing speech, urging supporters to prepare for government. Those attending went way beyond the party faithful and included leading journalists and figures from the London establishment.

I got to wield a light sabre but the picture is slightly blurred, perhaps the photographer was a bit nervous. Could do with keeping it to enforce the Assembly whip...

Go Boris - Use the Force!

Ongoing = Not Known

An interesting exchange about the Blackwall Tunnel maintenance works:

John Biggs: Thank you for your informative and thorough reply to my question 2348/2007. When ongoing maintenance works necessitate regular and routine closures, please could you ask TfL to display the end date of their works on the www/tfl.gov.uk/trafficnews website to "ongoing" which is more reassuring to motorists than "not known".

Ken Livingstone: TfL appreciates your feedback and has confirmed that its traffic news page is being updated so that the Blackwall Tunnel works are described as "ongoing".

So that's reassuring - Labour are such experts at the use of language...

Christmas at Havering Park

An excellent dinner last night to celebrate Christmas with Havering Park Ward. Featured in the picture are, from left to right; local activist Billy Taylor, guest speaker David Amess MP, Councillor Sandra Binion, myself, Andrew Rosindell MP,and Councillor Geoff Starns.

David Amess provided an entertaining speech, complete with ringing denunciation of the current government - which is not difficult. There were getting on for 80 guests, which is excellent for just one ward.

Transport Questions Alert

Wednesday morning will see the annual Assembly question time with Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy. Subjects for discussion include the Metronet fiasco, fare rises, fare evasion and crime on the buses.

Two hours isn't really long enough to cover all the issues, but any suggestions of points to raise are welcome...