Inside the Olympic Stadium

This morning I had a tour of the new Olympic Stadium. Everything looks better in the sunlight and - in spite of my Olymposcepticism - I had to admit it was impressive. Right now work is progressing ahead of schedule although there is plenty left to do before 2012. The pictures I took give some idea of the sheer scale of this incredible project.

London's Poverty Profile

Yesterday I attended the launch of a report documenting poverty in London. Produced by the City Parochial Foundation and the New Policy Institute the study provides a high level review right across the capital.

For the many people who claim that inner London has all the problems and outer London has all the money, this report contains a few surprises:

Since the late 1990s outer London has experienced a significant deterioration across a number of indicators including child and working age poverty. More of the capital's low income population now live in outer London than in inner London.

Since the mid 2000s inner London's unemployment rate has been falling but outer London's unemployment rate has been rising.

Havering is one of the worst four boroughs in London for low pay by place of work, the others being Bexley, Merton and Waltham Forest, all in outer London.

Redbridge is one of the worst eight London boroughs for households in temporary accommodation.

There is evidence here that the process of redistribution from outer to inner London which was a feature of the 2000-2008 mayoral terms has gone too far. I hope that Boris draws the same conclusion.

Cycling Stage 2

Back on the bike again yesterday for Stage 2 of my cycle training, this time on the road.

Starting in the busier part of Valentine's Park, we quickly progressed onto the quieter streets of Ilford, practising U-turns and approaching junctions.

On a Friday afternoon in the back streets there wasn't much traffic, but what there was was enough. Cyclists need to approach the road with an attitude that differs from drivers. Being relatively small makes being seen absolutely vital and the lack of any protection means that you always need to consider and anticipate the actions of other vehicles.

Most of the drivers we met were considerate road users, but some were not and even some pedestrians demonstrated little thought for others. Bikes are quiet and people can easily step into the road without realising you are there. Space always needs to be left in case someone opens their car door directly in your path.

And there are buses in side roads too, huge intimidating things that leave little room for anyone else. Typically, we encountered none in a couple of hours, then two came along at once! Luckily they were the 'small' single deckers and we stayed well away from the route of the number 25, the only bendy in Ilford.

Thanks to the help of Redbridge Cycling Campaign, I now feel a lot more confident on the road and I'm considering getting a bike, if only because it seems a much better way of exercising than going to the gym. The big event is on June 6th at Hog Hill, where all the newcomers to cycling - and some veterans - will meet for a few circuits of the track. It should be fun...

Boris in Romford

On Friday afternoon Boris Johnson returned to Romford. Starting at the station, he joined Ian Johnstone, chief constable of the British Transport Police, to launch the police team who will patrol the main line trains between Shenfield and Liverpool Street. He also met the station staff and their manager, and was shown the new ticket gates which can now accept Oyster cards. Then we took the mayor for a walkabout in the market place. Sometimes it is easy to get out of touch with public opinion when you work in City Hall's curving corridors of power, so this was a refreshing opportunity for local people to meet Boris. Friday afternoon is relatively quiet, but a considerable crowd soon formed. The response was over 90% positive, and one comment I heard over and over again was 'it's good to see a politician who actually delivers on his promises'. Perhaps less flattering were those who said 'at least he's not Ken!' In the current climate elected representatives are not often greeted with such affection. I'm hoping to get Boris to visit Redbridge next...

On My Bike

On Friday morning I met Gill James and keen cyclists from Redbridge for some timely cycling instruction from trainer Jim Dalton.

The Redbridge Group of the London Cycling Campaign are launching Movers and Shakers, an initiative to encourage people of influence in the community to act as role models, demonstrating that cycling can be for everyone. They have several councillors, including council leader Keith Prince, Lee Scott MP and Guardian journalist Hugh Muir signed up already, so I was delighted to join such a distinguished field.

With 25 years having passed since I rode a bike, there was more shaking than moving as I set out around Valentines Park on a wet and windy morning. I was amazed how quickly it all came flooding back and with Jim's help I was soon able to whizz about unassisted - although signalling whilst maintaining balance is presently beyond my skills.

Part two training takes place this Friday on the road! And the good news is that the mayor's Ambassador for Young People, James Cleverly, is also keen to join the field. As he cycles into the office each day, James is good at this and has his own Lycra, so I hope he won't show the rest of us up.

More details of the Movers and Shakers initiative can be found at http://www.redbridgelcc.org.uk/

Redbridge College

On Thursday I visited Redbridge College to meet the staff and students. The college offers excellent vocational training in construction, media, music production, beauty therapy, hairdressing and catering. The catering students operate an on site restaurant which is open to members of the public.

I did two question and answer sessions with the students and took away some new insights myself. Prize question had to be "Why do you make Oyster cards so easy to lose?" And one student suggested we do away with the card and implant the chip into commuters' hands - that should reduce loss, theft and impersonation. Let's hope Jacqui Smith doesn't hear about this idea...

Many thanks to director of studies, Suzanne Levy who arranged the visit. I hope to work with the college in future, acting as an interview 'guinea pig' for the media course and arranging a return visit for them to enjoy Mayor's Question Time.

The picture shows me meeting the business studies students. Information about the college can be found at www.redbridge-college.ac.uk

London Assembly AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the London Assembly took place on Wednesday. The meeting saw the self styled Progressive Alliance of Labour, Greens and Lib Dems holding together for a second year, although the Libs in particular are beginning to look worried about the pressure this is placing on their small team.

The election for the chair of the assembly saw Darren Johnson defeat my Conservative colleague Andrew Boff. Darren is the first Green politician to hold the post and his success demonstrates the strong grip that the two Greens continue to exercise over their eleven non Conservative colleagues. Disproportionate power exercised by a few individuals is always a consequence of so called proportional representation.

I suspect that Darren will be more disciplined in the chair than his predecessor, indeed we got a taste of his style some months ago when he stood in at a question time and had noisy protesters thrown out of the gallery - a first for a Green politician in the UK.

Jennette Arnold defeated Conservative Victoria Borwick in the contest for deputy chair.

Chairs of assembly committees were then elected and the ruling coalition have generously permitted us to chair two committees:

James Cleverly returns to chair the Health Committee, where he has been leading some good work on alcohol abuse amongst teenagers.

And I have agreed to take on the Audit Panel...

An Undemocratic Stitch Up

During the debate some of my colleagues referred to the latest deal as an undemocratic stitch up. The position was defended by Labour members who claimed that the mayor's own party would not be sufficiently robust in scrutinising his actions and policies, yet it was acknowledged that many Conservative members have actually been very tough on the mayor and his advisers over the last year, in contrast to Labour's approach from 2004 to 2008.

Liberal leader, Mike Tuffrey who always ends up on the right side of any deal, is fond of pointing out that the present situation is no different from the deal he did with us from 2000 to 2008. He is wrong and it is worth examining what actually happened on previous occasions:

2000 to 2004

The deal was actually done between Labour and the Lib Dems and saw Labour's Trevor Phillips chair the assembly, alternating with Lib Dem Sally Hamwee and briefly Samantha Heath. this despite the fact that the mayor was also Labour and the Conservative and Labour groups both had 9 members. Mike wasn't present when this deal was drawn up, so he can be forgiven for trying to distance himself from a situation where one party occupied the mayoralty and the assembly chair - but it did happen.

2004 to 2008

This time the Labour group lost two members, shrinking to 7, whilst the Conservatives retained 9, whilst UKIP enjoyed a brief period of representation. The deal was done between Conservatives and the Lib Dems, leading to Brian Coleman's memorable period as chairman and a return for Sally Hamwee. On this occasion different parties occupied the mayoralty and the chair.

2008 to ????

Most recently, Labour recovered, gaining 8 members and the Conservative group grew to 11 - the largest ever elected to the assembly. A three way deal between Labour, Greens and Lib Dems was necessary for the opposition to retain control and the presence of one BNP member introduced another unpredictable variable. The mayor and the assembly chair will be from different parties.

On the face of it, the doctrine that the two organisations should be in different political hands looks attractive, but it fails to consider other important factors:

Boris Johnson has not excluded other parties in the way that Ken Livingstone did. Mayoral advisers include Labour figures Neale Coleman and Kate Hoey MP. Saturday's State of London Debate included contributions from Assembly Members of all parties - for the first time. Boris has a naturally more collegiate approach than his predecessor.

And the numbers create a challenge for the assembly. Trying to run an elected body of 25 members with only 13 leads to a considerable workload for those individuals, and particularly for the smaller partners. Recent plans to reduce the size of committees were intended to reduce some of this load but were vetoed when the smaller groups realised they would lose representation entirely on some of the committees.

An assembly elected on the same day as the mayor will usually have the mayor's party forming the largest group, so it seems unlikely that the voters, or the government, intended them to automatically be placed in opposition as Tuffrey claims.

Possible Solutions

Scrap Proportional Representation - it leads to disproportionate power.

Stagger the assembly elections to take place every five or every three years. Most of the time they would then be independent of the influence of the mayoral election, and would provide a useful mid term test of the mayor's popularity.

Conservative Group AGM

On Tuesday we held the Annual General Meeting for the London Assembly Conservative Group. The good news is that the officers remain the same as the team elected in September when Richard Barnes stepped down to devote more time to the role of Deputy Mayor:

Group Leader - Roger Evans AM (Havering & Redbridge)

Deputy Leader - James Cleverly AM (Bexley & Bromley)

Whp & Group Secretary - Richard Tracey AM (Merton & Wandsworth)

After only seven months, I have decided to run with largely the same team as previously. All the Conservative members keep their current responsibilities, with just three changes:

Gareth Bacon joins the Budget & Performance Committee

Andrew Boff joins the Budget & Performance Committee

Steve O'Connell joins the Transport Committee

Congratulations

Slightly belatedly, to Redbridge's newest councillor, Alex Wilson, who was returned at the by-election last Thursday. In a contest characterised by the youth of the candidates, Alex saw off a spirited challenge by the Lib Dems whilst Labour crashed into a poor third place, in a ward they once held. The BNP vote failed to materialise in territory that is unpromising for their approach. The result was:

Alex Wilson, Con, 1,300
Kete Garret, Lib Dem, 1030
Ross Hatfull, Lab, 694
Ashley Gunstock, Green, 256
John Evans, BNP, 171
Nick Jones, UKIP, 37

Hat tip to Barkingside 21, first with the result...

St Georges Day Celebrations in Trafalgar Square

Yesterday's celebrations drew a crowd of Big Hearted Englanders and enthusiastic tourists. We enjoyed folk music, English food and a speech from deputy mayor, Richard Barnes, before concluding with a meal in nearby Chinatown. Only in London...

St Georges Day Celebrations at Leadenhall Market in the City

Boris and Gary Rhodes toured businesses and met City workers. I was there too with Tony Arbour and Westminster Cllr JP Floru.

I Was Wrong - And I Apologise

Since the weekend, I have received a large number of comments taking me to task for my remarks on Sunday. Anne-Marie Griffin from Fight The Flights has also contacted me by email. Behind the anger were some shocking stories from people who had to live close to the airport for years. I see now that coming on top of everything they have endured, my infamous 'Taliban' comment must have seemed like the last straw.

It was a throwaway line, intended to liven up my report of Peoples' Question Time in March, but to some it looked unbelievably callous. I think I understand now, so:


I am very sorry for the hurt that my ill considered words caused to local residents, including the people who made official complaints. It was unintentional but I realise that is no excuse. I also deeply regret the time it has taken for me to grasp the reality of this situation. I was wrong and I hope they can accept my apology.


In 20 years of political experience I have never reached a view based on pique - despite my reactions on Sunday afternoon. By training I am a scientist and a lawyer, and I'm usually too dispassionate, if anything. Some comments suggested I am in the pocket of the airport, but that is not the case.

I have sought to keep my options open on this issue because I'm not sure if my constituents are winners or losers overall. There are those who work at the airport, rely on it for business, or use it to travel, and the view of economic development advisors is that it provides a boost for East London. I want to protect peoples' livelihoods particularly in a recession.

On the other hand, there are residents who are disturbed by noise and who have a right to a calm environment. So far the complaints in my postbag are few, but they have the potential to increase and I have noticed more overflying recently. It is a delicate balance to strike, with far reaching consequences.

So I have asked Anne-Marie if she would be willing to meet me to put her case and share her experiences. To ensure balance I will also be seeking a meeting with the airport management. And I would be interested in other views too - your comments are invited.

Return of The Queen

The Mayor has just unveiled a portrait of the Queen at City Hall.

Boris pointed out that it was seven years since Her Majesty opened the building and stated that the least we could do was acknowledge her role by displaying her official portrait. Most civic buildings boast a picture of the Head of State but so far she has been absent from the home of London government. Suspense built as the mayor made several attempts to draw back the curtain covering the picture. A good tug pulled it clear and Boris made a short speech whilst photographs were taken.

The chief executive, several deputy mayors and a cross section of staff from around the building were present for this brief event.

"Climate Change Taliban" Decision Notice

The GLA's assessment Sub Committee met on 1st April to consider six complaints relating to my reporting of the March Peoples' Question Time, specifically my use of the phrase Climate Change Taliban, which they alleged was offensive. The chair of the sub committee has now signed off the decision notice which concludes that NO FURTHER ACTION is to be taken.

The full notice contains details of the complainants and their statements, and quotes the relevant paragraphs of the code of conduct so I don't propose to reproduce it all here. Full copies are published by the GLA if needed.

I will, however, quote the section that gives reasons for their decision:

The Sub-Committee noted that the blog identified Mr Evans as an Assembly Member, but found as a matter of fact that the blog was not hosted by the GLA's website or server, and was not published by the GLA. There was no official GLA connection to the blog. It also found that, whilst the blog related to Peoples' Question Time (a GLA event which Mr Evans attended as an Assembly Member), it was a personal blog in which Mr Evans was commenting on Peoples' Question Time after the actual event. For these reasons, the Sub-Committee decided that, in producing and publishing the blog, Mr Evans was not conducting the business of the GLA, and nor was he acting, claiming to act or giving impression that he was acting as a representative of the GLA. He was not therefore acting in an official capacity and was not required to comply with, and could not have breached, paragraphs 3(1) - 3(2)(b) of the Code.

After having decided this, the Sub-Committee proceeded to consider whether Mr Evans' conduct was a breach of paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct.

Paragraph 5 - "You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or the authority into disrepute."

The reason it considered this is because this paragraph of the Code applies to, and can be breached by, Members even when they are not acting in an official capacity. Accordingly, if the Sub-Committee considered that Mr Evans' blog had brought his office or the GLA into disrepute, it could have decided to take further action against him. The majority of the Sub-Committee did not find the phrase 'Climate Change Taliban' offensive, and the Sub-Committee decided unanimously that the blog did not breach paragraph 5 of the Code.

For these reasons, the Assessment Sub-Committee decided that no further action should be taken on the complaints.


The first section of this judgement is particularly interesting as it accepts that unofficial blogs which are not subsidised by public funds enjoy considerable latitude when it comes to reporting official occasions. Thus reassured that the Standards Committee are not seeking to censor output, other elected representatives might care to grasp the opportunity to communicate afforded by blogs and other online media.

The Essex Institute of Advanced Motorists

I spent yesterday evening with the Essex Institute of Advanced Motorists, a group of around fifty people from different walks of life, meeting at the Chigwell Police Social Club. Generally, they were happy to see the change of mayor although they did praise Ken for introducing the Oystercard.

Like the mayor, they are enthusiastic about improving traffic flows in London, with a lot of support for removing unnecessary pedestrian phases and shortening the time that traffic lights spend on red. They were not keen on road humps and speed tables, which punish good and bad drivers, preferring speed cameras and police patrols to target the truly dangerous individuals. Public policies which led to the needless removal of road space were condemned.

The audience also felt that driving tests should be tightened up to ensure that all the rules of the road were obeyed. There was an interesting suggestion that drivers should be retested at regular intervals if they wished to retain their licences. Lack of courtesy to other drivers - dipping headlights at night for example - was seen as an increasing problem. Although I have not driven for nearly two years I can see what they mean, with examples of inconsiderate and aggressive driving becoming all too common.

There was considerable irritation with local councils who did not do enough to maintain the roads and clear the drains but were all too enthusiastic when it came to road markings, humps and excess signage. The exception was the recent space sharing work done in High Street Kensington, and they awaited the similar proposals for Exhibition Road with interest. Daniel Moylan should be pleased that his fame has spread this far east. They were also pleased to see the back of junction blocking bendy buses.

And they had plenty of ideas for improvement of traffic management, including more use of flashing amber phases, visible countdowns to traffic signal changes (used in Romania) and allowing left turns during red phases - as discussed in the previous post.

All in all it was an enjoyable evening with a well informed group of enthusiasts, including many women. Some of them want to see Mayor's Question Time and I look forward to welcoming them to City Hall.

Turning Left on Red

During the election last year one idea which received some attention was allowing traffic to turn left at junctions even when the lights were red. I had some sympathy for the suggestion but felt that the change - if implemented - should be nationwide, so that drivers didn't have to remember a different set of rules when in the capital.

Today we see this proposal resurfacing in the Evening Standard. Boris has suggested that it should be implemented but only for cyclists. The mayor hopes that cyclists would then be able to get a head start on the heavy vehicles that have claimed 13 lives this year.

Kulveer Ranger, director of transport policy, states "We have written to the Department for Transport asking to run a trial on this. It is a practical proposal which would help improve the relationship between cyclists and other road users." I'm not convinced about that last bit...

The DfT spokesman confirms my original view that "To allow for cyclists to be exempted from red lights a change to the current legislation would be required. This would need to go through the appropriate parliamentary processes before it could take effect."

Recession in Romford

This is - or was - the newsagent downstairs from my flat. They opened a couple of years ago but always struggled to get a large number of customers. Opposite is T K Max, still open but nowhere near as busy as it once was. The Romford Recorder also reports the failure of Giorgio's restaurant, on of the town's smartest venues.

In contrast, nearby Primark was packed over the Easter weekend and Marks & Spencer attracts a lot of older shoppers who are in there every day, although the luxury sandwich range disappeared back in March.

This mixed picture of the recession - some losers, some winners - is repeated elsewhere in business as I discovered last week when I spent a morning with the Academy of Chief Executives. the dozen or so businesses represented around the table were mostly keeping their heads above water, although two manufacturers were pessimistic and one service organisation was actually launching a new product online.

One thing that had changed was their enthusiasm for taking contracts from the public sector. In the past many companies haven't bothered and one of my previous employers had a policy of not taking part - you have to draft bureaucratic equal opportunities, health & safety and environment strategies, then complete some lengthy and confusing tender documents before you can even bid, then the work still goes to the same old people - one of the directors claimed. Now, with reducing opportunities and profits cut to the bone, they can no longer afford to be choosy.

They were also sceptical of the LDA's ability - and the Government's - to actually improve conditions for business. Much of the activity that politicians pride themselves upon was seen as well meaning but ineffective and the credibility of Business Link, which is supposed to be helping, was seen to be low. Recovery, when it comes, will be driven by hard working, risk taking individuals and not by The State.

Wanstead By Election

Out this morning campaigning in Wanstead for a council by election caused by the sad death of Cllr Allan Burgess.

Our candidate is Alex Wilson, pictured along with MEP Charles Tannock and Cllr Edwin Northover, who will be fighting for Leyton & Wanstead at the General Election, when it finally comes along.

We found a lot of support in a seat which is also being contested by Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and UKIP, as well as the BNP who bizarrely quoted Cicero in their latest leaflet.

Meanwhile, we are campaigning for a conservation area to protect the character of the New Counties Estate and to reopen the Corner House lunch club. Alex is also supporting plans for a new science block at Wanstead High School.

The election takes place on 23rd April.

The Trouble With Boris...

I've just watched Antony Barnett's 'documentary' on the first year of the Boris mayoralty. To those of us who have lived the year there was nothing new. Last year's Dispatches on Ken Livingstone featured various old lefties complaining about the mayor - so did this programme.

We had the usual complaints about bendy buses, suspension of the LEZ phase 3, resignation of Sir Ian Blair and scrapping of the congestion charge western extension. Clearly some political opponents are still pining for the old Ken days, and I guess that is understandable, but they need to develop a fresh, attractive narrative and this wasn't it.

Then in part two the tape of Boris and Darius Guppy was played 'for the first time on television'. Well maybe, but there was nothing I hadn't heard before. The conversation was turned over in detail during the election campaign - along with some quotes from the Boris column which we mercifully didn't have to sit through again -so it was an old story.

Part three criticised Boris for approving planning applications for tall buildings after promising not to preserve London's views. Superficially the reporter has a point but those of us who are involved in planning decisions understand that the law, previous precedents, and strategic plans all need to be considered and the results are far from straightforward. Perhaps Mr Barnett needs to spend some time with a council planning committee.

Notably, whilst the programme featured the members of the Labour, Lib Dem and Green groups on the Assembly, the Conservative group were not asked to participate. Indeed the only mayoral advisor who got to contribute was food ambassador, Rosie Boycott - with a disparaging reminder that she once campaigned to legalise cannabis.

So it was a wasted opportunity. Following an election defeat there is bound to be a grieving process but it's going on a bit. Time to move on guys...

Romford Conservatives

I spoke at the Romford Conservatives AGM last night. It was a very upbeat evening with no signs of disunity and a shared determination to rid the country of Brown and NuLab at the earliest opportunity.

Part of the meeting involved awarding trophies to individuals who have contributed to the association in the last year. The evenings Oscar winners were:

The Margaret Thatcher Trophy - for outstanding contribution to the association: Cllr Eric Munday.

The Winston Churchill Shield - for the branch that has made the most progress: Pettits Ward

The Norman Tebbit Cup - for outstanding electoral success: Cllr Roger Evans AM.

Yes, that last one was me, following the 2008 election where I almost trebled my majority. Actually, I think half the cup belongs to Boris Johnson, who energised the whole campaign and raised turnout all over London. The local resident's association also deserve some recognition for deciding not to field a candidate this time. And I'd like to thank my parents...

The association also took delivery of an outstanding picture of Lady Thatcher, donated by the Misir family. It is pictured above and will hang in pride of place at the association HQ.

Question Time

Yesterday marked the final mayor's questions of the financial year. This was Jennette's swan song in the chair. In May Darren Johnson takes over as the first Green politician to chair the assembly.

The session was scrappy, with master inquisitor John Biggs absent and a gap in the public gallery where Ken normally sits. Boris still draws a crowd of - mostly - well wishers, but the numbers are dwindling as time goes on.

Pedicabs

Plenty of people would disagree with Murad Qureshi's view that pedicabs provide a welcome and colourful, albeit minor, addition to the streetscape of the West End and as legislation to licence these vehicles is currently going through Parliament I took the opportunity to ask the mayor to toughen up the regulations.

Safety is a legitimate concern as any incident will spill the - usually inebriated - passengers onto the road. I believe that pedicabs should undergo the same strict safety checks that are required for black cabs and that the standards expected should be demanding. If they are licenced that effectively implies that the public sector is taking on responsibility for their safety.

I got a laugh when I speculated that Boris probably visits the West End more often than I do - I have Romford on my doorstep after all - so he would be familiar with pedicabs that ignore traffic regulations and park illegally. Licencing provides an opportunity to crack down on traffic infringements and there will be no excuse for misbehaviour in future.

Boris was sympathetic whilst not wanting to regulate the trade out of existence. He was also rightly keen to avoid the thin end of the wedge which might lead to him not being able to carry passengers on his own bike. Of course in the case of the mayor's passengers, I assume they don't have to pay...

Great Spaces

Labour accused the mayor of plagiarising Ken's 100 Public Spaces programme with his own Great Spaces initiative. What was the difference between the two, they wanted to know. Of course one major difference is that the old scheme over promised and under delivered - like so much in those years - with only five projects delivered in six years. At that rate it would have taken Ken over a century to produce the 100 spaces he promised. It won't be hard for Boris to beat that record.

A question criticising the recent Help a London Park vote, which saw thousands of Londoners phoning in to participate, was quietly dropped by Labour. They are coming to terms with one central tenet of British politics - the voter is always right. And even when they are wrong, there is no point criticising them.

Organising For Delivery

With a raft of job cuts announced at City Hall on Tuesday, the mayor faced a potentially awkward gauntlet of detailed questions which failed to materialise.

The Greens questioned the wisdom of reducing the environment team from 39 to 20, particularly with the number of strategies the government requires us to produce. My colleague Richard Tracey on the other hand, praised the mayor for delivering on his manifesto commitment to cut bureaucracy and pressed Boris for more savings in future. With some 700 posts still in place at City Hall there must be scope to do more next year...

Devastation at Hainault

Residents of Walden Way were shocked last week when Metronet arrived to clear the railway embankment behind their houses of vegetation. Local councillors Joyce Ryan, Brian Lambert and Glen Corfield, sprang into action, demanding that the work be stopped to allow consultation with householders. After several days the workmen departed leaving an unsightly mess reminiscent of a cleared Amazonian rain forest.

Mrs Partridge lives in the house that backs onto the line. Without the trees the noise from passing trains has become unbearable. as the trains rumble slowly past, complete strangers enjoy a birds eye view of her back garden and tantalising glimpses into the neighbours' private rooms. "It's like being naked." she explained when I met her this morning.

Safety

London Underground claim they needed to do the work for safety reasons and, not being an engineer, who am I to contradict them? Clearly if the Central Line loop was unable to run, that would be a huge inconvenience for thousands of local people. Equally, if a train did come off the line here, the consequences could be catastrophic.

The engineers plan to build the embankment up, reducing the gradient of the slopes. The whole thing will then be shored up by a concrete platform at the base and landscaping work will help to remediate the site.

Consultation

By any standard this could have been done better. Mrs Partridge received a letter dated 12th March, advising her that work would begin on 9th March, three days earlier! Evidently, London Underground were not prepared to discuss the project or explain it's significance to local people.

Next steps

Well, it's done now, and weeks of heavy engineering work lie ahead. This must be conducted sensitively, to minimise disruption for residents.

Upon completion, the embankment should be replanted with trees as well as the promised shrubs, although it will take decades to return to its former state.

And finally, London Underground should provide an opaque screen along the line, to reduce noise and to preserve the privacy of the houses next to the track.

The Barriers Are Down - Rejoice!

When I arrived at Romford Station this morning I noticed a certain spring in commuters' steps, a cheerful gleam in their eyes. It is Friday and the long weekend stretches ahead, but much more importantly:

The horrendous 'Berlin Wall' ticket barriers had gone!

Yes, after years of congestion and campaigning National Express have finally taken action and cleared them away.

These barriers were the only ones on the Liverpool Street line - with the exception of Chelmsford - that could not take Oyster cards of any kind. At Romford anyone with a travel pass had the unique and unwelcome experience of queueing back up the platform stairs to get out during rush hour, because every ticket had to be scanned manually by the long suffering and heroic station staff.

When Freedom Passes were converted to Oyster the problem became much worse, as Havering has the oldest population of any London borough. Pensioners had to line up to get in and out of the station, whilst the barriers were used less and less as the number of paper tickets declined.

On occasions inexperienced staff struggled with the hand held scanners and I'm sure some passengers were wrongly fined - it certainly happened to me.

So thank you National Express, better late than never, as they say on the network. Boris visited the station during the election and I'm sure he will be pleased with this development too.

Concern Over 'Zil Lane' Proposals

The Conservative group has responded to plans for an Olympic Route Network following a presentation from the ODA yesterday afternoon. We are concerned that the proposals, which will affect some roads in 26 of the 32 London boroughs, will disadvantage Londoners.

The designated roads will be priority routes for traffic carrying members of the Olympic Family to and from venues and training sites. Olympic traffic will be given priority, in some cases requiring designated lanes and temporary junction alterations. The scheme will operate for three months over the Summer of 2012. For eighteen months leading up to the games non emergency road works will also be prohibited on these routes.

The route map includes some of the busiest roads between the West End and Stratford, parts of the North Circular, and the Blackwall Tunnel.

The priority users, forming the somewhat extended Olympic family will be made up of:

10,500 athletes and competitors.
22,000 IOC officials.
22,500 journalists.

We are concerned that this list of users is far too large and the effect will be to worsen congestion for Londoners seeking to go about their business. Running a successful games is vital but the essential day to day activities of our capital must not be put at risk. The network might reverse some of the journey time improvements we are expecting Boris to deliver with his new hierarchy free transport strategy.

We are also keen to ensure that traffic restrictions brought in for the duration of the games are actually reversed and do not linger after everything is packed up and the circus leaves town. That would be a very unwelcome legacy.

LDA Under New Management

Signs of the recession (see above) are all around us but there was better news this morning. LDA chairman - Harvey McGrath - and chief executive - Peter Rogers - appeared before the assembly to update us on changes at the body formerly known as Ken's piggy bank.


Governance

Interference by the mayor's advisers was a big problem in the old days, leading to damaging stories in the run up to last year's election. A new and more open regime has now been put into place.

The mayor may still issue instructions to the board of the LDA and in fact he has done so on two occasions. These take the form of an official direction which is recorded in the minutes and available for perusal, whereas the old approach involved figures at City Hall making informal contact and no official record was kept.


Focus

The old LDA funded some 800 projects around the capital and struggled to keep track of what they were all doing. The problem was evident last year when the assembly requested the files on several projects and was told that no such files existed. Following legal pressure, the LDA relented and sent over some relevant documents - jumbled up in over 40 crates!

The new settlement requires a focus on many fewer projects, each with a better chance of success and each properly monitored for results and value for money. The aim is to provide seed funding for projects which can then support themselves, so that in future years the money can be invested elsewhere. Basket case dependency is actively discouraged.

And the same approach applies to jobs. The agency seeks to create jobs for the long term rather than sending clients on six month training courses.


Unemployment

With unemployment worsening around the country, it is heartening to see London bucking the trend. Today's statistics showed only a 0.1% improvement in the capital but at least the figures are going the right way, unlike the rest of the UK. Testament to the mayor's economic measures and the unique nature of London's economy.

Iain Dale's Dinner

On Saturday night we had leading blogger Iain Dale as our guest speaker at Leyton & Wanstead. Iain shared some of the secrets of his on line success and also revealed that he stood for Waltham Forest council in 1990. I was first elected to represent Chingford's Valley ward that year, so we must have been at the same count - small world! I must dig the results out...

Iain has a link to one of those 'how conservative are you?' quizzes on his site. It is American so some of the questions feel a bit unnatural (the focus on abortion and religion seems odd) but I gave it my best shot and got 142 out of 200. The higher your score the more progressive you are - it rated me as Very Conservative.

I wonder how Boris would do...

North Woolwich By Election

Out again this morning on the endless trail of London by elections. This time it was North Woolwich - which I last visited on my Capital Ring walk two years ago - where a council seat is being defended by Labour.

We had a very large group of volunteers, Labour were in evidence and so were the Christian Peoples' Alliance who have the only non Labour seat on Newham Council, virtually a one party state. On the face of it, this is not promising territory, but demographic change and an evident weariness with Labour's unbroken reign have opened up an opportunity for enthusiastic candidate Neil Pearce. The election takes place a week on Thursday.

Birmingham University Seminar

On Thursday I addressed a group of international students working with Birmingham University on the subject of London government. Every year they run a programme of visits to the UK for hopeful politicians, civil servants and journalists from other countries, to help them understand our brand of democracy.

Most of my time was taken up with questions and they were wide ranging - what did I think of congestion charging? Why were rail fares so high? How were we going to address recent violence in Northern Ireland?

The issue of police and political corruption came up and I gave them a couple of examples of recent scandals we had dealt with. No, one man persisted, What about Real Corruption? The sort where police and politicians colluded to maintain power?

Whilst we should always be on guard against wrongdoers, an encounter like that reminded me that in a lot of places things are a lot worse than in the UK.

Transport Skills For London

Last night I was the keynote speaker at the Transport Skills For London conference. Held at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, the event brought together 120 training providers and transport operators to discuss the development needs of drivers and other transport professionals.

I opened proceedings by highlighting the changes in this field over recent years. We have come a long way from the days when transport was a Cinderella service, of interest only to trainspotters and enthusiasts like myself - I was probably the only child in North Yorkshire to have the complete Tube map on my bedroom wall. Now passengers have high expectations and staff also have a role ensuring the safety of users. Training in soft skills - customer care, conflict handling, providing information - is vital for front line staff including bus drivers, platform supervisors and cab drivers.

Bus operators and minicab providers also addressed the conference, highlighting the importance of training and a recognised career path in motivating their employees. Traditionally there has been a high turnover of staff in these industries, reaching 30% amongst bus drivers. Minicab driving had been seen to often as stop gap employment for people seeking to become Black Cab drivers or filling time between 'real' jobs.

Trainers, including our own Havering College, talked about the courses they could provide and the help available to employers. The drive to professionalise the transport industry is under way and likely to produce great improvements in the next decade.

Questions at Bethnal Green

Last night saw the second official Peoples' Question Time, when the Mayor and Assembly appear before a self selected audience to take questions, abuse and adulation. We are placed in two rows on stage - rather like University Challenge without the ringers - and, as a group leader, I get to sit in the front row along with the Mayor, the Chair and other leaders.

This time the venue was York Hall, a larger room with a capacity of over 1,000, which filled up at the start but cleared during the evening as people drifted away.

The session was chaired by local member, John Biggs, pictured above, who started well by throwing out a noisy protestor. This happened last time too, in that case the self publicist had a guitar and offered to sing the mayor a song, this time the man left waving a diving flipper - we can only speculate why? Having shown his teeth, John went on to chair a sometimes excitable meeting firmly, and without too much political bias.

Offley Works

This LDA owned building housed the controversial Brixton Base project during Ken's reign, and it is now being quietly emptied by the new regime. A number of vocal protestors had turned up from south of the river and they made their concerns known from the front row. Boris promised to meet a delegation from the group to discuss new premises.

Airport Protests

We were promised a flash mob objecting to plans to increase flights in and out of City Airport, but in the event there were about a dozen campaigners in red shirts who oppose all airport expansion. Boris pointed out that Newham Council had given their approval so clearly there was local support for a project that would create jobs during the recession.

A campaign against the airport has struggled to get off the ground in Havering, with Labour proposing motions and arguing against their own government and Newham councillors. So far they haven't mustered much support. Darren Johnson got some audience support for his plan to close the airport and build housing on the site.

One brave soul even stood up to defend the Heathrow plans, but he was obviously in the minority.

Low Emission Zone

A small group from Wanstead turned up to object to the inclusion of motorised horse boxes in the charging category for the LEZ. This really is a barmy feature of the scheme - the pollution problems are in the city centre, not around the green boundaries where the air is wonderfully fresh, and of course that is where the horse boxes are driven. These days there isn't much call to take your horses into town. I hope Boris will exempt these vehicles from the charge.

Handouts

This was the eighteenth PQT and I have been at all but one of them, so patterns begin to emerge. In outer London we face irate commuters complaining about the train service and residents objecting to building on the Green Belt. Inner London is characterised - unfortunately - by a parade of groups asking for grants and freebies. It all feels a bit like an audience with Caesar, the Emperor giving the thumbs up, or down, to queues of petitioners. Boris doesn't like to say no which makes these situations a bit tricky.

Last night we had a youth centre, a knife crime project, an arts project, and a slavery memorial, all competing for public funding, and those are just the ones I remember. One girl even demanded free travel on the main line trains because young people get everything else free!

Lucky I'm not the mayor, because I'd be telling them to get down to Liverpool Street Station with a collecting tin...

Audience Poll

As always, PQT provided the opportunity to seek the views of the audience on topical matters. The results from The Bethnal Green jury are as follows:

Are you in favour of operation Blunt 2 (stop and search for knives) - yes 62% no 33%. Might have been less support south of the river.

Do you support scrapping bendy buses - yes 56% no 39%. This is a good measure of the number of political opponents in the room, after all nobody really wants to keep them.

Do you want a third runway at Heathrow - yes 33% no 64%. Although the third in favour kept very quiet during the debate...

Will London benefit from the Olympics - yes 70% no 28%. Well, if you can't get a positive vote round here you might as well pack up now.

Is Boris taking London in the right direction - yes 53% no 39%. Which is a stunning result in the heart of Labour's safest assembly seat.

The next official PQT will take place in the autumn but meanwhile plans are being laid for a Womens' Question Time in Croydon. I suspect my company won't be required for that one.

Environment Committee

The investigation into air quality continued this morning with witnesses from TfL, the government and local councils.


European Standards

At the last meeting we were assured that London was the most polluted city in Europe and we could expect a big fine from the commission as punishment. Martin Williams, representing DEFRA, provided a different view, suggesting that many European cities were as polluted or worse but - unlike the masochistic Brits - they place their pollution monitors away from the busiest roads, thus giving a better impression, and avoiding the fine.

He questioned the targets for nitrogen dioxide and particulates, stating that in hindsight - with the benefit of recent scientific investigations - these would not have been set so high.


London Takes Action

Isabel Dedring, the mayor's energetic environment advisor, listed the projects being undertaken to improve air quality including:

New buses with cleaner engines
Hybrid buses, using less fuel.
Work on an electric vehicle hire scheme.
Smoothing traffic flow by altering traffic signals, thus reducing pollution.

Particulate traps fitted to buses would help to cut particulate emissions. The first generation of these devices harmed engine performance, particularly in the slow London traffic, and caused protests from black cab drivers who had been forced to fit them. The new generation direct the particles back to the engine, burning them up. Environmentally friendly disposal of the filters remains a problem.

Suspension of Low Emission Zone phase three excited a lot of criticism from Labour and the Greens. We know that the Greens want to return the capital to a cottage economy, but Labour are usually complaining that more needs to be done to bail out failing businesses. LEZ 3 would have required the scrapping of 90,000 commercial vehicles, mostly owned by small businesses and charities. They are now saved the unnecessary cost of replacements. Meanwhile, the mayor is to meet Lord Mandelson tomorrow to press his case for government grants to help businesses clean up their fleets - I hope he sees this as a priority.


Disjointed Thinking

Professor Whitelegg from York University offered us a trenchant appraisal of public sector efforts to improve air quality. In his view there was insufficient cooperative working between agencies and an over reliance on strategy documents that gathered dust after production. Box ticking bureaucracy, without realistic targets or milestones and devoid of any follow up action was his verdict - The level of stupidity is so widespread that it is difficult to see where it emanates from, was the professor's verdict. Ouch!

Taxi Purge

Recently I met a delegation of black cab drivers at City Hall. Amongst other matters, they drew my attention to illegal minicabs operating in parts of Redbridge and asked for action to deal with the problem. It is difficult to put a stop to this scourge but regular police operations disrupt the touts and encourage them to take their business elsewhere. Having been robbed by an unlicensed driver some years ago I am aware of the menace and I decided to bring it to the attention of the Mayor:

Roger Evans: Will you ensure that more is done by the police and the Public Carriage Office to crack down on illegal minicabs operating at Gants Hill / Wanstead High Street / South Woodford?

Boris Johnson: TfL works very closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and City of London Police to tackle taxi touting and illegal cabs across London

The MPS Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU), funded by TfL, has a dedicated pan London Cab Enforcement Unit (CEU), responsible for enforcing the law relating to taxis and private hire vehicles in London. The police use a broad menu of tactical options to tackle illegal cab issues including covert and highly visible activities deploying to priority areas across London.

Gants Hill

The TOCU regularly deploy in the Gants hill area, working in partnership with local policing teams to carry out routine patrols and enquiries in response to intelligence received. In addition to these patrols, the CEU has undertaken three plain clothes operations working alongside the Gants Hill safer neighbourhood team focussing on the Faces nightclub. These activities have led to a number of arrests.

Wanstead High Street

An operation working with the local safer neighbourhood team targeting Wanstead High Street was planned in 2008 but ultimately relocated to Gants Hill due to more specific intelligence received. Touting issues at this location are kept under review and will be considered as part of their future tasking decisions.

South Woodford

The TOCU regularly deploy to South Woodford, carrying out patrols and enquiries in response to intelligence received. In addition to these patrols, the CEU has undertaken a number of joint plain clothes operations with local policing teams including the Churchfields safer neighbourhood team - two of these operations have focussed on Mojo's nightclub and led to a number of arrests.

TfL has also introduced tougher penalties for any licensed driver convicted of taxi touting to send out a clear message that this will not be tolerated. From 1 August 2008, licensed drivers convicted of taxi touting will lose their license for a maximum of one year. Over 50 PHV licenses have already been revoked since this date.

So now the Mayor is aware of the problem. I would like to know about other touting hotspots in Havering or Redbridge so that I can bring them to his attention.

Many Questions

This morning saw the February MQT session. With questions about the Mayor's role in the Damian Green affair ruled out of order - our standards committee still has to consider its findings - this was a scrappy meeting without a real core theme. The public gallery was packed as usual, with several school and college parties, a group from Richmond, and my own guests from The Executive Network.

Tim O'Toole

We were sorry to receive the news of Tim's resignation. after six years running London Underground - more than enough for most - he has decided to return to the US. Tim is the last, and best, of the Americans recruited to TfL under Ken and he will be sorely missed. The search for a successor will now begin.

Housing Targets

The Mayor agreed with me that the new London Plan should specify larger space standards for flats in future developments. I met a German architect at the weekend and she expressed shock at the tiny properties that we allow in London, and at the fact that social housing has higher standards than private housing. There is a sore need for some levelling up - London deserves buy to live, not buy to let.

Air Quality

The opposition made much of the decision to suspend implementation of phase three of the low emission zone, and claimed that the Mayor had tried to hide the news amongst the coverage of the snow earlier this month. Actually there is no reason to hide what is a good piece of news for thousands of London businesses and charities that faced bankruptcy as a result of the demand to change their vehicles. Now they will get a further grace period, and considering the surprise that the recession caused, a Labour Mayor may well have taken the same decision.

Meanwhile Boris has written to Dark Lord Mandleson asking for grants to help small businesses upgrade their vehicles. Motorists in London will welcome some carrots after years of Ken's sticks.

Outer London Commission

The Mayor accepted that the new commission - whilst a welcome initiative - was developer heavy, so he agreed to consider appointing some members who would act to preserve the green spaces and heritage of outer London rather than seeking to modernise and build on them.

British Jobs for British Workers

I'm sure Gordon Brown would be delighted at the way BNP member Barnbrook took up his rallying cry, following the recent spate of wildcat strikes. Boris mounted a stout defence of people from other countries who come to London and vowed to reject calls for a more protectionist approach - not least because of the number of Londoners who find work in other countries.

DLR Overcrowding

There's a by election in North Woolwich, which tends to focus attention on a largely forgotten area. Neil Pearce, the Conservative candidate, is calling for an upgrade to the DLR trains following the opening of the new station at Woolwich which in turn created heavy use and overcrowding on the service. The Mayor agreed to look at it, and even John Biggs - the local AM - is on board. Nice to conclude with some cross party agreement.

Peoples' Question Time

It doesn't seems like six months since our visit to Bromley, but PQT rolls around again next week. This time the mayor will be appearing on very different territory, in the heart of Labour's safest assembly seat, City & East - and the session will be chaired by Labour's Inquisitor in Chief, John Biggs, who is also the local AM.

The session takes place on 5th March at 7:00pm in the impressive surroundings of York Hall, Bethnal Green, E2. The last event was packed out and this one promises more of the same. Tickets can be booked by:

Emailing peoplesquestions@London.gov.uk

Online at www.London.gov.uk

Phoning 020 7983 4762 and leaving your order on the answerphone

By texting - if you really must...

I will also be there, in the front row, so I'm expecting to see lots of friendly faces, after all it isn't all that far from Havering & Redbridge...

Uptown Oil

This morning the environment committee visited Uptown Oil, a small business dedicated to the fight for clean air in the capital.

Based in a railway arch, they supply cooking oil to London's restaurants then recover the used oil which would normally be thrown away or even poured down the drain. This is then filtered and put through a series of chemical separations to produce a usable fuel - biodiesel.

The recovered fuel is sold, mostly to black cab drivers who usually know a good deal when they see it. Not only is it a good example of reuse, but the fuel actually burns cleaner producing fewer of the particulates that dirty our windows and irritate our lungs. A black cab running on biodiesel can pass its emission test without the need for expensive exhaust modifications.

They estimate that the city's restaurants produce enough waste oil to fuel all London's black cabs and the bus fleet too, simultaneously cutting down carbon dioxide production and air pollution. They also employ ten people which is not to be sniffed at in these challenging times.

TfL Deputy Chairman in Committee

This afternoon the assembly met to confirm the appointment of Cllr Daniel Moylan as the statutory deputy chairman of TfL.

Daniel was elected to Kensington & Chelsea Council in 1990, where he rose to become deputy leader. The council appointed him to the London wide Transport & Environment Committee (TEC) which he has chaired for many years. Daniel therefore had a lot of experience to draw upon when he took questions from assembly members.


Role and Responsibilities

TfL will now have two deputy chairman (the other being Christopher Garnett, and the chairman being the mayor). As the Statutory Deputy Daniel will chair board meetings when the mayor cannot be present. He also sees his role as improving relationships, particularly between TfL and assembly members, and TfL and the boroughs. He will use his experience to provide leadership on surface transport and street scene issues, complementing Chris Garnett's rail experience. Finace Chairman, Peter Anderson, will lead on budget formation and the increasingly vigilant hunt for savings.

Daniel will also be reviewing the structure of committees reporting to the board, including the delegation of financial responsibilities, and making recommendations to strengthen the structure.


Conflict

Daniel allayed the committee's concerns about conflicts of interest, pointing out that he has now resigned not just as chairman of the TEC, but from the committee itself. His portfolio at Kensington & Chelsea has been reduced, removing transport and placing TfL related planning matters at arm's length.

Daniel is keen not to become a TfL glove puppet, retaining his right to criticise services when necessary. As an example, he referred to the Circle Line as being like the railway service in Harry Potter - sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't. As I recall the Hogwarts Express was more punctual and actually left without Harry on one occasion.


Conclusion

The assembly concluded - cross party - that this is a good appointment we were happy to support. We are however asking Boris to clarify the exact responsibilities of the role.

A Valentine's Tryst at LBC

Tomorrow morning, from 10:00, I'm taking part in the Ken Livingstone show on LBC. We will be reviewing stories from the days papers and discussing the week's events, no doubt including the first Boris Budget, and the wisdom of swearing at Keith Vaz...

But we won't be alone. Our chaperons will be Lib Dem AM, Caroline Pidgeon and Tory Troll blogger, Adam Bienkov, who drops in here to comment now and then.

Clearly a half hour not to be missed...

Making History

Budget debate restarts at 10:00 this morning. This time only one third of members need to support the budget for it to pass, so it must be almost certain that Boris will get his way.

The first GLA budget ever to freeze the council tax precept hopefully paves the way for further savings over the next three years.

UPDATE - the budget was approved, with only the Greens promoting an alternative. The Lib Dems produced a wish list with some original and interesting ideas, but not costings. Labour came up with a shorter list but no figures. They gave the impression of wanting to spend much more but welcoming the council tax freeze.

History has been made!

Help A London Park

This morning I hosted a delegation from William Torbitt Primary School in Redbridge, who came to deliver around 300 postcards from their pupils, supporting the case for £2 million funding for Fairlop Waters.

Proposals for this large site include rehabilitating wildlife habitats, providing a play area, reinstating paths and providing better access throughout, including to a lagoon in the south of the park.

With the mayor due to decide on the recipient of this funding, as well as the winner of the £400,000 allocated by public vote, this was a timely intervention which could tip the scales in our favour.

I will be boxing up the cards and carrying them up to the mayor's office this afternoon - I hope that Boris considers the very sound case and chooses to award the money to Fairlop Waters.

Adventures at Hainault

I have just returned from a wet morning in Hainault Forest Country Park, which was more fun than it sounds...

I joined Mayor of Redbridge, Cllr Lorraine Sladden, and children from local schools for the opening of three adventure playgrounds. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, to support the concept of play, these three new areas will provide the country park with an exciting new attraction.

Even in the pouring rain, the children found the enthusiasm to enjoy the swings and rope walks. Us adults were a bit more circumspect - but some of us might sneak back for a go, when the sun comes out and the press have gone.

We often complain that we don't get much from the Lottery in Redbridge, so it is good to celebrate when some benefits come our way...