Royalty In Havering

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour has missed Havering but we have the next best thing - a Royalty In Havering exhibition at the Havering Museum in Romford Town Centre. This morning I visited the museum to hand over a painting of the old Royal Palace at Havering-Atte-Bower. The painting was presented to Boris when he unveiled the new village sign several years ago and it depicts the palace as it would have been at its construction, painstakingly recreated from the original plans and drawings by artist Susanna Small. The picture is on loan to the museum as the centrepiece of their exhibition which runs from 14 April to 23 June. In the photograph I am joined by museum volunteer Matthew Abel, who found out about the painting from this very blog! With just 29 days to the elections I kept myself out of the stocks on this visit...

Boris Visits Havering & Redbridge

On Saturday Boris joined members of the armed forces and the Mayor of Havering to support the Parcels for the Troops initiative at the busy Roneo Corner Tesco. He got stuck in sorting the items generously donated by local shoppers. A tour of the store got a very positive reception. we went on to visit Romford Market and Hornchurch High Street. The afternoon saw us arrive at Ilford where Boris attracted a crowd worthy of a film star, then on to Barkingside and finally a visit to Wanstead. A gorgeous day heralded the arrival of Spring and people were delighted to meet - and be photographed with - their Mayor.

Final MQTs

Wednesday morning saw the final Question Time of this four year term. Following the great Audit Panel Occupation, there were concerns about security. More staff were on duty and Climate Rush demonstrators made their point outside City Hall, but the session itself was undisturbed.

With some members retiring, Question Time had an end of term feeling. Requests from Labour for the Mayor to talk about phone hacking had failed to meet the required deadline, having been lost in the secretariat. The Chair apologised, but the Mayor refused to take the out of time questions and the Labour leader made a rather grouchy statement.

Into the questions, and Labour lead with their collective chin, with a section about transport in Outer London. They tried Outer London as a subject last year and the result was a total car crash, so I was surprised to see them try the same thing again. Boris was suitably robust and knocked them flat by pointing out that their promises would be rendered impossible to fulfil by Ken's plan to cut fares. Conservative members piled in with questions about transport improvements in their own boroughs and it was plain that Labour weren't going to get off the floor again.

I used the opportunity to seek an assurance that disabled access will be an essential feature of all the new Crossrail stations - something that concerned Redbridge Transport For All when I met them on Monday.

The Lib Dems were more calculating in their approach, asking if Londoners were better off than four years ago. A clever question which allowed them to raise a variety of issues as supplementaries. Mike Tuffrey and Dee Doocey are retiring at this election and we will miss their calm forensic style which can sometimes put Boris on the back foot. With the field for subjects wide open, I asked if Boris would get Locog and London & Partners to publicise Gants Hill as a post games destination for spectators who would otherwise clog up restaurants and other venues in Stratford and the West End. Only Five stops away on the Central Line, Gants Hill provides a high quality but less crowded alternative to centres in town and I can see real potential to generate business for the area. Fortunately Boris agrees with me.

I used a question about the new bus to praise the removal of crime ridden bendies from route 25 which serves Ilford. Labour's line is that the new buses are very costly, but new models are always expensive and the price per vehicle will reduce as demand grows. During Ken's reign TfL spent £9.65 million on a trial of hydrogen buses, which they defended as an essential investment at the time, and this is a similar case - except this trial doesn't involve forcing an unwanted hydrogen refuelling station on residents adjacent to the A127 in Upminster.

The Greens raised cycling safety and Jenny wrangled with the Mayor over the accuracy of the figures she is quoting. Casualties are too high regardless of which of them is right, and work on the major road junctions as well as a crackdown on unroadworthy lorries will save lives.

The whole session drifted a bit and ended with a whimper rather than a bang, and I get the impression that Labour were content to leave things in the hope that they will have more members after May 3rd. The small parties face the prospect of another squeeze and could even lose members. Richard Barnbrook, once the BNP's great hope, was absent having gone independent some time ago. It is unlikely that the BNP will be back in May.

Audit and Anarchy

Four years ago I was asked to chair the City Hall audit panel. The committee comprises just four members and meets quarterly to review the authority's risk register and the audit plan that arise from it. We also examine each audit report and question departmental managers on the steps they take to improve processes and resolve any recommendations the auditors make.

It's an important but rather low key role, not attracting any publicity and with very little political disagreement - a good example of different parties working together. The committee also sees good examples of shared services saving the authority money. Procurement for City Hall is now handled by TfL, as are our legal services. Our payroll is operated by the Fire Authority, and audit itself is now done by the Metropolitan Police. No trumpet blowing, but we just quietly get on and save money for Londoners.

So we were surprised to receive a visit from protesters at the final meeting of the panel yesterday afternoon. Around a dozen earnest young people trooped in as we were reviewing the hospitality register, one carrying a guitar. The odd chord was strummed as we considered the gifts declared by members and staff (Jenny Jones received a mounted truncheon from the police, Kulveer had been given a smart new shirt). The meeting drew to a conclusion.

As I thanked staff and members for their work over four years, and the public for their attendance, one young man got to his feet and denounced Haringey Council for cutting youth services. A decision that he claimed had led to the August riots. The assembled auditors and accountants looked a touch bemused.

I closed the meeting and told colleagues they were free to leave. The monologue continued as we departed. I am sure their concerns spread further than Haringey but the protesters were at the wrong meeting in the wrong place. Perhaps they will return for Mayor's Question Time this morning...

Boris Nine Point Plan

Boris has launched his nine pledges for a Greater London, and they are displayed on posters in telephone kiosks around town. I have found three so far in my travels and will track down the rest soon. Like Boris Pokemon, you've just got to catch them all...

Wind Farming

The sun shone yesterday and the sea - fortunately - remained calm, for the visit by leading members of the Environment Committee, to see progress on the construction of the world's largest offshore wind farm, the London Array.

Situated 12 miles out in the Thames Estuary the 175 giant wind turbines cover an area of over 200 square kilometres. Each turbine is 147 metres high and the rotor diameter is 120 metres - as big as the London Eye, but spinning much faster!

Many are already in place as are two offshore sub stations which will boost the voltage before transmission down a 54 km underwater cable to Faversham where the electricity enters the national grid.

Providing 1000 megawatts when both phases are complete, the Array will power over 750,000 homes, making a significant contribution to London's power demands. Electricity will start to be generated later this month.

Olympic Questions

On Wednesday we questioned Lord Coe and Paul Deighton from LOCOG about final preparations for the Games. My colleague Victoria Borwick is an official volunteer and she kindly modelled the purple and orange uniform at our meeting!

Ticket allocations for the 100m final in the stadium were discussed. 30,000 will have been bought by the British public; a further 15,000 will have been bought internationally, and in practise a lot of these will also go to Brits who have been quick off the mark on the internet; 15,000 will go to sponsors and these will be distributed amongst their staff and customers. Of the remainder, 10,000 will be taken by journalists, 2,000 by athletes and 2,000 by IOC officials. The rest of the seats will not be occupied as they are obstructed by large screens and media paraphernalia. There were some angry scenes as members from all parties accused LOCOG of secrecy over ticket sales - Seb will be pleased this was his last Assembly session.

Ticket printing was also raised. Of the five bidders, only two were British, and the bid from Arkansas represented best value for money along with the best compliance with contract requirements. LOCOG assured us that procurement rules and procedures had been followed.

Two Months To Go...

With just two months until the London elections, our campaign team converged on the key constituency of Romford. We were joined by senior government whip Mark Francois MP, and council leader Michael White on walkabout meeting local shoppers and traders. The reception was positive - Havering voters agree that we don't want it to be 'Ken Again' on May 3rd!

Safer Parks in Redbridge

Today saw the prize giving ceremony for the Mayor's Safer Parks Award at City Hall. Created to recognise parks and open spaces where community involvement and policing have driven out crime, the awards provide plaques for the winners to display at park entrances. This year Redbridge did particularly well with three bronze awards. Elmhurst Gardens, Ilford War Memorial Gardens - now dog free - and South Park all shared the honours.

Woodford Bridge

With just 68 days until London goes to the polls, I joined our team in Bridge Ward this morning, along with Lee Scott MP, Industry Minister Mark Prisk, and a horde of councillors and volunteers. The unseasonably warm weather brought people out into their gardens and we were able to discuss the election with quite a few voters. Our reception was as warm as the weather and we finished off with a coffee at the Crooked Billet pub on the green.

Crossrail Update

Terry Morgan and Andrew Wolstenholme from Crossrail appeared before yesterday's transport committee to provide an update on this vital project. Tunneling the central section between Liverpool Street and Paddington is due to begin next month. The first section to open to the public will be the branch running to Shenfield in 2017. In late 2018 the central section will be running and the whole line will be operational in 2019 including the branch to Heathrow.

Journey times to the airport will be cut to 40-50 minutes and the whole journey will be much easier without having to change trains in West London. The new stations between Liverpool Street and Paddington will all be much larger than the existing tube stations and they will have public toilets - except for Bond Street. The trains will not have toilet facilities, a decision made with the intention of giving over as much room as possible to commuter seating.

I was concerned to learn that plans for the stations on the Shenfield branch have been scaled down. In particular, the opportunity to redevelop Ilford and Romford stations will be missed because Network Rail do not have a large enough budget to do more than provide basic disabled access. This is much less than we were promised several years ago and is very disappointing, as the stations are looking tired and their immediate surroundings suffer from graffiti, begging and petty crime.

Crossrail aims to provide employment for local people and they have an agreement with Job Centre Plus who are looking for suitable candidates. There will be 400 apprentices and the new tunneling skills academy in Ilford will play a key role. The academy will also train workers for HS2, the Thames Tideway Tunnel and other utilities projects. I emphasised the need for jobs to go to local people, following a disappointing performance from the ODA whose contractors imported a lot of labour from outside London.


Rail Projects

TfL and Network Rail also gave evidence, telling us that surface rail in London has a bright future. The recession has not affected passenger numbers which continue to rise, with ridership on the trains expected to rise by over 40% in the next 20 years. Employment is only expected to grow by 14% over the same period in London, but most of the jobs will be created near to main line stations, so the effect on surface rail will be disproportionately large.

The London Overground lines have proved very popular and some parts are suffering from overcrowding. TfL will be providing longer trains to increase capacity and there are plans to electrify the Barking to Gospel Oak line.

Network Rail priorities will be to increase capacity on lines serving the Lea Valley and running South West from Waterloo. There will be longer trains for the C2C lines running out of Fenchurch Street.

High Speed 2 plans will create a need to enlarge Euston Station, otherwise overcrowding on the concourse will negate any time saved on the journey to Birmingham. Interestingly, Euston is the only underground station that can only be accessed through a main line station - not a lot of people know that!

Chill on The Hill

This morning we were campaigning in Harold Hill. Despite cold winds and falling temperatures the team are in good spirits with less than 80 days to the election. I was joined by Gooshays councillor Keith Wells, Assembly Member Andrew Boff, Assembly candidate Nadia Sharif and local activists.

Olympian Spirits

Today a group of members visited the Olympic Park to observe the progress of this giant project. The Aquatic Centre, Velodrome, Athletes' Village and other landmarks are now complete and finishing touches are being made to the landscaping. everything will be ready to welcome the world in just a few months. In the bowels of the huge stadium is a practice running track - Gareth Bacon, Victoria Borwick and I were 'on your marks' for the gruelling sprint ahead...

The Pink Ball

Last night I attended the Pink Ball to help raise money for our own St Francis' Hospice in Havering. Also there were councillors Sandra Binion, Linda Trew, Rebecca Bennett and Robby Misir. The dinner was sold out, all in a very good cause. A fine meal was followed by dancing until the late hours - and I even won the raffle!

Action Day

The campaign team were out in force this morning in Ilford North. MP Lee Scott and local councillors joined volunteers to deliver leaflets in temperatures as low as -5c.

Romford Young Conservatives AGM

Last night I was the guest speaker along with MEP Syed Kamall, at the AGM of Romford Young Conservatives. It is difficult to get young people interested in politics, with so many different activities competing for their attention, so it was great to meet such an enthusiastic and thriving group.

Budget Approved

This morning the Assembly approved the fourth Boris Johnson budget, including a precept cut of 1%. This is the first time that the precept has been reduced in twelve years but another important record was also set:

Because the Labour members abstained, only five members opposed the budget allowing it to be passed by the ten Conservatives present. In the past the budget has always been agreed by a minority of members, albeit enough to reach the required target of one third of the Assembly. Today's budget motion was passed with a clear majority of five!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Just got back from City Hall - the town shivers under a white blanket.

Winter Wonderland

The view from my window has changed overnight. Last time it looked like this was in early 2009, I'm hoping that the transport system is going to cope better this time, particularly as I'm due to visit City Hall to pick up some papers for meetings tomorrow. Saddle up the huskies...

Council Tax CUT

Last night I attended a fund raising event at Shoreditch Town Hall in aid of Assembly Candidates John Moss (City and East) and Naomi Newstead (London North East). there was a great turn out and a very up beat mood - there was also a rumour that Boris had found the efficiency savings to be able to cut the council tax precept.

This morning it is confirmed. There will be a reduction of 1% this year, on top of the freezes achieved in the previous three years. The average band D household will have saved £445.05 over the four years of the Conservative term of office. I'm particularly pleased as I have been urging Boris to cut the budget ever since our first meeting at City Hall, so my persistent lobbying has paid off for Londoners.

And what a contrast with Livingstone who thought he was doing Londoners a favour by limiting the increase to 7.5% in 2004, but usually inflicted much higher rises on the capital.