I’m doing the paper review with Adam Boulton at 10:15 on Sunday morning and in the evening it’s The Westminster Hour (Radio 4, 10pm or if you miss the show you can listen again on their website).
Monthly Archives: Jun 2007
London selection results
Well – what to make of the results of the party’s selection of our GLA (London Assembly) list candidates for next year?
This time round I wasn’t standing (I finished third and top in the selections for 2000 and 2004, but stood down from the GLA when I became an MP), so it’s been interesting to see the process from the outside.
I’m glad that the overall list is so well balanced in terms of men and women – good progress there – and with a good mix of people used to taking on not just the Tories but also Labour! It is also clear that those who (like myself previously!) started their selection campaigns well in advance of the process officially starting generally did well – Jeremy Ambache and Caroline Pidgeon particularly. Good to see hard work and campaigning bringing benefits.
Is it all good news then? Well with nine out of the eleven being white, there’s bound to be some talk about the ethnic make-up of the list. There was a good range of candidates to choose from, so I hope those who weren’t successful at getting on this list this time treat the result as a stepping stone to the future rather than as a permanent rebuff.
Finally, congrats to Monica for getting on the list, and best of luck to Wayne and Ajmal – the other two candidates from Haringey – for other selections.
Council's secret bid for Parkland Walk cycling speedway revealed
The Liberal Democrats have urged Labour to come clean over the funding for works on Parkland Walk after documentation unearthed by Lynne Featherstone revealed the intention is to increase cycling speeds on the Parkland Walk through “decreasing journey times for cyclists” and to “increase in the number of people cycling”, despite assurances to the contrary from officials at the recent Area Assembly.
The revelation is made Haringey Council’s bid submission to Transport for London obtained by Lynne Featherstone in a Freedom of Information request.
Lynne Featherstone comments:
“Hundreds of local residents were completely and deliberately misled at the recent Area Assembly as Labour councillors sat watching and saying nothing.Haringey Council clearly have been given this money to turn the Parkland Walk into a cycle track.
“I could point to a hundred roads in the borough where the cycling provision is poor to dangerous and where money to improve cycling could be well spent – and yet £400,000 is being spent on cycling for the Palkland Walk nature reserve.
“The Council should have consulted residents before they entered into a Faustian pact with Transport for London.Labour must come clean and reassure us that they will not prostitute the Parkland Walk in their bid for cash.”
Councillor Laura Edge, Crouch End, Hornsey & Stroud Green Area Assembly Chair adds:
“The Parkland Walk is first and foremost a nature reserve.Money is needed improve drainage and enhance facilities, but not at any cost.”
Note: Lynne Featherstone is running an online survey on the future of Parkland Walk.
Lynne Featherstone 