Category Archives: Blog

London Development Agency: trying to spin its way out of trouble

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Up for a 6:15am pre-record with the Today programme this morning – about the allegations of corruption and misappropriate funds hanging over the London Development Agency. It’s turning into quite an involved saga, with a whole host of allegations – but the latest twist is very simple.

The LDA carried out an investigation, but it wasn’t thorough – and was then misrepresented in the LDA’s own press release as giving the body a clean bill of health.

The LDA’s press release on the results of its internal investigation doesn’t leave any room for doubt as to what they wanted people to think: “Allegations of LDA Corruption False” and the first paragraph is equally bullish: “The report has been issued of the review of allegations of LDA corruption and collusion in improperly awarding funds made by the journalist Andrew Gilligan in the Evening Standard in a series of articles in December 2007. The review finds these to be unfounded.”

Now, if only that was the case! In fact, three of the allegations were passed to the police to look into, a fourth is already under police investigation and it looks like a fifth will end up with the police too. That’s not the picture you’d expect when phrases like “unfounded” are being used, is it?

Then there’s the case of Brenda Stern – who lost her job after speaking out. Was she sacked for whistle blowing on financial scandal? That’s an episode that needs serious investigation – but the review didn’t even interview her.

There’s more in today’s Evening Standard, including this damning quote from her:

“The schedule of allegations published with the review claims I never complained of losing my job for raising concerns about one of the projects. I most certainly did make that complaint and I am very surprised indeed that the LDA claims to have investigated this project without even trying to contact me.”

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Sexism and the monarchy: what do other countries do?

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In response to one of my earlier blog postings about the monarchy, Jim made a comment about what other countries with monarchies have done – pointing out that the rules have been changed in other countries so that women are no longer discriminated against when it comes to choosing who gets to be monarch.

That’s a good point, which I’ve been looking into further. Here’s a summary of some of the changes:

  • Sweden: changed in 1980
  • The Netherlands: changed in 1983
  • Norway: changed in 1990
  • Belgium: changed in 1991
  • Nepal: government proposed changing the rules in 2006
  • Spain: government says it will change the rules
  • Denmark: part-way through the process for changing the rules

If countries like these can change their rules to stop sexism being built-in to their monarchies, why shouldn’t we?

P.S. Another piece of reporting of the story – over on the Haringey Independent’s blog.

Parking at the Highgate Group Practice

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Lynne Featherstone MP at Highgate Group PracticeVisited Highgate Group Practice to look at the appalling situation they are in thanks to Haringey Council.

With the introduction of a CPZ by Haringey Council, this fantastic local practice worked to try and help Haringey Council get it right. Transport and parking is important for a GP service – because, by its very nature, many of the people coming to use the service have difficulty getting about because they are old, ill or both. To make the situation even more pressing – the site is badly served by public transport. So – there is a need for people to be able to visit by car.

Now, there is a two-hour slot in the day when there are no surgeries – and the CPZ being introduced was due to be for two hours a day. Ah – problem solved! Well you or I might think that – but whilst the surgery down time is 12:00-2:00pm, Haringey insisted that the CPZ had to be in force at 10:00-12:00 rather than 12:00-2:00pm. Aaaaargh!

Ok, said the practice – why not then introduce 12 pay and display slots in View Road, which has empty residents’ parking bays virtually all the way? Yes said the council. Ah – problem solved! Oh but no. Because Haringey Council said it would introduce the bays back in September – but still hasn’t. Now they’re promising they’ll do it in February. Let’s hope the 700 signature petition helps keep them to this promise!

Adding insult to injury – the welcome idea of introducing a bus stop opposite the practice has been a farce. They’ve sloped the road in order to bring pavement level down to where buses would load – but they have not actually introduced a bus stop. And if they did introduce the stop at the site where the pavement work has been done – it would obstruct all the traffic on this relatively heavy flow road. Nil out of ten to Transport for London. I will be raising this with Peter Hendy on Wednesday.

Ho hum!

Brian Paddick comes calling

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Brian PaddickBrian Paddick came to my house for a fundraising dinner this weekend. What a star! The (would-be) donors were all won over by him. I think it is actually his genuine sincerity and absolute determination to deliver to London. As he says – that is his track record. In the Met he delivered. In both his commands crime dropped more than anywhere else in London.

If he can translate that sort of record of delivering results in a key public service – the police – to transport and so on in London, it would be phenomenal.

That’s really the key to this job: a vision of a safer, greener, happier London – and the track record to deliver and inspire. He is not all talk. He is not prone to political spin. He is doing this because he believes he can really change London for the better. And you know what – I reckon he can too!

P.S. You can sign up for news from Brian’s campaign here.

Just how powerful is George W Bush?

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After Dome of the Rock, Jerusalemtheir escapades in Iraq, George W Bush and Tony Blair don’t make the most likely duo to bring peace to the Middle East. But as they say – truth is stranger than fiction, so who knows what they will achieve!

It’ll be interesting to see just how much power Bush and American can really wield in the Middle East – because it is Bush’s desire for a peace deal by the end of the year, and consequential political legacy for him as he leaves office, that is driving this latest attempt.

There’s been no big change in office in the key countries in the Middle East, nor a major change in policy by any of the players there, nor even some cunning new plan to save age old problems.

Rather this new peace attempt is really all being driven by Bush deciding he wants to give it a go – which means, hopefully, we will see just how much influence the US can exert when it really wants to.

And whilst I certainly don’t always wish President Bush and his attempts to wield power around the globe luck – let’s hope this time US power is truly mighty and opens up the door to peace where so many other attempts have failed.

Victory in parking signs battle

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At last! Last year my colleague Martin Newton (Fortis Green ward) took up with the Department of Transport the case of some badly designed and confusing parking signs in Haringey. The Department confirmed our view – and said they were unsatisfactory. Haringey Council has now agreed to take proper action on the signs.

I hope this will finally put an end to the parking roulette residents often have to play on streets of Haringey. Parking restrictions should be about sensibly managing limited spaces rather than frankly confusing signs that can lead to people being unfairly caught out. We’ll see!

Monarchy revisited: why should sexism in the choice of monarch be acceptable?

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Buckingham PalaceWell, well. My raising of the issue of how women get bumped for men when it comes to succession to our throne has caused a bit of a fuss!

And my old sparring partner at the GLA, Tory Brian Coleman, does in particular seem to have got really quite excited! (He also distorts our monarchy’s actual history. He says we shouldn’t touch something that has been in place for hundreds of years, but in fact the monarchy has been repeatedly reinventing itself and much of what we now think of as traditional was actually started in the twentieth century. Why should attitudes towards women from several hundred years ago be one area left untouched and preserved?)

For me the basic point is quite simple: the monarchy is meant to be a symbol for our country, so what does it say that we enshrine sexism right at its heart – in the rules for who gets to be monarch? Banishing sexism from the monarchy would be a powerful symbol for the rest of society – where there is still so much to do.

Anyway – the New Statesman has now published a further piece from me on the topic, and there was also coverage in the Evening Standard. Fingers crossed for Women’s Hour next week too, unless some other story comes along to bump it off the schedule.

UPDATE: Also hit The Observer too.

Good news on the 210 bus

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Excellent Photograhp of a bus lanenews has just come through about the 210 bus route – it’s going double-decker. That means more space on the buses, hurrah!

This will kick off on 16th February. It’s a shame that it has taken Transport for London so long to respond to the issue – but credit where credit is due, they have now.