Date archive for August, 2009
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A bit of bank holiday positioning from the mayor at his leader’s expense
Boris Johnson’s Telegraph column today finishes on a comment that, on reflection, probably ought to be treated as more important than a mere throwaway line if only for how it will be received within his own party’s leadership.
Johnson’s column is an argument for symbolic demonstrable change from a Cameron government.
“…people are going to be groping for ways to sum up what was so wonderful about the new Tory government. They will be trying to convey just what it was about [...] -
Today’s selecter
A couple of weeks ago I raised whether the Selecter posts on this blog – which aim to provide some interesting reading from elsewhere on blogs and websites – should be expanded to include things that have also appeared in the press.
The unanimous response of those who replied was yes, although I cannot pretend that this was the only factor in making up my mind, as I’d been leaning in that direction already.
Nonetheless, my aim is still to avoid [...] -
Caroline Pidgeon’s question for the mayor on fares
Listening to LibDem Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon on Ken Livingstone’s LBC phone-in today I was struck by Caroline’s point that given the current level of inflation the mayor should be looking at either freezing fares this coming January – or even cutting them.
(I should add that listeners will also have been struck by the absence of anyone from the mayor’s administration to discuss the tube’s performance and value. Apparently not a single person was available from City Hall or Transport [...] -
Barnet’s “easyCouncil” plan is at one with the principles and practice of Tory government
The Guardian has exposed to a national audience the radical right wing plans of the Conservative London borough of Barnet, now nicknamed “easyCouncil” for its adoption of a budget airline approach to public services.
“Barnet wants householders to pay extra to jump the queue for planning consents, in the way budget airlines charge extra for priority boarding,” reports the Guardian. “And as budget airline passengers choose to spend their budget on either flying at peaktime or having an in-flight meal, [...] -
New from me on Labourlist – Barnet’s “easyCouncil” cuts and privatisation plan
I have a new post at Labourlist, following this morning’s Guardian report on the “easyCouncil” plans of Barnet’s Tories, who are planning a huge programme of cuts and privatisation the borough.
On Labourlist my article argues that far from being at odds with Cameronism plans like these fit with the Conservatives’ plans for public spending cuts:
“The truth is that Barnet is aiming for a radical programme of cuts and privatisation, no different – despite the new ways of explaining it – to [...] -
Budget airline model for Barnet council
I’ll write a bit more about this story in due course, but in the meantime here’s the link to the Guardian’s story this morning about Barnet’s “easyCouncil” plans. The Guardian’s Robert Booth reports:
Barnet wants householders to pay extra to jump the queue for planning consents, in the way budget airlines charge extra for priority boarding. And as budget airline passengers choose to spend their budget on either flying at peaktime or having an in-flight meal, recipients of adult social care in [...] -
From Woodstock to Willesden – links updated
In the Village Green section of my links you’ll find the excellent Caught by the River blog, a site which, its authors say, is “a place where people could eulogize about the things that made the working week bearable – books, records, art, nature, angling, drinking, even cake baking. The approach was exactly like putting together a fanzine – an unshackled, uncynical torrent of enthusiasm.” Visiting it is always relaxing and eye-opening in equal measure.
One of Caught by the River’s friends [...] -
Jubilee Line – extra closures this year or overrun to 2010 on the cards
Several weeks ago I raised that the engineering works on the Jubilee Line were in trouble and that there was a danger that they would overrun.
This blog said on 1st August:
In addition to the problem now and for the rest of 2009 as the line experiences regular closures is the nagging question of whether the Jubilee work will be completed in time. From the start one of London Underground’s complaints has been the lack of transparency from the contractors [...] -
Al-Megrahi – what would the Tories have done?
Watching the debate in the Scottish Parliament today on the decision to release Adelbaset al-Megrahi I felt that the Scottish justice minister Kenny MacAskill gave a fair account of himself.
It is a pity that the arguments about al-Megrahi’s actual guilt now appear to have been dropped from the discussion of this affair, though it was a question that bubbled along during the Scottish parliament discussion today. It would be better for everyone involved if it were dealt with rather than [...]
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Ann Widdecombe is wrong when she calls climate change a theology
There are few things in politics more tedious than those climate change-sceptics who complain that a green agenda to tackle the effects of carbon emissions is some sort of deception or something that no one now even dare question. Ann Widdecombe’s Total Politics interview with Iain Dale is a case in point.
She tells Iain Dale:
“…there is a deep unease that we’re rushing in virtually to a theology: those who asked questions are ‘deniers’. The language is theological. We’re rushing in [...]
