Category archive for ‘Comment is Free’ 
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Boris’s transport policy breaks down
One minute it’s off, then it’s on, then … well, what exactly? Boris Johnson’s administration was rocked by the Evening Standard’s report – based on comments from the mayor’s own transport adviser – that Johnson may abandon his plan to axe the western extension of the congestion charge zone.
Rumours have been circulating for days that the mayor’s team was being forced to think the unthinkable: to abandon its policy of getting rid of the western extension.
Then the Standard’s Katharine Barney [...] -
The legacy of the londonpaper
So the London Paper is to close, ending Rupert Murdoch’s intervention in the London evening newspaper market, which, until the paper’s first edition hit the streets, was completely dominated by the Daily Mail group.
Broadsheet readers and news junkies will not mourn the passing of the one-edition-a-day London freesheet distributed at tube stations and on the streets. Its mix of news and lighter material always leaned towards the latter. But it was only able to launch in the first place because [...] -
Pandering to the fascists on housing
When Gordon Brown announced the government’s plans to change the law on the allocation of social housing yesterday he must have known that he would reopen the debate on race and waiting lists, an issue the fascist British National party has long sought to exploit. Indeed it is something that has been used by rightwing politicians in local politics for many years, as anyone who has heard the arguments for “sons and daughters” housing will know.
The difficulties people encounter in [...] -
The Standard Has Much To Be Sorry For
By Simon Fletcher 7.05.09
The Evening Standard is sorry. Sorry for being negative, complacent, predictable, for losing touch, and sorry for taking us all for granted. As advertising campaigns go it is certainly brave – unprecedented in British newspapers, in the words of Roy Greenslade. It’s also effective. When I saw the Evening Standard’s “Sorry for being negative” advertisement at a central London tube station at the weekend, before I’d seen Greenslade’s report and therefore without any expectations, I was completely [...] -
Dragging London backwards
Prince Charles is embroiled in an argument about architecture, again. This time he is calling on the owner of the Chelsea Barracks project, Qatari Diar, to drop the scheme based on modern designs by Lord Rogers. He has written to the prime minister of Qatar urging him to adopt a more retro scheme by one of his favourite architects, Quinlan Terry. It is reported that he believes the Rogers plans “unsympathetic” and “unsuitable” for the area.
These interventions by the prince [...] -
Cut and run
So now we know what Boris Johnson is scared of. Debate. As Hugh Muir’s Guardian diary reports, Boris Johnson vetoed Ken Livingstone’s participation on the BBC’s Any Questions this week. Livingstone was asked on Thursday if he would join the panel for the programme, which at that time lacked any Labour figure to balance Johnson’s appearance. Livingstone said yes. Johnson’s response was rapid. No way was he appearing with Ken Livingstone. So the latter was bumped.
Listeners may be taken aback [...] -
London must resist the far right threat
The recession poses a question for London. Does the capital respond by deepening links with the rest of the world – importantly with the dynamic economies of Asia – or does it turn inward, responding to the nationalistic diversions by making concessions to them? Only the former offers a way forward; but that means facing down the latter.
London’s position as one of the world’s great cities is built on its relationship with the international economy. The city would be unrecognisable [...] -
Labour won’t miss David Freud
It was only to be expected that the defection of David Freud, the government’s welfare adviser, to the Conservatives would be reported as a blow to Gordon Brown.
However I do not think I am the only one to feel less than overwhelmed about the defection of a welfare adviser whose stated position is that Britain should have more recessions.
The real problem is not Freud’s defection but Labour’s over-reliance on such figures in the first place. Private sector gurus and bankers [...] -
On the economy, voters are ahead of the game
On many issues of the British economy, voters are ahead of the politicians. The latest survey of public opinion shows that Labour can win the argument only if it addresses fears about who will be made to pay for the crisis, and if it takes measures that are equal to the scale of the problem.
The headline figure from Channel 4’s YouGov poll of Labour-Tory marginals on Wednesday night is voting intention, with 43% backing the Conservatives and 36% Labour.
However, the [...] -
Friends in high places
The Damian Green affair has deepened City Hall’s already dysfunctional attitude to Scotland Yard – and, worse, the mayor of London has used his office to pressurise a police investigation into a political ally.
Sir Paul Stephenson may well have felt it was best to start as acting commissioner by keeping Boris Johnson fully informed of a sensitive operational matter. Johnson responded to his call by seeking to warn the police off.
The move did not represent the “commonsense policing” sought by [...]