Lynne Featherstone

Take scrutiny officers that have served the Transport Committee to pub for a thank you drink after the last meeting of the Transport Committee in the first term of London government. I felt rather sentimental after four years of absolute pleasure in my brief – and felt even more sentimental after a couple of gin and tonics.

Sadly, I had to go back to work to finish of the speech I had been writing for Thursday evening’s London Region Lib Dem Rally.

At the rally, Charles Kennedy, Simon Hughes, Sarah Ludford (MEP) and I are primed to rally our troops and kick off our London campaign.

So we did. Charles was in excellent form. Spoke for 20 minutes without notes, stirring stuff! And he seemed fit and well – which I was as relieved about as everyone else.

Simon gave us his vision for London (more of which will follow over the coming weeks of the election – and will be launched to the media on Monday), then Sarah and then me.

If I say so myself, it was one of my better speeches. I had an unashamed attack on my ex-best friend Mayor Livingstone. I will publish the speech on the web next week. But made the serious points through humour – and there are lots of not very funny things about Ken which after four years working with him I can see explain very well why he was treated like the devil incarnate by the Labour Party last time out.