Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary

Finish off as much of my work as possible - emails and paperwork. Signing off now until September. Have a good August. Blogged off until September!

I chair a meeting at Jacksons Lane Community Centre, Highgate on the furore around the solid wooden fence that is proposed to run along the Tube cutting by Highgate Tube station.

Although I'd previously persuaded London Underground to take part in two consultative meetings with people in the area, more information has come to light - particularly about the possible acoustic impact of the fence they are planning to put in. The proposed fence would deliver 5 decibels of improvement to those living in the dip behind the cutting but up to 1 decibel of worsening noise to those on the Archway Road. This meeting in particular gave a chance for Archway Road residents who either didn't attend or did not get invited to the first meeting to have their say.

The meeting put forward three alternative proposals to London Underground. The key issue is that we need a balance of the noise advantage from whatever fence is built - but one that ensures that the people in the dip end up no worse off than they were before the original fence was removed. Also, people on Archway Road want sight of the greenery - which would be lost with the proposed solid fence. A solid fence might also lock the pollution from the road into the road area. I hope London Underground will amend their plans to be as fair to everyone as possible.

Labels: jacksons lane community centre

Last meeting before the summer break of the Metropolitan Police Authority. Deputy Commissioner Blair comes up for a chat with me beforehand to thank me for understanding the 'agonising' decisions the police have to make to catch a rapist in South London by making black men between 25 and 40 'voluntarily' give a DNA sample. That will go on as an issue way beyond Operation Minstead - the issues around DNA databases and discrimination are going to get more frequent and more difficult in my view. How much information should the government or its agencies be able to force people to hand over, and what should be permissible to do with that information and by who?

There is a long debate at the meeting about the use of police cells to hold illegal immigrants. This causes huge problems as there are too few cells and if they are full of immigrants rather than criminals - there is nowhere for criminals to go.

The MPA (or rather Labour) have avoided coming to a decision so far on who should be their "link member" for Haringey. To recap - for the first four years, I had been exiled from Haringey because Labour (who chair the MPA) wanted to keep me out of Haringey in case it was to their political disadvantage for me to be on my home patch. All the other members are enabled to link with their home patch - partly for their convenience but also because of local knowledge. For the first term of office there was a valid reason why Nicky Gavron (who was the Enfield Haringey London Assembly member and lives in Haringey herself) had as good a claim to Haringey as I. But she's no longer the Enfield Haringey member, and her replacement doesn't live in Haringey.

But of course just because Labour insists on its own members having their own local patch, doesn't mean they won't try to impose different standards on other people! It's just this sort of silly pettiness that turns people off politics.

Labels: dna, mpa

A flurry of emails from Labour admirers indignant that I dared to voice concerns about Alexandra Palace (where Labour managed to run up bills of over £60 million in a series of bungled rebuilding escapades) in my blog last week.

Shame they don't show the same enthusiasm for answering questions or providing information about Ally Pally! (Haringey Council even previously tried to claim it was "illegal" to include information about the bills run up at Alexandra Palace in the information sent out with Council Tax bills. Only when I confronted the Chief Executive and asked him to quote the bit of law which made it illegal did he admit that after all information could be included).

Labels: alexandra palace

Will Haringey Council flog off Hornsey Town Hall and use the proceeds for their projects in the east of the borough? Or will the residents of Crouch End and Hornsey rise up and win the Town Hall for their dream facilities for a better community? The battle is on and I observed the latest meeting of Hornsey Town Hall advisory panel (set up under pressure by Haringey Council to advise on the future of the site) and thought you might like to know what was discussed.

We had a presentation from the ex-founding director of the charitable trust for Shoreditch Town Hall. A trust has been suggested by many people (including both Crouch End for People and the Liberal Democrat councillors on Haringey Council) as the best way forward for the site, so it was interesting to hear how a trust has operated in a similar situation elsewhere. The Shoreditch trust was founded after Hackney Council commissioned a report (with extensive community consultation) which recommended the creation of an arms-length, stand-alone trust for the site. So the trust was born and the site was handed over in stages - first for a 3-year lease, with an option for a further 99-years if the trust got going successfully. Importantly the lease was "non-assignable" - which meant the site couldn't be passed on to anyone else (i.e. the site couldn't fall into commercial hands), and if the trust failed it reverted to the council.

The possible parallels with Haringey are quite striking (yes, the Shoreditch site even had a car park! It is a 39,000 square foot listed building with two large halls). To give the trust a chance to get going, Hackney Council gave it money for the first three years equal to what it would have otherwise spent on the site - though the trust had to become self-sustaining in the long run. To help do this, some of the site was sold off, which generated the money to restore the rest of it. The opening is due in December.

Interestingly, the opening is in stages. There will be lots of community facilities for arts, performance etc. They have been innovative with the commercial ventures of hiring the hall for weddings, tea dances, artists in residence and local events. A lot of effort has been spent ensuring engagement with the local community so that everyone feels they have a stake. Staging the development of the site and their aspirations has let them grow with the project. One key point made was that the skills needs of Board of Trustees was paramount - and they actually conducted a skills audit and hired a recruitment agency in order to ensure they had what they needed on the board.

The general idea of a trust for the Hornsey Town Hall site was strongly supported at the meeting. There was a report tabled by commercial consultants, which outlined possible options for the site - basically assigning ball-park costs to ideas which had been discussed at earlier meetings of the panel. The range included a theatre, mini-plex cinema, piazza, bar restaurant, citizens' advice, office space, health centre, skate board park, car park, residential use - in all or any combinations thereof. Clearly one of the main issues to address will be whether to sell off (or otherwise use commercially) parts of the site to help generate money for developing the rest of it for the community.

Personally, in an ideal world I would rather see the site developed without having to do this - but realistically I am sceptical that the money will be available to make the best use of the site for the community unless some money is raised from commercial sources. One possibility might be to generate rental income from some of the old council office space, which my colleague Dave Winskill (Crouch End councillor) has been pressing to get properly examined. The figures on this will need to be examined closely! And any money raised must go back into the site rather than being siphoned off by Haringey Council for elsewhere.

Discussion around the car park centred on ensuring that some parking was available to support the site, for disabled parking and for servicing the projects. There was also a call to ensure that transport policies should begin to be focused upon ideas such as - if you bought a theatre ticket the ticket would also enable you to take the bus to the site. Transport capacity on local buses serving the site would need increasing.

Labels: dave winskill

After a day at the races - where I lost every race - I am collected by the Beeb for a late night interview on the DNA issue I have been pursuing. Difficult issue - but when I get into the studio the presenter tells me and the audience that the Met have refused to put someone up for interview but have sent a statement to be read out.

In the statement they say that they are conducting this voluntary scheme asking black men between the ages of 25 and 40 to come forward to give a DNA sample to be eliminated from the police investigation into a series of rapes in South London. Towards the end of the statement they refer to only having to have arrested three people. That is my point - how voluntary is it if you refuse and are arrested because you refuse?

Labels: dna

Radio interview on Ken raising the congestion charge penalty notice to £50 first notice, then £100 then £150 on the basis that a higher charge will deter people from evading the fine. Load of old b******s if you ask me - Ken is after the revenue. If people don't pay at £40 - they aren't going to pay at £50.

165,000 people get penalty notices every month. They are not all trying to dodge the fine - the system is still not customer friendly. I am currently lobbying Ken to allow payment of the original charge up until midnight the following day. He argues that more people will forget if they have an extra day to pay and therefore he will collect more money. I am arguing that even if they do forget the next day and end up paying a fine - at least they will feel they had a fair chance and that it is their fault they forgot. The battle continues...

Meet Diane Dodd, the new Met Police volunteer recruitment officer who is now stationed in Muswell Hill police station tasked with getting the front counter opened.  Having campaigned against its closure as soon as it was closed alongside local residents - I am thrilled to bits that we  are about to have our wishes realised. I handed over a further fifteen names of local people who have contacted her about becoming a police volunteer. Diane will be contacting them in the next few days. 

I had a little tour of the new facilities, the new front counter and office. It's no palace - but I am convinced the integration of public and police through volunteering is a good thing.

The first wave of nineteen volunteers are well on their way to opening day. Diane Dodd is just completing the vetting and if all is well, the front counter will open on or around August 3rd. She is keen for the volunteers to get their feet under the table quietly for a few weeks before the official opening later in the year. Sir John Stevens, the Met Police Commissioner - who has backed this campaign and asked to open the front counter with me - will do so in September at an official opening. Hurrah!

Labels: muswell hill police station

Meet the Chair of Haringey Primary Health Trust with local councillor colleague Ron Aitken. We want to present the case for a day hospital for mental health patients in the borough. Labour have just closed the two we had and we are not convinced that the 'package' of care meets the real needs of the patients.

Quick TV interview with Fox News - a right-wing American TV operation who want to talk to me about my pronouncements on 4 x 4s. Of course, you can't really compare London's narrow streets with the wide open plains of the USA - but I have no doubt they will edit to suit.

Transport Committee - the first of the new term of London governance and I have Crossrail coming in to answer our questions. Timing is good, as this week has been the Government's more detailed announcements on their spending plans - and it is crystal clear that while they have announced they are going to proceed with a hybrid bill for Crossrail - there ain't no money! Oh why hasn't this government ever got the guts to make a real decision to allow the dynamic of London to flourish?

Anyway, back to Transport Committee. The two main pieces of evidence arising from the session was that almost certainly fares (probably across all types of transport) will have to rise or council precept go up as there is at least a two billion pound funding gap, even if the government and business stomp up the rest. The second funding gap filler will be the axing of the Richmond spur of Crossrail - saving another billion.

After the meeting I ask the Assembly Press Desk and the senior scrutiny officer what the story for the press was from the meeting. It is sometimes difficult during a long session when you are chairing to pick up the key issues - plus it is good protocol to allow the neutral officers to pick the appropriate angle for the press.  The two issues I raised above were the ones highlighted by the officers and they prepare a press release that I clear later in the day.  The next day the Assembly Press desk telephone me to say that Labour have issued a press release slagging me off and the press release issued by me as the Chair from yesterday's meeting.  Labour have complained after virtually every meeting that the release is politically biased. What they mean is that any criticism of the government or the mayor may not be allowed. Happily for me, as I do not suggest the content for the press release, it cannot be accused of political bias as it came from the officers. I expect they will be absolutely furious and it may actually be a matter for the Standards Board. We will see.

Dinner for sixteen hosted by Tubelines. Baking hot room on baking hot night - thank God for being a woman and not having to wear a jacket to these things. It's the only time I feel sorry for men. Thankfully the Chair of Tubelines, shortly after we sat down, asked for gentlemen to agree to remove their jackets. They all did with relief.  Professor David Begg, who is Labour's Commissioner of Transport and an expert in all matters to do with all forms of transportation is the guest of honour. Myself, John Biggs (Labour) and Mark Field (Tory MP) are the politicians. Then there was Roger Blitz from the Financial Times and Andrew Winstanley from the BBC.  The rest were all high up execs from Tubelines.  After the second course, David B held forth - but as it was Chatham House rules I cannot tell you what was discussed that night.  Following on I lobbed in my first contribution and then a lively debate/discussion ensued. 

Audit Comission Peer Assessment. This is the Audit Commission questioning the three party leaders (I deputise for Graham Tope) as to how we think the London Assembly is doing.  As well as can be expected was the general thrust - given the limits on the Assembly's powers. Our only real power is to stop the Mayor's budget.  What we do have is influence and a platform from which we can turn a spotlight on issues of importance to London.  I think the Assembly has done lots of really good scrutiny work - but how much the public is aware of it all is questionnable.  The media tend to be interested in rows, things going wrong or the Mayor - they show little real interest in the substance of our work.

First plenary session of the London Assembly. The final committees are put in place with their new chairs. Meeting closes in record time.

It is the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) awayday - all day at some anonymous hotel in London.

For the first four years, I had been exiled from Haringey to Islington as their MPA link member  because Labour (who chair the MPA) wanted to keep me out of Haringey in case it was to my political advantage to be on my home patch.  All the other members are enabled to link with their home patch - partly for their convenience but also because of local knowledge.  However, I had been kept out. For the first term of office there was a valid reason why Nicky Gavron (who was the Enfield Haringey London Assembly member and lives in Haringey herself) had as good a claim to Haringey as I.

However, after this June's elections, the Enfield Haringey member is now someone who lives in Enfield - so there's no decent reason (other than politics!) why I shouldn't be the Haringey link member. Politics like this are not acceptable on a police authority in my view - we will see what happens next week - when the decision is taken.

Labels: mpa

Hi jinks at a full meeting of Haringey Council. The tenants associations have turned out in force to object to Labour not having a ballot on the housing options for the future.  According to the barracking from the gallery, they applied to be allowed to speak six weeks earlier, but Haringey Council did not let them - trying to force them to attend a meeting of the Council Executive (which is a committee made up of just Labour councillors) rather than the full council meeting.

They weren't having this and shouted out their rage with Haringey (well understood by most of us Lib Dems) and the Mayor suspended the meeting. I suggested that we should suspend standing orders to allow them to speak for three minutes (which would have taken a lot less than the half hour plus disruption we ended up with) - but this was ignored. Indeed, the Labour Mayor just ignored Cllr Ron Aitken (the Lib Dem chief whip) who had his hand waving in the air forever.

There was also a deputation from parents whose children have been left without school places for the autumn due to Labour's inability to plan or provide adequate local places. This is not just about the usual few who do not get into any of the local schools - we are talking about 80 or so children. They were worried that the suspension of the council meeting would mean that they don't get to speak.

Eventually, the police come and remove the poor old council tenants who have been silenced by the usual abuse of power by the Labour administration. Nothing new there!  The parents then got to make their deputation, presenting powerful arguments as to the need for local children to have places at local schools. We (LibDems) tabled a motion for that evening calling for the extra places to be provided for this 'bulge' year and a proper ten year plan. The plan should be based on the birth statistics, population movements in and out the key areas and the planned housing expansion in the borough.

It is usual to move such a motion which is related to a deputation to be taken directly after that deputation - as a matter of courtesy to those who came on the deputation if nothing else.  But Labour refused. The parents were absolutely furious and Labour do themselves no favours by frustrating democracy at every turn.

See Spiderman 2 - now that's the sort of mode of transport that is environmentally friendly and quick and doesn't need any extra road space.  Wonder if it will catch on.

Driving (yes driving) back from the hairdressers I am listening to LBC where David Priva and his co-host are discussing the trials and tribulations of the poor, down-trodden driver in London.  They are going on and on about parking and how dreadful it is and how horrible wardens are etc and then start talking about what is done with the money raised. They say they wish someone who knows would ring in. So I do.

I want to tell them about the Parking Scrutiny that I hope to be holding in the Transport Committee in the Autumn. I want to have a look at Parking in London. I think we need to be fair when we so restrict peoples' freedoms - and I think a line may have been crossed where good and honest people are feeling got at and unfairly penalised. Not only that, I want to have a look at the jungle of different signs and systems and the incentivisation of contracts to wardens etc. We have a jolly good thrash around the issue and gives me an opportunity to bang the Assembly's drum - as we do do good work and investigate issues that matter to London - but it's that pesky Mayor who gets all the coverage.

Much beeping in my road. As I go out around 9.30 I discover men towing all the cars away (I'm not affected) because they are resurfacing the whole road. So miracles do happen! However, as I hadn't been notified and had been fighting for the next road along to be resurfaced - I was a little concerned that Haringey Council might just be in the wrong road. Shame on me for such wicked thoughts. As it turned out, as I spoke to the Chief Exec, they had found a bit more in the budget to do a bit extra and my road was included. It looks so beautiful with its nice, dark grey, smooth and pure tarmac - unpitted and unmarked. What's the betting that a rotten utility company will come next week and dig it up?

Watch the by-election coverage. Fantastic result for the LibDems. If we get that swing in Hornsey & Wood Green- we'll have about a 15,000 majority. Hurrah! That is the plan.

Mayor's Question Time. Ken launches into the Professor's visit as part of his verbal update to the Assembly. He speaks very well and totally refutes (and I believed him) the allegations that have been made as to what the Professor did or did not say in terms of incitement to hatred.  Ken then goes into the sad reality that we are probably, in fact almost certainly, going to get more tube strikes in the coming weeks.  I have a go at him to get down and get involved as he has such influence with the unions. He refuses. I ask him if, as he says, this is the best deal ever on the table, whether he thinks it would be a good idea to put a camera in on the negotiations so that we Londoners can see who is lying.  He's a clever bugger - 'cos he immediately turns it back on me as Chair of Transport and suggests I invite all of them in for an argy bargy in my committee. I would love to - but bet they wouldn't come. I can only invite outsiders like the unions - unlike the GLA family who I can actually summons. Still - I'm still thinking about it..........

Ken and I have a little rumba over the 4 x 4 charging issue. Ken is keen to jump on my bandwagon - but warns that the legalities will be very difficult. We'll see.
 
We get to the motion at the end. There have been fevered attempts by the Tories, Greens and UKIP to get an all party motion instead of the one they have tabled as they have managed to realise that they have knee-jerked to the tabloids tune. However, they can never manage to agree amongst themselves - and so the LibDem amendment gets put and passed and the Green motion falls even with Tory support.  Two gentlemen from the Muslim Council are in the audience and we have a brief chat afterwards when I sweetly point out that I was right to resist
their pressures.

Labels: ken livingstone

I find that my 10.00 am meeting has been cancelled and so instead of going to City Hall, I carry straight on to Leicester to help in the by-election.

I am sat stuffing envelopes in an upstairs area near to our by-election guru's office, Chris Rennard. As he spies me he asks if I will speak to a Muslim caller from the Muslim Council of Great Britain who is concerned about a motion going to the GLA the next day. I also have to speak to another representative of that organisation following a message from my office.  The hoo-ha is over a motion put by the Greens condemning the Mayor for receiving the Prof Al-Qaradawi at City Hall etc.  We (LibDems) have put down an amendment to the motion to basically say that The Assembly should be a forum for robust debate and we condemn all acts of violence, including suicide bombing, homophobia, Islamaphobia and domestic violence. The Muslim Council want us to withdraw our amendment and simply vote against the motion. They phone a number of times during the day and apply pressure. Totally resisted by myself. I am sure that our amendment is true to ourselves - and stick to my guns. See MQT for what happened next.

Finish stuffing envelopes around 4pm and wend way back to London on Midland Mainline - pretty punctual and pleasant I thought.

Hornsey Housing forum - it's the options again. The Government is insisting that councils consult their tenants over options for managing council properties. There are ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations), a couple of others and the status quo. If you ask me - it's all a way of shifting cost and risk.  As for trying to get vast swathes of local residents to understand the variety of options - a massive task.  Haringey Council were putting on road shows for each estate, but were exposed in an email as suggesting that no one be notified much in advance of these exhibitions to avoid many people coming. You have to laugh - not!

LibDem Group Meeting. Huge agenda. Not a pig's chance of getting through it before I have to dash off to do an interview with Carlton on my 4 x 4 issue. Now they really like a soundbite. As soon as I had said something like 'if you choose to drive a fashion statement you must expect to pay to rectify the damage it does to humans and to the environment'  Simon Harris was off like a shot. In the can.

Straight into long TV interview with a digital TV station for black and ethnic issues. They are interviewing me as Vice-Chair of the Stop and Search Scrutiny.

It is quite funny in that they are obviously operating on a shoestring and the camera man has to hold a hand-written intro next to the camera for the presenter to read - no money for autocue.

That doesn't take away from the content. I thought it was fantastic to have a forty minute session with questions and answers that allowed some depth on the issue. It drives me potty to have to speak in continual soundbites for some news programs. This was a real opportunity to present the whole gamut and complex nature of Stop and Search and the issues the Met and the Communities face in its usage. I've described the scrutiny itself before in my blog - so won't repeat it here - you can get it on the MPA website if you are interested.

Labels: mpa

Richard Bourne of Transport 2000 came into see me and have a chat about my intentions with the Committee for the next year and to brief me on Transport 2000's take on this. Obviously, Richard is very keen on the so called 'soft measures' which include cycling and walking. I do my best on these (I am very keen on individualised travel plans myself) but flag up to him what I believe to be the real reason that cycling and walking are not getting their fair share of the booty - no one at Transport for London (in a really high-up position) champions those modes. They don't really care about them. The right words are in the Mayor's transport strategy but the budgets and the speed of progress show the true situation - bottom of the list. The TfL boys only really like the boys toys.........

Labels: tfl

A rare excursion for me as I accepted an invite to a celebration of the opening of the Glass Gherkin - that huge glass, cigar shaped tower not far from City Hall. I rarely go to 'dos' as I have so many meetings but I am such a huge fan of modern architecture that I cannot resist this opportunity.

What a fabulous view and building. From the top floor which is made for entertaining with a 360 degree view of London you can see our little City Hall.

Announcement of the Government's Spending Review preoccupies us all afternoon trying to see what is what. What is what - is that we don't know how the money delineated will be controlled and on transport will have to wait for Alistair Darling's further briefings. What is clear is that Crossrail is missing!!!!!!!

Agree our News Release for the Evening Standard of our policies to make Congestion Charging better. The headline is our proposal to double the CC charge for 4 x 4s. The point being that figures have just come out on safety etc which put these vehicles in a very poor light. If you are hit by a 4 x 4 you are twice as likely to be killed as by another car. Of course, they also guzzle fuel, hog road space - and quite frankly - look pretty silly for the school run.  However, they are hugely popular with 1 in 7 cars being bought being a 4 x 4 and London buying more than anywhere else in the UK. In Paris they have voted to ban them in the centre. I don't much believe in banning things - but our proposal is a move to get the Congestion Charging on its way to differentiating between 'good' cars and 'bad' cars in environmental, safety and health terms.

First meeting of the Performance Committee of the Metropolitan Police Authority on which I have sat for four years and am continuing in this new term of office. Very poor show by the Met as the agenda is huge and there is no one from the Met to speak to most of the papers. Considering the number of people attending and the effort that goes into all of this - no point if the relevant officer leads to each paper are not available.

Pop into Cllr Susie Oatway to see the new baby. He's gorgeous - and this is our first LibDem baby in Haringey. Susie and Mike met through the LibDems - so we are all thrilled. Susie is councillor in Alexandra Ward and also Chair of the local party and leading on the Dukes Avenue Traffic Consultation - as all of these came to the boil virtually at the same time as the GLA/Euro elections and the forecast arrival of baby Alex - we all think she did marvellously to avoid having the baby until after the election!

Meet Mick Murphy of Network Rail - who is my Network Rail hero. For about two years now in my mission to get Harringay, Hornsey, Bowes Park and Alexandra Park stations cleaned up, re-fenced, dumping removed, bins provided and so on - Mick has been the man who has helped me get it done.

We toured, for the third time in the last year, the four stations and real improvements have now been delivered. There are still 'issues' - like Haringey Council appear not to be emptying the bins that I got put in - and Network Rail need a regular contracted litter pick at all stations - but it's all in the right direction. Hurrah!

Annual General Meeting of the new term of the Metropolitan Police Authority at which we (the members) vote for the Chair, Deputies and Chairs of committees etc.

Since the previous Chair, Labour Assembly Member Toby Harris, failed to get re-elected, Labour have been running around trying to ensure a Labour succession to the chairmanship. As at least half the so called 'independents' on the MPA are Labour hacks of one sort or another - Len Duvall is duly enthroned. For what it is worth, he has my support anyway. I think he's probably the only Labour member who could do the job - and none of the other contenders could have garnered enough support.

Of course, the other member of note, was the new Home Secretary's Independent appointment to the MPA - none other than - yes you have guessed it - that well-known, independent Toby Harris! So independent of political affiliation - not!

Anyway - rather than bore you with the rest of the nominations and positions etc, I'll move onto the Commissioner getting a bit rattled by the discussion on Stop and Search. Having just had the explosion in the media over the rise of stops on the Asian Community under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act - he was keen to put into the arena completely different statistics.

I make my comments - and I guess we left it that we agree to disagree. I still don't think the Met fully realise or acknowledge the extent of racial bias we found in the Stop and Search scrutiny - and I think it must be because it is subliminal - almost unintentional.

Deputy Commissioner Blair came over for a chat and to ask if I had received his letter to me in reply to my letter over the DNA testing of black men in South London to find a serial rapist who has for many years committed these crimes against elderly ladies. It is an horrific crime and the police are desperate to get their man.

However, I am of the view that this 'voluntary' process inviting the 1000 or so members of the community who fit the racial DNA picture to come give their DNA has some real issues around intimidation. Sir Ian Blair argues in his letter that basically the end justifies the means - and even I can see how hard it must be to know you can get him - and then not be able to do the tests. In his letter, Sir Ian says that out of '125 initial refusals, only need to use powers of arrest in five cases'.

I have written back to ask whether they were arrested because they refused to give DNA samples or arrested on another charge and whilst under arrest DNA was then taken. There are some very difficult issues around this taking of DNA from anyone brought to a police station whether charged or not - a result of recent changes to legislation which I believe will discriminate against ethnic communities and also begin a slippery slide to loss of civil liberties.

It is easy, when a crime is this horrific, to say it is so important that just this time we will employ effectively mandatory testing. But once protections of our rights are gone for one reason - it is so easy for them to be eroded.

I feel that the police are cross with me for pursuing this and I have had one email from an old lady in South London cross with me for questionning these tactics. But I do feel the need to follow this through.

And if it is mandatory testing - then let us have the cajones to state it outright, change legislation - but let us not have the hypocrisy of pretending there is anything voluntary about this process. And if the Government really wants a DNA database of the whole country - then let them stand on that platform and propose it publicly and have the battle. The legislation they have passed simply lets it in through the back door - and is the sort of legislation that in practice I believe will lead to the communities suffering further bias.

Labels: crime, dna, ian blair, mpa

Lib Dem Council Group meeting where we decide on motions, questions and discuss other business. Big discussion on Alexandra Palace - when isn't there? We are deeply concerned about some of the things going on - but whenever we raise questions in council or by letter - they are simply ignored and go unanswered. The lack of democracy and transparency around the Palace is of great concern. During the election Ken said he would look at any proposals for him to take it over. Bet if he sees the books he'll retract that offer!

Labels: alexandra palace

My cultural excursion continues this morning as I go to the house of a local woman who received an honour in the New Years list. I wrote to her to congratulate her and she invited me to learn more of what she does.

It was a really heartwarming story of success. She leads on a current pilot which is delivering in the seven pilot areas the opportunity to learn an instrument to every child in the school undertaking the pilots. It's a long, complicated story - but suffice to say that children who would not have a flying whatsit at an instrument are now getting that chance. And I believe this is a wonderful project and that exposure in whatever way to such learning be it classical violin or African drums - will change that child's horizons.

Meeting of the Advisory Panel on the future of Hornsey Town Hall. Very interesting speakers on how we might get a commercial operator interested in building a cinema on the site - but also how the existing but dilapidated theatre halls if resurrected could not be dual purpose. Apparently the acoustics for a concert hall / theatre are just totally different to a cinema. Lots of other good ideas from all the contributors to the panel.
Next meeting is the nitty gritty - funding!!!!!!!!!!

Chairs planning meeting - in which I plan the work program for the Transport Committee with the scrutiny officers, press office and committee staff. Still cranking up after the elections, but the first meeting of the committee scheduled for 22nd July will be Crossrail! This will be my third attempt to get the high ups to attend transport committee to give evidence. With the Government shilly shallying and trying to avoid not only funding Crossrail, but making any sort of move on Crossrail - and the Montague Report still unpublished - I have decided to press on. Public scrutiny will take place this time - or else!

Meet Tim O'Toole for lunch. Tim is the hapless American who is over here trying to run London Underground. How a decent, intelligent Southern Gent arrived in the vipers nest of LU is a miracle to me. Lord knows he is caught between the rock of Ken and the Labour Government's PPP and the hard place of British industrial relations.

I think Tim is a good thing. I think he thinks he can improve the tube - even within the PPP after about 5 years and that he is determined to make the tube accessible. How far he can succeed with our unions or how well he can halt the exacerbation of the failure rate of the tube assets is a toughie. I wish him well. Seems like a man who likes a challenge.

Labels: tim o'toole

These blogs and websites have lives of their own. Since coming runner-up in this years Guardian Political Blog of the Year a number of research projects seem to have sprung up on the use of e-campaigning and blogging. Today is an interview for some erudite and academic study of the genre. The girl interviewing me is really nice - so in turn I was nice too!

I also learned that my website has been short-listed for the New Statesman website whatever - so the genre marches on.

A day of media training. The training is by a top company for the new members of the London Assembly, but I have been offered a place that is going spare. I am trying to work out whether I have been offered it because I am Chair of Transport and therefore do quite a lot of media - or I am just so bad they think I need all the help I can get.

TV, particularly live TV is fairly tough and you never do it often enough for it to become second nature or to relax - so I am grateful for the extra help.

I usually think of the most brilliant come back - but sadly only sometime after I have done the interview and left the studio. Perhaps I could do a book - brilliant soundbites I never delivered.

Anyway - the training was for print, radio and various TV situations. All good stuff. What I did realise, as they made you watch the videos they take of the TV interviews with feedback, is that after the first term of office I have improved more than I thought. However, it was quite clear that I needed a haircut, to dress more smartly and to keep my answers short.

Have invited local neighbours in to discuss a planning application next to me in our road. It will be a nail in the coffin of the lovely Grove atmosphere of the road - but I doubt whether we will prevail. Everyone is against it - although the proposal is better than we might get from a commercial developer as it is supposedly by a local man wanting a small house for his daughter. Doubt is expressed by some of my neighbours who know this chap about the veracity of this being the case. Others say it may well be. We will do what we can. For me - if it were built as described and never expanded - it might be better the devil we know. But you can't get guarantees - and Haringey don't have a stunning reputation for enforcement or supervision - let alone protecting areas in Highgate. For me personally it will be horrible and invade my privacy with windows looking into my living spaces.

Heaven knows I have helped residents across the whole borough fight inappropriate planning applications - but it is very difficult for me. If it goes to committee - as it is a Labour controlled committee and despite it being required to act as a quasi judicial body - the sight of me would probably be enough to ensure they simply voted it through. The temptation would almost certainly be too strong for them to resist.

We will see.

Address huge rally on Haven Green in Ealing 'Against the West London tram'. Ken's proposal for this tram will cost £648 million and will displace 27,000 cars into local residential roads as they close off various bits of the Uxbridge Road. Trams are great - but this is the wrong place to force this through.

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