Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary

Much finishing off of business and tying up of loose ends. Decide Mayor must come and face music over proposal to raise Congestion Charge to £8.00 and arrange for New Year.

Hornsey Town Hall issue went to the Labour Exec on Tuesday night - and the proposal for a proto-trust leading to independent trust is passed - unfortunately with a developer-led slant. Hopefully we can at least push for the Hornsey Town Hall trust people to take part in this process as they have good ideas and energy and commitment.

As we run down to the 24th the RMT are threatening strikes (no change there) and as I run down Marylebone High Street trying to do my Christmas shopping on Thursday, BBC London phone for me to do a special on the 27th. No - say I - tickets for Mary Poppins bought almost a year ago prohibit. And so it's Christmas Eve and I am blogging off now until 4th January.

Wishing anyone who is looking in a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Settle down to write LibDem Christmas cards. Rather nice this year with a picture of Queens Wood in the snow taken by one of the Highgate councillors. It's difficult to get the balance right between personal touch and making sure everyone is included.

Then, meet up with three of my Lib Dem colleagues on Haringey Council (Neil Williams, Dave Winskill and Bob Hare) to talk to some of the key movers in the Hornsey Town Hall Trust.

They are cross with the recommendations of Haringey Council’s Advisory Panel. The key questions to me are how to we ensure that the community’s needs – not those of developers – are put first and how do we get all the local groups working together.

We are looking to see how we might be able to influence this process. I want to see if we can bridge the gap between the Hornsey Town Hall Trust / Crouch End for People and the other local groups.

One think I would want though from whoever runs the Trust is firm guarantees about the future of the building if everything goes wrong - it cannot be flogged off by anyone to get out of trouble.

Labels: bob hare, dave winskill, neil williams

Back into City Hall to catch up on correspondence etc. Sally Hamwee says that during Mayor’s Question Time (which I’d missed with my back trouble) she asked my question to the Mayor and said that it was his Christmas present that I was not there to irritate him. He rejoined with 'that depends what she's up to'!

Last meeting of the Met Police Authority before the break. Big issue of the day is the naming of the three new buildings that house the new call centre system - C3I. Suggestion that went to committee was to name them John Stevens, Paul Condon and Toby Harris. Whilst the first two - after commissioners - went through finance committee, the third stuck in everyone's throat. Toby Harris was the first chair of the MPA - but as he lost his seat at the election and does not garner universal respect and admiration and came back as an “independent” appointee of the Home Secretary - it's a no no.

So it came to full authority. An interesting bit is the equality impact statement on the paper which says the practise of naming buildings after policemen means that inevitably all buildings will be named after white men and so needs review. I say do it now. As everyone seems keen on Sir John, the argument is over the other two. Of course, women and ethnic minorities don't figure to date.

Cindy Butts suggests Nick Long for the Lambeth Building - but others don't feel it should be named after any MPA member. Cindy's devotion to Nick is admirable - but living idols can fall from grace. It could have been the Blunkett building - and then where would we be.

The Chair calls for suggestions to be decided later etc. Poor old Toby - not nice to find such universal agreement cross party and independents that it shouldn't be named after him.

Labels: mpa

Wednesday morning - swelling and inflammation down - the osteopath bangs joint back into place and pain finally disappears as if by magic.

At my surgery at Muswell Hill Library that evening, hear a heartrending history of a family about to be evicted seemingly as result of long unresolved issues with Haringey. With children involved - hope they don't have to resort to seeking a stable. Urgent action required

Then off to Wood Vale. Residents are setting up a residents' association and have invited two of Haringey's traffic officers (and me) to informal discussion about the knock-on from the Highgate Station CPZ and traffic calming. Constructive meeting - but as ever - not enough dead people in Wood Vale to fulfil criteria for traffic calming. Strangely enough they seem to find funds for Labour pet schemes regardless of traffic statistics - but the speed on Wood Vale (and Cranley Gardens for that matter) leaves them unmoved. They do, however, promise to draw better lines and signs etc.

Labels: controlled parking zones, muswell hill library

Dosed on painkillers, I am determined to keep the meeting with Labour Exec member Ray Dodds about the traffic calming in Dukes Avenue and the surrounding area. There has been a new event in that two of the other roads due for pinch points have suddenly risen up out of fear of losing parking spaces and a petition in one of them appears to have universal support for not having the measures.

Everyone wants what they want for their particular problem - which is making it very difficult to hang on to a cohesive scheme of any sort. I am now getting calls from other residents very angry about the petition who do still want the traffic calming. No-one ever said it would be easy!

Another big issue is about lorries. Currently Dukes Avenue residents say they are plagued with lorries coming down their roads and Dodds says there is no real evidence. Council agrees to look at having proper traffic counts done – so at least we can agree on the situation before arguing over what to do about it. Susan (Alexandra ward councillor) and I both feel that no lorries should be able to get along there.

Later see the osteopath who says my back is so bad they cannot manipulate the bone back into place. I have to cancel everything and go and lie down with ice on it until Wednesday morning. So - lie down covered in ice and write my Christmas cards.

Hornsey & Wood Green LibDem mince pies and mulled wine Christmas social. Had I not dislocated a joint in my lower back - it would have been a really nice social. I still went - and was glad that I had as there are so many new faces at our events now as people seem to sense future success and want to join in. Very enjoyable.

Plenary session of the London Assembly where we grill those stalwarts and London worthies responsible for our well-being in the aftermath of a catastrophic event in London.

London Resilience - the grouping tasked with our safety - is multi-headed and even after the session I am not totally convinced that we know who will lead in the event of an incident.

They say they are in control. They say anything that is not yet in place is on the way to being in place. We (LibDems) suggest that they produce a detailed instruction booklet as they have in New York. The New York one is great. It really makes you feel that you can prepare to the best of your ability and know what you need in your head, in your home and in your area. We should do the same. Happily, for once, the Assembly agrees and we pass a motion to produce one for London.

Latter off to St Martin's in the Fields for Transport for London's charity carol service for the transport world. An hour and a half of doing something I wanted to do. I normally don’t manage to get to any of the carol services I am invited to at this time of year due to pressure of work and my kids expecting Christmas on the 25th - no possibility of moving that deadline! But this year I am determined to get to one - and I do. It was not a wonder of the world, but it was nice to stop and have that experience in the run up to Christmas.

Labels: tfl

Email from Ed Davey's office cancelling a later meeting because he is ill. I panic, thinking we must have poisoned him last night and phone up his office; no - it's not food poisoning, just flu. Thank goodness!

Later in the day, the second public meeting on the new Highgate Control Centre for Tubelines. They have moved a fair distance on disguising the building from nearby residents with earth and have got some decent proposals for lighting and the gatehouse. But they have still not answered many questions posed by residents at the first meeting which they promised to do.

This naturally angers the residents - and so ask them to come back to a third public meeting to answer the questions.

Neil Williams (Leader of the Haringey Council LibDem Group) and I go to meet residents in Ringwood Avenue, Fortis Green, whose houses back on to the proposed development at 79 Creighton Avenue.

I feel pretty confident that this application will hit the dust as the vast part of the development is on Metropolitan Open Land - and I have in writing from Haringey's Chief Exec the view that the development is too large and the applicants have been told so.

We go and peer at the trees that have been devastated in the area. This needs proper investigation by Haringey Council – and prosecutions if necessary.

In the evening, host a fundraising dinner. Ed Davey MP is the celeb for the evening - and it was quite a lively one. Happily, I don't do the cooking or a) no one would come (or certainly not a second time) and b) Isabel does - and Isabel can really cook.

Several of the paying attendees were ex-Labour members who have moved across to the LibDems for a mixture of reasons. The overarching reason: more than the war, more than top-up fees etc is the loss of trust in Labour and Blair. I guess it is quite difficult when you have been involved in the Labour party (or any party for that matter) to switch allegiance to the point of campaigning for the new party. But that is the case now - and I often find that the individuals are pretty much natural Lib Dems in reality.

Labels: ed davey, neil williams

I visit Maxitech - a company that has moved into the Chocolate Factory in Haringey.

Maxitech basically take old computer equipment, repair and restore it and then sell it. They are a not-for-profit company and along the way they train unskilled and unemployed people and give a lot of computers to the elderly and childrens' care homes.

I am very impressed with them and their work and will see what happens to the old equipment at the GLA or Haringey. Although not a charity, they seem to be doing a lot of good - and not for profit.

Labels: chocolate factory

A day of interviewing applicants who have been shortlisted to become members of the London Transport Users Committee (LTUC) - who are accountable to the GLA. The quality of candidates is very high this time - and I am hopeful that when we make our decisions we will achieve a very capable body to represent London's Transport Users.

Later in the day Peter Hendy (Director of Surface Transport at Transport for London) came with entourage to see me in my office to brief me fully on what TfL are doing about fare dodgers.

They had been a bit put out by my recent exposure of just how many folk are nipping on our buses free of charge and seemingly, with just 1 in 700 being caught, pretty much total impunity.

Post briefing, I have some confidence that TfL are making strenuous efforts to deter the dishonest from taking free rides and that they do actually pursue to prosecution those who evade fares - particularly when persistent offenders.

I am reassured that the health and safety issues raised with me by a serving revenue protection inspector are being properly dealt with - and actually - when I think about it, there is no-one more keenly aware of the dangers faced by bus drivers and inspectors than Peter Hendy - who was practically born and raised on a bus!

I still think they have a job on their hands with the bendy buses and I will continue to monitor their efforts, because I get very cross when Ken breaks his pledges and puts up fares above inflation and hits the honest citizen when apparently doing relatively little about the dishonest fare dodger.

TfL say they are willing to look at the Lib Dem suggestion that the penalty be raised to GBP20 and then doubled and doubled if not paid. So we will see what the dodging rate is in a year's time … Meanwhile I will move my current attention to fare dodging to the tubes!

Then up to London's Living room for drinks with the Chair of the Assembly (Brian - I like regalia - Coleman) and Assembly Members and guests. It is such a beautiful venue - situated on top of City Hall with an almost 360 degrees view of London. Tower Bridge, which stands next to our building, the Tower of London, the Glass Gherkin and the lights of London are just a fabulous setting for any function.

Labels: brian coleman, peter hendy, tfl

I am hosting our local Lib Dem monthly political debate at my house this evening. It's called Pizza and Politics and basically we choose a subject, invite a speaker, order in pizza, add some wine and have a good old political ding-dong on the subject in question.

So much of local political activity is about raising funds, delivering leaflets and so on that you could find you never got to actually talk politics - so this provides an occasion for our members to remember why they joined in the first place.

Sadly - the speaker failed to turn up! So sitting in my living room with a disparate (and probably desperate) group of random individuals, I brightly suggest that we just have a debate amongst ourselves.

In the way of these things, it was somewhat uncomfortable at the start but ended up one of the best debates we have had. It was about ethnic minority issues and in our debates there are no holds barred.

It is an interesting time locally for the Liberal Democrats in Haringey. The make-up of our members, activists and voters has become much more ethnically diverse in the last few years. And nationally, ethnic communities are moving away from their traditional loyalty to the Labour party and are looking towards us for a new home.

It isn't just the war. It's a lot of things. And on the other side of the coin - the most important prerequisite for joining the Lib Dems is to share the values and beliefs of the Lib Dems - equality, community, fairness and justice.