Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary

Race Equalities meeting at Haringey Council. This is the first meeting of this body since I was appointed to it - despite being ten months through the year. I made enquiries some months ago as to why there were no meetings for so long - and was told nothing formally as usual.

Informally - I was given to understand that there hadn't been meetings as Labour wanted to avoid them. Anyway, at the meeting the Labour Executive Member for Regeneration was unable to be there. So the Chair simply said to the attendees (representatives of Haringey's many communities) that they should send in questions which would be answered.

One of the representatives objected saying that as this was the only place they ever got such a line-up of Council Executive members to discuss these issues in public, it was outrageous that no-one - not Labour member nor officer - was at hand to answer questions, particularly as there had not been a meeting for about 10 months.

Hear! Hear! My point exactly. So I raised it - thus bringing down the wrath of Labour members and Chair who said that as the community reps had meetings with them privately if they needed to I should basically mind my own business! Perish the thought of having some openness and democratic accountability! Roll on 2006 I say. (Next local elections).

An email comes in from a witness who has asked the scrutiny officers at the Assembly to fund his on-line parking enforcement survey. Apparently they refused - which is right - we are not funders. However, he has set up this survey anyway - so I hope that people will log on and fill it in.

The Parking Scrutiny has got the biggest response ever to any scrutiny of the Assembly and it would indeed be very helpful to have people complete this survey and for it to be submitted as evidence to my committee. The survey is at www.benchpoint.com/parking

After an entire day on budget - rush off to a drinks reception at New Scotland Yard to celebrate and mark Sir John Stevens' retirement.

As I wander around Ken spots me and grabs me and says 'all day and you couldn't come up with a figure'. You have to hold your nose as you say those words to replicate his nasal tone accurately. We are having a good-humoured battle of words when David Blunkett come up. Ken introduces me and we shake hands. Blunkett comments on how warm my hands are and Ken makes I suppose what was meant to be a funny remark something about being careful about women with warm hands - can't remember exactly - but I was acutely embarrassed.

Ken mentions my plans to stand for Parliament. Blunkett says that if we take the council and I have a chance to be leader of the council as he was in Sheffield, that would be even better than going to Parliament. Well - Neil Williams is our leader of the Lib Dem council group and in 2006 if we take the council as we intend, he will be a great leader.

Blunkett then says that he cannot wish me luck in the election (for obvious reasons) but wishes me well personally. Then he and his dog move off.

I was so aware of everything that has happened to him in recent months - how could I not be? Many times I wished him to leave office - but never for the reasons he had to in the end. I believe we are edging towards an illiberal and authoritarian state - much of it driven by him - but in his personal life I am sympathetic.

Labels: david blunkett, neil williams

It's the first of our budget debates today at the GLA. The process is: Ken presents his budget, we ask him lots of questions, then each of the five parties can put forward an amendment to the Mayor's budget. Then they are voted down as each party usually only supports their own amendment.

Then the parties see if they can get a two-thirds majority and agree on a form of words to amend the budget. Then that is debated and voted on. And thus it was. Except Labour didn't put forward an amendment because the Mayor is now back in the fold and they’re keener on supporting him than (the proper GLA role of) scrutinising his plans.

All the parties supported the Metropolitan Police budget in full. Everyone clearly recognises that we need to roll out Safer Neighbourhoods and get police on the beat, ring-fenced in every neighbourhood. This year a further five areas per borough will be delivered.

However the Mayor’s demand for more cash for transport doesn’t stand up in the detail.

We break for lunch - during which Ken corners me to ask why on earth I want to go to Parliament because it’s so awful and I am having a good time at the Assembly. I understand what he is getting at (he didn't have a very good time there I know) but I explain that taking a Labour borough like Haringey and bringing Liberal Democracy there is a worthwhile challenge - and that Parliament will open up a whole new set of challenges. Ken is - whatever our differences - still a proper human being. And that side of him I can relate to.

As predicted - all the amendments fall and then Lib Dems, UKIP, Tories and Greens hash out a joint amendment which calls for a lowering of the precept (the bit the Mayor takes from our Council Tax bills) but also manages to put more money into road safety and environmental issues. This may not sound like much - but it is passed by the critical two-thirds majority and makes history as this is the first time the Assembly has used its power to thwart the Mayor's cash grab.

The process will continue - and the Mayor now has to come back to the Assembly on 14th February with a rearranged budget. If our two-thirds majority holds (and I have no doubt that the Mayor will be desperately trying to buy the Greens off with bribes) then the Mayor will be forced to lower the precept.

Of course, Ken being Ken is furious, and immediately launches into the media (aka Evening Standard) to declare that if he doesn't get exactly the precept he wants he will have to raise tube fares.

Nonsense! We will simply be removing padding from the transport budget. What the Mayor really means is that his costs on the tube are escalating because negotiations with the tube unions have delivered everything the unions want but at a cost - which he now has to find money for. Any rise in tube fares will be about his failure to negotiate a balanced deal.

I go into the London Assembly chamber for our Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, organised and staged by the Chair of the Assembly, Brian Coleman.

A gay male voice choir opened the ceremony with a beautiful haunting song. Then Brian said a few, very well chosen words. But then we heard from Trudi, a Holocaust survivor. Her story moved me to tears. She told of her inhumane experiences on the Death March and then her experience when she finally came to England. A policeman went up to her on arrival to ask where she was going and she told him. He then advised her how to get there, where to get a taxi and to negotiate with the driver for a pre-fixed price as he didn't want her to pay over the odds. She said it was the first time in her life that someone in uniform meant her no harm - and even was trying to help her.

She was followed by a rabbi, with some very moving words, and then a beautiful song in Hebrew. There is something very haunting about this music.

We then heard from the Rwandan Ambassador. In a very quiet and thoughtful way she extended our thinking to other genocides - and finally a poem from Ken. Ken was in tears too. We then lined up to sign the book of commitment.

That's why it is so important to remember. That's why children need educating as to man’s inhumanity to man. That's why we need the annual commemoration of the Holocaust to remain a memory of the worst we know in 'civilised' society.

I have never been under any illusion that civilisation as we know it here is still only skin deep. It only takes a mix of poverty and a political move to use immigrants as the scapegoat for the horrors to rise again. I still believe though, in this country, there are enough right-minded people to stop it happening - but I was underwhelmed by Michael Howard's use of words like 'millions who want to come here' in the Tories’ desperate attempts to win favour. Yes - we have to have a working system and stem illegal immigration - but when the Tories use those sorts of words I know who they are calling to.

Labels: brian coleman, holocaust memorial day

I am invited to address the AGM of the London Transport Users Committee together with Bob Kiley.

That morning a piece had appeared in The Times saying that Kiley, fully supported by Mayor Ken, wants to extend congestion charging to hotspots right across London. The charge would be electronically managed by 'tag and beacon' so that the driver with a tag in their car would automatically be debited as the car passed a beacon. What's more the article also states that they are thinking of this for the congested North and South Circulars.

Now, the Liberal Democrats have been advocating for some time that instead of the westward extension to the central congestion charging zone, the Mayor needs to target congestion - much of which exists outside the central area.

When the GLA’s Transport Committee (which I chair) did some polling in six boroughs outside of the centre, including Haringey, we found that peoples' tolerance to a charge went up in direct correlation to their experience of congestion on their particular daily journeys. Congestion in their view wasn’t about large areas but about particular roads or town centres at particular times of the day. So - our recommendations were that any extension of the charge should be by electronic technology and target such hot spots and times.

So - given the opportunity to challenge Bob - I did so - not only on the veracity of the report, but also to make clear that any suggestion of effectively tolling the North Circular was ludicrous and would send vehicles rat-running through residential roads like there was no tomorrow. Muswell Hill and Bounds Green are deluged with rat-running as it is.

Bob was backtracking fast and saying he was just raising the debate. I said that was a good thing to be doing as everyone in London knew that congestion was worse outside zone 1, but put a few riders on the whole issue.

Firstly - any decision on where needed sorting out should be the decision of the borough itself with the consent of local people. Boroughs must be king in this.

Secondly - that the provision of buses into the central zone that made the first congestion charge possible meant that there would have to be an equivalent spend on public transport in any area into which a charge was being introduced - otherwise if no extra public transport alternatives were provided it would simply be a levy on car usage.

Thirdly - that any measure that were brought in must be predicated on the basis that they were entirely about reducing congestion and nothing to do with revenue raising per se.

So - we shall see. I then got to address LTUC as Chair of Transport to tell them what the Assembly expected and hoped for from them as an organisation. Seemed to go down well. I must say, having listened to them questioning Kiley, they seem a very bright bunch and I do have great hopes for them being effective champions for the public.

Rush to Liberal Democrat HQ in Cowley Street for briefing prior to a national press conference for a new policy launch – our 'Maternity Income Guarantee'.

I got the call last week to ask if I would present the policy with Charles Kennedy, Phil Willis and Hanna Hedges - the youngest parliamentary candidate next time around.

We are briefed (briefly) and then we march in prescribed order into the conference room at HQ where all our press conferences usually take place. The assembled media has a satisfactory turnout of TV, national and regional journalists - despite Michael Howard co-timing his launch of the new Tory policies on asylum and immigration - of that more later.

Charles introduced the policy. Basically it is targeted on the lowest-paid working women - who are generally on the minimum wage. Maternity pay normally cuts this income down to 90% of normal pay. However, what's the point of a minimum wage if you are forced below the minimum if you decide to have a child?

Our help is for first babies - as that is when the expense cuts the deepest with all the things you have to get. It is a wonderful thing, a first baby - but when the door shuts, the relatives go and reality hits...

The policy is really targeted on the nearly 200,000 women who would go below the minimum wage during maternity leave. Initially it will run for 6 months - but obviously we want to extend to 9 and 12 months as further funding can be found – and, of course, make it available to either parent in the longer term.

So Charles introduced it - then I said my bit and so on - and then we jump into a cab and off to a school for the photo ops. Nursery schools always look like such fun. The children at this one were playing with coloured cooked spaghetti and seeing the comparison between long, medium and short bits. Oh to be an infant...!

Then off to meet the residents’ association rep from the Campsbourne Estate - a badly treated part of Hornsey ward (Haringey) where it nestles in a seemingly forgotten backwater. As Neil Williams (Lib Dem council group leader) and I walk around, we are shown the pieces of land that residents fear the Labour council will grab for housing rather than providing proper facilities for the local residents.

Residents want allotments and play areas and planting, and they fear Haringey Council wants to cram in housing. Labour in Haringey are finding any 'spare' bit of land and cramming in housing – regardless of the damage to our environment and the load on our public services.

There has been a lot of work done to provide a plan for renewal on the estate - and there is Section 106 money (from the Hornsey Waterworks site development) to the tune of £250,000 which they have been told they will get. Their fear is that they won't.

They hope by bringing the Lib Dems into their campaign that Labour will be forced on to the straight and narrow and won't be able to snaffle the money away for their own purposes.

That same evening at full council, a local Labour Hornsey ward councillor stands up and gives a speech as to what Labour are doing for the Campsbourne Estate.

My goodness - we're good - word must have reached them quickly that Lib Dems were out and about walking around the Campsbourne. Still - it looks like the plot is working!

I had arrived late at the council meeting as earlier it was one of my daughter's reports night. But I did arrive in time for the deputation of relatives of residents of Cooperscroft - the old peoples' home Labour are closing despite promises that this would not happen.

It is a good speech from the deputation who implores Labour to vote with their hearts on the following motion put by the Lib Dems to save the home.

But their hearts are made of stone and one has to say they are a lily-livered bunch. A woman from the deputation later yells at the Deputy Labour Mayor to accuse him of telling residents and relatives outside the meeting that he is against closure - but he speaks for closure and his hand rises to vote down the motion to save the homes.

Makes me really angry. There is an offer from a charity to take over the home as a going concern - no thanks to Labour Haringey - and I hope for the residents’ sake this is pursued. The Lead Member for Social Services only acknowledges this as true because in my speech in the debate I mention the email I have from the charity to let me know. I doubt whether Labour would have pursued it at all if it hadn’t been made public.

Labour couch their decisions as 'offering old people choice' and the benefits of 'being able to stay in your own home'. We are talking about people over ninety years old who need round-the-clock care. Labour really stink over this one!

Labels: charles kennedy, neil williams, phil willis

New local newspaper appears today - Muswell Hill and Crouch End Times. First edition has a big piece on the general election contest here in the Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

A fun read. Not just because it talks about the contest being Lib Dems vs Labour with us having a good chance of winning. Also fun because nice quote from one of the main local Conservatives - twice their losing GLA candidate etc. He points out that the Tories are out of the race and whether Labour or Lib Dem wins might depend on how many Tories vote tactically. Very nice of him to point it out ...!

You can read his words in full on the paper's website. Though I think they'll feature on a leaflet or too as well...

TV interview on the taxi story - and earlier in the day do a radio piece on the police 'banning' national flags from a march in Ealing.

In fact it was a 'request' not a ‘ban’ - although I am not sure there is much of a distinction. I wrote to the local commander to see whether there was particular intelligence which led to this move by the police. Still awaiting an answer. If there was - then that is exactly the right thing to do - but if not - then our freedom to demonstrate peacefully must be protected.

Meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) committee that I sit on which monitors the Met performance. Bit of a barney over crime recording. The Met always try and have it both ways. When there is a bad stat - such as recently the rise of violent crime - we are told that the increase is not real - it is due to better recording and better reporting. On the other hand when the stat is good and crime rate is dropping - then of course the drop is real and the recording is totally accurate.

Afterwards, have my surgery at Muswell Hill library. Interesting case where a guy developing a site is going to appeal after his planning application was refused. I had backed residents in opposing the application as, from what I saw of the original drawings, the new house would be over dominant, over development etc. This chap not surprisingly disagreed! He disputed some of the pictures used previously. Am doing some research to try and find where the truth lies on this one.

Then off to the local branch meeting of the Liberal Democrats - but have to do a quick radio interview from the chair's bedroom on arrival. I am attacking Mayor Ken for raising taxi fares.

Together with the tube and bus fare rises (above inflation and breaking his election promises) the cost of using public transport is rising fast in London. And this from the man who made his name on 'fares fair'! And to add insult to injury, raising black cab fares can only serve to drive more people into unlicensed mini-cabs - which we are supposed to be trying to exterminate. Not clever! But Ken is short of cash. He'll probably try and put a tax on walking next!

Labels: crime, mpa, muswell hill library

The RNID (Royal National Institute for the Deaf) came to see me today. It was a good reminder that the issues that I have been banging on about in terms of accessible transport for the deaf and hard of hearing have not really materialised - despite promises from the Mayor and his henchman.

Determine to pursue vigorously. It's completely ridiculous for transport providers not to automatically build in both visual and audible warnings and information.

Meet a man who had rung wanting to discuss getting more involved with the Lib Dems. We meet in a local Muswell Hill pub - or rather outside - as it turns out to be closed. Finding a nearby coffee shop, we get our drinks and then discuss future involvement.

I only mention this here - because he has been a Labour supporter all his adult life and is not untypical of the sort of political journey being made as we approach the General Election. The level of disgust and mistrust is palpable - but it must be a hard journey to make when you have spent your political life believing in something that turns to dust.

I am always quite clear with Labour converts to liberal democracy: our policies are balanced and follow our values and beliefs - that very sane position between the rights of the individual and the rights of community. He was very keen to join and to get involved - so we will see.

The moment we have all been waiting for - the first session of the Parking Enforcement scrutiny which I chair at the London Assembly.

Today's session saw witnesses from the British Parking Association, the Chief Exec of NCP, the RAC Foundation (not to be confused with the RAC) and The Association of International Express Couriers.

It was a really interesting session with the witnesses across the board agreeing on two important points. First, that the financial imperative of the enforcement contracts meant a certain level of financial outcome had to be delivered. Second, the signs and rules across London were confusing for many people. Can there be simplification and harmonisation whilst still respecting the need for different policies to suit different areas?

Of course, my now legendary 'unfair' parking ticket came up. I had managed to get through half the meeting before it raised its ugly head. Thanks to the Evening Standard it would appear the whole of London knows that on Bank Holiday Monday I got a ticket.

Having been seduced into Central London with no congestion charge and no parking charges, I drove into the West End on New Year Bank Holiday Monday. I parked on the first parking bay in Luxborough Street. There was a parking sign immediately by the space where I parked with no indication of any restriction other than the normal sign indicating the direction to the pay machine, hours and dates etc. On my return about 10 minutes later - there were two wardens ticketing the cars. They confirmed it was Bank Holiday and there were no charges - but told me that the bay was suspended.

I pointed out that there was no sign on the parking instructions by the space indicating any suspension. They said the notice was by the pay machine, but of course, being Bank Holiday I had not gone to get a parking pay and display ticket from the machine which was about 60 or so metres away. They said they did not have the power to cancel the ticket and suggested I talk to a supervisor.

When the supervisor came - he looked at the situation and agreed it was a 'travesty'. The supervisor suggested that I should write to Westminster and that he would make notes to the effect that he agreed that I should not have to pay this charge because of the circumstances.

As I said to those in the room - I bet Westminster were looking frantically through their correspondence to the parking department to find said letter!

That evening, it was the Lord Mayor's Dinner for London Government. Mayor Ken and the 25 Assembly members are the honoured guests at this event at the Mansion House. The Corporation of London sure know how to put on a do. I love this event - pomp, circumstance, men in uniforms, pikes - all things I eschew as a republican. But the fun of seeing such another world is irresistible and so well done!

I find myself going in to the welcoming line behind Ken Livingstone who is first in line and behind me Simon Fletcher - his Chief of Staff. The Lord Mayor's wife says 'oh you're the woman I wanted to see - the one with the parking ticket'. Then Ken peels off to the left (naturally) and I and Simon follow to sit for dinner.

As I am only about a metre from Ken I suggest to him that he use his after-dinner speech to raise the issue of Hampstead bathing ponds.

Health and Safety are saying that the Corporation need to have lifeguards and therefore will charge swimmers for the privilege. Outrageous in my view. People have been swimming there for decades - and a notice saying you go in at your own risk would suffice in my view. It's not a swimming pool. Over-zealous, intrusive and nannying.

Anyway - Ken smiled and his rejoinder to me was that he would raise it if I would agree to go skinny-dipping! In the event - he didn't raise it in his speech and North London will be spared a dreadful sight. But you know - anything to save the ponds…

After dinner - when we were taking a 'stirrup cup' - I had the opportunity to lobby Michael Snyder from the Corporation - but he proved deaf to my pleas. A compromise position was about to be reached where the takings are ploughed back into maintenance. I still think it's over the top and unnecessary.

Labels: ken livingstone

Screaming row between Mayor Ken, Green Darren and Chair Brian over Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Full story appears in my next newspaper column (which will appear here), so no need to duplicate it here.

I had arranged a meeting with London Underground (LU) and Tubelines to look at a possible compromise over the now famous - but very problematic fence - erected by LU to stop noise descending into Priory Gardens, by Highgate Tube Station. Unfortunately Priory Gardens' meat is Archway Road's poison and those residents are very concerned over the reflection of noise, loss of view and so on.

Anyway - a lot of work has gone on to find a compromise position that will give everyone something of what they want - but obviously not their first choice as their first choice is bad for each other. Archway Road ideally want no fence which would be dreadful for Priory Gardens and Priory Gardens ideally want as much fence as possible - which would be dreadful for Archway Road.

The meeting was intended to be an examination of the technical merits of the proposal – to see if it was worth taking further. But when I arrived at LU I found that LU appeared to have invited some of the key objectors without any reference to me. I was very angry as this meant a technical discussion instead turned into the old rows and for the most part sabotaged the original purpose of that meeting.

However two good things came out of it: firstly the planting of foliage was agreed and can go ahead and secondly LU will have a look at the scheme that was presented.

The compromise position is basically cutting down the height of the solid fence to 1 metre, cladding it in sound-absorbent material and filling in the remaining required height with mesh. I hope a compromise can be reached.

Chairing the Stop and Search Implementation Panel at City Hall - which means following up on how the recommendations of our investigation into stop and search are going.

Today's meeting's hot issues are: have the Met come back with agreement on changing their vision statement appropriately and have they responded to our request for a public document to explain their new stop and search policy?

The Met came back with pretty negative responses. They hadn't changed their vision statement and had rejected the idea of the document. As chair, I made it clear that as far as I and the other members of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) were concerned these were fundamental issues and they needed to go back and look at the issues once again.

More police business later in the day with a meeting of the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board of the MPA.

I raised the morning's clash of views with the meeting and asked the chair's guidance as to what happened when the Met and the MPA could not come to an agreement. The Commissioner's Chief of Staff was in attendance (unfortunately she had not been able to attend the morning session) and she is leading the stop and search steering group within the Met. She kindly said she thought we would be able to resolve the issues. I am sure we will come to agreement soon and I was grateful to her for a genuine effort to cross this bridge.

Another issue was faith monitoring. Diametrically opposed views split the group - which actually is a good thing. This isn't a simple right and wrong way forward and the issues really need to be debated, aired, thrashed out. Would faith monitoring enhance our understanding of what is going on - which is the stated purpose - or would it deepen differences and be a pointless knee-jerk reaction to the very real problem faced by Muslims post 9/11?

Labels: mpa

Walk into office to be greeted by howls of laughter from my press officer and office manager. Marina Hyde (Guardian Diary - which one tries to avoid coverage in) has been sent my Christmas Eve newspaper column.

It was just a bit of fun - a festive fairytale with a bit of political mischief (as the Ham & High billed it). It followed on from my last year's Christmas Fairy tale.

Anyway - Ms Hyde appeared concerned about my mental well-being and asked for reassurance which I gave later in the day along with the Doctor's suggested remedy of becoming a Member of Parliament to ensure no relapses.

Pop in to Budget Committee for the part on the transport budget. I decide at the end (when non-members of the committee can raise issues) to have a go over the Oyster card mess that has erupted over the holiday period, at the introduction of new fares. We need to get this sorted as Oyster is a great idea in which public confidence is being shaken by the number of cock-ups by Transport for London.

I note with some irony that the vast majority of cock-ups mean that TfL gets money it is not entitled to out of our pockets.

Labels: tfl

Assemble in the chamber for the three-minute silence. Brief speech by Ken followed by the silence. Many members and staff of the Assembly gathered. It feels appropriate to mark such an event with some formality.

Then, telephone interview with Transcalm.They are undertaking a marketing exercise to see how their 'magic' hump can best become a nice little earner. I inform the interviewer of my view that Dunlop were short-sighted (I may have used the term stupid) to have failed to take up the opportunities of a trial in Haringey.

Basically this road hump lies flat if you go over at the prescribed speed but remains a hump if you are speeding (as you pass over it too fast for it to deflate). I love the idea of rewarding good driving and punishing bad.

To date - the 'magic' hump has been trialled thus: two humps in a slip road in Puddle Dock. I suggest that they run it on a residential road in Haringey and/or a bus lane. When I set up a meeting to facilitate this in Haringey - the price they wanted to charge was still 50% of the normal price. Now these babies are not cheap - particularly in the short term - and the company who will make a mint if they take off should be willing to give a better deal than that to councils or authorities willing to give it a trial.

Then on to looking at Transport for London's overspend on their budget (for budget committee tomorrow). They are £70 million over - despite raised fares - and have lots of problems with Oyster card bugs. So if they are going to bug London's travellers, I am going to bug them about their bugs.

My other bugbear (excuse the pun) today is that London Underground have missed 4 out of 6 of their reliability targets. I got the answer to a Mayoral question and it's a sadly familiar pattern: targets missed, performance down. It just adds insult to injury when the tube fares are the highest in the world, have just been raised and this coincides with big cheese Bob Kiley's £51,000 rise and the tubeworkers' 5.2%.

Guess who isn't invited to the table - me and you. We pay more and get less. Bet Ken wouldn't use that as his manifesto message.

Labels: tfl

Back to work, shoulder to the grindstone and all that! First off - a meeting with the PPP Arbiter. Who? What? Indeed!

The PPP Arbiter is the guy appointed to watch over and arbitrate on the Tube PPP contract. He cannot comment on what's in the contract - but where the various parties are in dispute over any aspect of the contract, he can give guidance. He has sweeping powers to gather information - far superior to LU, the Assembly, TfL or the Mayor. Just wish we could get hold of the info he has access to.

Within the limited remit of the position, the PPP Arbiter seemed to be taking a pretty pro-active role. He could sit back and just act as and when there was a statutory requirement for a review of contract performance or for the seven and a half year “break clause” review built into the contract. But he is setting up a methodology which he hopes will be agreed in advance and is seeking to influence and persuade into better performance.

I have gone there with my vice-chair and officers to seek advice as to where the problems between parties involved in the PPP lay. I have coming before my committee (Transport Committee of the London Assembly) Tim O'Toole - the MD of London Underground - and possibly the Chief Execs of both Tubelines and Metronet. I haven't quite decided on the latter as yet. I want to find the areas of weakness so that the London Assembly can forensically question those responsible for delivering the PPP as to why London is paying through the nose for a seemingly worsening service.

Meanwhile - have received answers to my Mayoral questions on the tube showing that there are hundreds of speed restrictions imposed on our network. These are termed 'temporary' restrictions but many have been in place for over 6 months. Just a bit of poking which with the help of the media keeps prodding LU into getting its act together.

Labels: tim o'toole