Category Archives: London

Mark Pack

Transport for London offers up more data for free

By Mark Pack | Sun 19th December 2010 - 9:55 am

Over the summer we reported the welcome news that Transport for London was making more of its data available for others to reuse:

It’s a smart move because it means the emphasis on working out how to make best use of the data shifts from TfL to the wider commercial sector. That means people can experiment (and fail) in a way that is much harder when politicians, media (and yes, bloggers) are looking over your shoulder waiting to shout “Waste of public money!” if an idea doesn’t pan out. It also means that Transport for London can concentrate on what it is (or should be) good at – running transport services, whilst letting those who are good at developing data services and marrying up different commercial ideas can do what they’re good at.

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Helen Duffett

Result: GLA Londonwide list selection

By Helen Duffett | Tue 14th December 2010 - 3:12 pm

London Liberal Democrats have today announced their team of candidates for the London Assembly top-up list in 2012. Caroline Pidgeon AM topped the poll of London Liberal Democrat members to lead the London Assembly campaign in 2012.

The list is as follows:

  1. Caroline Pidgeon
  2. Stephen Knight
  3. Bridget Fox
  4. Shas Sheehan
  5. Jeremy Ambache
  6. Merlene Emerson
  7. Emily Davey
  8. Steve Bradley
  9. Marisha Ray
  10. Nick Russell
  11. Ajmal Masroor

Turnout was 55.6%.

Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington and London Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

The Liberal Democrats have a proud record on the London Assembly of holding the Mayor to account. Our Assembly members have led the fight for better value for money from City Hall, better transport services

…

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Mark Pack

The Met Police have an unusual problem

By Mark Pack | Fri 10th December 2010 - 10:25 am

I suspect there are many parts of the public sector which wished they had this problem:

Underspending continues to be an issue in the management of the capital programme, although unused funds can often be carried forward through reserves to support projects at a future date.

Part of the issue is large projects slipping, with the Met’s response to this being:

Agreeing an ‘opening’ programme in excess of available funding in the year.

This happens on a noticeable scale:

The MPA Finance & Resources Committee agreed a revised Capital Programme budget on 15th July 2010 at £276.3m for 2010/11 following the first quarter review. This

…

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Richard Morris

Opinion: Why we should be trying to win the London Mayor contest

By Richard Morris | Wed 3rd November 2010 - 1:55 pm

Earlier this month, LDV published a piece of mine suggesting Vince Cable would make an excellent candidate for London Mayor, which I wrote because I happen to think that he can win.

Some people agreed with my supposition, others for various reasons disagreed. It was the third set of responses that surprised me. That it was the very fact that Vince could win that made him a poor choice – because the allegedly approved strategy in London was to find a candidate ‘who understands that their role is not to try and win the mayoral election but to help our …

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Mark Pack

Is the Met’s secret joker now penning words for Boris Johnson?

By Mark Pack | Thu 28th October 2010 - 8:40 am

I only ask, because after the Met Police’s triumphant document that stated it would “Contribute to the step change in the walking experience”, we now have London Mayor Boris Johnson talking of “my role driving forward the Cycling Revolution”.

Also posted in Humour | Tagged | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Is there a secret joker in the Met Police?

By Mark Pack | Tue 26th October 2010 - 8:55 am

Working through the bureaucratic-speak and acronyms in the police’s report to the Metropolitan Police Authority about the draft London Transport Community Safety Strategy I discovered that the police intend to, “Contribute to the step change in the walking experience”. I hope there was at least a smile on the face of the person who typed up that one…

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Dee Doocey

Dee Doocey writes… Just the ticket?

By Dee Doocey | Mon 25th October 2010 - 2:25 pm

The organisers of the London 2012 Olympics promised the most inclusive Games ever. We were told that the Games would be “highly affordable” and that “half the tickets would cost £20 or less”.

On 15th October, we discovered what is really going to happen.

Of the 8.8 million tickets that will go on sale, only 2.5 million (about a third) will cost £20 or less. Of this 2.5 million, 1.3 million will be reserved primarily for schoolchildren, leaving just 1.2 million £20 tickets for everyone else in London, the UK and the rest of the world.  And of those 1.2 million …

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Lembit Öpik

Opinion: Power to the people, freedom for the city

By Lembit Öpik | Sun 24th October 2010 - 2:25 pm

I just wanted to update everyone on where we stand with the Lib Dem campaign for Mayor.

I’m pleased to confirm that, having passed the selection procedure to be eligible to be on the short list, I will be standing in the selection of Lib Dem candidate for Mayor. I’m doing this for two reasons: Firstly, I want to see liberal policies put into practice in the nation’s capital. Secondly, I believe that I can help maximise our mayoral and list vote and, ultimately, have the best chance of winning.

Many believe that we cannot win this Mayoral election. They …

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Richard Morris

Opinion: A Mayoral candidate in waiting?‏

By Richard Morris | Sat 23rd October 2010 - 9:23 am

With the launch of the shortlist of candidates for the London Assembly top up list, every good (London) Lib Dem’s thoughts should be turning to the Mayoral election – and who can we get to stand.

While there are probably excellent reasons why we’ve postponed the process for up to a year (leaving any approved candidates feeling – well, bruised at best), our two main rivals have their candidates in place and are already slugging it out. So I’m feeling a little left in the cold. And with the party polling 4% (!!!) in the latest Mayoral polling we probably need to name a candidate sooner rather than later.

The criteria seem clear:

  1. Someone who can actually win (wouldn’t that be nice?)
  2. A name that’s as well known as his/her rivals
  3. Someone who already represents Londoners and understands their issues
  4. A candidate who gets the City of London – but isn’t in their pockets.
  5. Perhaps someone who isn’t 100% happy in their current post – maybe someone who finds himself having to present policies he doesn’t 100% believe in and work with colleagues he doesn’t 100% trust? And is probably getting a little fed up with all the mudslinging going on at the moment, with much of it aimed at them.

It’s Vince isn’t it?

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Helen Duffett

London Liberal Democrats announce GLA shortlist for 2012

By Helen Duffett | Tue 19th October 2010 - 11:09 am

London Region Liberal Democrats have announced the candidates for the London Assembly top-up list for the 2012 election. The shortlist is now final and London members will now be issued with a ballot to place the candidates in order of preference.

The candidates, in alphabetical order, are:

Jeremy Ambache (M)
Steve Bradley (M)
Emily Davey (F)
Merlene Emerson (F)*
Bridget Fox (F)
Stephen Knight (M)
Ajmal Masroor (M)*
Caroline Pidgeon (F)
Marisha Ray (F)*
Nick Russell (M)
Shas Sheehan (F)*

Those marked with an asterisk are Black and Minority Ethnic for the purpose of the ethnic preference rule.

There will not be a ballot for the Mayoral candidate for the time being. …

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Also posted in Selection news | Tagged | 24 Comments
Mark Pack

Southwark Council tries to ban people talking about what they’ve already talked about

By Mark Pack | Sun 17th October 2010 - 8:55 am

Liberal Democrats in Southwark claim the council is £26 million pounds worse off because of decisions the Labour-run body has taken over a regeneration scheme for Elephant & Castle.

This figure has been the subject of political debate, it’s been mentioned in the council, it’s been mentioned in the press and it’s been mentioned online.

So what happened when Liberal Democrat councillors tried to put the figure in a motion to be debated at the council? The council said no – the figure is secret and can’t be mentioned.

As London SE1 reports:

A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “On the advice of the

…

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Helen Duffett

London Liberal Democrats postpone Mayoral candidate selection

By Helen Duffett | Sat 16th October 2010 - 2:15 pm

London Region Liberal Democrats have postponed the Mayoral candidate selection, possibly for up to a year – although it’s hoped that nominations will be reopened much sooner.

The Local Government Chronicle said this week:

A selection had been due this autumn after which the party hoped it could get its candidate well enough known to take on incumbent Boris Johnson (Con) and Labour’s Ken Livingstone in May 2012. But regional chair Jonathan Fryer said the process had been halted because an insufficient number of approved applicants were available to put before party members.

“There will be a reopening of nominations in about

…

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Mark Pack

Government scraps target – Met Police sets up new committee

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th October 2010 - 10:10 am

You might have thought that scrapping central government targets would result in local bodies being able to cut at least some of their own monitoring and reporting setups. But in an Alice in Wonderland style twist, Home Secretary Theresa May’s decision to scrap the “confidence target” for the police has been followed by the Met Police setting up a new “Confidence and Satisfaction Board”.

In June Theresa May announced that the police would be judged on cutting crime, ending both the set of performance targets bundled up as the Policing Pledge and also ending the judging of police by whether or …

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The Voice

London Lib Dem Mayoral candidate “applied to High Court” over non-approval

By The Voice | Mon 11th October 2010 - 5:23 pm

Yesterday’s Sunday Times reported that Patrick Streeter, one of the hopefuls for the Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidacy, was not approved as a candidate and is now taking his case to the High Court.

…a potential candidate has taken the party to court after being dropped from the shortlist of five — and it’s not Opik.

Patrick Streeter, an Old Harrovian, red sock-wearing accountant, applied to the High Court last week for a stay of execution after being dropped at the interview stage last weekend.

He now expects the matter to be settled, but says: “The Labour vote

…

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Mark Pack

London Mayor campaign update: three runners, one clear leader on Facebook

By Mark Pack | Mon 4th October 2010 - 7:03 pm

As Helen reported earlier today, there is now a third person publicaly in the running to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor – Jeremy Ambache.

With his Facebook page having only just gone up, it unsurprisingly only has 4 fans so far at the time of writing. Lembit Opik’s page is continuing to edge up – now at 225 fans – but, on Facebook at least, he’s been quickly and clearly overtaken by Duwayne Brooks who has 381 fans for his Mayoral bid.

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Helen Duffett

Jeremy Ambache joins the race to be Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate

By Helen Duffett | Mon 4th October 2010 - 4:34 pm

A third person has come forward in the contest to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London in the 2012 London elections.

Jeremy Ambache, who was fourth on the top-up list for the London Assembly elections in 2008, has launched his campaign website: Jeremy Ambache for London.

Jeremy joins the two other candidates who have so far declared: Duwayne Brooks and Lembit Opik.

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Mark Pack

Duwayne Brooks overtakes Lembit Opik on Facebook

By Mark Pack | Tue 28th September 2010 - 7:44 pm

Over the weekend I blogged:

In the London Mayor selection contest, Lewisham councillor Duwayne Brooks has just publicly thrown his hat in the ring. More information on his Facebook page.

The other declared candidate so far is Lembit Opik, who also has his own Facebook page. The number of fans for that latter page has been growing slowly but now there is a direct competitor to judge it against. So far, Lembit is ahead though Duwayne’s page has only very recently appeared.

Matters have moved on quickly since then, with Lembit’s Mayor page continuing to grow slowly (now up to 216 fans) …

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Mark Pack

Duwayne Brooks to challenge Lembit Opik for London Mayor

By Mark Pack | Sat 25th September 2010 - 2:16 pm

In the London Mayor selection contest, Lewisham councillor Duwayne Brooks has just publicly thrown his hat in the ring. More information on his Facebook page.

The other declared candidate so far is Lembit Opik, who also has his own Facebook page. The number of fans for that latter page has been growing slowly but now there is a direct competitor to judge it against. So far, Lembit is ahead though Duwayne’s page has only very recently appeared.

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Caroline Pidgeon

Conservative walk-outs stop debate

By Caroline Pidgeon | Fri 10th September 2010 - 12:21 pm

Storming out of a town hall or Assembly chamber in protest is not something I would generally recommend – although in extreme cases there is a case for doing so as I found out earlier this year.

However walking out and knowing that you will stop all business is a very different matter, yet this is what is now taking place at City Hall on a very regular basis. In the last year there have been several occasions when the whole Conservative Group has just got up and left halfway through meetings of the London Assembly, when they don’t agree …

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Also posted in Local government | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Who will be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor?

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th September 2010 - 10:26 am

Yesterday London Region chair Jonathan Fryer outlined the timetable for selecting the party’s London Assembly and Mayor candidates. But who will be in the running to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London?

As previously covered, Lembit Opik has publicly declared his intention to go for the selection. Regular readers of this site will have seen how controversial that is amongst many Liberal Democrat members (along with other commenters on this site). He has some keen fans along with many ardent critics. The number of fans of his Mayor selection bid page on Facebook has moved up only …

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Jonathan Fryer

Team London: selections open

By Jonathan Fryer | Sun 5th September 2010 - 5:27 pm

Applications are now invited from potential LibDem Mayoral and Assembly (GLA) list candidates for London, which will hold its next round of city-wide elections in 2012. Interested individuals can request an application pack from the Returning Office, Patrick Mitchell, at [email protected] or 6 Palfrey Place, London SW8 1PA. Completed applications must be received by 24 September.

London has benefited from a big influx of new members over recent months – by far the biggest growth of any UK region. Moreover, London Liberal Democrats have moved campaigning and capacity up several notches with the launch of Team London, a new approach to …

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Also posted in Selection news | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

Lembit for London campaign watch

By Mark Pack | Mon 30th August 2010 - 12:28 pm

Contradictory news from Facebook about the state of Lembit Opik’s campaign to become the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor. The number of fans of his campaign page is now up to 178. However, although his campaign says the page is “the main point of contact for those involved in the campaign to win the nomination”, the last update from the campaign team on the wall is now looking rather dated, having been posted on 18 July.

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Mark Pack

How much does it cost to police major protests?

By Mark Pack | Mon 30th August 2010 - 10:24 am

Interesting figures from the Met Police:

  • Tamil Ceasefire protests – estimated total policing cost of £12.8m
  • G20 Summit – estimated total policing cost of £7.4m
  • Notting Hill Carnival – estimated total policing cost of £6.6m
  • Summer Climate Camp – estimated total policing cost of £2.3m

Some of those seem pretty good value for money such as the Notting Hill Carnival, bearing in mind the enjoyment so many people get from the event. Looking at some of the other costs, perhaps in future the police should offer to fund TV advertisements in return for protest not happening: could save money and make for more effective …

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Mark Pack

Fewer people, venue moved in-house yet costs go up: bravo, Boris

By Mark Pack | Tue 24th August 2010 - 8:42 am

Adam Bienkov has the remarkable story of how Mayor of London Boris Johnson managed to up the costs of the annual ‘State of London’ debate despite cutting back its scope, moving it from an external venue to City Hall and having fewer people attend.

One extra detail I’d add to what Adam has covered: looking at the GLA’s evaluation report, I’m struck by how many opportunities were missed to promote the event online at very little cost. In particular, publicising events via Facebook comes with no charge and can be an effect way of making a high profile event spread …

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Mark Pack

Lembit for London campaign watch

By Mark Pack | Mon 23rd August 2010 - 3:26 pm

Lembit Opik’s plans to run for London Mayor have been widely trailed for some time and the man himself has taken steps such as a lengthy interview on London’s LBC radio station with Conservative blogger Iain Dale. His campaign for the Liberal Democrat selection has provoked many negative responses from Liberal Democrat members (such as in previous coverage on this site). The most vocal are not always the most representative, however, so a relevant extra piece of evidence is how the Lembit Opik for London Mayor Facebook page does.

Lembit’s own campaign describes the page as “the main point of …

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Caroline Pidgeon

Peddling myths over London’s bike hire scheme

By Caroline Pidgeon | Sat 14th August 2010 - 11:50 am

In London one of the most exciting developments this year has been the long awaited launch of the bike hire scheme.

Despite its launch being associated with quite a number of problems – including a highly complex registration process, and a number of cyclists being overcharged – no one can deny that the scheme is proving incredibly popular.  And let’s be realistic, no major scheme ever starts without at least some minor teething problems. Of course I will be chasing hard until these glitches are resolved, and they certainly …

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Helen Duffett

Dee Doocey challenges Met Police Commissioner over treatment of photographers

By Helen Duffett | Tue 27th July 2010 - 4:05 pm

Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson at City HallMetropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has said that although the Met has issued guidelines to officers about people taking photographs in public places, he cannot guarantee that officers will interpret them correctly.

His remarks came at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority at London City Hall on July 22, where Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Dee Doocey asked him,

Are you confident that your officers are aware of the law when it comes to members of the public taking photographs in a public place?

Stephenson replied,

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Helen Duffett

Londoners: have your say on civil liberties and DNA

By Helen Duffett | Tue 6th July 2010 - 9:20 am

The Metropolitan Police Authority Civil Liberties Panel held an open meeting at City Hall on Thursday 1 July to hear what individuals and campaigning organisations think about DNA in policing and the use of National DNA Database (NDNAD).

The meeting enabled participants, as well as those who could not attend but submitted written evidence, to voice their concerns about the current and future use of DNA.

Major themes which emerged during the meeting included:

  • DNA collection seems to have become an end in itself, a process to be completed irrespective of proportionality
  • there should be more transparency specifically about how the DNA database is

    • …

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    Lester Holloway

    Opinion: If we fail to address the image of an all-white party our reputation alone will put off future black and Asian people from joining

    By Lester Holloway | Wed 30th June 2010 - 12:20 pm

    The Liberal Democrats are showing signs of getting serious about tackling the chronic under-representation of black and Asian talent in elected positions – and about time too.

    In a groundbreaking move that was sadly unreported, the London Region recently agreed to introduce positive action in a bid to get at least one BAME hopeful onto the London Assembly, a body that represents a city where over a third of the population is from an ethnic minority.

    The decision to reserve places – quotas by another name – on the ‘top-up list’ means the Lib Dems have gone further than any other political …

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    Mark Pack

    Met set to lose £5m from collapse of Icelandic bank

    By Mark Pack | Tue 29th June 2010 - 12:20 pm

    London’s Metropolitan Policy Authority had £30m deposited with Landsbanki, the Icelandic bank which collapsed in late 2008. Combing through some of the latest financial information from the MPA, it’s clear that the MPA is now expecting (at best) to get 83% of that back, leaving the police with a £5.1m loss.

    Ouch. Though not so ouch as to have stopped the £2m a year spent on chauffeur-driven cars for senior Met officers who don’t have a security need for one.

    (To put these numbers in some context: the annual cost of a police constable is c.£60,000.)

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