FIRST SUMMER SMOG WARNING AS TEMPERATURE RISES

London Green MEP urges Mayor to cut air pollution to protect health.

Jean Lambert, London's Green Party MEP, has expressed concern over the health implications, particularly for children and those with existing breathing problems, of the first predicted summer smogs.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) issued the warning yesterday that the current hot weather is likely to lead to the first summer smog episode of the year. Moderate ozone levels have been recorded across the UK, but weather conditions suggest ozone concentrations will reach high pollution levels.

Jean has worked extensively to raise awareness of the air pollution crisis London faces, and has challenged the Government over its failure to act on this issue. Today, she said:

"While the warning from Defra alerts us to smogs in rural areas, we must remember that air pollution in London is already at dangerously high levels.

"It's been great to see Londoners out enjoying the sunshine over the past few days, and we'd all love to see a long hot summer. But we must be alert to the health implications. The levels of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in London have been far exceeding EU limits specifically designed to protect human health for years.

"Only a fortnight ago new figures based on EU research revealed that 4,400 Londoners die every year as a result of the terrible air quality in this city - that's more than four times previous estimates from the Mayor of London. Smog should be a thing of the past: I hope Defra's warning proves stark enough for the Government to take decisive action on this issue at last."

Defra is urging the public to take measures which can help to reduce pollution and Jean is calling on the Mayor to do the same:

"I hope this warning will encourage the Mayor to heed Green calls for serious investment in infrastructure across the capital to increase walking and cycling and reduce traffic and harmful emissions."

London Mayor fails rape victims

The London mayor, Boris Johnson, has so far failed to come up with the money to deliver on his promise of three new rape crisis centres in London.

Only £233,000 a year was included in this year's budget towards the centres. At least £744,000 annually is needed to fund the Mayor's commitment.

The recent spring Green Party conference (last month, in Blackpool) demanded that rape crisis centres receive regular, reliable, core funding so that they can provide this essential service securely and permanently, rather than having to rely on volunteer fundraising and emergency appeals. Rape crisis centres across the country are, despite valiant volunteer efforts, failing to meet the need of new and past victims. 25% of local authority areas have no provision for rape crisis centres at all.

Jenny Jones, the Green Party's Home Affairs spokesperson, was only one of two Assembly members who supported an amendment to the budget in February which would have provided funding for all the centres.

Jenny Jones said: "If you promise something, you must jolly well get on and deliver it. There's a lot of back-tracking going on and a lot of women need these centres and need them immediately. Women in London have been let down by the police over the Worboys case and other investigations into rape. Now the Mayor is letting them down over his promise of more support."

Boris Johnson’s first year – Green AM speaks out

As Boris Johnson approaches his first anniversary as London Mayor on 2nd May, Green Assembly Member, Darren Johnson AM, reflects on the Mayor's first year in office.

Darren said, "Although there have been one or two bright spots such as scrapping Ken Livingstone's six-lane road bridge and planting more trees, Boris Johnson's overall performance has been deeply depressing. We have seen wave after wave of green initiatives being scrapped, cancelled or cut including the £25 charge for gas guzzlers, new tram schemes and the London Cycle Network."

Johnson mayoralty - positives

* Thames Gateway six-lane road bridge abandoned, although crossing at Silvertown proposed
* Heathrow expansion opposed, although Thames Estuary airport proposed and expansion at City Airport supported
* Cycle hire and Superhighways have funding, although nothing yet for suburban cycle hubs
* Support for urban agriculture, allotments, and treeplanting
* Continued support for London Living Wage and Fair Trade initiative
* Mayor adopts Assembly proposal to commission work on amnesty for irregular migrants
* Continue green retro-fit programme for commercial buildings
* Major plans for street by street approach to home insulation
* Package of measures on knife crime includes some positive youth initiatives.

Johnson mayoralty - negatives

* Failure to provide leadership over police mishandling of G20 protests
* London Cycle Network (LCN+) funding cut by two thirds & no promise of completion
* £25 emissions charge for gas guzzlers and Western Extension of congestion charge zone dropped
* Low Emissions Zone will now not be expanded to 90,000 light goods vehicles in 2010
* Court action being prepared by European Union on failure to meet air quality targets
* Abandoned 100 public spaces program: Parliament Square improvement scheme; Victoria Embankment; three year study into changing one-way systems back to two-way systems
* Planning for new transport schemes abandoned: Cross River Tram; DLR extension Dagenham Dock; Croydon Tramlink, Oxford Street tram; large number of step free access tube schemes
* Three year freeze on bus expansion program
* Planned purchase of 70 hydrogen vehicles has been reduced to a trial of 10 hydrogen buses, although ambitious plans for electric vehicles announced
* Environment budget reduced by £139k
* Proposals to cut 114 posts at City Hall, may have impact on the London Mayor's ability to carry out his statutory duties, especially in relation to the environment
* Mishandled Damien Green affair

All I Hear is Radio Ken Ken

Rocky, Rambo, Indiana Jones, they all have something in common. They are all heroes who have made comebacks. They were all popular characters who made millions of dollars around the world. So what does this all have to do with Ken Livingstone? Well in reality nothing. Unlike the afore mentioned characters of the big screen, Ken was defeated by his villain. He was not that popular (he lost after all) and he has wasted millions of pounds across London for years. He is not even making a comeback really, he is just refusing to go.

LBC have given him a job presenting the afternoon phone in show whilst Jeni Barnett is away on holiday. I have to say that I am not surprised. LBC loved Ken and is gagging for Boris to fail. I suppose the LBC is the only propaganda machine left for the old mayor now that Boris is canning his London Paper. I wonder if Ken will be speaking to his listeners in the same way as he did to the London Assembly. I wouldn't think so for a minute but one thing I must insist on is that he at least gets the chance to interview Boris from time to time. I think that would lead to hilarity beyond the norm.

Shame on you LBC but with judgement reserved in lieu of a good old head to head please.

Knife Crime, Boris, Ferrari and Institutional Victims.

It is impossible to escape knife crime at the moment. It seems like young men are dropping like flies and there is no suggestion or indication yet that these crimes will cease to continue. New mayor Boris has taken steps with the police and with the backing of home secretary Jacqui Smith to introduce measures for tackling the problem. Funding has been approved for more metal detectors and teenagers will be stopped and searched on the streets, at train stations and bus stops. I think that all McDonalds restaurants should also be added to the list of targets.

The scheme seems to have widespread support from the communities in which it has been introduced. The communities are largely black communities because the victims are mainly black. There seems to be a positive resolution towards trying to solve the problem at least and that is a great thing. I was listening to LBC yesterday and this was a big part of the show for most of the day. Listening to this show was what made me angry.

The show which I think was presented by Nick Ferrari was awful. Firstly, the presenter in question is obviously itching for an opportunity (probably like the rest of the media) to give Boris a hard time about something, anything. Boris would have to be divine to escape his eventual and inevitable roasting at the hands of people like Ferrari. The presenter was baiting people to call in about the stop and search tactics the police will be using to try to combat the knife problem. He was looking for people who had had racist experiences with the police who he was also quick to remind us are institutionally racist (see Macpherson Report).

I became angry for a couple of reasons. Firstly, was the presenters negativity towards what seems to be a good idea in principle which also seemed to be supported by a number of people who I think are probably a tad (Airplane definition) more intelligent than himself. Secondly was the presenters insistence that pretty much every caller had not had a racist experience but simply a bad experience with the law. Now I know that Ian Blair had accused the media of being institutionally racist and I think that this was a shining example of what he probably meant. Here was a presenter asking inviting what would have been mostly black people with bad experiences to call him and then rubbishing their experiences and refusing to accept that they were anything to do with race. Nice one Ferrari, what a gaff! Hope Boris pulls you up on it.

The thing is though, it did start to make me think a little about the whole thing. After all, Ferrari, wrong as he was to do what he was doing in the way he was doing it, was I think to a certain extent right about things. The incidents did not sound racist. In fact they sounded like incidents that I know have happened to anyone regardless of race or colour. None of the callers could say anything that made me or the presenter think that there was any racism present although that doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't. I did however start to think that whilst the police force is institutionally racist, there is also a possibility that some members of the black community are institutionally victimised.

Black people have been oppressed in one way or another for centuries, by the imperial Europeans to colonial Americans. They have been enslaved, impoverished, manipulated, segregated, ghettoised, marginalised and exploited as the world has developed. It could probably be argued that without the exploitation of the black man the world would not have developed at quite the rate it has. It seems nearly logical that having a history like this would influence the outlook of a certain number. If black people have been victims for centuries it follows that some will believe that they are still victims today especially if they are generally dissatisfied with life.

Racism for some people seems to become the reason for their frustration and failure to cope in situations which lead to mistreatment or disrespect or any unfavourable outcome. When bad things happen to some people and not just black people but Jews, Muslims etc, the issue of race is produced first as a shield and then as a sword to try to turn a disadvantage into an advantage and I think that there is something intrinsically wrong with that attitude because it induces alienation. People become frightened to say anything in case it can somehow be construed to be offensive and prefer instead to distance themselves and I think that this is part of the problem in the US and part of the developing problem in the UK.

The problem with knives is not new and I have seen programs on the TV for a good few years now about how school children and teenagers are scared because they know their classmates are carrying weapons for aggression or protection. We have also been watching the reemergence of gang culture on our streets for years. The problem is that the current government has refused to tackle the issues and reasons for the breakdown in society and have refused to do so because they are frightened of being shouted at by the small number of people who see themselves as victims. With regards to knife crime, I think part of the reason for the reluctance to act is that it would mean more police on the streets and therefore more money spent which I don't think they would be able to find. However the big reason is that they would have to reintroduce stop and search properly in the communities that are affected most heavily by this type of crime. This is a terrifying prospect for any government because it can only lead to accusations of racism, high profile mistakes in execution of the policies and maybe like the 80s clashes and riots in the streets. In short, this is a potential hornets nest but it is a nest that needs stirring if any progress is to be made. Headlines could be bad for any government making waves in this area, but the government needs to forget the headlines for five minutes and the opinion polls and actually get their hands dirty for a change. If they can do it they might actually leave a legacy other than war and maybe worth talking about.

Similarly, as a society we need to be able to stand up and talk freely and constructively about these problems and without fear of racist accusations otherwise nothing will change and the black man and those around him will be victims forever...and that's a bad thing.

Hubble Bubble, Beware the Witches of Leftwick

I just wanted to wish Boris congratulations on his victory for Mayor of London. I hope he can turn his energy and excitement into something really positive as far as London is concerned.

After years of near hatred, I have to say that I was also a little sad to see Ken Livingstone go (but not a lot). He actually seemed to take it quite well. I had visions of him attacking Gordon Brown, the labour party and the public in the same way as we have seen him attack the London assembly over the years, but he was magnanimous in defeat. I nearly got angry when I was listening to LBC and a listener suggested that he should now look to run for leadership of the labour party and then to become PM. "God, no!!!" I thought to myself before I remembered that half of LBC's listeners are as raving mad and delusional as the people they support, this poor lady being one of them.


I have also been amused over the last couple of days by the Labour hierarchy telling us that the results mean it is time for them to listen and that what we need is strong leadership through hard times or in other words, as a public we don't actually know what we want and the government has to do what they want to do anyway whilst doing it with a sympathetic look on their faces and ruffled brow.


I also think that I have spotted something very interesting as a result of the labour defeat this week. Brown had his big guns out. If you like his rottweilers of war. A trio no less who flew the red standard and charged into battle for the leader....and the interesting thing is that they were all women. I think the chaps in the cabinet were around and about but the main muscle on all of the political commentary shows I was watching on TV were the ladies. Harriet, Tessa and Jacqui were all unfazed and almost maniacal in their belief in what they were trying to say (previous paragraph) and stand for.

They actually did a very good job of taking much of the flack that was flying about and I have to say that if I were married to either of them, the last thing I would be worried about would be whether they would support me in times of trouble. These are the type of women that successful men are made of. They also showed a strength and determination I associate with another lady politician of not too long ago. Yes...the great ginger one, the Iron Lady herself, old Mrs T. Imagine three Margaret Thatchers. It is an absolutely terrifying prospect but the possibility has been brewing in the labour party for years and under our very noses.

Look (as Tony Blair would say), forget about the chaps for New Labour. I mean, seriously, who have they got? The Two Camp Millibands or Ed Balls (John Prescott II). These three women singularly could eat any of the aforementioned for breakfast whilst reciting tracts from the Odyssey in reverse, standing on their heads and gargling Champagne. If they were to unite like Gordon and Tony did, they could be great and when Gordon falls they could inherit the earth (of the UK at least). There is an outside chance that they will all shave their heads, start wearing flowery mini dresses and chanting hippy love songs round the halls of Westminster, however it is more likely that they will be fundamental and vital to the future success of their party. I don't necessarily think that they would plot Gordon's demise themselves because they seem to be too loyal for that, but when he goes, I think that rivals from within and outside new labour will all need to start watching what what these three women will do even if they are unwise enough to be ignoring them today.

Brian, Borris & Ken or Larry, Curly & Mo?

I was watching News Night the other night and for once I am happy and surprised to say that my usual anger at some of the news was turned into laughter when I was treated to the Three Stooges live with Paxman. Livingstone, Johnson and the Lib/Dem guy stood in a row and answered (or in fact didn't answer) Paxman's questions in probably the best example of political farce I have seen for years. At points I was almost expecting to see Boris take a swing a Ken who would duck, the Lib/Dem guy would then take Boris' slap on the face and in turn slap Ken as he rose and turned to face him. The big questions are...who was Larry, who was Curly, who was Mo? I'll let you decide.

The candidates all bumbled over each other for the entire duration and didn't really say a lot. The highlight was when Paxman told Boris he couldn't say anything else until he gave him figures on how much more or less it was going to cost him to scrap bendy buses and replace them with Route Masters. He clearly didn't know or remember them, but Paxman wouldn't let it go and came across like a father at the dinner table saying to his child, "Right, no desert until you tell me what the capital of Turkmenistan is!!!". Is this really what we are expecting of the Mayor of London...second rate politics, argued and presented badly (although amusingly) on issues that quite frankly seem quite banal in comparison to many of the issues facing Londoners today?

I think that we need to draw a line in the sand between comedy and politics and as long as the Mayoral contests fall on the side of comedy we should seriously think about abolishing the position like we did in the 80s to the GLC. I think that we should also be aware that what works well in the US, doesn't necessarily work well in the UK. I always thought that UK politics was a little more refined and subtle than it is in the US and that mud slinging and face off debates were a bit unsophisticated, but then perhaps since the New Labour media machine dropped in, this is what British politics has been reduced to.

Come in Ken Livingstone, Your time is up.

Over the last week or so I have written about two 'orrible little men, Mugabe and Al Fayed and I feel that I have to make it a trio. The third in my eyes needs no introduction or justification for his inclusion with the other two. I experience some very strong feelings whenever I see or hear Ken Livingstone. Not good feelings by the way but a similar sort of feeling I get when I get a parking fine or stub my toe when I get out of bed in the morning. I am trying to control myself even now in writing this entry and I have re-edited it and toned it down four times now but I feel that I have to be grown up and not be immature and petty even though I don't run the capital of one of the richest and most influential countries in the world.

I can remember my very first instances of news rage. They were when two smug gits, Tony Blair and Ken Livingstone were elected. I disliked both of them from the start (in fact way before either of them were in power.) and thankfully Blair has gone. Livingstone on the other hand is still there, but only by the skin of his teeth and apparently his sheer, blatent and gobsmacking contempt for the London Assembely who he has abused consistently throughout his regime. I have seen documentary after documentary and footage of Ken attacking assembely members on both professional and personal issues to a point that would undoubtedly be called bullying in any other arena.


I think his utter arrogance or utter delusion is perfectly highlighted by his handling of both professional matters like the Lee Jasper affair and personal matters like his drinking and now his extended family. He seems to think that both his professional and personal life is beyond our gaze and scrutiny. He seems to think that his moral compas, whichever direction it happens to be pointing in doesn't matter and shouldn't matter to the public. Wake up Ken or go to the doctor. Both your professional and personal life is within our interest, and your party put it there when they smashed the last conservative government. It does matter to the public. Everybody can see your hypocracy. Everyone can see that you have not lived up to any of your promises, everyone can see the smoke and you know what they say about smoke!

Thing is, if you look at the wider picture, old Ken is a perfect reflection of everything this present government stands for and has achieved. Absolutely nothing but smoke and mirrors.

See you in another political life old boy....I hope not!!!