Councillor John Friary Blog

Bad news on Cuts in Southwark, a mixed year for me and Hibs struggling again!!

2010-12-16T11:29:00.008Z

I am off to Edinburgh for Christmas and New Year with dad and the family!!

I am coming back to deal with the consequences of the very bad news about the Southwark settlement from this revolting CON DEM Coalition!! We have been working through a worst case scenario of £20M cuts and have now learned that we have to find £33M of cuts over 11% and the worst financial cuts in London!! And we have to find another £17M cuts the year after so devastating news and Southwark residents will suffer because of this draconian right wing CON DEM Coalition who are doing this because they want to and not because they have to!!

It has been a mixed year for me starting with deselection and the death of my mother in March but followed by selection and election in Brunswick Park Ward and a fantastic victory in the Southwark Elections and now six months as Cabinet Member for Community Safety!!

The death of my dear friend Clare Cozens was also a terrible blow to all of us and I was honoured to attend and read at her Memorial Service at St.Giles last Saturday we all miss her!!!

A good year for Awards with the Tilley Award and the Noise Abatement Society Award for the Council and the Mayor's Green 500 Award at London Met, hope it continues next year!!

On the Hibs front 4th place last season was followed by a good pre-season and an early exit from the Europa Cup but our season was ruined by the last day snatch of Anthony Stokes by Celtic which effectively cost John Hughes his job so not with Colin Calderwood in charge the Jury is still out!! Some poor performances and the fantastic 3-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox so who knows!! Plan to go with dad to Easter Road over the break to judge for myself weather permitting!

Cabinet Member for Community Safety Monthly Report November 2010

2010-11-26T13:31:00.007Z

My Monthly Report for November 2010:

1. Violent Crime Strategy - The final version is complete and will be going to Cabinet Agenda planning very soon and hopefully before Cabinet in December.

2. Dangerous Dogs Strategy - I agreed an IDM to consult on the Strategy which will include a borough-wide Dog Control order and is planned to go to Cabinet in March. It is very much supported by the Deputy Mayor for Community Safety and similar Government Legislation is also progressing.

3. Fireworks - We had a relatively quiet time over the 2 weeks of Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night with a 50% reduction in Police and fire Brigade calls in the 2 weeks leading up to 5th November and on the night a 32% reduction in Police calls and a 57% reduction in Fire Brigade calls so all in all a good result from a very successful 2 week campaign of communication, prevention and enforcement!

4. Home Office Tilley Award - Southwark Council won the London Region Tilley Awartd and came Third in the National Home Office Tilley Award for our work on gang disruption in Peckham. The Trophy is in the Tooley Street Reception Cabinet!

5. Noise Abatement Society John Connell Award - Southwark Council also won an Award for our work on noise control with the developers of the Shard and I had the pleasure of accepting the Award and giving another award to our very own Alan Blissett, a lifetime Achievement Award for 47 years...and counting!... with Southwark Council!!

6, GLA/MPA Community Safety Roadshow in Greenwich - I attended the Roadshow and spoke to Kit Malthouse about our violent crime and Dog control Strategies and about possibilities of securing additional police resources in Southwark in the future.

7. Snow and Frost Preparations - I attended an Emergency planning Meeting today to discuss the cold weather expected over the next week and the likelihood of severe frost and some snow. It looks like the gritting lorries will be out this weekend and we have our salt stocks up to 900 tonnes with another 500 tonnes on order so looks like we are well set up. We also discussed priority roads and pavements and what we could be on estates so a really useful meeting.

8. Damilola Taylor 10th Anniversary of his tragic death - There is considerable Press and Media interest over the past week culminating in the Anniversary of Damilola's death tomorrow.

I have been interviewed by the Independent on Sunday, South London press and the Guardian with radio interviews on LBC and BBC Radio London Drivetime this evening and possibly more over the weekend with hopefully a positive story about Peckham today as compared with 10 years ago and of Damilola's Legacy!!

9. Spirit of London Reception in 10 Downing Street - I attended the Prime Ministers Reception at No.10 with all of those Shortlisted for the Spirit of London Awards at the O2 tomorrow. I spoke to Patrons Alexandra Burke and Christine Ohuruogu and to the parents of Jimmy Mizzen.

10. Clichy Visit to Southwark - There was a strong Community Safety presence in the recent Clichy delegation visit to Southwark with the Deputy Mayor for Community Safety, the Head Officer for Community Safety and a Senior Police Officer so I spent a day with them taking them to our CCTV Control Room, the Shard and out with the Community Wardens which seemed to go down well and i have an invite to visit Clichy next year!

Tilley and John Connell Award Winners, Clichy Visit , Remembrance sunday in Southwark and Hibs back to winning ways!!!

2010-11-15T12:16:00.008Z

It was an Awards week special with two dates at the House of Commons, firstly winning the Home Office Tilley Award for London and getting third place Nationally for our work disrupting Gangs in Peckham.

Secondly we won the Noise Abatement Society John Connell Award for our work with the builders of the Shard at London Bridge. I also presented my friend Alan Blissett with a Lifetime Achievement Award for 47years work at Southwark controlling noise!!

We had a delegation from our Twin Town of Clichy and they has a Community Safety focus so I spent an afternoon and evening with them showing them what we were doing in Southwark!!

This is me with my Clichy Counterpart in the Southwark Community Wardens control room Room. I was really envious of his nice sash!!!

On Sunday we had our Remembrance Sunday Ceremony at Walworth Road Town Hall and the Clichy Mayor was also present, always a moving and dignified event!

At last Hibs are winning with a good 2-1 win over Motherwell on the back of that fantastic 3-0 win at Ibrox on Wednesday!!!

CSR Review, Campaigning, Cambridge House, Banksy and Hibs have a new Manager!!

2010-10-26T14:56:00.013+01:00

And so the largest Public Spending cuts since the early Thatcherite Years are upon us!!!
Cuts of £81 Billion and for Southwark Council £90M cuts over the next 4 years, more than 30% of our total Budget from Government!!!

Probably the most nauseating element of the whole speech was the cheering from the Tories and Lib Dems, images which i know will come back to haunt them!!

Good to see the Telegraph today report a lead for Labour for the first time in 4 years and surely that will increase as the real impact of these cuts become clear to the electorate!!
Great Mobile Surgery in Newington Ward on Saturday with Patrick and Neil and I plan to spend a fair bit of time in that ward supporting them in the future as I do Clare in Chaucer!!!
Today I had a Tour around the Cambridge House building works which will radically transform the building and enable Cambridge House to grow as an organisation even in these very troubled times!!
Spotted the Bermondsey Banksy over the weekend already protected by a plastic screen, very nice it is too!!!

Hibs have Colin Calderwood as their new Manger and even after a defeat at Aberdeen on Saturday a bit of optimism in the camp for the future!!!

LIb Dem Hypocrisy on University Tuition Fees and the Theatre with Shakespeare and ABBA!!!!

2010-10-15T13:52:00.007+01:00

Of course the big story is the quite astonishing hypocrisy from the Lib Dems all signing a pledge not to increase University Tuition Fees, see the Blessed Simon Hughes above!!, and then would you believe it? going back on their Manifesto Promises!!! this may well turn out to be one u-turn too far for the Lib Dems and may really come back to bite them hard in the weeks and months to come!!
With the Comprehensive Spending review out next Wednesday it will clearly be tough times ahead for all of us as we have to deal with public service cuts which would have made Margaret Thatcher blush!!!
The London Met Building Refurb programme continues and the picture above is of the new Moorgate Basement. Will be complete in February 2011!

Plenty of Theatre recently with Henry IV Parts I and II on Saturday at the last performance at the Globe of the Season!! Excellent it was too!!

Last night I went to see mama Mia with my visiting Cousin from Helsinki and again it was a great night and a real uplifting evening!!!

Ed Miliband as Leader, Anti-Knife Campaign, Back to the Floor and Darren and Helen's Weddning!!

2010-10-04T14:18:00.009+01:00

So Ed Milliband is the new Labour Leader! I voted for him and Ken for the Mayoral Candidate but my friends Johanna Baxter and Gordon Nardell just missed out on the NEC and NPF respectively!

Lots of new Member's joining and Campaigning on Saturday was just like the good old days with a very very positive response on the knocker!!!

Met the Govts. Anti-Knife Ambassador Brooke Kinsella on the Four Squares Estate to look at our innovative Youth Leader Project where young people go out and talk to young people, get contact details and signpost them to local activities and even run Youth Clubs. A great project that needs supporting!!!
I went "Back to the Floor" a couple of times over the past few weeks, out with Noise Patrol and then out with the Wardens, a really useful experience and I am booking trips out with the EHO's and Tradings Standards Officers soon but back out with the Community Wardens on November 5th, their busiest night of the year!!!
I had a great time in Christchurch at Darren and Helen's Wedding, my first time there and it was a great place, lovely B&B, sunny weather and a great time had by all!! many Congrats to them both!!

The Fourth Southwark Labour Party Conference 2010

2010-09-13T09:43:00.006+01:00

Southwark Labour Party Conference
Saturday 11th September 2010 at the Beomund Centre

REPORT FROM COUNCILLOR JOHN. J. FRIARY,
CABINET MEMBER FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY

Crime and the fear of crime constantly appears in any Southwark resident survey near the top of their concerns even although crime overall is at it’s lowest reported levels for over 25 years in Southwark. London and the UK as a whole largely due to the work of the Labour Government since 1997. There have been very large reduction is burglaries, car theft and street robberies but violent crime, although low in number, remains a significant problem in Southwark and a real cause of public anxiety so we need to tackle it at it’s route causes as well as of course with the perpetrators. Low level anti social behaviour, “neighbours from hell” etc. can and do make people’s lives a misery so we need to deal with that as well, including the scourge of dangerous dogs.
I am concerned that the savage cuts proposed by the CON DEM Coalition Government will make this harder and may actually reverse some of the recent success and that is why we need to work as smartly as we can, work with our neighbours, focus on what works and what gives us the greatest return from our investment and empower people to take action locally to make there homes safer.
Below is a brief update on progress to date:

Violent Crime Strategy
We are now at the stage of having a final draft for consultation of this key strategy which formally began on the 1st September and will conclude in late October for consideration be the Cabinet.We will be having a Cabinet Briefing next week as it has many cross cutting themes and have already met with Catherine and Ian to discuss community safety issues and will be meeting with other cabinet Members soon to discuss how we can work together on some of the issues raised by this document.
There is a lot of detail in the document on the range of violent crime where it is being committed and by whom and also analysis by case study of how young people get drawn into drug dealing, gang membership, serious violent crime and ending up as a perpetrator or victim and how and when we can intervene so I hope you will help me get it right as it will shape our approach over this entire Administration.

We have won the London Region of the Tiller Award for our work in Gang dispruption and are nominated for the National Award and have had great success with our Diamond Project aimed at preventing reoffending and have Channel 4 News and Panorama making films on the work.

Extending CCTV in Southwark
CCTV works as a deterrent, public reassurenace and it catches criminals and the public like it so we are committed to extending CCTV where we can and have already made significant progress already with our deal with Transport fro London to have access to over 70 of there cameras operating on the main routes through Southwark. By upgrading our Control Room and working with our neighbouring boroughs we can further extend coverage and have access to better clearer pictures by being able to link with other existing systems. This is a very cost effective and efficient way to meet our Manifesto Commitment

Dog Control Policy
We are working on a Borough Wide Policy to deal with dangerous dogs and again will be consulting on this in the Autumn so again your comments will be valuable.Kit Malthouse is very supportive of such initiatives and lobbying the Government for legislation on this.

Residents Safety on Estates
I was involved in some radio and press media in August with the story of plans to set up a Residents Security Team on an Estate in Lane Ward.I met the Organiser and am working with him to try to deal with some of the issues on the Estate and also to discuss perhaps a new model for cooperation between residents, police and the Council working together on Estates to improve community safety.
I also met with Silla Carron, a tenants rep on a Camden Estate who has been features by the BBC recently on her work turning around a crime ridden Estate and I hope to work with her in the future to provide some guidance for T&RA’s on how to do the same.

Cooperation with Counterparts in Lambeth and Lewisham

I am developing a very good working relationship with our colleagues in Lambeth and Lewisham and plan regular meetings in rotation between Tooley Street and Brixton and Lewisham Town Hall. One of the first areas is the Purple Flag Scheme for nightime economy areas. It is being trialled in Brixton and hopefully we can develop something in Herne Hill and Camberwell over the next year!

Air Monitoring Stations
Two new high tech Air Quality Monitoring Stations are now in operation at either end of the Old Kent Road and hopefully more will follow.
Community Safety Campaign
The Comms Team are working on a high profile Campiagn around community safety including posters and Bus Stop Ad Shells so this should be visible in the Autumn

CCTV Article in October's Southwark Life

We are working on a significant article for October's Southwark Life on community safety focusing on our Manifesto commitment to extend CCTV coverage highlighting success stories showing how it does and has worked and how it remains an important part of our community safety strategy.

Back to the Floor
Along with my cabinet colleagues I will be going “back to the floor” next week and for me going out on Noise Patrol really will be a return journey as I last did it in 1989 so am looking forward to going back! I also plan to go out with the wardens, EHO’s and trading Standards officers in the months ahead to give me a clearer idea on what is going on “on the ground”!!

Southwark Youth Council "Crystal Clear" Event at South Bank University

I attended this excellent event with other Labour Cabinet and Labour Group Members with over 100 young people for Political Speed Dating and a Question Time Session. It was a really positive event and I am looking forward to doing more in the future!

Councillor John J. Friary
Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Labour Ward Councillor for Brunswick Park Ward

Southwark Youth Council, Move to Jewry Street, the Camber Well, Rotherhithe Pump House Museum and Hibs lose at home to Rangers!!

2010-08-24T14:13:00.010+01:00

Yesterday I spent a really good day with Southwark Council Cabinet colleagues at London South Bank Universityfor the "Crystal Clear" Event with around 10 young people from Southwark Youth Council and local Youth Clubs around the Borough! We had Political Speed Dating and Question Time during the day and it was a great chance to talk to young people face to face and I hope we can do a lot more of it over the next 4 years!!!

Packed up at London Met and ready for the move to Jewry Street which is a lovely old building with lots of history and even a Roman Centurion Ghost so cant wait to move in next week!!!
I went along to an Open Day to see the remains of the original Camber Well and the guy in the picture John Chapple is very keen to restore it and even perhaps get water from the Well again which is a fantastic idea so am supporting him to see how we can do it!! Already planning the labels for the bottles (Del Boy like!) of Camberwell Spring water from the Camber Well!!!

Went to the Rotherhithe Pump House Museum to carry out a Health & Safety Inspection and have a chat with the Mangers and trustees and was very impressed and hope to be a Trustee myself in the near future and continue to support a brilliant local Museum doing so much for young people and the elderly!!

This is the Fete/Fun day Season with 2 in Brunswick Ward over the weekend on the D'Eynesford Estate and a Barbeque on the 73 Grove Lane Estate!! Weather was ok with rain staying away for most of the day!!!

Watched Hibs Vs rangers on Sky on Sunday and Easter Road looks fantastic with the new Stand open and the pitch widened!! Did not do us much good though going 3-0 to Gers with the key issue being the cheat Rangers Goalkeeper trying to get Riordan sent of by feigning a head butt, bizarrely the Referee booked them both but tempers then were lost and 2 players sent off before half time!! Disgraceful and I hope he is disciplined!! Great to hear the Hibs fan boo him for the rest of the match!!
You can see the Match Report and Goals with the Link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8930132.stm

Edinburgh Trip, Remembering Clare and Hibs ready for new Season!

2010-08-12T14:57:00.004+01:00

I had a nice time in Edinburgh with Clair and the kids with the Fringe just kicking it off the Town Centre was incredibly busy but dad enjoyed it and Bernadette and Tony and Family from Helsinki were around so a nice family time together. Plans to go to Monaghan in early September and Helsinki next Summer!!

Nice to get away from most of it for a few days interrupted only by radio Interviews on BB Radio London with Paul Ross and Gaby Roslin on Thursday and Nick Ferrari on LBC on Friday about residents setting up their own Security Patrols on the Wivenhow Close Estate. Plan to meet with them next week to discuss how we can work together with the Police to deal with asb on the Estate! I was able to rearrange my travel plans and get back for my good friend Clare Cozens Funeral Service at St. Giles. A real tragedy for everyone and devastating for her family and friends but a beautiful and fitting service with a Memorial being arranged for October probably.
Her sad death covered in the SLP. Southwark News and Guardian.

After the Funeral Service some of us had Lunch and Prosecco in Caravaggio's in Memory of Clare.

Hibs pre-season finally over with a good Tour of Holland followed by a crushing defeat in the Europa cup and fiunally a good 2-1 away Victory at Premiership New Boys Blackpool! Not too many players in or out but De Graaf looks good and excitement mounts for the opening of the new Stand for the rangers game on August 23rd! Easter Road with a capacity of over 20,000!! Cant wait to see it!!!

Running Southwark, Day in Brussels and Hibs in Europe!!!

2010-07-29T12:13:00.008+01:00

It has been an exceptionally busy month settling in to live within the Cabinet and the Ruling Administration. We have already taken some big decisions on the Elephant and Castle Regeneration and Potters Field and I am progressing things within my Community Safety Portfolio on CCTV Extension, Violent Crime Strategy, Dog Control policy and dealing with Anti Social Behavious especially on Estates!
I am having regular meetings with Counterparts in Lambeth and Lewisham to share best practice and work on joint initiatives like the Purple Flag initative with Lambeth!

Lots of Briefings and Meetings in Tooley Street day and evening and of course my ward work in Brunswick part so pretty full on!

My sister was down last week and we did lots of touristy things like climb St. Pauls, see Swan Lake at the Ballet and spent a day in Brussels so good fun but long tiring days!!

Hibs venture into Europe for the first time in some years in the Europa Cup Qualifier against NK Moribor next week so would be great to see them get through to the First Round Proper and then who knows!!!

Elephant & Castle Regeneration gets the Green light, London Met win Green Award and the "Green" new Stand rises from the ashes!!!

2010-07-09T13:55:00.009+01:00

The biggest news this week is that we as the Cabinet ageed the Regeneration Agreement for the Elephant and Castle e with Lend Lease, a £1.5Billion project to transform the area. We sought extra assurnaces on Socail Housing provision, as well as the future of the Shopping Centre and plans for a new Leisure Centre on the site of the current one and were happy that in all three of those aras things had moved along significantly over the deal that the Lib Dem/Con Coalition Administration were prepared to sign before May!! Not too surprising that the Lib Dems now oppose the deal which just really shows them up for what they are and they can take absolutely nop credit for the years fo dither and delay over this project which is now going to start moving!!!

London Met won a Silver Awards at the Mayor of London's Green 500 Awards Ceremony in June and we now have a shiny award to give to our VC!!!

Had a great boys ( and girls under 10!!) day out on the banks of the Regents Canal last Saturday on a really beautiful day with bee and curry!!!
Things looking good at Easter Road with Hibs buying new players, waiting forn the Europa Cup draw and the new East Stand taking shape for next Season with a 20,000 Ground capacity!!! Cant wait to go there!!!

World cup, Cabinet and University life, and Camberwell Arts Festival 2010!

2010-06-28T12:58:00.002+01:00

Obviously a bit obsessed by the World Cup in South Africa watching as many games as I can and of course witnessing England's grim showing culminating in the heavy defeat to the Germans yesterday!!

Lots of stuff at the University with training and briefings all round as in process of reducing hours to time share between London Met and Southwark Council!! IOSH Training, Business Continuity and Environmental Briefings for the past few weeks!!

Getting out and about as I really dont want to "manage" from Tooley Street! Met Cllr. Lauder at the Hour Glass Pub last week to talk about asb and also met Tessa Jowell and Lambeth Councillors and Cabinet Member of problems in the Herne Hill area!! I am meeting up with my Lewisham Counterpart soon and getting out to all Ward SNT Panels to find out what people think on the ground about Community Safety!!

I attended a really good initiative at Dockhead Fire Station where young people spend a week as a Firefighter and "Pass Out" in font of family!! great idea and hope to see it develop further!

The Camberwell Arts Festival 2010 is in full swing with lots of very visible things going on which is good and work progressing on the South London Gallery and the Camberwell Leisure Centre so lots happening and all good in Camberwell!!!

The Work as a Southwark Council Cabinet Member begins in earnest, Milwall get promoted, at home with dad and London Met win Silver!!!

2010-06-10T12:47:00.011+01:00

Exciting times for me as the new Cabinet Member for Community Safety and the Councillor for Brunswick Park Ward! Lots of Officer Briefings and Public Meetings and Events to attend so plenty to keep me busy!!New Cabinet and Councillor colleagues to get to know and work with and a really impressive bunch they are too!! We had a Tour of the key Borough sites recently and a Labour Group Away Day at the weekend so lots of opportunities to get to know each other. I am also in touch with my counterparts in Lambeth and Lewisham to share information and work more closely together!!
Had a great day at Wembley watching the Lions get promoted to the Championship next Season, great atmosphere at a virtually full Stadium. Noe the World Cup to look forward to and I pulled Honduras in the London Met Sweepstake so not spending my winnings yet!! I spent a week up in Edinburgh with dad and Mum's Bench is now installed at Lauriston Castle so we visited a couple of times! He is very please d that it is there and it is easy for him to get too and a really beautiful place!!I attended the Globe theatre's Underglobe this week as London Met University picked up a Silver Award at the Green 500 Awards 2010 with Boris Johnston the guest of Honour!!!.. as entertaining and eccentric as ever!!

Cabinet starts working, Community Safety Priorities and Millwall at Wembley!!!

2010-05-25T12:56:00.008+01:00

It was a long hard week last week taking over control of Southwark Council and taking on my role as Cabinet Member for Community Safety with lots of Briefings on my Portfolio as well as the pressing matter of the Elephant & Castle Regeneration!! In terms of community safety my priorities are developing a coherent Violent Crime Strategy, upgrading and extending CCTV coverage around the borough where it is needed, taking action on dangerous dogs and adopting a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour on the streets and on the Estates!
We will upgrade the CCTV Monitoring Centre to make it digital and then extend our network and we should have this all up and running over the next few months! There is also possiblity of linking in with other existing systems to increase the coverage further and so delivering quiickly on a key Labour Manifesto Pledge!!
We also need to focus our ever more limited resources in areas where it is needed therefore reorganising the Community Wardens to Town Centred Teams seems sensible to me!
I am keen to see significant progress on all of these fronts over the next 3 months and want to take a cross departmental approach to Youth Crime looking at Education, Youth provision as well as regeneration and the environment to tackle the causes of crime at source. I do support the use of ASBO's and ABC's to deal with offenders and think that they have been and remain a useful tool in tackling Youth Crime. I am also keen to develop better victim support in all areas of crime including domestic violence!
I do think that we need to work on closing the gap between the publics perception of crime and the reality so that people feel more safe and that may include more CCTV, more visible police presence and even better street and Estate lighting.

I went to a couple of Election Celebration Parties at the weekend, one for DAWN arranged by new Councillor Sunil Chopra of a fantastic hot day in Dulwich!!
The second was for South Camberwell at Councillor Veronica Ward's and a good time was had by all!!

Another busy week ahead including a Tour of the Borough with the Cabinet on Friday!
Saturday and off to Wembley again to see if Millwall can do it this time and beat Swindon to get a richly deserved place in the Championship!
The pic is from last year when they had it snatched away from them by Scunthorpe in virtually the last minute!! COME ON THE LIONS!!!!

Labour take over at Southwark Town Hall, Community Safety Priorities and Millwall back at Wembley!!!

2010-05-21T11:57:00.004+01:00

Well it has been quite a week with the Labour Group taking over the reigns of Southwark Council following the Mayor making and Constitutional Council on Wednesday!!

It was fantastic to see my good friend and Labour Group Colleague Tayo Situ become Mayor of Southwark with Lorraine Lauder as his Deputy, they will both be a credit to us and Southwark!!

The new Labour Cabinet took control and I became the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, a role that I have shadowed for the past 7 years!!!
The Labour Council Manifesto can be seen through the link below:
http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/uploads/089d69db-87f0-2284-d51c-883ead9cffae.pdf

I spent much of yesterday meeting Officers and we are already making good progress on a number of our community safety manifesto Commitments such as :

1. Improving, upgrading and extending our CCTV coverage around the borough in areas where it is most needed,

2. Developing a wide ranging Violent Crime Strategy to link up work across Departments in a coherent way,

3. Targeting drug dealing on Housing Estates and the associated Gang culture and crime that comes with it,

4. A Zero Tolerance approach to anti social behaviour in areas like dog fouling, noisy neighbours and improving the ASB Helpline

5. Continuing to support more 20mph speed limits in the borough

6. To protect Police numbers against cuts and to organise our community wardens where they are most needed.

I am getting used to working in Tooley Street on the 4th floor and meeting the staff who will help us!

My University Office is just across Tower Bridge so no more than 10 minutes apart!!

Good Southwark news article:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/36/new_leader_sets_out_his_vision

Great Result for Millwall in the week and another Wembley trip beckons a week on saturday!!
Richard, Fiona and I plan a repeat trip just hoping for a better result: COME ON YOU LIONS!!!!
Highlights of Play Off semi:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8691781.stm

Labour Win Southwark Council and Hibs get 4th SPL Spot and Europa Cup Place!!

2010-05-10T10:48:00.015+01:00

Great images of a Fantastic night as Labour took back Southwark Council with a majority of 7:

LABOUR 35, LIB DEMS 25, CONSERVATIVES 3

Details at Southwark Council link below:

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/1000/election_results/1618/council_elections_2010

Election day was spent in East Walworth on a sunny day and a brilliant group of people fighting for every vote!!
It was a great if long and tiring day and we took all three seats as well as seats in South Camberwell, Chaucer, Newington and even College Ward!

Prior to the Election Gordon Brown came to Inspire at Walworth Road at a really inspiring Rally!!
Hibs get Europa Cup Spot after a great away 2-0 win at Dundee United after a very up and down Season!!

Next Season a new Stand and European Football and hopefully some beter defenders and goalkeepers!!

Dundee Unt. Game report below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8666200.stm

That incredible 6-6 game against Motherwell:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8668079.stm

VOTE LABOUR ON THURSDAY MAY 6TH 2010 IN GENERAL AND SOUTHWARK COUNCIL ELECTIONS!!!

2010-05-04T12:47:00.009+01:00

We now enter the final few days of the General and Southwark Council Elections Campaign!! After an unforeseen absence I am getting back into it Campaigning, leafleting and attending Hustings!
We have some very good material for the Campaign, our Introductory Leaflet, a fantastic Manifesto Leaflet and of course our Election Address!

The Camberwell Hustings were great and we all agreed we should do more of that in between Elections!!!

On Sunday i went to a Gordon Brown meeting at Inspire Crypt in Walworth Road. Fantastic speech and a great boost for Southwark Labour Party members!! More Pics and videos on Facebook!!

So we are now at the sharp end of the campaigns with no one really clear on the outcome of either so it is simply a case of working as hard as possible over the next few days and on Thursday to keep the Tories out of Westminster and the Lib Dems and Tories out of Southwark Town Hall!!! VOTE LABOUR ON THURSDAY MAY 6TH!!!

Election Fever builts in Westminster and Southwark Town Hall and Hibs scrap for Europa Cup spot!!!

2010-04-26T10:28:00.007+01:00

And so we enter the final 2 weeks Campaigning to keep the Tories out of No.10 and the Lib Dem/Tory Coalition out of the Town Hall!!

Although the televised debates do appear to have had a strange effect on the Polls they are clearly the right way to go and are now part of the UK

Political scene!

It does look like this Election may have a very unique outcome with large protest voites against both Major parties bolstering the Lib Dem vote with of course Clegg's competent and confident performances on air!!

A Hung Parlaiment looks the most likely with Gordon Brown having the first go at making deals with the smaller parties to form an Administration!!

Locally we have the key wards which will dictate the outcome of the Election, with East Walworth, Chaucer, Livesey, South Camberwell , Peckham Rye and East Dulwich the Labour/Lib Dem Battlegrounds!!
Our pledge for Free School Meals is very popular on the doorstep so it will be a very tense and nervous last couple of weeks til polling Day!!
Our Manifesto can be read at the link below:
http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/uploads/089d69db-87f0-2284-d51c-883ead9cffae.pdf

Hibs form continues to collapsing from 2nd to 5th in a matter of months and scrapping with Motherwell for 4th and the Europa Cup spot. Failling that we have to hope for the Arabs (Dundee Utd.) to beat Ross County to get the extra Europa Cup place should be end up in 5th spot!!

Death of mum and the General Election called!

2010-04-15T10:49:00.005+01:00

I have been out of circulation for a few weeks due to the sudden death of my mother and I am still in Edinburgh with dad but returning to London at the weekend.
The Funeral Reception went well with lots of relatives from Ireland, England, Northern ireland and Scotland present.
Bernadette, Kevin and I took dad to Kelso in the Scottish Borders for a day out last week which he enjoyed.

Meanwhile the General Election has been called for May 6th, the same day as the Southwark council Elections.

Good first Party Election Broadcast:

http://www2.labour.org.uk/theroadahead

The Manifesto launch went well with a new animated version for circulation:

http://www.facebook.com/labourparty?ref=mf#!/video/video.php?v=598042498104&ref=mf

Hibs have had a miserable time over the last month and may not even hold on to fourth place, a disaster!!

Council Assembly signals end of Administration, The India Club, Scotland win in Dublin and Hibs lose at Tynecastle!!

2010-03-23T10:02:00.008Z

We have the final Council Assembly of the current Administration tomorrow evening and hopefully the last one with a Tory/Lib Dem Coalition in power!!
In Brunswick Park Ward we have all our leaflet material and Nomination paperwork complete and are out helping our "twinned" ward in South Camberwell!
This is really the last week of Council Meetings then I am off to Edinburgh for Easter and then straight into the Election campaign!!
Met up with "Alderman" Ian Driver last night for a drink in the Princes Louise and then off to the India Club, my favorite curry house!!!
Saying farewell to my colleagues Susan Elan Jones and Andrew Pakes as they leave London to fight in their respective Parliamentary Contituencies with Alison McGovern having her farewell next week which i unfortunately will miss as I am in Scotland!! Good luck to them all and would be great to have all three of them in the House of Commons in May!!

Scotland at last performed as we all know they can with a fantastic victory over Ireland at Croke Park!! All in all a poor season but some very good signs and lots to work on for next year's World Cup!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8578777.stm

Hibs played very poorly again against Hearts going down 2-1 but from the highlights could have been much worse! The slump continues an we are struggling badly!! Sad highlights below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8579049.stm

Campaigning in full swing, Housing in a mess, a Cinema for Camberwell and Hibs and Scotland throw away leads to draw!

2010-03-19T11:03:00.012Z

It feels like the Election is already in full swing with lots of leafleting and Campaigning in Brunswick Park , our "twinned" ward of South Camberwell and of course our Target Wards!

Trying to keep engaged with Camberwell Green issues including the Gala Bingo Hall, St. Michaels and All Angels new build, Mid- Elmington redevelopment, the D'Eynesford Pit and the Grosvenor Terrace T&RA and plans to sell off their Tenants Hall.
I am also going to Brunswick Park T&RA Meetings, good to go to Sceaux Gardens AGM last week and see a lots of familiar faces from 8 years ago and get a very nice welcome back. Hope to go to Wilson's Road and Lettsom Meetings in the next month. Of course the D'Eynesford Estate is split betwen both wards so no continuity problems there!

Steve Lancashire has made a really good You Tube video on Housing repair problems and you can see it below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcNO9CYug9Y&feature=autofb
It will be great to have someone of Steve's ability back on the Council again!!
It is good to read that the Cinema for Camberwell campaigners met with the Gala Bingo Hall owners Medinbrand and the RCCG to discuss the future and the idea of a "Camberwell Village Hall" is developing which sounds promising but apparently there is the suggestion of a "moral veto" on uses which i think may be problematic and in any case any arrangements would have to be backed up by a Legal Agreement at Planning Committee to protect the range of uses before any Change of Use could be considered.
But at least the two sides are talking and that has to be a good thing so I will watch from afar with interest!!

There is still much concern at the new St. Micheals and All Angels plans for their new School. It would be a real pity if the plans go to committee without local residents support after all the efforts that have been made so I hope that the two sides can get some agreement ahead of Committee but again i wont be involved as it will be after May.

Hibs struggled against Ross County at home and face a difficult away game in Dingwall (about as far North as you can get!) on the 23rd March! A win will give us a Semi-Final game against Celtic at Hampden!!Details below: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8563556.stm

Scotland were a bit unlucky to draw with England with Dan Parkes hitting the post twice with kicks but overall am playing well below par and finish off with against Ireland in Dublin which looks a very tricky match!

Highlights of Calcutta Cup game below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8563075.stm

As I would rather see Ireland win that France or England I wont be too upset if Scotland are put to the sword on Saturday!! The Friary name allows me to support both teams so I cant lose!!

Busy at Town Hall, Gala Bingo and Hibs and Arsenal win!!

2010-03-09T13:30:00.007Z

It is another busy week at the Town Hall and around as the last meetings of the current Administration take place. I attended my last OSC last night and have my last Scrutiny A Meeting on Wednesday where hopefully we can agree the Housing Repairs Scrutiny Report!
Campaigning in Brunswick Park and around Southwark continues and builds up pace as we more closer to the Election deadline with a real feeling of confidence amongst Labour members about both the National and the Local Election Results a so all to fight for!!

As I expected I have had a mixed reaction to my comments on the Gala Bingo Hall and it's future and the reality is of course that this is not and will not become a debate on race or religion but one of Planning Policy and "Change of Use". This is the last of the 4 Cinemas of Camberwell and I think that the Council has a duty to preserve it for public, community and entertainment use which is what the current classification does. It will not reach Planning committee until after May so I will not be the Ward Councillor anyway but way make my views known as a local resident which it is my right to do. it would be very unfortunate and rather cynical if anyone attempts to suggest any sinister motivation behind this campaign as the Group established to have a Cinema in Camberwell was created before any news of the Church sale was made public!!
Hibs got back to winning ways and hopefully ended the slump with a 1-0 win over Kilmarnoock in the strangely quiet Easter Road with the demolition of the old East Stand underway:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8554625.stm

I was at the Emirates on Saturday to see Arsenal beat Burnley rather comfortably 3 -1 in the end but struggle with lots of the play and poor finishing but a really good day out and great to see Tsui and James again!

There is a brilliant mural at the Emirates with all the players past and present in a Group Photo, I picked out the Wenger Generation!!
Worth a look next time you are in the area or at a match!!

Gala Bingo Hall, BPK Campaigning very positive, Hibs need to beat Killie and going to watch Arsenal vs Burnley tomorrow!

2010-03-05T16:30:00.006Z

There was a very well attended Camberwell Community Council in the week and a discussion on the Gala Bingo Hall.

This is the last of the 4 old Camberwell Cinemas that could be brought back to use and I am disappointed that Gala were not even prepared to talk to us but sell to an Evangelical Church RCCG who will now seek a Change of Use Permission at Planning.
This is the last chance to bring back into use an old cinema and really develop an entertainment cnetre for all but looks like the opportunity has gone although I think with 5 churches in the area and a change of use required there is a strong possibility of Planning Permission being refused as has happened in Crystal Palace where Gala again sold their building to the RCCG without any local consultation. I will watch with interest !!

Great to see the new Tiger Pub at Camberwell Green open with the original frontage back for all to see!! Hope it is a big success and plan to visit very very soon!!

Brunswick Park Campaigning going extremely well and reassuring to see the vote on the big estates as strong as ever!!

It is going to be a long hard 10 weeks til polling day but critical to do as much as we can to keep the Tories and the Lib Dems out of the House of Commons and the Town Hall!!!
Hibs take on Killie tomorrow and need to get back to winning ways!!

I am at the Emirates to see Arsenal take on Burnley and perhaps go top of the Premiership even for a day!

Interested to see ex-Hibs Stephen Fletcher line up for Burnley!!

Budget Setting, a Cinema for Camberwell, Opinion Polls looking good and Hibs come out of slump slowly!!

2010-03-01T16:05:00.005Z

A busy week in the Town Hall with the Budget Setting Council Assembly and a very nervy performance from the Lib Dems as they realise how popular our budget proposals, especially our plans for Free School Meals!!
Sad to hear that Kim Humphries is standing down and it is a real pity that the Tories dont recognise Kim's ability and experience with a seat but I dont blame him for saying enough is enough! A real loss to the Council even although he is a Tory!! In fact I will miss Richard thomas, Caroline Pidgeon and Lorraine Zuleta( assuming I am re-elected!) and I recognise their commitment and hard work over the years even although I have not always agreed with them!!
The SLP covered a Campaign to get a Cinema in Camberwell, a long standing goal given impetus by the closure of Gala Bingo Hall, a fantastic old Cinema which would be perfect to convert back to a Cinema a which I am sure would be very successful in Camberwell!
It appears to have been bought by a Church and that of course will be a matter for the Planning Committee in the future!
http://www.southlondonpress.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=7277&headline=Uproar%20as%20church%20buys%20Camberwell%20bingo%20hall&vote=yes

The Opinion Polls continue to look good for us and the possibility of a historic 4th Labour Term in Government!! The BBC have a great site showing the closing of the Polls over time, all looking good for a may Election!! See site below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8280050.stm

Hibs are hopefully coming out of their slump having at least picked up a pount at home against our bogey team for this season St. Johnstone!
Wehave dropped to 4th behind Dundee Utd. but need to get back on track soon with important Scottish Cup and SPL Games coming up!
Highlights at link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8542083.stm

2010-03-01T16:05:00.001Z

http://www.southlondonpress.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=7277&headline=Uproar%20as%20church%20buys%20Camberwell%20bingo%20hall&vote=yes

Great Weekend in Kent, Budget Setting in Town Hall and Hibs start on Final Stand at Easter Road

2010-02-22T14:37:00.009Z

I had a very good weekend at Broadstairs with Ian, Joe and Kids and visited Herne Bay and Canterbury Citizens Advice Bureaux and have now volunteered to lok at all the national H&S Policies if they are interested!
met up with Stuart and Jackie Witcher in the famous Eagle Pub In Faversham and they were on as good form as ever!

Back to Council and campaigning work this week and been able to reproduce the brilliant Rotten Boroughs piece from Private Eye which really needs no further comment really does it!!

Budget sting Council Assembly on Wednesday so we had to announce our Manifesto commitment to provide Free School Meals which I think will be a vote winner and a great step forward for Southwark Schools!
All the Lib Dems can think of to do with Rate Payers money is to spend £12Million on our Old Town Halls alongside the £150Million on the new Offices at Tooley Streeet! really shows where their priorities are!!

Hibs lost at Motherwell on Saturday and again failed to keep 11 men on the pitch during the game which cost us dear! Highlights below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8527167.stm

On a much brighter note the work on the final Stand at Easter Road begins at last on the 22nd of February to be complete early next season taking the Capacity upto over 20,000.
Hibs seem to be a well run club and a £4M Training Complex and a new Stand really shows that they are ambitious in the longer term and Easter Road will be the 3rd largest and best club ground in Scotland with the 3rd best team!!

Campaigning Weekend, St. Michael's and All Angels, Refreshers Fair and Scotland and Hibs lose!!

2010-02-15T11:19:00.009Z

Lots of campaigning over weekend in Brunswick Park Ward and our twin South Camberwell as well as Borough campaigning in Peckham Rye and even got in some telephone canvassing for Alison McGovern for Wirral South!!

Response generally very good in areas where we would not necessarily expect it so a very positive if tiring experience!!

I have been involved last week with meeting about the propose new St Michael's and All Angels School in the Camberwell Green Ward and another one tonight!

Looks like the developers have listened to public concerns and made significant changes which are still on-going ahead of a Planning Application in March. It is desperately needed and funded with Labour Government money but the residents need to be on-board and their concerns taken into accounts which it looks like is happening!

I was on the stall at the Rocket on Thursday for the Refreshers Fair and managed to shift most of the freebies! Always good fun to do if tiring on the legs!!

It was very disappointing to see Scotland go down at the Millennium Stadium after an excellent performance but to end the game with 13 on the field tells it's own story and we could not hold out! But we were the better team of that there is no doubt! Wales were very fortunate!!

A similar story with Hibs really dropping 2 points mid-week against Aberdeen at home and then going down 3-0 to Rangers at Ibrox! Still playing well and playing good football but the Rangers defence was just too strong for us!!

Southwark in Rotten Boroughs again!, CGS and recycling, Hibs go for second spot and Scotland take on the French at Murrayfield!!

2010-02-05T16:06:00.008Z

Interesting article in Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs outlining the many failings of Southwark Council, most of it oitlined by us in Council Assembly last week!

http://www.private-eye.co.uk/sections.php?section_link=rotten_boroughs

News from the Executive that they will cut funding on CCTV so we got a Press release out about that it just does not make any sense, CCTV works as a deterence, reassurrance and actually does solve crime! We need more not less!!
We have provisionally agreed the CGS Funding for this year to be confirmed at the next Camberwell Community Council. These projects have had a significant impact in the area and glad to see the D'Eynesford Pit is completed. The Orchard project is well underway. Hope that the Wyndham and Comber Frontage gets moving soon!
I am now the proud owner of Southwark Council clear recycling bags with a Monday pick up so I will fully support this and not take my stuff to the bins in the Green and hopefully encourage the Pilot as it really is a very good if long overdue initiative!!

Hibs still winning and are clear in 3rd place and if we will the game in hand could go second above Celtic!

Good last minute win on Saturday over St. Mirren with a last minute og!

Good sign that we dont play well and win!!

Highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/default.stm

The 6 Nations Rugby kick of this weekend and after a good Autumn with that fantastic win over Australia, Scotland can feel very positive as we take on the French at Murrayfield, always slow starters especially away from Paris!!

Council Assembly, Community Council, Murray in Australian Open Final and Hibs fantastic win at Parkhead!!

2010-01-28T12:03:00.010Z

A rather tedious Council Assembly last night with lots of mindnumbing, I mean grandstanding from the Lib Dems about what a great job they had done over the last 8 years.

We were happy to remind them that despite a 37% increase in Government funding from this Labour Government they:

- have had their Audit Commission rating reduced to 2 stars, the worst Council rating in Inner London

- have been "red flagged" for failures in Decent Homes

- have been heavily criticised by the Care Quality Commission, with a rating of "adequate"

- have social care in the worst eight

- have the lowest Council tax collection in London and the 3rd lowest in the Country (they refused to accept a quarter per cent increase for this year!!)

- have the 6th lowest recycling collection rate in England(Tories apaparently critical of them in Dulwich Newsletter yet seconded their motion!! - you could not make it up could you?)

- trying to force through an Elephant and Castle deal with no Masterplan or any plans for the Shopping Centre or Transport

- have a Canada Water Library currently £6M over budget and running costs of £1M per year!

- no coherent Town Centre Management Strategy although agreed it cross-party in 2006!!

The Camberwell Community Council had an interesting on Burgess Park with Youth Council Members contributing to the discussion.

A really positive event! We really need to engage young people in a more regular and structured way and I believe an active Youth Council plus a Youth Mayor is the way to do this!

Ian, Norma and I met to discuss the Election Strategy and hopefully our first Newsletter should be going out next week!

Great news to see Scot and Hibs supporter Andy Murray get through to the Australian Open Final this morning.

The blow by blow account below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8484401.stm

Even better news was the stunning 2-1 away win by Hibs over Celtic at Parkhead with youngster Danny Galbraith scoring the winner in the last minute!!

Sorry that we are helping Rangers out but a great win and we are really looking like a solid squad and a 3rd place shoe in!!

Look at the highlights below and weep (Celtic fans!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8484344.stm

Burns Night, Comminuty Council and Hibs keep winning!!!

2010-01-25T12:07:00.005Z

I had a very nice Burns Supper last night with a few whiskies to wash it down and even a couple of Cypriat Brandies to follow!!

Camberwell Community Council tonight with Council Assembly on Wednesday as we close in on the Election run-in!! No doubt loads of grandstanding to be had over the next few months!!! God preserve us!!!

Hibs continue to impres with a 5-1 thrashing of Hamilton at the weekend and Stokes and Riordan scoring for fun and we look much beter at the back!!

Long may it continue wioth 3rd place looking a strong possibility and a Europa cup spot!!

Highlights of Saturday's game below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/default.stm

Brunswick Park Ward Selection and Hibs beat the "Meadow"!

2010-01-10T09:30:00.008Z

Big news for me of course is that I was selected by the 35+ Members of the Brunswick Ward Labour Party on a very cold Friday evening to stand as a Labour Party Candidate for their Ward in this year's Southwark Council Elections. As you can imagine I am very grateful to those Members and to have the opportunity to continue as a Camberwell Councillor and represent the residents of Brunswick Park Ward, a patch I know very well as a previous Brunswick Ward Member from 1994 to 2002 before the boundaries changed!
The important thing now after a difficult situation over the Past 2 months is to focus on the job at hand, delivering a victory in Brunswick Park Ward, Southwark Council and the UK as a whole for a historic and unparalleled 4th Term Labour Government and the Opinion Polls are sharply moving back in the right direction as the "airbrushed" Cameron becomes gradually more exposed!! Watching Cameron on the Andrew Marr Show at the moment is a timely reminder to me why I do this to keep him and his sort out of power for as long as Humanly possible!!! Perhaps rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated!!!
I am sad for my good friends Sandra Rhule and Mark Williams who were not selected. Sandra has been a fantastic colleague to work with and i hope to continue to work with her in the future and I feel for Mark especially as he was Selected in the first running so must feel very disappointed but he accepted the result with good grace despite my profound guilt but he did remind me that he will still be under 30 by the time of the 2014 Elections so he has time on his side and will be a truly fantastic Councillor for Camberwell and Southwark! For me I cant pretend that the Camberwell Green wounds have fully healed but I need to get over that as quickly as possible and move on and I will!!!
Hibs got through to the next round of the Scottish Cup after a historic game against Irvine Meadow, the first ever competitive match between a SPL team againt a Junior Team, only possible because of recent SFA rule changes.
Inevitably the Meadow came away with all the plaudits if not the result and details are at link below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/8442110.stm

Fire in Camberwell, BPK Selection tonight and Willi Soukoup!

2010-01-08T11:22:00.005Z

Back to London and back to work and a major fire in the ward on Wednesday as another building site went up in flames, with over 75 firefighters tackling it and over 150 people evacuated.

By the time I got there the site was closed off but residents were back in their homes. Made local TV News and another site fire in Southwark!!! Story well covered in Southwark News:

http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/

Good story about Leaseholders in Peronet House being hit with £12000+ bills for Fire safety Works after Lakanal Fire!! Once again it is the Leaseholders who are penalised!!

The News also covered the Brunswick Park Ward Selection Meeting tonight and my last chance to be selected so I am hopefully for a good turnout of people who I actually recognise and hopefully they might select me?

Just put in a CGS Bid to have the Pied Piper Relief by Willi Soukoup Remounted in Camberwell Green.

Also a Memorial to Sid Bates VC "A True Camberwell Boy"!!!

I would love to see more sculptures and memorials around Camberwell so hopefully this will get through. Also included in bid is some upgrading to Play Area.

BPK Decides, Tory Airbrushed Poster and Hibs draw Derby match!!

2010-01-06T12:56:00.005Z

The Brunswick Park Ward Shortlisting Meeting was held on Monday and i have been shortlisted with the Selection Meeting on Friday evening! This is my last chance saloon so weather permitting and a good turnout of Members I hopefully have a chance of being selected!!
I spotted this version of the new Tory Poster on the Labour Goes Forth Facebook site and it made me smile!!
Tory tax plans are also in tatters after it clear that their numbers dont add up again!! Not a very good launch week for the Tory machine!!
Hibs and Hearts fought out a 1-1 draw with the usual head butting, sendings off and bookings galore!! The Fans loved it!!!
Highlights below;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8436134.stm

Sad deaths of Peter Moore and Joan Katchik!

2009-12-31T18:58:00.004Z

Very sad news about the death of Peter Moore, Southwark's and London's Town Crier for many years!

I knew Peter very well over my near 16 years as a Councillor and he was a truly lovely man who really believed in what he was doing and gave his heart and soul to the job, and was especially fond , I know, of Southwark! He was due to be given a Lifetime Achievement awartd at this year's London New Year Parade and I know he would have been very proud of that. Hope I am back in time to attend his Funeral in Southwark Cathedral, again a fitting tribute to him!
The BBC covered his death in thier local news:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8434333.stm
This follows on from the sad death of ex-Mayor and Southwark Labour Group Colleague Joan Katchik who died earlier in the month. Again I worked closely with her and know how much she loved her signing and acting and of course her beloved Leicester City!!
Two very sad losses at the end of the year!

Brunswick Park Decides and Hibs lose but Stokes gets fastest SPL Goal!!

2009-12-29T10:04:00.006Z

I have now heard that the Brunswick Park Ward Shortlisting and Selection Meetings will take place next week so this is the "last chance saloon" for me in terms of next year's Elections so I will take my chanes with the other candidates and see what happens!!I still think that I have something to offer to Camberwell and Southwark over the next four years so hopefully I can convince the Party members of that next week?

Hibs lost surprisingly heavily at home to Rangers, 4-1 but it looks like it was just one of those days with Miller, Boyd and Novo on fire for Rangers and our central defenders awol, even with Bamba playing before his month away with the Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup!!

The real highlight was Anthony Stokes goal after 12.4 seconds, the SPL's fastest ever. See video below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8432513.stm

Unfortunately after that great start we lost four see below for highlights:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8423526.stm

No need to panic with the Hearts Derby next and a good win needed!!

Happy Christmas from a Snowy Edinburgh!!

2009-12-24T19:12:00.003Z

Just resting after last day shopping in a very cold wintery Edinburgh. Took some nice pics of the castle and the City and some very tired reindeers in Princess Street Gardens!

Have a good Christmas and a good year in 2010 especially if you are a Labour Party member or Supporter!!

More evidence of Southwark failing, Alison selected, BPK re-run, back in Scotland and Stokes wins it for Hibs again!!

2009-12-21T09:23:00.010Z

Southwark News covered the story this week of the apparently unstoppable slide of Southwark Council from an improving borough to one of the worst performing in the Country!! Looks like the Tory/Lib Dem Administration have aready given up and are treading water until they are booted out in May, just a pity that Southwark Residents have another 5 months to suffer of this pathetic bunch!!
Fantastic news about my good friend and Camberwell Councillor collegue Alison McGovern who on Saturday was selected by her home Constituency of Wirral South as their PPC at next year's Generasl Election!! Congratuations to her and good news for the people of Wirral South!!

The Brunswick Park Ward Party have decided to re-open the Shortlist and Selection process and obviously I shall be putting my name forward. I have no expectations from this and wil have to put my case on an equal basis with the other canidadates but hopefully it will all be sorted out by Mid-January and I shall know my fate!
I am back homne in a very cold and wintery Edinburgh for the Christmas and New Year Break! Good battery charging exercise for the rigours of the first half of 2010!!

Hibs and Anthony Stokes going great guns with an excellent 2-0 victory over a very good Aberdeen side at Pittodrie on Saturday! Rangers next at Easter Road!
Highlights through the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8410901.stm

Last Chance Saloon for me in BPK, Christmas Lunches, Wonderlands and Markets!!!!

2009-12-16T10:38:00.007Z

Brunswick Ward members meet tomorrow night to either ratify the 3 shortlisted names or re-open the shortlist which is now my only possible route to being a Councillor in Camberwell past May next year. I have no part to play in it so just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow night!! At least I will know by tomorow whether the door has been firmly slammed in my face or if my foot remains slightly trapped in the door letting a little light in!!!

We had our office Lunch at Grapeshot in Shoreditch yesterday and the food was as good as ever so a nice time had by all. The Estates lunch is this afternoon in N1 at Kings Cross!

I went with Clair and Shauna and Sophie to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park on Sunday. Kids loved it very busy and very very expensive!!!

The Camberwell Christmas Market is on the Green on Saturday but I will be long gone back to Edinburgh by then but hope it goes well!!

Hibs are solidly in 3rd place in the SPL with the important holiday programme about to begin with an easy home match against Rangers on the 26th and Hearts in the New Year!! if we come out of it still in 3rd place I will be pretty confident of keeping that spot til the ned of the Season!!

Town Hall problems, OSC, London Met in trouble and Hibs keep on winning!!

2009-12-09T12:56:00.009Z

More signs perhaps of the wheels falling off at Southwark with the very critical Report from the Care Quality Commission and the Secretary of State making Southwark "a priority for improvement"! This follows on the from the Audit Commissions "Red Flagging" Southwark Housing, two major areas of work where Southwark are clearly failing!!!

I spent over 5 hours at the Town Hall at OSC going over the Elephant and Castle deal with Lend Lease in fine detail, well as much detail as we had which was not very much really!!
The crunch time is with the Regeneration Agreement due next March 2010 just ahead of the Elections and we plan to spend a lot of Scrutiny time between now and then going over it as it is the point of no return. There is an argument for not taking any such decision without the endorsement of the new Administration so i hope that sense will prevail and that there will be no mad run to sign ahead of that and risk repenting at leisure!!
Lots of worries about London Met University with HEFcE , the Governors and Executive at loggerheads! There are lots of very good people at London Met and it would be a real tragedy if they had to go in order to tie up loose ends!! a real high price to pay!!

The Indie reported it yesterday
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/london-met-warned-that-it-could-be-closed-1835511.html

Hibs had another good win against a good Motherwell side on Saturday and still doggedly hanging on to 3rd spot ahead of the crunch time over the Festive break!! Hope to see them a couple of times including against the Gers!

Match report below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/default.stm

2009-12-02T13:32:00.004Z

Southwark News followed up on my Deselection with a piece and printed some letters, one from me:

COUNCILLOR 'ANGRY AND UPSET' AT SHOCK DE-SELECTION AFTER FIFTEEN YEARS' SERVICE

Letters from my friends Ian Driver and Stephen Boyer and of course from me
Pretty much nothing more to be said on the matter!!

Hibs kept the 3rd place spot with a professional if not inspiring 2-0 win over Falkirk, highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8385400.stm

The Christmas/New Year period is critical for us so we need to keep it up over the next month and see where we are after the New year game with Hearts! Hope to see a couple of games at Easter Road over the holidays including Rangers on the 26th December!

Reflections on my time at Southwark, Scotland beat Wallabies and Hibs drop points. George Best remembered at Hibs!!

2009-11-24T12:35:00.008Z

I have had many email and texts etc. of support over the weekend so many thanks for that!
I wrote this letter to Southwark News:
Dear Editor,Can I firstly thank you for your kind and generous words about me last week and the many emails, texts, tweets, Facebook and Blog Messages from political friends and foes and the community of Camberwell.
In my 25 years living in Camberwell I have been a member of staff for 7 and an Councillor for 16 so I have invested a lot of my heart and soul into Southwark and Camberwell and I am extremely grateful to the Labour Party and the people of Camberwell for allowing me to do the most fulfilling thing of my life and represent them.
I am of course very disappointed not to have the opportunity to stand as a Labour Party Candidate in Camberwell Green Ward in 2010 as it will a challenging time no matter what the political outcome of the Elections but also a time of opportunity for Camberwell to regenerate and produce some very positive outcomes for the area.
Of course I believe that by far the best chances of this happening will be with a Labour Government and a Labour Council in Southwark and I will work very hard to that end!Once again it has been a real privilege to have represented Camberwell for so long and I hope to be able to continue to contribute in some way in future out of the Town Hall.
John

Scotland had a fantastic and unexpected victory over Australia at the weekend ending a 27 year losing run! Great result for new Coach Andy Robinson and a great boost ahead of the 5 Nations in January.
Link to game highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/scottish/8369615.stm

Hibs picked up a point away in a 1-1 draw against St. Mirren in atrocious weather conditions which in the past would have been a decent result but is seen as 2 points dropped.

Link to match highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8373380.stms.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8373380.stm

BBC have a page of pictures of George Best when he was at Hibs and I actually saw him play in his first game against Rangers when we won 2-0 and guess what he scored one goal and made the other! Great memories of someone past his best but still a fantastic talent!! Not sure how sober he was for most of it but we loved him!!

End of the Road!!!! Alf Wallis Remembered!!

2009-11-19T14:08:00.007Z

Well the word has gotten out pretty quickly about my Deselection on Tuesday and there is really little for me to say on the matter. Everyone who needs to know what happened knows what happens so probably better for me to keep quiet!

Southwark News covered the story today and you can read it on the link:

http://www.southwarkweekender.co.uk/00,news,16504,440,00.htm

I have seen too many people go through the bitter and twisted reaction to setbacks like this to know that that serves no one's interest's least not my own and, although still feeling very raw about it all, will look forward to a Christmas break in Edinburgh and come back to move on with my life after Southwark Council!
It will be strange as this building has played a very important part in my life over the past 25 years, 6 years as a Southwark Employee and nearly 16 years as a Councillor so it will take a bit of getting used to walking past it and not feeling the urge to go to a Meeting! I am sad that there are a number of key things going on in Camberwell over the next four years that I would have liked to be involved with and trust that all those unfamiliar faces who appeared at the Selection Meeting and those who orchestrated it will play their part in a critical time for the Camberwell!!

I am grateful to the Southwark News Editorial and to the comments here and on Facebook of support, a bit like reading your own Obituary!! Thanks again!

I attended the Funeral of Alf Wallis on Wednesday at the Salvation Army Church on Lomond Grove which was a nice send of for a remarkable man with "I am what I am" from Shirley Bassey at the start, Family memories and a bit of Abba and "Auld Lange's Ayne" at the end to send him off!! I will miss him!! Helped put my previous night's experience into perspective!!

Mid-Elmington and OSC, Camberwell Green selects and Burley foir the chop!!

2009-11-16T10:13:00.005Z

Another busy week kicks off with Overview and Scrutiny Committee tonight and the Mid-Elmington Estate Redevelopment call-In which I am responsible for!

I took a bit of flack from Cllrs Humphries and McNally for it but i was absolutely shocked at how little the affected tenants knew about what their options were and a decision was taken on abysmal consultation so I am simply asking the council to do it properly!!

I attended both Poets Corner and the Mid-Elmington T&RA last week and hope to have some of the tenants affected attending tonight. of course I want to see the Estate improved but only if it is for the benefit of the exciting tenants and not just private property developers, whether the Tory/Lib Dem bunch like it or not! One way or another this will be a significant project over the next four years!
The Elephant Briefing due today has been called off so dont know whether that is good or bad news?

Crunch time tomorrow as Camberwell Green Ward selects it's Candidates for the 2010 Southwark Council Elections with me seeking my 5th nomination! Wish me luck!!

It may be the end of the road for Scotland Coach George Burley after the absolute shocker of a 3-0 defeat to Wales in Cardiff!

Rumours are rife that he will be sacked this week and not before time! He really lost it with the Ferguson/McGregor affair when he failed to send them home after a drunken session and then let them sit on the bench, no doubt hungover, putting their fingers up to the cameras!! Interesting to see names in the frame for his replacement? We do have some good players who look completely demotivated so we need someone new!!

Broadstairs Weekend, Remembrance Sunday, T&RA's and OSC Call-In and Hibs draw at Hearts!

2009-11-09T12:43:00.009Z

Had a great time in Broadstairs with "Alderman" Ian Driver this weekend and visited Sandwich, Deal and Faversham, catching up with Stuart "Wolfie" Witcher and Jackie for a Beer and Curry night!!
I was not able to get back to Southwark in time for the Remembrance Sunday tribute but attended the Service in Broadstairs befoer catching the train back to London.
Sandra Rhule laid the wreath at the Camberwell Memorial for the Camberwell Community Councillors and I have the Burgess Park wreath to lay when the new Memorial is dedicated within the next month or so.

Some worry as my dad went into hospital over the weekend but he is back home and comfortable so hopefully it was just a warning!!

I have a week of T&RA Meetings at Poets Corner, D'Eynesford and Mid-Elmington and the redevelopment of the Elmington estates will be the main topic of conversation with the OSC Call-In on Monday so hope to get plenty of tenants there to hear in detail what the plans mean for them!

Camberwell Green Short-listing on Thursday with Selection next Monday so at least we will all be clear by then!!

Hibs fought out a fairly "dour" 0-0 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle. Usually a good result but the way Hibs are playing it was described a s " 2 points dropped!"

Good to see all teams with Poppies on their shirts !

See Highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8349547.stm

Good to see Liam Miller picking up SPL Player of the Month showing what good buys he and Stokes have been! Good for the Republic of Ireland as well!!

Council Assembly and weekend in Broadstairs!

2009-11-07T09:00:00.004Z

Council Assembly on Wednesday night was very good for us and we got through the business with a good debate on the Housing Crisis which was what we wanted from the evening.
My fears of fillibustering were unfounded so have to give the opposition some credit for allowing the debate.
I was angry at Camberwell still being ignored in the Core Strategy despite our pressure but an amendment was accepted which at least keeps the door open for Camberwell regeneration but it is clear that it is not aq priority for this bunch in power
We really exposed the Tory/Lib Dem Coalition on the shambes in Housing with unfunded plans, poor management leading of course to them being "Red Flagged" by the Audit Commission!!
We also witnessed another incoherent and unhinged performance from Columbo Blango who said that the Labour Party were no different to the BNP and stupidly Adele Morris agreed!!!
We then got to the Extraordinary Council Assembly on the new arrangements and although I was first to speak Stanton shouted "move to the vote" twice, a real democrat!!
I am spending the weekend in Broadstairs and met up with old Camberwellians Stuart "Wolfie" and Jacqui Witcher in their new home of Faversham.
Lots of lovely Shepherd Neame beer and a nice curry and a very late train home so a great time had by all!!
I did some training and health and safety inspections for Ian Driver at his Citrizens Advice Bureau Offices in Margate and Broadstairs.

Hibs play Hearts today and again will be wearing special Poppy shirts for auctioning for the British Legion, see story below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8339138.stm

Going to the Rememberance Service in Broadstairs on Sunday.

2009-11-04T13:04:00.004Z

Another busy Town Hall week as we get into the "AGM" period with both Camberwell Neighbourhood Forum AGM's Meeting and a number of T&RA AGM's coming up!!

We have a full night tonight with 2 Council Assembly meetings back to back!
In the first meeting the new Core Stategy is comes back after a round of consultation with no plans to regenerate or develop Camberwell but word is there may be an agreement to end that tonight will be a mayor step forward!! There must be a strategic view of Camberwell which recognises the need to develop and regenerate in one of the few areas of the borough which has had no Council attention and perhaps we really can "Revitalise5" the area!!
We expect some "ill- liberal" and undemocratic" tricks tonight with lots of Lib Dems and Tories uncharacteristically wanting to contribute (from prepared notes no doubt) in a pathetic attempt to "fillibuster" a debate of the shocking state of Southwark Housing with apparently a CPA "Red Flag" imminent due to the on-going chaos!! Latest thing is getting rid of some Resident Involvement staff and sticking the rest in the Tooley Street Ivory Tower!! What are they thinking about!!
It will take us a long time to sort out the mess left when we take over in May!!!
Good campaigning session in Newington Ward over the weekend with val and the rest of the Team and a good chance to be reacquainted with the fantastic Henry Moore in the middle of the Brandon Estate!!

Hibs are now 2nd in the SPL with a pretty poor performance but a good 2-0 win over 9 man Aberdeen, highlights below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8333584.stm

Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday!! Should be fun!!!

Alf Wallis, Camberwell Community Council, Housing Crisisand Hibs keep 3rd Spot!!

2009-10-30T10:58:00.012Z

It has been a very busy few weeks or so for me both in the Town Hall (and Tooley Street!) and at London Met as the Academic Year is in full flow!

But firstly I have to mark the sad passing of Alf Wallis(pictured on far left) from the D'Eynesford Estate. I have known Alf ever since I joined the Labour Party over 23 years ago, as fellow party members and of course since 1994 as his local Councillor. Alf had a long career in the Merchant Navy and Commercial Shipping and was a very hard working and straight talking Tenants Rep on the D'Eynesford Estate, in recent years becoming a key voice on the Southwark Pensioners Forum. I was very proud to have nominated Alf for a Civic Award some years ago and the Certificate has pride of place in his home.

Alf in recent years found a huge amount of enjoyment visiting West End Shows and his home is covered in signed opening Night posters of some of the biggest shows, he had also become for me a great source of good tickets!!

This picture was taken at the Armed Forces Day in June where Alf had a great day out with all of us at Potters Field. Shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer and he dies 3 days ago with his family and friends around him. We will all miss him very much!!

We had a very good Camberwell Communcity Council last week with lots of good news on Camberwell Leisure Centre, Burgess Park and Camberwell Green.

I do like the Council's "REVITALISE5" logo with the 5 by the SE even though I cant work out how 4 signs can cost £15,000!!

We had a long and frustrating Camberwell Community Council Planning Meeting last night with rogue developers carrying out conversions in spite of a Planning Permission refusal and coming back to us for retrospective permission as they know how limited the law is, very difficult for us and very hard for local people to understand the limits on what we can do!!! very frustrating!!!
I am extremely annoyed that despite expensive "Revitalise" signs springing up over Camberwell on the key Core Strategy Consultation there are no plans for investing in Camberwell apart from packing more flats into an overcrowded part of the borough to protect the North and South where this cynical Tory/Lib Dem Administration see all their votes coming from!!
We will be making this clear at Council Assembly next week and hopefully get our views taken seriously in the next round of consultation!! I hear that our beleaguered Housing Department is about to be "Red Flagged" as a failing service which for the largest landlord in London is nothing short of a disgrace and which can all be traced back to the now infamous "100 days of Change" which has wrecked the Housing Department and which is continuing to do so with the imminent reorganisation of Resident Involvement staff which means getting rid of some of them and moving the rest of them as far away from residents as they can to the Tooley Street Titanic!! This shambles may be this discredited Administrations real "Iceberg" upon which they will flounder next May!!

Rumours are rife that the Elephant and Castle deal with Lend Lease is soon to be signed and not before time!! Clearly the clock is ticking and the right deal has to be done before the end of this year or I feel it will be time to look elsewhere!!
Shortlisting and Selections are well underway within the Southwark Labour Party and some really excellent people have already been selected to stand next year, young and bright people who will be a real credit to the Labour Party and a real asset to Southwark Council. I am still clicking my heels but hope it will all be resolved in the next few weeks and the real fight commences!!
Hibs continue to impress with a fighting 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox and looks like we were unlucky not to take all 3 points at the end!! Anthony Stokes continues to score and hit a fantastic skillful strike against Rangers on Saturday!!

You can see highlights of the game on the BBC site:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8325142.stm

We remain in 3rd spot behind the Old Firm and take on Aberdeen at home tomorrow!! Good stuff at the moment!!!

Freshers fair at london Met, Isligton green Giant Awards and C&P CLP Fundraiser with Lord Kinnock!

2009-10-19T14:09:00.011+01:00

The Freshers Fair dominated last week at work for me with hundreds of students to talk to and give away goodies!
looks like a bumper year for students so a really good opportunity to meet them. Two good long days at the Hub and Rocket!!

On Tuesday I attended my first posh dinner of the week at the Islington Council Giant Green Awards where we were nominated for Waste Minimisation and Environmental Champions. We did not win but I learned a lot about what we need to go and it was a nice lunch and Chris Packham was an excellent host!!
It was a busy Council week with OSC Meeting in East Dulwich to talk about Primary school places and I learned about the "bulge" in numbers expected over the next few years and how we need top accommodate it!!

I Chaired Scrutiny A where we interviewed the Executive Member for Community Safety and started scoping the Housing Repairs Scrutiny!!
On Thursday evening we had the Camberwell and Peckham Labour Party Fundraising Dinner in Caravaggio's with Guest Speaker Lord Neil Kinnock who was a truly memorable and inspirational speaker who was just fantastic and makes you remember why you joined the Labour Party! A truly great evening and I even won a Raffle Prize!!!

The impromptu singalong with Joan Amodio was a really special moment and the whole night was fantastic and a real boost for us with some very hard and long Campaigning ahead of us!!

Hibs are still doing well and in third spot after another good win against Kilmarnock with Benji scoring the winner. Good to see Benji and Zemmama back playing after Ramadan and looking fit and in-form!!
We look to have a good squad together so will just have to see how they fare in the winter months but so far are looking good!!!

Conference Season over, Selections underway and Hibs playing well!

2009-10-09T15:33:00.006+01:00

Well the Conference Season is over and I got a first hand look at it in Brighton and clealry the battle lines are being drawn and it is interesteing to see how nervous the Tories are as they know the result is not "in the bag"! The austerity promised with savage cuts (I presume supported by Calamity Clegg?) is now in the open for all to see and the choice is now clear which I think is no bad thing! Let battle commence!!!
Southwark Labour Party are now in the miidst of shortlisitng and selection for the 2010 Local Council Elections next may so lots of excellent new members on the list and the Group will have a very diffferent feel to it, not least in terms of age with me definately at the older end of the scale!!!

Some really good Camberwell Branch members up for the fight and hoping to see them all elecetd Councillors in the Chamber next May!!
Hibs decent start to the season continues with a 3-1 win at Motherwell and a 1-1 draw against Dundee United! Good results with a decent sqaud and Zemmama back after Ramadan looking good and scoring a fantastic goal against the Dundee Utd!!

Good to see Riordan back in the Scotland sqaud for the Japan game!!

Day 2 to Day 5 of Conference

2009-10-03T18:03:00.016+01:00

My attempts for a daily Blog were blighted by a very slow server at the Hotel so here is a synopsis from Day 2 to the end of Conference!
day 2 started with good sessions on Campaigning and the manifesto from Douglas Alexander and Ed Milliband.
Highlight of the day was a real barnstrorming speech from Lord Mandelson who really got the crowd going and was a real boost to Conference!!
There was a session of the Environment and the Olympics and I voted fro Stephen Twigg for the Conference Arrangements Committee and he was duly Elected alongside Marge Carey!
I attended 2 Fringe Meeting from the Fabian Society and the Fabian Society called "Who are the new Tories" with a very scary Panel of right Wing Tory Lobbyists and Journalists!!!
Day 3 of course was the Leader's Speech Day but started with sessions on Culture,Media and Sport, Local Government and Housing and Crime and Justice.
All building to Gordon Brown's Brilliant speech!
All throughout Conference I kept bumping into Southwark Councillors and members, even met a Constituent who asked me for advice on Brighton Promenade!! Pic here of me and Barrie at the Conference Centre!
Vote on National Constitutional Committee CLP's I voted for John Wiseman and Judith Blake was Elected.
I attended 3 Fringe meetings on Digital Media, IOSH and the Local Government Reception and a visit by Gordon Brown!
I became very familiar with this bridge between the Grand and the Hilton and lost count of how many times I crossed it from Fringe meeting to Fringe Meeting!!

Day 4 began with this front page from the Sun which was a quite disgraceful and pre-planned spoiler from this horrible rag!! Lots of fun throughout the day at their expense and not a Sun to be seen anywhere!!
There was an Emergency Motion on the Post Office pension Defecit which I supported and which was unanimously agreed!
Sessions in NEC Finances, Citizenship and Equalities,Health, Education and skills.
There were a number of votes on the NEC and NFP membership which were all unanimously agreed apart from one on OMOV for NFP which was oppossed by the NEC but which I voted for and it was agreed by 67% of Conference delegates!
Day 5 had Sessions on Northern Ireland, European Parliament, and Britain in the World with an Emergency resolution on keeping the East Coast Main Line in Public ownership which again was agreed! Finished with a great speech from Harriet and a rousing chorus of the Red Flag!!
In conclusion a fantastic experience for me and a really positive Conference with a unified Party fighting back and in good shape for the Elections of 2010!! Fantastic!!

Day 1 at Labour Party Conference in Brighton 2009 - A Delegates Eye View!

2009-09-28T07:50:00.007+01:00

Day1 at Labour Party Conference - I arrived yesterday on a beautiful day in Brighton, booked in to the Hotel and made my to the Brighton Conference Centre for the 2pm Opening.
The Key Theme was Operation Fightback and the need to put to the County the clear choice between managing the economic recovery whilst defending all that we have achieved over the past 12 years and the savage cuts and austerity promised by the Tories and Lib Dems!
Ed Milliband made a real rousing speech laying out key Manifesto Policy areas and the stark choiced that the UK electorate will have.
Douglas Alexander talked about Campaigning and highlighted the 3 key areas detailed in the picture opposite.
Basic hard work contacting as many pe3ople as possible and making our Campaining relevant to local people was the key.

There was a Q&A with Gordon Brown chaired by Harriet with PPC's on stage.
Camberwell and Peckham's submitted motion on Rights for Interpreters in the British Army was not chosen as Contemporary Motion to be debated at Conference so my chance to speak at Conference probably gone!!
I voted for our motion of course and for motions on Housing and Public services and the 4 Contemporary Motions chosen were:
Employment Right, Housing, Manufacturing, Public Services and School Meals.
I was actually interviewed by IOSH for their You Tube site so that should be posted later today!
My interview by IOSH at the Labour Party Conference is now on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/ioshchannel about my Fish Farm Placement!
The evening was spent at 3 Receptions, The Gibralter Ambassador, The British Legion and RSPCA.

Day 2 begins with debate on the Economy and Sustainable Communities!!
OPERATION FIGHTBACK CONTINUES!!!!

Me and Mel, Academic Year looms, Theatre week, Brighton calling and Hibs get back on winning track!!

2009-09-25T13:46:00.011+01:00

We had a Birthday lunch at work yesterday celebrating 3 Birthday's and I was given this Cartoon which irrefutably proves the family link between me and Mel Gibson, need I say any more!!!!
Work is busy with preparations for the start of the new Academic year and all things going well on Health & Safety, Environment, Business Continuity, Swine Flu and Campus Watch fronts!!

I had a good week of culture going to the Globe to see Troilus and Cressida and following it up on Wednesday with a visit to "An Inspector Calls" a play I did at St. Augustines High School in Edinburgh many years ago!!

Excellent plays and performances all round. Plan to do more Matinee Theatre visits in the future as I have the taste back again!

I am off to Brighton on Sunday for the Labour Party Annual Conference for the first time and I am the Camberwell & Peckham Delegate to boot!!

I am staying at the Brighton Hotel and am looking forward to getting totally immersed in Conference and hope to write a daily Blog with my experiences at Conference IT permitting!!

The Hotel Brighton looks nice so looking forward to spending 4 nights there!

Hibs had a good 3-0 win at home to St. Johnstone with Stokes scoring 2 and looking like he is getting back into the groove! Good result after the poor defeat to Hamilton so lets hope it continues!!

Fantastic Southwark Labour Party Conference, Brighton, the West End and Hibs tripped up!!

2009-09-18T11:14:00.009+01:00

The Southwark Labour Party Conference on Saturday was another fantastic day with over 100 Party Members and great speeches from Harriet, Val, Steve Reed and Ed Milliband!
We are all prepared and positive about the elections in 2010 and delivering a Labour Council and a Labour Forth Term ! The prospect of the nightmare scenario of a Cameron Government and a Lib Dem/Tory Council alongside Boris at City Hall is too horrible to contemplate without thoughts of taking your own life!!! We just cant allow that to happen can we!!!!

I am out Campaigning in South Camberwell this weekend as taking all 3 seats there is a vital part of our strategy so vitally important to us!!
I am now all sorted for the Labour Party Annual Conference and looking forward to it as the Camberwell & Peckham Delegate!! Going to be at the Brighton Hotel from Sunday til Thursday!!
Packing my bucket and spade but probably stuck in the Conference Hall for most of the time!!

I have a good theatre week this week with Troilus and Cressida at the Globe Theatre on Sunday and An Inspector Calls on Wednesday

Hibs bubble well and truly burst on Sunday with Nish sent off, Riordan missing a penalty and going down 2-0 to bottom team Hamilton Accies!!!

Time to regroup for St.Johnstone at home on Saturday!!

Southwark Labour Party Conference and Hibs sign Liam Miller!!

2009-09-11T15:34:00.014+01:00

Looking forward to the Third Annual Southwark Labour Party Conference tomorrow at the Beomund Centre with Guest Speakers Ed Milliband and Steve Reed. Of course Val, Tessa and Harriet will be there as well as many Southwark Councillors and members so should be a good day preparing for the General and Council Elections in 2010!!

On the Hibs front they have signed ex- Celtic and Man Utd. Midfielder Liam Miller on a 2 year contract. He was a fantastic young player at Celtic and floundered at Manchester but hopefully he can revive his career and alongside other Irish signing Anthony Stokes it looks like some very shrood buying from Yogi Hughes building up a strong squad to get us through a long hard season which has always been our failing in the past. He has cleared out some of the deadwood and looks like he is building a good mix of youth and experience!!

Dungeness, Belfast, Giants Causeway, Brighton and Scotland out of World Cup!!

2009-09-10T13:44:00.010+01:00

After my break in Edinburgh and St. Andrews I went away again at the weekend to Broadstairs with Shauna and back to my fast becoming favourite wilderness of Dungeness!!

There is something very quirky and appealing about the place and I cant keep away from it!!

Then off to Belfast for the USHA Autumn Conference and a fantastic trip to Giants Causeway on the North Antrim Coast! A great time and good Conference and some Guinness and Bushmills thrown in for good measure!!Brilliant!!

In the past 2 weeks over 3000 miles travelled so need a bit of a rest and time in the office and at home!!

After some confusion it now appears that I am definitely going to Brighton in a few weeks time for my first ever Labour Party Annual Conference as Camberwell & Peckham Delegate no less!!

I have to attend a briefing at Party HQ next week and am still searching out somewhere to stay!!
Scotland departed the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers in 3rd place with a couple of good performances but too late to recover from the shocking bad one against Norway last month! A good win over Macedonia followed up by a good performance against Holland only to lose by a sucker goal at the end!!

We clearly have some very good players in Brown, Fletcher and

McFaddyen and some good guys behind them in Whittaker and Hutton but some mediocre, and old mediocre at that, at the back and last night that really showed!! Our best attacker will not play for Scotland with Burley in charge so it will be interesting to see if he keeps his job? The last week might just have been enough to keep him hanging on!!

The Lockerbie Bomber, Scottish Parliement, Edinburgh Festivals, my Half Century and Hibs looking Good!!

2009-08-31T08:52:00.007+01:00

I am coming to the end of my break in Edinburgh and of course the big story has been the release of the convicted Lockerbie Bomber,

Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. Clearly the SNP Minority Scottish Government have made a huge political error of judgement and I hope that the Scottish electorate will not quickly forget it. There has been significant damage worldwide to the reputation of Scotland which I think will have a lasting negative effect and it really shows how out of touch the SNP are with Scottish and World public opinion!!
I have had a restful but active time in Edinburgh visiting the Scottish Parliament, an impressive building and I really like the openness of it and the accessibility to ordinary people to look at and use the building! I went on a very informative Tour although the buidling was busy due to the Lockerbie bombing issue of course!
I spent some time going to Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows highlight being Frank Skinner's "Credit Crunch Caberet". I have never seen Edinburgh as busy as it is this year and some nice weather really helped the experience! The Edinburgh Festival's are really fantastic events for Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK!

I also reached the 50 year Milestone on Saturday and we had a Birthday Barbeque at my Sister's in St. Andrews. Bernadette worked very hard and made me a fantasic Birthday Cake! Saw all my Nephews as well so a really nice day and week!!

Despite some initial worries Hibs have started off fantastically well in the SLP with 2 very good wins and yesterday a 1-0 defeat to Celtic but all reports are of an excellent display by Hibs with Celtic Goalie, Boruc, the busier of the Keepers! Made me laugh to see McGeady sent off for diving after all the Eduardo furore! I recall that great Celtic hero Henrik Larsson get more late penalties for Celtic at Parkhead than anyone!! As they say what goes around comes around! Celtics comprehensive defeat at Arsenal does highlight the widening gap between the English and Scottish game which in my view is largely down to the incompetence of the people running the Scottish football!!

"Yogi" Hughes looks like he is putting a good sqaud togther and getting Anthony Stokes from Sunderland may prove to be the buy of the Season!

SLP Cover mel gibson Link, Shauna and I at Peter Pan and Ripleys and Hibs win opening game!

2009-08-20T16:22:00.009+01:00

The South London Press were true to their word and carried a story on my Mel Gibson connection whiuch you can view through the link below:

http://www.icsouthlondon.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=31313&headline=Camberwell%20Cllr%20related%20to%20Mel%20Gibson20to%20Mel%20Gibson20to%20Mel%20Gibson 20to%20Mel%20Gibson

Shauna and I went to see Peter Pan in a tent in Kensington Gardens which was fantastic and on Sunday went to the new Ripley's Believe it or Not exhibition at Piccadilly Circus!

All in all a lovely weekend and beautiful weather

Hibs kicked off the season with a 2-1 home win against St. Mirren with the Prodigal Son Benji retruning tpo score the winner!
Look at the action on the BBC site below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/default.stm

Scotland crash, Hibs improve and "I am not tired and I will not go to bed"(Peter Pan!)

2009-08-13T14:10:00.005+01:00

Well Scotland's World Cup campaign come to a shuddering halt in Oslo last night with an embarrassing 4-0 defeat! With 2 game left, one against Holland, it is not going to happen and we need to contemplate a poor campaign. We do have some International Class players in my view, Gordon, Hutton, Whittaker, Caldwell, Murray. Fletcher and McFaddyen but too many very average players I am afraid and a very average Manager. His weakness highlighted in the Ferguson/McGregor affair which was a disgrace and not sure he is the one to take us very far!! We have more players playing in the Premier League that for many years but we appear to be getting worse and way behind the performances in Paris of 2 years ago!

Hibs ended their Pre-season with another good 0-0 draw at Bolton in Jaskeleinen's Testimonial with a big crowd and 3,000 Hibs fans at the Reebok!

St Mirren on Saturday and let the Season commence!!

I am taking Shauna to see Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens on Saturday so looking forward to that as Peter Pan is a favourite with both of us!!
Booked some Fringe Shows at the Edinburgh Festival so off on the 21st for a week!

Braveheart and Hibs getting it right!

2009-08-06T11:59:00.012+01:00

It looks like the South London Press will be running a story on my Mel Gibson relationship with a non too flattering comparison of my life with his!!
I did like Braveheart and have a framed postcard of the Film Poster in my flat!
I need to work on joining up all the family dots but it all looks good with Mel's Mother confirmed as Anne Reilly from Longford, home of the Friary Family!!

Hibs took on Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and came away with a very creditable 0-0 draw against a strong rovers team so perhaps things are moving in the right direction? Bolton Wanderers next and then let the Season begin!!

Salmond raking it in, Carnivale Del Pueblo, Mel and me and Hibs Pre-Season stutters on!!

2009-08-03T11:02:00.006+01:00

Good article in the Telegraph today highlighting how much cash Alex Salmond has made (£275,000) from not resigning his Westminster seat even although he is First Minister in Hollyrood! Disgraceful!!!

I went along to the Carnivale Del Pueblo in Burgess Park yesterday with 100,000 people from all over London.

This is a fantastic event and luckily the weather held out to make it another special day in Camberwell

I heard through Facebook of someone who may be a relative as he is related to IRA General Sean McEoin through the Reilly Family of Balinallee just as I am and he has told me that Mel Gibson's mother is a Reilly from the same town so looks like I am related to Braveheart himself!!

Always thought that there was a family resemblance!!!

Hibs rather uninspiring Pre-season continued with a hefty 3-1 defeat at home to Preston North End!

Away matches this week at Blackburn and Bolton to blow away the last remaining cob-webs and then the season starts on Saturday!

Weekend in South Kent, CCC, Lakanal and the Elephant, Middlesex University and Hibs Pre-Season continues!

2009-07-31T10:56:00.010+01:00

Last weekend I was in Broadstairs with a stop off in Whitstable for the Beer Festival with Alderman Ian Driver!!

Lots of good beer on offer especially Whitstable Oyster Stout but had one bad one a Raspberry Beer which although a Gold Medal Winner tasted as bad as it sounds!!
I babysitted on the second night and we went on the Dymchurch, Hythe and Romney Miniature Railway again. We went back to Dungeness which really does fascinate me and I am beginning to like it more every time I go there, desolate but with a very strange fascination for me!

We had another good Camberwell Community Council in the week with another excellent presentation from Living Streets and Jeremy Leach on clear and achievable improvements in the area that could have a dramatic effect in Camberwell so definitely worth pursuing!!

Initial findings from the Lakanal Fire were released and the Council had some bad press especially from the BBC for taking so long to provide the Fire Brigade with information. Lots of speculation and lots of questions still to be answered!

Looks like most of the tenants will be rehoused by the end of today which is a good thing!!

The signing of the Elephant and Castle deal with Lend Lease is still not sorted with promises of a deal by the end of the year!

Despite the obvious difficulties we all have to hope that a deal is struck but the negotiations cant go on forever so we need to get on with it!! A more open engagement with the Labour Group would help all of us understand what is going on and keep everyone on track and on board and I am hopeful that the Executive have heard that message loud and clear from The last Council Assembly!!
I have spent most of the week at the Middlesex University Campus at Hendon running an IOSH Managing Safely Course which went well although a fair bit of travelling each week during the week!

I have been setting up a University Health & Safety Office Facebook Site as well as a Camberwell Labour Councillors site and Twitter of course and came upon this great picture which I have seen before! The best Health & Safety Sign ever!! Bar none!!!
Hibs completed their mini tour of Ireland with a poor 1-0 defeat to Shamrock Rovers in Dublin after a 2-0 victory over Glentoran in Belfast! Lots of the ball and losing to a sucker punch is a bad sign but the final 3 pre-season games against Preston North End at home tomorrow and two away games at Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers should blow any remaining cobwebs away and hopefully get everyone focused for the start of the season !!

Swine Flu, Scrutiny A and Hibs prepare for new Season!

2009-07-20T15:39:00.006+01:00

A lot of concern at the University and in the Country as Swine Flu cases increase and I am getting some of the questions about coming in or staying away.

I am asking Departments to draw up plans for the Autumn and a possible large scale outbreak with large numbers of staff absent!

Hard to get the balance right and to be prepared without being alarmist! I am not handing our face masks yet!!

I am Chairing Scrutiny A tonight and interviewing Wayne Chance, the newish Southwark Borough Commander. I am impressed with him so far and he seems a people person rather than a bureaucrat so I am confident he will do well!

We hope to move the Employment and Enterprise Scrutiny along to a near conclusion tonight and finish it off at the next Meeting.

Hibs have started their pre-season friendlies in Scotland and will face Shamrock Rovers at their new Stadium, then Preston North End at Easter Road and two away games at Blackburn and Bolton. Three youngsters in from Everton, Man U and Falkirk and quite a few older players out the door so looks like an even younger squad for the new season so perhaps a few defeats first before they find their feet but maybe a good strategy in the longer term?

My cousin Brian, a lifelong Shamrock Rovers fan is having the time of his life with the new Stadium and the vsiit of Real Madrid tonight and Hibs next Monday!!

Would loved to have been thre next week but just cant get away but have asked Brian to get me a programme as a souvenir!

OSC, Elephant, Danny and Lib Dem dirty tricks, and the Pied Piper Relief back in Camberwell!!!

2009-07-17T14:50:00.006+01:00

We had a long Overview and Scrutiny Meeting on Monday commencing with an update on the Lakanal situation.
The main debate was on the Elephant and Castle following on from last week's Council Assembly and we just have to hope that the deal with be signed asap and that we can get on with it!
Sandra and I went to see Danny yesterday and we was very pleased with the Southwark News article from yesterday. Rumours are about threat the Lib Dems are setting up some stooges to write letters as concerned residents asking that Danny should not receive his allowance as he is in hospital!! They are just unbelievable are n't they!! Funnily enough Danny gave Sandra and I surgery case work as one of his nurses is having problems with the council!!
I has some quotes on the Bermondsey stabbing, Dog control areas and the CCTV Emergency Points following Lind Manchester's almost deranged performance at Council Assembly!!

I have another campaign to remount the Pipe Piper Relief by Willi Soukop, a Czech sculptor in 1959 and located on the Elmington T&RA Hall until it's demolition.

I would like ti to be mounted free standing in Camberwell Green and unveiled on the 13th November, 50 years to the day when it was originally unveiled by Sir Isaac Hayward, Leader of the London County Council! That would be fantastic if we can do it!

Council Assembly, Lakanal tribute and Danny returns!!!

2009-07-09T14:40:00.011+01:00

Council Assembly took place last night and a potentially contentious meeting went through with some heated discussion but relatively calm.
The Labour Group laid flowers at the foot of Lakanal House to remember the dead of that tragic event and all parties spoke well praising the Fire, Police and Ambulance Services, and I praised the Council staff, Housing officers, Community Wardens and others for their efforts well and above the call of duty!

The BBC cameras were there to film and interview and disappointing the Mayor refuse their request to film our tributes to the dead and the people who worked so hard to save them and others. Cant understand why the Lib Dems and Tories did not allow it!

There was cross party support for an Independent Inquiry into all of the events before during and after the fire and a commitment to being open and inclusive and getting some of the answers that residents of Lakanal want and need!

Much of the debate on the night was around the Elephant and Castle but again a clear cross-party commitment to making the regeneration happen for the benefit of local people and I hope that the deal with land lease will be done and dusted in the very near future. I argued for more communication and clarity with key Labour Group Members which was necessary to ensure political consensus around this absolutely vital regeneration project! It has been and will always be far too important for party political squabbling to jeopardise it's success and all parties are absolutely clear on that!
The dispicable attempts of the Lib Dem/Tory Coalition to force Danny McCarthy to resign were fiunally put to bed last night!

The Tories, after once again promising to support us, were about to renage on their word, so we simply wheeled Danny in out of his hospital bed!! As se of those opposite came over to shake his hand and make small talk I reminded him of the phenomenon of crocodiles who as they eat their pray often trigger the tear ducts into shedding a tear!

Lakanal Fire Public Meeting - Traumatic but important!

2009-07-07T14:24:00.014+01:00

Last night I attended a packed meeting of Lakanal residents in the Sceaux Gardens Tenants Hall, organised by the local T&RA in response to the council's apparent refusal to hold one on the night!

The Meeting was packed and an overspill meeting was heard in the Town Hall with Council Officers apparently "surprised" at the numbers that turned up?

Harriet Harman MP and Val Shawcross AM attended, along with Labour Group Leader Peter John, Ian, Alison and Sandra Brunswick Ward Councillors and me as Community Safety Spokesperson (Ian also has Housing Brief in Labour Group).

I was disappointed not to see any Executive Members at the meeting but have since been informed that the Leader and Deputy Leader took advice from the tenants reps who were apparently keen for the meeting not to be politician focussed which I of course understand. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding as I think that it would have been good for them to have attended and observed as we did and show a degree of solidarity with the tenants but I cant criticise them for taking and following the reps advice! None of the politicians present made any comments on the night which was exactly the right thing to do but I think that our presence was appreciated!

A very interested observer was Sir Ken Knight, the Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor who will be Chairing the Inquiry. The Chief Executive and other Officers, Government Officials along with Senior Fire and Police Officers made up the rest of the top table!

The people at the meeting were clearly very distressed and many of them seriously traumatised so it was never going to be an easy meeting to manage but over the three hours there were a lot of traumatic evidence given and many good questions asked which I am sure will greatly assist the Inquiry.

Whilst a number of detailed questions were asked of the Fire Brigade and Police response to the incident the overwhelming view was one of thanks for their efforts and for rescuing a significant number of people from the building who would have otherwise died!

Many questions were also raised over Council Policy of high rise blocks, their evacuation, the Decent Homes works carried out in recent years and previous plans to demolish the block.

In such early stages it would be wrong for me to express any views on any of these matters as it will take a lot more investigating before many of these questions can be satisfactorily answered!

I was concerned at some of the comments about the Council's response and am very keen to follow up issues over lack of money for food and clothing, no proper meals in Emergency Shelters, sending people to alternative homes with just an address and then some finding filthy unfurnished properties, lack of one to one advice and lack of counselling to name but a few of the apparent Emergency Response shortcomings and I think we need answers and the Council need to learn from the mistakes! We will be keeping a very close eye on this to monitor how the Lakanal residents are treated in the short and long term and to date the verdict is very mixed althought I think that there was overall agreement that the Council and the Emergency Services were committed to doing the right thing !!

The Labour Group will be putting down an Emergency Motion tomorrow evening at Council Assembly simply expressing our horror and grief at the tragic event and promising to do everything we can to find out what caused it and what we can learn from it and to ensure that it never happens again. Rumours are the Lib Dems are trying to stop us doing it and putting pressure on the Tories to vote it down!! Cant imagine what they are thinking about?

Tragic Lakanal Fire, Lib Dem attempts to remove Danny and fun at Myatts Field!Fletcher gives fee back for Hibs Youth Development!

2009-07-06T13:02:00.015+01:00

At the forefront of my attention this weekend has been the tragic fire in Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate on Friday early evening! I was the local Councillor for the Sceux Gardens Estate from 1994 until 2002 when the Ward boundaries changed so know the Estates and Lakanal House very well.
The death of six people, including three young children is horrific and my thoughts go out to the Francisquini, Hickaman and Odoaka families and friends!
Clearly there will be lots to investigate and consider before any sensible conclusions can be drawn but I am sure that we will discuss the terrible events of last Friday at Wednesday's Council Assembly understanding the responsibility we have to prevent such a thing happening again!
I must comment on how excellent as ever the emergency services were, in particular the Firefighters who worked so hard to save lives on Friday as they do every single day of the year!!
They truly are inspirational!
My close friend Councillor Danny McCarthy has been in hospital for a number of months recovering from a major operation with another to follow in a few weeks. Danny was twice Mayor of Southwark and first elected in 1982 making him once of the longest serving Councillors in Southwark.
I have been visiting him regularly at St. Thomas' and he has always been bright and chatty, though clearly in pain as he regularly calls in a nurse for a quick gulp of morphine!!
You would think that all politicians in Southwark would support him and wish him well for a speedy recovery would n't you? Well apparently not with the Liberal Democrats likely to vote on Wednesday for Danny to be removed and force a By-Election in the final months of this Administration!!
The Tories look likely to abstain which is still not good enough and they should vote with us but they at least have some sense of honour and decency unlike their bedfellow who are totally contemptible as trying to oust Danny who has done more in his time in the office that the rest of them put together x 10!!! Just when you think the Lib Dems cant get any lower this happens and I cant wait to make my feelings clear about them in the Chambler of Wednesday...what a load of scumbags!!! I have a feeling that this may be a little too low even for some Lib Dem Members who may disappear out of the Chamber during the debate!

I spent a lot of the weekend at the fantastically newly refurbished Myatts Field Park in Camberwell with Clair and kids, stopping off to play the Piano in Camberwell Green Park on the way!

Stephen Fletcher signed for Burnley for around £3M and gave back half his signing-on fee, around £125,ooo back to Hibs for Youth Development so well done Stephen and good luck in the Premiership and with Scotland!!

Armed Forces Day, "Back to the Floor" with the Southwark Community Wardens, a Weekend in Kent, Andy survives and Yogi brings in new Faces at Hibs!

2009-06-30T14:55:00.012+01:00

Had a really good day at the Armed Forces Day at Tower Bridge and Potters Field!

Took some nice pictures for Facebook and cheered on the Troops March Past!

Saw lots of familiar faces including the Mayor, Pearly King of Camberwell and a Councillor from Clichy!!

It was great to celebrate the Armed Forces and i bought a Cookbook for the Help for Heroes campaign and tasted some of the new Field Rashions, chicken curry and lentils which was fantastic!!

Tonight I am with the Southwark Community Wardens on a "Back to the Floor" Evening starting off at the CCTV Control Room at Borough Police Station, onto Burgess Park and ending up at the Camberwell Office! Should be good!
I was in Broadstairs for the weekend and visited Canterbury for the first time and Whitstable and had some of the famous Whitstable Oyster Stout!! Very nice it was too!!

Watched Andy Murray's marathon last night and at times did fear for the worst but he got through and now has a great chance of a final appearance but Federer is still in his path to picking up the trophy for the first time since Fred Perry!

Andy and his brother, Jaime, are big Hibs fans so he cant be all bad!!

John Hughes made his first signing at Hibs bringing in 23year old Irish midfielder Patrick Cregg from, you guessed it!, Falkirk! The Falkirk Spanish Goalkeper may follow?

Surprisingly new Celtic (and old Hibs!) Boss Tony Mowbury has gone cold on Stephen Fletcher opening up Premiership interest from Blackburn Rovers and now favourites for new boys Burney who may agree a deal worth £3.5Million to Hibs!

We should take the money and move on and see if Fletcher can progress for Scotland's sake!

2009-06-24T15:53:00.006+01:00

I was pleased to see the election of John Bercow to the role of Speaker, not just because it pissed off the Tories no end but because he has been hthrough a real political journey, from hard right on the 1922 Committeee Repatriation Group through to being a virtual adviser to Gordon Brown and thought most liley to cross the floor!

It just shows how nasty and right wing those vindictive Tories are refusing to applaud his election and already threatening to replace him if they, god help us all!!, get into power! Have the Tories really changed? On this evidence it appears not!!!

In light of all the "expenses" interest good to see that Southwark has publicised Members Allowances for some time and as well as appearing in Southwark News you can look at expenses claimed over the past 3 years through the link below: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/YourCouncil/CouncillorsHome/memberallowances.html

I attended the Camberrwell East Area Housing Forum on Monday with an item on the re-writing of the Tenancy Agreement which was an atrociously poor document with incomplete amendments and more seriously revisions aimed at seriously weakening tenants right the most serious being the abolition of Housing Arbitration! Despite numerous promises to the contrary from the Executive and in particular the Deputy Leader it looks like it is on the cards so we are trying to trip them up now to mobilise tenants against this right wing Tory led attack on their rights!!

I am off to Broadstairs on Friday to renew my acquaintance with the Broadstairs Stick so hoping for some nice weather, good beer and a nice ice cream at Morelli's!!

....oh and a bit of babysitting thrown in for good measure!

Looking forward to seeing Alderman Ian Driver and the family again!
Poor old Ian got into trouble with the local Planners over his shed:

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/thanet/Monster-shed-build-costly-Thanet-advice-boss/article-1075737-detail/article.html

Community Safety Day in the Green and the Camberwell Arts Festival in Myatts Field with the Pearly King of Camberwell...and Hibs Pre-Season Progamme!

2009-06-22T12:05:00.013+01:00

I went along to 2 really good events in Camberwell on Saturday!

The first was a Community Safety Day in Camberwell Green with the Camberwell Green SNT Police and the Camberwell Community Wardens and Junior Wardens present.

The Wardens have recently launched a Junior Community Warden Scheme and currently have 80 young people involved apparently with a log waiting list. this is an excellent initiative and , although I have been critical of the wardens in the past, I feel that they are on track organisationally, operationally and educationally so well done to them for that!!
I went on to "The Big Event" in Myatts Field to celebrate the £3M redevelopment of the Park thanks to National Lottery money and the launch of the Camberwell Arts Festival 2009. very good politically to open the festival in Lambeth Camberwell.

It was a really great day and the Park looks fantastic and will now be a regular place for me to go as it is beautiful and great for the kids with a brilliant water play area and pirates ship!! Loved it!!

Made a really good contact with the Pearly King of Camberwell and hope to help him have more of a presence in Camberwell which he is very keen to do!!
Hibs have announced a couple of Irish Tour dates for pre-season against Glentoran in the North and Shamrock Rovers in the Republic.

my cousin's husband Brian is a huge Hibs and Shamrock Rovers fan so am sending him over a new Hibs shirt although he may be swapping shirts at half time!! Hibs will be playing Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok and Preston North End at Easter Road so a good pre-season work out!!

Talking CCTV Fiasco, Sacred Heart celebrates 50 years, the Camberwell Arts Festival begins and the P&P Green League 2009 published!!!

2009-06-19T14:41:00.011+01:00

Southwark News carried a nice piece on the Talking CCTV Fiasco and a nice editorial with Linda Manchester quoted as saying that they were being removed for efficiency reasons!! Nice cartoon too but article can be viewed below:
http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/00,news,15428,185,00.htm
This has been a completer fiasco and an utter waste of £85,000!!
I was with Harriet Harman this morning on a visit to Sacred Heart RC School to Celebrate it's 50th Anniversary.
Harriet spoke to teaching staff in the morning and then to a class during Assembly.
It was a really good day in an "outstanding " school!!!

The Camberwell Arts Festival 2009 kicks of tomorrow with the "Big Event" in Myatts Field as a double celebration after it's £3M refurbishment!
Should be a good day in the sun and a great Festival!!

Dont often Blog about the day job but a big week for us this week with the People and Planet Green League 2009 Publication in the Times Higher Educational Supplement! After last year's third bottom place we worked hard over the past year and have moved up 28 places from 117 to 89 and points total has increased from 9.5 to 28.
Lots more to do but we are well up the "third" list so well on our way to a "two-two" next year!!
A good result and reason to be happy with our efforts over the past year!!

Camberwell Commmunity Council Meets in Lambeth and the death of the Talking CCTV for £85,000!!!

2009-06-17T10:04:00.006+01:00

Last night I attended a really useful joint meeting of Camberwell Community Council and Lambeth Camberwell Councillors with Lambeth Leader Steve Reed and Southwark Leader Nick Stanton guest speakers.

It was another first as it was the first Southwark Community Council Meeting to
be held in Lambeth! We were shown a really helpful vox-pop video highlighting cross-border problems of community safety, street drinking, planning, traffic and transport and street cleansing and we had an open discussion following.

Steve Reed spoke first and committed to closer working with Southwark on Cross-border issues and suggested a task group of councillors from both Boroughs to work on arrangement and protocols and to bring their findings back to another joint meeting, and Nick Stanton told the meeting that if you live in a border area you must expect these problems and have to live with them...eh and then he left!!! good to see long time colleagues from Lambeth, Steve Reed, Jim Gibson and Kirsty McHugh and look forward to working with them positively in the future, despite the Southwark leadership and probably not with their support!!

My Press release on the Talking CCTV Fiasco:

Lib Dem's £85,000 Talking CCTV Blunder!!

Lib Dem/Tory-run Southwark Council will spend £24,000 removing talking CCTV cameras under eighteen months after they were installed, having never been switched on. The cameras, which were designed to offer residents a direct line to a camera operative in an emergency, cost £61,000 to install, bringing the total cost of the pointless blunder to an eye-watering £85,000.

Lib Dem Community Safety Executive Members had made repeated promises to get the cameras online since their originally planned switch-on date in April 2008, but the "emergency help points" are now rusting having never been brought into use.

Southwark Labour's community safety spokesman Cllr John Friary said:

"After spending £50,000 on just fifty bikes for community wardens, wasting £85,000 on talking CCTV which has never even been turned on is another indictment of the Lib Dem's crime fighting priorities. The Lib Dems were quick to press release these new cameras, but not so quick to get them working or make the real changes to make the community safer.

The Lib Dem/Tory executive has basically paid contractors to dig a hole in the ground and fill it in again. These cameras could have made a real difference to a resident in an emergency. It's outrageous that they were never turned on, but bordering on the farcical that they've cost the council tax payer tens of thousands of pounds."

Mr 10%, Camberwell Community Council crosses the border, Fones4Safety and Camberwell Arts Festival Launch!

2009-06-16T14:29:00.012+01:00

After a week of media Labour bashing this week it is the Tories coming under the spotlight with Cameron's threat to reduce public spending by 10% which would be catastrophic for the provisions of services to vulnerable people in this country! At last the mists are clearing and the Tories "Age of Austerity" is beginning to clarify!! Good for us and very bad for the Tories exposing that behind the mealy mouth words of liberalism are the hard line "Thatcherites" ready to drag us all back to the 1980's where "greed was good" and there was "no such thing as society"!!

Rather pathetically the Lib Dems criticize them whilst working in coalition with them in Southwark and elsewhere and would no doubt form a pact from hell with them should there be a no overall majority after the next General Election, what a disgraceful unprincipled bunch the Lib Dems are!!!

There will be an interesting Camberwell Community Council tonight as it is taking place in Lambeth and is a joint meeting of the Southwark and Lambeth Community Councils covering Camberwell to discuss cross-border issues, problems and opportunities! Leaders of both Lambeth and Southwark Council are coming so should be very interesting!

In my day job capacity I went to the London Launch of Fones4Safety, a Southwark based scheme run through Elephant Jobs and CRISP, to recycle old mobiles and turn themn into emergency phones for women suffering domestic violence. A great idea and I hope to set it up in London Met over the summer.

Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse launched it and I met my old ex-Councillor colleague and friend Steve Lancashire there.

Good to see previous Councillors like Steve, Nick Dolezal and Andy Simmons in the Long List as we need experience especially sorting out the mess that the Tory/Lib Dem Coalition will leave when they are kicked out of office next May!

On Saturday the Camberwell Arts Festival begins with the Big Event in Myatts Field celebrating the £3M redevelopment of the Park and launching the Festival so promises to be a great day! The Programme is below:
http://www.camberwellarts.org.uk/#map

I have been on the Management Committee of the Camberwell Arts Festival in the past so take a keen interest and plan to see as much as I can including the Breakfast Preview of the End of Year Show at Camberwell College of Art!

Elections and Rebellions, Constitutional Reform and "Yogi" is eventually Hibs Manager

2009-06-11T15:34:00.011+01:00

Probably wisely I took the opportunity to go to Edinburgh to visit the family the day after the Elections on Thursday!

Clearly a bad day all round but the Press really were determined to build it up as disastrous and catastrophic whilst their own analysis suggested something less!
The low turnout was largely due to Labour voters staying at home as they could not bring themselves to vote for any other party! This suggests that they are not lost forever an we can reclaim them next year!

The Press even suggested that Labour had "let in" the BNP, clearly we were responsible for that as well! As well as the bad polls and the expenses scandal which has really deeply affected UK voters confidence in politicians the complete lack of engagement with the Euro Elections is a real problem across all Member States and perhaps the new MEP's can earn their £90K jobs by working out how they make themselves more relevant to the voters?

The rebellion stuff was very strange and incompetent and just plain stupid, and whilst most wont be missed John Hutton and James Purnell are both very capable and will be a loss to the Cabinet, just dont understand what they are playing at?
James spoke at last year's Southwark Labour Party Conference and was very good and very loyal at that time and inspirational so I am sad to see him leave the stage and him and John Hutton have no way back unless we lose the General Election!!

Harriet has never been off the box and has performed brilliantly in the face of very tough questioning, a real star in the Cabinet and deserves the Deputy PM position.

Have to say Lord Mandy was also very good especially with his yes/no answers to Andrew Marr when accused of taking too long to answer. A bit childish but I liked it!!

Important that Brown gets back onto Policy and deals with the Constitutional Reform but I hope that he stays well away from PR for Westminster which will probably ensure BNP MP's!

Great news that John "Yogi" Hughes was eventually appointed as Hibs Manager after being after the job for a number of years! He wants to keep hold of Fletcher and Jones but I think that they will both be off, especially Fletcher if Mowbray is appointed Celtic Manager as expected!