Cllr Patrick Smith

Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly had a very successful session at the first Mayor’s Question Time with Boris Johnson this week.Leader of the London Assembly Liberal Democrats, Mike Tuffrey, convinced the Mayor to make all his appointments to City Hall accountable to the Assembly. This means that all the Mayor’s staff, including his advisers, can be called before the London Assembly for scrutiny. Mike Tuffrey also extracted pledges from Boris Johnson to make sure that the supposed ‘independent’ panel appointed by the Mayor to investigate grants awarded by the London Development Agency take account of, and use, all the work that the Assembly’s committee chaired by Liberal Democrat Dee Doocey had already carried out before the recent elections.At the same meeting Boris Johnson also agreed to seek an urgent meeting with the Department for Transport over funding for Phase 2 of the East London Line following questioning from Caroline Pidgeon - a point noted in Thursday’s Guardian!

Caroline also got Boris Johnson to admit that his plans for a new Routemaster bus are only an aspiration rather than a firm commitment.After the meeting Caroline Pidgeon commented, “The Routemaster bus was a central part of the Mayor’s election manifesto. But there are no clear plans on how he will design or pay for it. The Mayor’s new transport adviser, Kulveer Ranger, seems to think the new Routemaster may not be ‘hop-on, hop-off’. But Boris Johnson said it will be and will include the iconic platform. The Mayor’s office is sending out a confused message on his flagship policy.‘Londoners voted for Boris Johnson on his pledge to reintroduce the Routemaster. This is the first real test of Boris’ campaign manifesto and like him, it is turning out to be a little blurry round the edges. Boris Johnson said that his Routemaster bus is an aspiration and not a commitment. We can only hope that the Mayor’s next proposal has more substance.”

This week the Mayor appointed Tim Parker as First Deputy Mayor and Chief Executive of the Greater London Authority.  See http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=17034.  As news of the appointment broke, Mike Tuffrey commented that, “This week Boris Johnson told the London Assembly that he would chair Transport for London. In an apparent U-turn, he has now announced that Tim Parker will chair TfL and is inventing a new role at the GLA for him.“While we should all welcome the best brains from the private sector, we will be asking searching questions about Tim Parker’s suitability for the roles being created for him.” 

Last night’s Annual Council meeting in the Walthamstow Assembly Hall saw Lib Dem Cllr Sheila Smith-Pryor invested as Mayor of Waltham Forest.

Cllr Smith-Pryor’s ward colleague in Hale End and Highams Park, Cllr John Beanse, made the speech proposing her for the position.

Cllr John Macklin Councillor for Chapel End and newly elected Leader of the Lib Dems seconded the proposition.

PRESS STATEMENT

Agreed Sale of Company’s Land 16 May 2008
The directors of Walthamstow Stadium Limited have agreed to the sale of the Company’s freehold property at Walthamstow Stadium to a development consortium led by Yoo Capital, London, and Quadrant Housing Association and K W Linfoot plc. Formal contracts have been exchanged and completion is expected on or before 1st September 2008. Racing will continue until the middle of August 2008.

Since the abolition of General Betting Duty in 2001, with the consequent loss of the unique advantage of tax-free betting only on-course, greyhound punters have been able to bet tax-free off-course, and with betting offices and exchanges open throughout the evening to accommodate them, attendances and betting turnover on-course have declined dramatically. Walthamstow’s totalisator turnover alone has fallen by some 35% during the period.

With all of the principle income streams in sharp decline, and general running costs rising relentlessly, the company’s operations have become unsustainable.

Staff and trainers have been notified and now enter a consultation period. It is hoped that all will find alternative positions after operations cease. From an animal welfare point of view, it is anticipated that most of the greyhounds currently racing at the Stadium will be accommodated at other racecourses. If, however, certain owners choose to retire their greyhounds, every effort will be made to support them in finding suitable homes.
For further information, please call:

Charles Chandler 01707 644288 

 Below are the actions taken following a spate of racist graffiti. It is so offensive that we will not publish photo’s here.

Your Lib Dem councillors are appalled by this action.

Over the last 2 days, there has been a rash of racist graffiti applied to a variety of surfaces, predominantly brickwork but also painted surfaces, footways and road ways. The slogan “Jihad is the only solution for Israel” seems to have been applied using a stencil. This means that the graffiti can be applied quickly and discretely.So far, the majority of locations have been in the Walthamstow area.