The early firing of the starting pistol in the race to become Labour’s candidate for London Mayor is welcome. It will provide an opportunity, sooner rather than later, to galvanise progressive opposition to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government intent on huge public sector cuts. And, as the mayoral contest will be over before Labour’s national leadership race, London party members will be able to choose a candidate without allegations of political interference from above.

Whoever becomes Labour’s mayoral candidate will have the party’s strong general election showing in London on which to build. The combination of high voter turnout and the hard work of local activists and candidates means Labour still has the highest number of MPs in Greater London. Labour also regained control of local government in London, winning back 10 councils and returning three borough mayors.

Labour’s share of the vote in the capital was 2 per cent higher than the Tories’ and the swing away from Labour just 2.5 per cent. London played a big part in denying David Cameron’s Conservatives an overall majority. Had voter turnout been as high in the 2008 mayoral election, some polling suggests that Ken Livingstone would probably have won. Whether people turn out in high numbers will be crucial for Labour’s success in the future.

The first big electoral test for the coalition is likely to be the 2012 London mayoral contest. Boris Johnson’s Tory administration will have presided over huge budget cuts, the real possibility of more public transport fare rises and worsening frontline services. All this will place a big strain on London’s civic society.  While voters may be motivated to turn out by anger at the damage the new Government will inevitably inflict, the downside for Labour will be that councils the party now controls will be expected to implement much of the cuts programme.

The real test for Labour looking to regain the mayoralty is the challenge posed by Boris Johnson. We have come to accept that his charm, wit and bluster reach parts of the electorate most politicians can only dream of.

What he cannot hide, though, is that he has been happy to do very little as Mayor. He has pushed ahead with projects started by his predecessor, such as the cycle hire scheme and support for Crossrail. But he has done very little new that could be seen as positive for London.

He is allowing much of the city’s modern bus fleet to go to rust and waste because he doesn’t like its design. He is cutting the number of Metropolitan Police officers. And, while he bangs on about not putting up his share of the council tax, he has put up fares massively – hitting low-paid and middle-income Londoners hardest.

Labour needs a candidate who can get behind Johnson’s populist façade and expose his unbending support for the financial services sector, the contradictions and inconsistencies in his policies and win back City Hall as the first step on the road back to government.

This article was published in Tribune on the 11th of June.

Unfortunately this zero emission black cab is not likely to be made available till well after 2015

l welcomed the new hybrid blakc cab taxi ( zero emission ) launched in London yesterday, and call upon the Mayor to reduce the age of London’s taxi fleet by reducing his proposed upper age limit from 15 years to 10 years by 2012 in his latest draft air quality strategy. The  15 year age limit is just too high for London’s black cabs, particular if you known that the average age of a black cab is 7.5 years. Thats twice the average age.  Incredibly under present regulations we still have a sole registered black cab dating back to 1986 !

It’s all very well & good bringing out the new high-tech toys, but these new taxis aren’t by themselves going to solve London’s pollution problems.  We need to completely overhaul London’s taxi fleet and get the oldest vehicles off the roads with some good old-fashioned policy measures.  Bring the upper age limit down & at a stroke you’ll reduce pollution and by extension respiratory illness.  Such a move is already overdue – 2012 is long enough to wait for this, let alone 2015.

The Mayor’s own air quality strategy highlights the particular pollution problem caused by black cabs  and yet incredibly he saw fit to abolish their six monthly road-worthiness tests.  So far the Mayor’s alleged pollution reduction measures have done little to get the EU off our backs and just recently the Commission made it quite clear they are going to issue large fines to the UK as a result of London’s pollution levels.

After receiving reports on the air quality around Heathrow at this week’s meeting of the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (HACC) Murad Qureshi AM feels the Mayor and BAA could do a lot more to improve air quality in the area and therefore the health of people living near to Heathrow in Hillingdon, Ealing & Hounslow, as well as those visiting the area.

Murad said:  “Preliminary findings from the air quality monitoring stations indicate pollution levels stayed high during five days in April when flights were suspended because of volcanic ash.  I’ve been concerned for some time that the Mayor and BAA are not doing enough to tackle the pollution from surface transport around Heathrow, but these latest figures give us an idea of the true scale of the problem.”

Murad added: “Most of the pollution problem around Heathrow comes from surface transport.  Between them, the Mayor and BAA have it in their power to make a huge difference to air quality and quality of life in an area that has the highest concentration of  traffic pollution after central London.  They can do this now, with pricing policies, for example, they just need to decide to act on the evidence under their noses, and the Mayor should make sure proper measures are enshrined in his revised air quality strategy.”

Ends.

Notes

Murad Qureshi is a Londonwide Labour Assembly Member and is the Assembly’s Labour Group Environment spokesperson.  He represents the London Assembly on the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (HACC)

IT has been described as the “arm-pit” of the underground and is a perennial source of rage for browbeaten Circle line commuters.

Now, the mystery of the delays and cancellations at Edgware Road Tube station has been solved.

At its nerve centre is a signal box first fitted in 1928 – a relic from the first days of the network when there was only one line for the whole of London.

London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi made the discovery during a behind-the-scenes tour of the station as part of his duties on the mayor’s transport committee. 

He said it was a “joke” that the box was still in operation in a city that claims to be the capital of the world, and has called for mayor Boris Johnson to replace it as a matter of urgency.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw it,” said Mr Qureshi. “It’s full of cranks and levers, and is a full-time job for two men, who sit their sweating away keeping it going. A lot of people, including myself, avoid the station, because of the bottlenecks. Sometimes you sit there and don’t go anywhere for ages. Now it makes sense.”

He added: “It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest signal box in the entire Underground, and quite simply, replacing it would make life a lot less stressful for a lot of people.”

Last year the Circle line route was extended into a “lasoo” shape from Edgware Road to Hammersmith, a development claimed to have improved waiting times at the station by 26 per cent. 

But Transport for London’s own figures reveal commuters are suffering longer waits and have fewer trains since the redesign in December, with some forced to wait up to 20 minutes for a train.

Responding to questions about the line’s clunky performance this week, the mayor conceded progress had been hindered by signal failures. 

Mr Johnson said: “Unfortunately, a number of factors in the first few months of the new Circle service combined to prevent performance from improving as much as I would have liked. These included the coldest winter weather in 30 years, recurring problems with the aging train fleet, some driver shortages, and a high incidence of signal failures on what is a very old signalling system. I know these have been frustrating for customers and LU (London Underground) has worked hard to overcome them.”

TfL have earmarked the line for upgrades over the next eight years, and say the signal box would be replaced under its programme.

A TfL spokesman said: “Signal cabins on the Underground are now rare and remain in use only on the sub-surface lines (Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan). The signal cabin at Edgware Road has been in use since around 1928.

“In most cases signals are controlled from a central control room. However where cabins are used the signaller controls the signals for the local area only. 

“It is imperative that we press ahead with the sub-surface upgrade which will see the introduction of 191 air-conditioned trains, starting this summer on the Metropolitan line, and new signalling which will be complete along the whole of the sub-surface network by 2018. As part of the upgrade, the signal cabin at Edgware Road will be taken out of use. The upgrade will mean faster and more reliable journeys delivering around 50 per cent increase in capacity thereby cutting congestion.”

The European Commission has threatened to take the UK to the European Court of Justice over air quality breaches.

The UK could end up paying as much as £300m in fines.

The government received a second and "final" warning from the commission after the levels of dangerous airborne particles, or PM10s, in London and Gibraltar exceeded EU limits.

The commission says high levels of PM10 may lead to serious health problems.

"Air pollution is bad for our health. It reduces human life expectancy by more than eight months on average and by more than two years in the most polluted cities and regions," said the EU’s environment commissioner Janez Potocnik.

Surprise reaction

The UK government said the warning was "a surprise".

"It’s disappointing that the commission has felt it necessary to issue a second and final written warning," said a spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

"As the commission is currently assessing the UK’s request for additional time to meet the limit value in London, and has nine months to do so, it is difficult to see what further action the commission expects the UK to take."

"We remain confident that the evidence presented should satisfy the Commission. Furthermore, the Mayor of London has committed to applying targeted measures at priority locations if necessary."

The UK received its first warning in early 2009. It then tried to get a time extension for meeting the EU standards, but the request was denied.

The Commission judged that London did not have any real plans for cleaning up the air and would not be able to reduce pollution by the time the exemption period expired in 2011.

But a spokesperson for the Mayor of London commented: "’The government made a submission to the European Commission last year seeking additional time to meet limit values.

"Since then the Mayor has published an air quality strategy and the government has re-submitted additional information to the Commission.

"We are therefore confident that these developments will address the concerns that triggered this legal action. London is well on track to meet and exceed these values by 2011."

The additional data was submitted by the government in May.

It has not yet received a reply – but a "final" warning instead.

Health problems

Small enough to be inhaled, PM10s are emitted mainly by cars, factories and domestic heating systems.

Breathing in too much of these pollutants may lead to asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death, said the commission.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly environment spokesperson Mike Tuffrey called the warning "a real wake up call to both central Government and the Mayor of London".

Murad Qureshi, the Labour Party’s environment spokesman, said he did not believe London Mayor Boris Johnson was doing enough to tackle the problem.

"It’s no great surprise that London is singled out as the bad boy when our mayor won’t take the bold, brave action necessary to improve the air we breathe," he said.

According to the charity Environmental Protection UK, some 35,000 people die from particle pollution in the country every year – and as many as 4,300 in London alone.

"Whilst [the previous UK government] has been waiting, the health of thousands of people has suffered," said Philip Mulligan, the charity’s CEO.

"We can only hope that the new government takes real action to improve the air we breathe rather than continuing to try to duck out of our commitments."

Other activists say that Mr Johnson must stop "relying on the government to act".

"By making London a safer place to walk and cycle and improving public transport, the Mayor could get people out of cars and ensure cleaner air for everyone who lives, works in or visits the capital," said Friends of the Earth’s London campaigner Jenny Bates.

The European Commission today issued the UK with a final written warning for breaching legal standards for dangerous airborne particles, or PM10s. Greater London and Gibraltar were singled out as areas where air quality is still a danger to health. The Mayor of London recently claimed that almost 5,000 people could be dying prematurely because of the city’s poor air (1).

Labour’s environment spokesman on the London Assembly, Murad Qureshi, said: "The Mayor has rightly highlighted the deadly problem in London but rather than tackling it, his policies have actually made matters worse. He is halving the size of the congestion charge zone, has put back plans to charge polluters for driving into London and has whacked up public transport fares, pushing people back into their cars.

"It’s no great surprise that London is singled out as the bad boy when our Mayor won’t take the bold, brave action necessary to improve the air we breathe."

The UK has failed to comply with EU air quality standards for PM10s. These dangerous airborne particles are partly caused by traffic and can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death. In some parts of London one in five children suffers with asthma. The UK has one of the highest childhood asthma rates in the world.

·         Boris Johnson is currently consulting on plans to scrap the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge (WEZ)

·         TfL predict losing between £55m and £70m of revenue and a 15% increase in traffic if the WEZ is scrapped (2)

·         The WEZ led to a decrease in motor vehicles entering the zone of 14% TfL estimated that around 30% of those previously entering the zone by car chose to walk, cycle or travel by public transport instead. There was a 12% increase in the number of people entering the zone by bicycle (3)

·         Last year, the Mayor suspended the next phase of London’s Low Emission Zone. The third phase was due to come into force this October and would have meant the most polluting vans and minibuses would be charged £100 a day to drive into Greater London.

The European Commission said in a press release today:

"The UK submitted an exemption request for eight zones including the Greater London Urban Area. However, the Commission did not consider the exemption justified, as seven out of the eight zones already complied with the limit values. For the Greater London Urban Area, the Commission considered that the UK had not shown that compliance with the daily PM10 limit value would be achieved by the time the exemption period expired in 2011. The UK has recently sent a further exemption request for Greater London, which is still under assessment. However, given that zones still exceed the PM10 limit values, the Commission is sending the UK a final warning. If the UK fails to take the necessary measures to comply with the legislation, the Commission could refer the case to the European Court of Justice."

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/687&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Ends

Notes

1. Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy http://www.london.gov.uk/who-runs-london/mayor/publications/environment/mayors-draft-air-quality-strategy

2. Mayoral answer to the London Assembly (15 October 2008) http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=23419

3. Central London Congestion Charging: Impacts Monitoring, Sixth Annual Report, Transport for London, July 2008.

4. European Commission press release http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/10/687&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Murad said:  “We’ve learned that as part of the new government shake-up the management of the Royal Parks will transfer from the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to Boris Johnson.  What hasn’t been made clear is whether the necessary funding to maintain the parks will also be passed to the Mayor.”

Currently the DCMS provides over £19m a year to maintain the eight Royal Parks.  Only this week the Chancellor told DCMS they would have to cut their budget by £61 million, so if they can pander to the Mayor’s thirst for power by giving him the Royal Parks, without handing him the budget, they can find a third of their cuts in one fell swoop.  Nice one DCMS, but potentially an own goal to Boris.

Murad said: “The Royal Parks in London are a wonderful national asset and have always been maintained to a very high standard – as any one of their 37 million visitors each year would testify – but the reason they look so good is that they have until now been allocated sufficient budget to maintain them well.  If the Mayor takes on the job without the funds to do it properly then something will have to give – either the parks will suffer, or Londoners will have to pay out a lot more to keep them properly, or we could easily get a bit of both – Londoners will get higher bills and the parks will be maintained to a lower standard.”

Murad added: “As the Royal Parks department also looks after the gardens of numbers 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street, this move also makes Boris Johnson gardener in chief to David Cameron, a role he will no doubt relish.”

Ends.

Notes

Murad Qureshi is a Londonwide Labour Assembly Member and is the Assembly’s Labour Group Environment spokesperson.

Last week l went to one of my local tube stations, Edgware Rd on the Circle /District/ City & Hammersmith lines  to see the arm-pit of the sub-surface lines that go through the station, with its pre-war signal box dating back to 1928 ( see above photo ) !

Now that it’s all going to be brought in-house, it made me wonder what has been done on the oldest part of the tube system in London between Paddington and Farringdon under the PPP contracts.  It is quite extraordinary that the oldest part of the tube system – to the best of my recollection – has yet to see any works like station refurbishment, track renewal or signal replacements under the PPP or otherwise, and if the sight of the pre-war signal box at Edgware Road station is anything to go by, it could do with some urgent works.  No wonder we have such delays at this important junction in the tube system, with knock on effects on the rest of the system.

This week I was able to bring up the Circle line and the signal box at Edgware Road at the London Assembly’s Transport Committee meeting on Wednesday with Mike Brown, the new Managing Director of London Underground.  He was happy for it to be raised, though he didn’t acknowledge the problems the service has had since being extended to Hammersmith.  He has already said that once the PPP comes completely in-house at the end of June he wants to look at the possibility of doing works during weekdays, dropping the boundaries between work done under the different PPP contracts and re-ordering the work sequences between the different lines.  Let’s hope he looks at the oldest section of the tube system again, in light of the state of technology along it.

Last night we held a reception for the Bangladesh cricket team in the City of Westminster at Council House on Marylebone Road, the Monday before the 5 day test match against England at Lords starting on this coming Thursday the 27th of May. This reception was well attended by youngest in the local Bangladeshi community, who were meeting their star cricketers for the first time. The reception occurred on the same day that the new Prime Minister, David Cameron gave the England team a reception at Downing Street.

Below you will see a photo of Karen Buck MP, the local member of parliament for Lords cricket ground welcoming the Bangladesh cricket team to Westminster.  The High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Dr Sayeedur Rahman Khan is on my right side and he also greeted the team.

The event was organised by the Bangladesh High Commission, in conjunction with councillors at the City of Westminster Council, in particular Cllr Barrie Taylor.

Greetings from Karen Buck MP to Bangladesh cricket team