SINCE the UK voted to opt out of the European Union, trade relations has come centre stage in our negotiation with our EU exit and future relationship with the free trade area, single market and customs union uppermost on the agenda.

So much so that “it’s trade, stupid!” comes easily to mind, in much the same way as “it’s the economy, stupid!” comes to mind from Clinton days. 

After last week, who would you trust between the two biggest economies in the world to develop new trade deals with the UK after our EU exit? 

US President Donald Trump’s boisterous inauguration speech stated quite clearly that America comes first in trade, as buying and hiring American becomes his primary trade goals, indicating protectionism and isolationism ahead from the US. 

While Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, in Davos defended globalisation, stating there will not be any winners in a trade war. He said: “Pursuing protectionism is like locking yourself up in a dark room. Wind and rain may be kept outside but also the light and air.”  

The contrast cannot be more stark between the two visions for the immediate future.

On top of these differences, we had the first ever direct freight train from China to the UK arriving to a fanfare in Barking, East London last Friday. 

It covered over 7,000 miles to get to London across the whole of Eurasia. That is across several countries and through the Channel Tunnel to reach London. It must be a logistical miracle to get to our shores as differing rail gauges in different countries mean no single train can travel the whole route and the containers have to be reloaded at various stages. 

The freight train, which carried millions of pounds worth of socks, cloth, bags and household goods, set off 18 days earlier from the manu­facturing city of Yiwu. The new weekly service is thought to be quicker than a container ship and half the price of air freight, while London becomes the 15th European city to be served by freight trains from China. If you wanted evidence of China being open for trade with Europe these trains show us this in the UK. 

The 34-carriage train, which reportedly contained £4 million of commodities coming directly from the factory floors of Yiwu, also offers an opportunity  to take goods from London to China. 

So, while President Trump settles into office, what does he offer? 

Well, one of his first executive orders is the US opting out of the Trans Pacific Trade Agreement (TPTA) that Obama had set up. Not surprising China is now offering bilateral trade deals to all the Pacific countries let down by Trump’s protectionist and isolationist instincts, and making up for the gap left in trade in the Pacific by the US. China can only gain by this stance taken by the President. 

So, in the Year of the Rooster, we can expect China to be open for trade while the US will be a lot more closed as Trump puts his priorities in place. 

Happy Chinese New Year everybody!

This blog piece was first published in the West End Extra of the 27th of January 2017.

At one of my local Art galleries, the Lisson Gallery, we have a Moroccan-French artist Bouchra Khalili exhibiting for the first time in London her “The Mapping Journey Project”.

Its well worth a visit to just find out what is involved in migrants getting to Europe as we hear the stories of a number of them retracing their journey to the destination of their dreams. For example we have the story of a Bangladeshi dreaming of going to Rome eventually getting there through the middle of Africa after his first attempt via Eastern Europe failed. Khalili explores through their stories and the mediums of film, video, maps, prints and photography the broad topics of migration and displacement, laying bay the socially constructed nature of borders and challenges our fixed ideas of identity and nationhood give us.

Its well worth a visit. The exhibition continues till the 18th of March 2017 and its at the Lisson Gallery site on 67 Lisson Street NW1, London. 

So, thank you to the Lisson Gallery for hosting her unique exhibition for the first time in London after it appears its have been every where else! I am indeed very fortunate to have one of the most influential and longest running international contemporary art galleries in the world on my doorstep.

Its almost 20 years now since the Samaritan Hospital for Women was closed on the Marylebone Road  and you have to ask what the hell is going on?

In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS, becoming affiliated to St Mary’s Hospital. It was renamed the Samaritan Hospital for Women. In 1982 it had 79 beds and in 1987 the Hospital building was listed by English Heritage as Grade II. The Hospital closed in 1997. 

So how and who manages these surplus NHS assets? The present disposal of NHS assets is undertaken by NHS Property Services – a limited company, set up in April 2013, wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health to manage, maintain and improve NHS properties and facilities within their portfolio, working in partnership with NHS organisations.

One key part of the company’s role is the efficient management and disposal of properties which are no longer required by the NHS for the delivery of services, ensuring that best value is achieved from any disposal, for reinvestment in the NHS. The decision as to whether properties are surplus to NHS operational requirements resides with commissioners, i.e. NHS England or a clinical commissioning group (CCG). A property will only be released for disposal by NHS Property Services once commissioners have confirmed that it is no longer required for the delivery of NHS services.

NHS Property Services ensures that market value is achieved in the sale of assets through an arm’s length, open market process. Any property to be disposed of is first listed on the Electronic Property Information Mapping Service (ePIMS) website, which allows other public sector bodies to purchase it. Properties are listed on this website for forty working days and if no other public sector organisation expresses an interest then it can be marketed locally NHS Property Services have a vital role as stewards of NHS assets and publish information on disposals as a matter of course.

Whilst at the London Assembly, l did ask NHS England what is happening with the grand building on the Marylebone Road? Please see the response below – quite clearly its owned along with the adjacent Western Eye Hospital by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and earmarked for off-setting redevelopment costs on other major sites. 

But does it really take 20 years to sort it out with these buildings which could have been put to good alternative use in the meantime rather than lying empty for so long. Its been so long that developments in Paddington near to St Mary’s Hospital are now being developed like the Cube on the old post office site which would not have been anticipated to make a substantial contribution to the funds of Imperial for redevelopment. This potential makes available the resources released for this site on the running costs of NHS locally in City of Westminster and West Central during the present winter crisis.

During all those 20 years as well, no proposed scheme has been submitted through planning at City of Westminster. Other publicly owned sites like the Westminster Magistrate Court site in the next block along Marylebone Road have been fully developed as a new home for the Courts in Central London and residential scheme. 

Now thats a thought that could focus the minds of the property managers of the NHS after 20 years of doing nothing much on the site and a winter crisis begging for more resources for our social care. What ever options are pursued eventually, this grand old building is probably worth 10’s of millions, a princely sum no one could have imagined in the middle of the 19th century. 

With the Mayor of London’s new “air quality” audit to protect thousands of school kids, l trust he will be focused on the primary schools in City of Westminster. As 6 out of 10 of the primary schools most affected by air pollution in London are in the City of Westminster. 

The above graph shows the extent of the problem for all schools in the City of Westminster using data from 2013 particularly in the North along the Marylebone Road. Primary schools like Christ Church on Cosway St, NW1 have only just had their extension opened, So l hope it sets new standards for schools to avoid air pollution when near major roads like Marylebone Rd. 

Enforcement of lets under 90 days can already be found in West End Quay

The FT are right to highlight the tax advantage to Airbnb rent properties in your in comparison to Hotels in your editorial of the 4th January 2017 (Airbnb is a boon to consumers and needs no special treatment ) but as residential properties are being let out as holiday homes on a near-industrial scale, changing the historic make-up of central ­London neighbourhoods, we see ­settled community being replaced by an endless stream of people with suitcases coming and going. You only need go to Churchill Estate in Pimlico.

So its important that London Councils regulate Airbnb properties better along the lines adopted by City of Westminster council with sub-letting generally on developments like West End Quay which happened before emergence of Airbnb as Councils already have regulatory powers on lets under 90 days, to make for a level playing field in comparison to hotels.

But in the above example the responsibility solely falls on the rentier and their agents when the owners of the flats clearly have some responsibilities. If you are renting out your home as a business, surely you should have to pay business rates and have a health & safety certificate as well to cover responsibilities of making facilities accessible and risk free from fires?

So let’s see London Councils use their regulatory powers like City of Westminster has with rentiers of properties of less than 90 days apply their powers to the owners of the properties as well, making for a level playing field for hotels competing for the same market. Quite honestly that is more likely to happen sooner than any tax reforms!!!

The Traffic Order consultation which leaves out impact on Lisson Grove & Seymour Place, altogether.

The Baker Street and Gloucester Place gyratory is unlike any other one in London, as it has a substantial residential population in and around it, where tenants and residents are very much a part of the local community. Indeed we feel it operates much like the road grids in Manhattan, New York, where the through traffic can pass through very quickly on the Avenues and much of the local street life exists off them. This is very much in keeping with what we have in Marylebone, with traffic along Baker Street taking you into the West End swiftly, while Gloucester Place can get the traffic out of the West End, and streets off them and parallel, where local residents live, like Melcombe Street, north of the Marylebone Road and York Street & Paddington Street, as well as Lisson Grove and Seymour Place.

Coming from this position, we do not see any improvements to the public realm in the final Traffic Order consultation undertaken by City of Westminster & TfL to increase accessibility along Seymour Place or Lisson Grove, where it is likely to be needed the most. We anticipate increased road traffic along Seymour Place and Lisson Grove, from traffic displaced from both Baker Street and Gloucester Rd, moving more slowly than the traffic does on the present one way system.

Furthermore, we anticipate increased traffic noise and public nuisance for our residents, particularly along Seymour Place. The Baker Street two way proposal, now in its third consultation, has yet to address these well held fears and concerns. Even the proposal to stop any right turns from Park Road onto Rossmore Rd at the very North of the gyratory have not taken up to stop road traffic getting through to Lisson Grove  ( & Harewood Avenue as well ) and Seymour Place in the first place.

Neither has an impact study of the implications to poor air quality been done of the proposal given it will cut through major hot stops for air pollution along the Marylebone Road. You would think that TfL and Westminster City Council would have done this already given their statutory obligations. 

The whole consultation has addressed neither these well founded issues, nor the concerns of tenants and residents of Lisson Grove and Seymour Place. Its also extraordinary that TfL are proposing to contribute £ 10 million to this locally disputed road change at a time when its having to find major savings in their budgets to deliver the Mayors fares freeze whilst the government has cut its annual grants. 

So happy new year and lets see the end to these proposals early in the new year. 

“there is something smelly around here!”

I can not disagree more with the sentiments of FT editorial of the 20th of December that the IMF has good reason to stick with Lagarde. Christine Lagarde is part of an untouchable globe elite who keep their job despite convictions, making the IMF look like FIFA under Blatter.

Lets not also forget the lecture she gave to the British public on BREXIT in the lead up to the referendum in support of her pals Osborne and Cameron. I for one am convinced her input along with Obama did not help the case of staying in the EU one bit and if anything helped swing it against staying in the EU. 

It is bad enough that the IMF in 70 odd years of existence has never had a non-European as its helm and with its first women head it allows IMF to be the first banking organisation to have a convicted felon as their chief rather than typical alleged fraudsters. It is exactly this sort of thing, which reeks of establishment stitch-up, that fuels disenchantment with politics.

She should do the decent thing and simply stand down as other Central Bankers have in recent time in similar situations. For example, the resignation of Central Banker of the Year in Asia-Pacific of 2015 and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Atiur Rahman after the $100 m cyber-heist between New York & Dhaka at the beginning of the year comes to mind even though he was not convicted of anything at all.

So is there any surprise we have a backlash against globalisation when institutions like the IMF act in this manner.

Beehive Pub along Crawford Street, W1

Recently l was asked whether l knew that the Beehive pub in Marylebone was closing on twitter?  The one l know well was to the best of my knowledge being refurbished, so l decided to investigate next time l was up on Baker Street. 

So when l did go up on Baker Street on the Crawford Street, W1 junction l could clearly see the Beehive was still being refurbished over the Christmas period. But on my way home to the other side of Marylebone,north of the Marylebone Road l saw another Beehive pub on Homer Street, E1 which was being worked on more extensively by building contractors. This must be the one that people mention as the pub that’s been lost to residential use in Marylebone. Its certainly more tacked away and thus must of had a very local customer base. Probably quite different customer base than the one in Crawford St which would have had more tourists, as its not far off Baker Street and visible at the junction with Crawford St. Which probably explains the fate of the two Beehive public houses in Marylebone quite well.  

The Beehive on Homer Street has been closed since 2014 and can be found on registers of pubs closed in the last few years. Its fate been sealed by the loss of its local customer based as Londoners have been priced out of their homes in Central London ironically into residential use at prices that only those with suitcases full of money can afford in Marylebone now as their bolt hole from another country. 

This said the Beehive on Crawford St having having more tourists and office workers probably survived because of this ( plus some local customers of course ) and and will probable do so after it opens in the new year after the refurbishment. This is all apart from the tough conditions the pub industry has already faced in the past few years anyway. 

Beehive pub along Homer Street, W1

As part of Punk.London, the year-long festival commemorating forty years of punk in London, Seymour Housing Co-op Ltd unveiled a plaque last week on one of its properties, 33 Daventry Street NW1, the squatting location where Joe Strummer lived during a pinnacle creative period between 1978-79.

So it was fitting to hear Don Lett’s, Film Director, DJ & Musician saying “Strummer didn’t need nor did he seek society’s blessing – this comes live and direct from the people!”  A message which was further reinforced by Joe’s wive, Lucinda message on the day of the unveiling in an interview with the local paper, the West End Extra  that “….Joe would have be overwhelmed to have this recognition, and just so happy that the spirit of squatting is still alive via the Co-op….” 

Where the 101ers and The Clash musician, wordsmith and punk icon was honoured with a permanent testament in an area on and off Bell Street, NW1, should also now be acknowledged also as an epicentre of London’s punk scene. 

Everyone knows Kings Road was the fashion Hub of punks forty years ago but what is less known is how the Bell Street NW1 area was the punk HQ of the UK scene. This claim for being London’s punk ground zero has been firmly established by my neighbour Robert Gordon McHarg III excellent research aided by access to Joe’s Strummers archives, in his capacity as their curator.  

In 1976 Malcolm McLaren was living at 93 Bell St with his art school friend Helen Wellington-Lloyd, the “Helen of Troy” character in Julian Temple’s film The Great Rock’n Roll Swindle. The first Sex Pistols press release bears 93 Bell St as the official address. Steve Jones and Paul Cook also lived in Bell Street. The Damned’s Captain Sensible recalled how the band used to rehearse in a church in Bell St. NW1.  43 Daventry Street, off Bell St. was where The Slits hung out and rehearsed, something Viv Albertine mentions in her 2014 book “Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.” Julian Temple filmed Sid Vicious’s “C’mon everybody” and “Something Else” videos in 33 Daventry St. where Joe Strummer squatted from late ’78 until mid-1979. The Clash used the Edgware Road Ice Cream parlour as their office and were interviewed there by then local student Gary Crowley. The infamous story of Mick and Paul spotting Joe in the Dole office, took place in Lisson Grove Jobcentre (still there to this day).  I am sure we will hear more punk rock stories from Gordon’s research in the years to come 

Its incredible to know that one of the icons of Punk Rock – Joe Strummer – lived in a squat along my street when he and the Clash were holding high gigs in the UK, Europe and the US. I’m really proud to see the acknowledgement of how this enclave of Marylebone ( Bell Street ) was a sanctuary to punk rock when it needed space to flourish, showing the importance of providing creative spaces still in Central London.