The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been urged to take into account Hounslow’s reliance on Heathrow when he makes his submission to the Sir Howard Davies’ Airport Commission on Monday (15 July). London-wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said “residents don’t want a bigger Heathrow but a better Heathrow”. 

Boris Johnson has been vocal about his support for new hub airport in the Thames Estuary. However, Hounslow Council recently undertook a borough-wide consultation and results showed that the majority of residents did not want Heathrow to be expanded but also did not want the airport to close. According to Hounslow, over 11,000 Hounslow residents (around 10 per cent of its working population) are employed at Heathrow. 

Labour London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

“The Mayor must take into consideration the views of the people of Hounslow when making his submission to the Davies’ Commission and stop pursuing his bizarre plan for an airport in the Thames Estuary.

“Boris should acknowledge Hounslow is the borough most affected by Heathrow in terms of noise and the economy and the recent consultation undertaken by the local authority reflected the reliance residents have on Heathrow. West London would lose thousands of jobs if Heathrow was to close and Boris should not ignore this. In Hounslow alone, 10 per cent of working people are employed by Heathrow.

“Residents are adversely affected by the noise from Heathrow and the consultation showed they want to see night flights banned. But they also need the jobs they have at Heathrow – residents don’t want a bigger Heathrow but a better Heathrow.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member and the London Assembly Labour Group Environment spokesperson.
   1. Mayor of London Boris Johnson is announcing his submission response to the Sir Howard Davies’ Airport Commission on Monday 15 July at 10am at City Hall.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will continue to force through his closure of both Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) will meet next week to vote on the Mayor’s plans. The documents for that meeting – which were published this afternoon – show the Mayor has backed down on the closure of Clapham and New Cross Fire Stations. However, he will continue to try and force the rest of fire cuts through.

The Mayor wanted to close 12 fire stations, cut 18 fire engines and axe 520 firefighters. The updated plans released today show that Clapham will stay open, but will lose one of its two fire engines; Chelsea Fire Station will keep both of its fire engines; East Greenwich Fire Station will receive a second fire engine; and New Cross Fire Station will remain. This now means that 10 fire stations will still close with the total loss of 14 fire engines.

The stations that are now planned to close are Belsize, Bow, Clerkenwell, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich.

The stations that will still lose a fire engine are: Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel.

London wide Labour Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM, said:

 “At the public meeting in Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster on the 10^th and 11 of June respectively, residents spoke with one voice against the closure of Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations. Boris has not listened to residents and is going ahead with his ill-thought out plan.  

“Public meetings have shown that Londoners are fearful for the safety of the areas where they live and work. They are understandably worried about injuries and fatalities from fire. I am deeply disappointed that Boris has failed to protect London’s fire brigade by scrapping his plans. He has let Londoners down with his plan to close 10 fire stations and axe 14 fire engines, after all this is about the protection of the whole of London.” 

“We all know that savings have to be made, but the London Fire Brigade has already saved £66million from the back office. Boris is cutting too far and all to fund his penny a day council tax cut. What would you prefer a penny a day or a fully funded fire service that can respond to incidents more quickly?”

There are now just over 1,000,000 Muslims living in London according to the lastest results from the Census in 2011 

The total number of London residents who reported their religion was Muslim increased by 67 per cent between censuses from 607,100 in 2001 to 1,012,800 in 2011.  This was actually less sharp than the increase for England and Wales as a whole which increased by 75 per cent. Muslims made up 1 in 12 of London’s residents in 2001 and 1 in 8 in 2011, but the proportion of England and Wales’ Muslims who lived in London fell from 39 per cent in 2001 to 37 per cent in 2011.

Tower Hamlets had the highest number of Muslims in 2001: 71,400 (36.4 per cent of residents in the borough) followed by Newham 59,300 (24.3 per cent). In 2011 Newham had the most 98,500 (32.0 per cent of residents in the borough) while Tower Hamlets had 87,700 (34.5 per cent). Tower Hamlets was the only London Borough where Muslims made up a smaller proportion of total population in 2011 than in 2001. 

 In six boroughs the number of Muslims increased by over 20,000 over the ten years: Newham (up 39,200), Redbridge (36,500), Enfield (25,800), Brent (25,700), Waltham Forest (23,600) and Ealing (22,200). The biggest increases in Muslim percentage share of population were in Redbridge, up 11.4 percentage points from 11.9 to 23.3 per cent; Barking and Dagenham (up 9.4 points from 4.4 to 13.7 per cent); Newham  (up 7.7 points from 24.3 to 32.0 per cent) and Enfield (up 7.1 points from 9.6 to 16.7 per cent).  

We now have Census a breakdown of religion by age. Muslims are on average younger than other groups. Thirty per cent of Muslims resident in London in 2011 were aged 14 or younger compared to 19 per cent for all groups. Conversely only 4.5 per cent of Muslims were aged 65 and over compared to 11.1 per cent for all groups. These proportions were broadly similar to 2001.

All this, while we are unfortunately seeing some signs of sectarian trouble between Sunni and Shias in London. Surprise surprise, who do you think is in the thick of it? I have been told it’s none other than Anjum Choudhury and his mob with two recent incidents along the Edgware Rd. I really do hope this is not a reflection of some of the sectarian wars  now unleased in the Middle East in countries like Syria.  

I have always said we have not one Muslim community but many Muslim communities in London and we should celebrate the diversity within Islam. You will not find this anywhere else in the world and it is illustrated well with the Edgware Rd where we have Sunni Arabs at the Marble Arch end and by the time you get to Kilburn you have Shia Iranians. With other groupings like the Ahmadi’s, Ismails etc with bases here in London as well.  

Let’s be grateful you’re not asked whether you are Sunni or Shia under Muslim in the Census forms! So let’s say no too sectarian violence, as we are all Londoners!

Last week we celebrated the 65th birthday of the NHS yet new research  also revealed that 149,822 Londoners waited more than four hours at the 21 Major A&E departments between September 2012 and June 2013 – on average this is 3,800 people each week.  The new analysis over a seven month period of ‘Type One’ Major A&E departments shows that four hour targets were missed half the time by over half of these NHS Trusts in London.  

For example  the four-hour target for West Middlesex University Accident and Emergency Department has not been met for 17 weeks in the past seven months. The figures show that 2461 patients waited more than four hours at West Middlesex University A&E department.  

Last week, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson claimed: “The latest figures do show there has been an improvement and London A&E services have been exceeding the target, with 97 per cent of Londoners waiting less than four hours”. 

Ealing & Central Middlesex A&E departments are due to close and that will undoubtedly impact on waiting times of remaining adjoining A&E hospitals like West Middlesex as l had suggested already last December.

This new analysis is a shocking indictment of this government’s record. In one week alone last month, almost half of A&Es in London did not meet the four hour waiting time target. Bad weather affects the health of Londoners, with people generally being in better health during the summertime and therefore it’s easier for NHS Trusts to meet their targets. In December last year six hospital trusts failed to meet the target at any point, and only three met their targets every week that month. The tremendous winter pressures the NHS faces are now running into the summer.

I’ve written to the Secretary of State for Health to ask him to personally review the medical evidence behind each of the proposed A&E department closures or downgrades across London. There is growing pressure on A&E departments in London at the same time as severe cuts in social care, the closures of or reduction in hours of walk-in centres and the rise in population. Closing more A&Es will only make the situation worse.

New research released today shows the four-hour target for West Middlesex University Accident and Emergency Department has not been met for 17 weeks in the past seven months. The figures show that 2461 patients waited more than four hours at West Middlesex University A&E department. 

The analysis also revealed that 149,822 Londoners waited more than four hours at the 21 Major A&E departments between September 2012 and June 2013 – on average this is 3,800 people each week. 

Last week, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson claimed: “The latest figures do show there has been an improvement and London A&E services have been exceeding the target, with 97 per cent of Londoners waiting less than four hours”. 

However, new analysis over a seven month period of ‘Type One’ Major A&E departments shows that four hour targets were missed half the time by over half of these NHS Trusts in London. 

Labour London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said: 

“Ealing & Central Middlesex A&E departments are due to close and that will undoubtedly impact on waiting times. 

“This new analysis is a shocking indictment of this government’s record. In one week alone last month, almost half of A&Es in London did not meet the four hour waiting time target. Bad weather affects the health of Londoners, with people generally being in better health during the summertime and therefore it’s easier for NHS Trusts to meet their targets. In December last year six hospital trusts failed to meet the target at any point, and only three met their targets every week that month. The tremendous winter pressures the NHS faces are now running into the summer. 

“I have written to the Secretary of State for Health to ask him to personally review the medical evidence behind each of the proposed A&E department closures or downgrades across London. There is growing pressure on A&E departments in London at the same time as severe cuts in social care, the closures of or reduction in hours of walk-in centres and the rise in population. Closing more A&Es will only make the situation worse.” 

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member. 
2. The list of Type One Major A&E Departments in London with their target A&E waiting times is attached.

Boris Johnson has called for fracking in London, despite concerns about the environmental impact. London Assembly Labour Group Environment spokesperson Murad Qureshi said Boris should focus on reducing the demand for energy and promote “cleaner, greener sources of energy”.

In a letter to the Times newspaper, Boris Johnson wrote: “It is time for maximum boldness in energy supply. I fully support the Government’s drive for nuclear power, and if reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on.” 

Northdown Energy Limited are currently the only company within the M25 to hold licenses to explore for conventional oil and gas around the Croydon area. Current regulations allow them to explore for shale gas as well. 

London Assembly Labour Group Environment spokesperson Murad Qureshi AM said:

“Boris is calling for fracking in London yet he has failed in reducing energy inefficiency through his RE:FIT and RE:NEW programmes. If these had been successful they would have been good for the environment and saved people money. He missed targets he set on domestic insulation, carbon emissions and electric cars.  

“Since Boris became mayor in 2008 the gap between London’s total carbon-reduction targets and actual reductions has widened significantly each year. Boris loves to jump on bandwagons and this is just his latest one – Londoners need a Mayor who considers their needs first ahead of commercial companies looking to make a quick profit at the potential, and as yet unknown, cost to the environment. 

“Fracking pads are large, lit at all times for safety reasons, noisy and dusty. If they were to go ahead in London, where does the mayor think a drilling rig can be accommodated? Boris should be promoting cleaner, greener sources of energy instead of ways to make Londoners lives harder.” 

Ends

 Notes

 Murad Qureshi is a city-wide member of the London Assembly.

Figures released today by Transport for London show the number of vulnerable road users seriously injured in London’s has risen for the second consecutive year. Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi calls on the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to focus on bringing down the number of serious incidents involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. 

The figures releases today show serious incidents in Westminster involving vulnerable road users increased in 2012 since 2011:

Serious cyclist injuries rose by 19% per cent

Serious motorcyclist casualties rose by 13% per cent

 London wide Labour Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

“The Mayor must introduce targets to bring down the rise of serious casualties on London’s roads. In Westminster, there has been a 19% increase in serious incidents involving cyclists and this is not acceptable. 

“Boris has taken his eye off the ball and the result has been an increase in injuries to the most vulnerable road users. His policy of smoothing car traffic in London has been at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. If we are determined to encourage more people to cycle and walk then the Mayor must improve public safety on red routes which run through high streets and shopping areas such as the West End. 

“The Mayor’s priority needs to be making London’s roads as safe as possible, and he should be paying the most attention to TfL’s red routes which pose a greater threat to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.” 

Ends 

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.
2. Transport for London’s Casualties in Greater London during 2012 can be found here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/corporate/casualties-in-greater-london-2012.pdf

Official emissions figures released today show the poorest parts of London suffer with the highest levels of pollution. London Assembly Labour Group Environment spokesperson Murad Qureshi has called on the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to take urgent action to tackle poor air quality in London’s poorest areas. 

London has failed to meet the legal requirements for lowering emissions along with Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. The Supreme Court ruled last month that Britain was in breach of EU law on NO2 emissions from exhausts. London continues to have the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) of any capital city in Europe and the government could be subject to fines if it does not act.

The worst roads for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) tonnes per kilometre in 2012 include:

• Oxford Street (7^th)
• Grosvenor Place (12^th)
• Knightsbridge, Piccadilly (13^th)
• Victoria Street (19^th)

The worst roads for dangerous airborne particles (PM2.5) tonnes per kilometre in 2012 include:

• Park Lane (5^th)
• Buckingham Palace Road (7^th)
• Bridge Street (11^th)

Labour Group Environment spokesperson Murad Qureshi said:

“When it comes to air pollution Boris has his head stuck firmly in the sand. 

Poor air quality is London’s silent killer, causing over 4,000 premature deaths each year, with as much as eight per cent of deaths in some London boroughs due to poor air quality. In the face of this crisis, the Mayor has consistently dithered and kicked action into the future for the next Mayor to deliver. 

“Earlier this year he announced a policy for introducing an Ultra Low Emissions Zone in central London in 2020. Not only would this be too little too late, in reality he has been unable to provide any details of this policy because he had not undertaken a feasibility study of his own announcement. This is grandiose – yet hollow – rhetoric. 

“The Mayor’s new buses will be on the capital’s roads soon, however there will only be 600 of these new buses out of a fleet of over 8,000 and they won’t actually be any cleaner than the current generation of hybrid buses. Boris needs to prioritise putting greener buses on the routes with the highest pollution levels and bring forward the Ultra Low Emission Zone.” 

Ends 

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi is a London Assembly Member and Labour Group spokesperson on the environment.
2. Top 20 worst roads for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) tonnes per kilometre in 2012 can be found here: http://cleanairinlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/CAL-242-Top-20-worst-NO2-tonnes-per-km-in-2012_Final-draft-230613.pdf
3. Top 20 worst roads for dangerous airborne particles (PM2.5) tonnes per kilometre in 2012 can be found here: http://cleanairinlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/CAL-242-Top-20-worst-PM2.5-tonnes-per-km-in-2012_Final-draft-230613.pdf

Campaigning with Maria Eagle MP & Manuel Cortes

The East Coast is yours – its owned by the Government on behalf of all tax payers. So that every pound that is made by East Coast is returned to us!

Thats is over £800 million will have been returned to the government by end of this financial year.

But the coalition government now plan to sell it off – putting money from your fares straight into the hands of shareholders. This is a dogmatic privatisation decision by the coalition government to poush ahead with something that is unnecessary and financial irresponsible.

Lets keep the East Coast in public hands ensuring that money from the fares continues to be reinvested to improve the service.

Last week’s Plenary was about The London Finance Commission recommendations and analysis; l took the opportunity to ask Prof Tony Travers why a Mansion Tax of sorts was not an idea propagated by the Commission, particularly in light of the example of New York which has such a scheme for properties over £2 million at half a per cent per annum? I suggested this could be an idea hypothecated for the building of much needed social housing in London, so essentially a force for good.

Such a scheme should be relatively simple to administer in London as most of the stock of properties worth in excess of £2 million are probably in the main, located in London boroughs like the City of Westminster & the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.  These boroughs already hand over a precept of their council tax over to the Mayor to the tune of around £310 per household and therefore, it could simply operate as an extension of this process.

In my view, one of the strongest merits of a mansion tax is that it would go some way towards rebalancing the gross inequality of the council tax regime.  The broad banding of property valuations is the fundamental flaw with the council tax.  It means that a large family home in the centre of town occupied by a family over a long period of time, having benefited from property inflation, but where the children have flown the nest, find themselves paying the same amount of council tax as that of multi-billionaires like Lakshmi Niwas Mittal & Abramovich! This is unfair and a London Mansion Tax could be organised in such a way that only those at the top of the tree are asked to pay.

I think the London Finance Commission has missed an opportunity to give some beef to the idea of a Mansion Tax, if not at a national level, most certainly in a London context.