EDL marches will continue to blight local communities

In light of past experiences of English Defence League marches and the recent ban, I, together with my BME colleagues in the Labour Group at the London Assembly wrote to the Met Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe urging him to revise the Met’s view about the status of the EDL.  Back in September 2009, Sir Paul Stephenson told the MPA that the EDL “are not viewed as an extreme right wing group in the accepted sense”.  Last year, it was reported that Adrian Tudway, head of the national domestic extremism unit at Scotland Yard, stated in an email to a Muslim organisation that “in terms of the position with EDL, the original stance stands, they are not extreme right wing as a group” adding “I really think you need to open a direct line of dialogue with them, that might be the best way to engage them and re-direct their activity”.  These sentiments are not only patronising to London’s Muslim community, they are wholly inconsistent with the EDL’s recent actions and the reaction by the local community to their presence.  In our letter to the Commissioner, we asked him to consider the following……
 
“The recent arrests by the Met Police and the request to ban the march…. were both based upon intelligence led investigation; it is clear, therefore, that the perception of the EDL as a non right wing organisation is misconceived.  This misconception should be put right, and we hope that recent actions by the Met police and the Home Secretary should pave a way forward to restating the Met’s views on the EDL.    We believe this is the time to draw a line in the sand from past statements made by or on behalf of the Met on this subject and we seek your reassurance that such statements will not be made under your watch in the future”

The response by the Commissioner is understandable, but nontheless disappointing.  As a non-proscribed group, then the EDL appear to escape the full glare of the Met, but isn’t it time we stopped worrying so much about their classication and more about the affect this group  has on local community cohesion?

Levers in the Edgware Road signal box dating back to 1925

 It is right and proper that we celebrate the public transport heritage of London this year for the 150th anniversary of the opening of the metropolitan line between Paddington and Farringdon on the 24th of May 1862. But why has the oldest part of the tube been neglected during the line upgrades being undertaken by London Underground both within the PPP and now that is has been brought in house?

Take for example, the state of disrepair on Platform 5 in Baker Street tube station were coincidentally we have billboards attesting to the history of the line and as a result drawing many tourists. Water penetration can be regularly seen cascading down from the Marylebone Road above the platforms and is clearly causing damage internally to the station.  This will have not escaped the notice of the many passengers of the tube of that alight and make their changes in the network at this point. Indeed l have seen Japanese & Korean tourist being very amused by the state of it all! I think the joke is that it would never be allowed to get to this state in their respective capital cities of Tokyo and Seoul subway systems. Indeed it does raise health and safety concerns which l have always assume TfL senior management are comfortable is being managed. 

Then we have of course the signal box at Edgware Road. This section of the underground is home to a signal box dating back to 1920’s and still uses levers to get trains through the station! The rightful place for this piece of equipment is in a museum and not as a mechanism on a very busy part of one the busiest networks in the world. The equipment is several decades older then some of the younger lines like the Victoria lines yet their signals get replaced before these ancient relics of a bye-gone age.

More recently Edgware Rd tube station has drawn the attention of an editorial in the Guardian newspaper because of the poor performance of the Circle line there. It suggests it should not be called the Circle line anymore as it appears not to go west bound or anti-clockwise from those platforms. I have suggested its down to the old signal box and till it gets replaced the line should be renamed the lasso line, as it now makes the dash to Hammersmith as well. 

My concern is simply that the oldest part of the tube has been neglected during the line upgrades while works on the much newer lines like the Victoria line opened in 1970 and of course the Jubilee line extension have had alot more attention by London Underground. Surely inventory checks of all the stations would have picked up the conditions of the tracks, signals and platforms on this historic part of the tube system.

Rumour has it that its deliberately kept this way, to draw funding by TfL from Department of Transport for other parts of the tube system. Whether that’s true or not it is time now that the oldest part of the tube gets the signal box changed and platform improvements it deserves to operate in the twenty first century for its many users in central London and further a field. 

So in short, l do not think the metropolitan line’s as it approaches its 150 year of existence is getting the respect it deserves as has lagged behind Victoria, Jubilee & Northern lines for upgrade works. Getting signal upgrades and platforms works completed at critical points would be the best birthday present TfL can give the Met line, ahead of any transport heritage celebrations.

Also published in this week’s Forum in the West End Extra.  

 Mayor Boris Johnson’s latest round of inflation-busting fare rises come into effect last monday but most people will have returned to work after the break today. This will be the fifth consecutive year that Boris has raised fares above inflation, with this year the average increase being 5.2%.  The Mayor should limit his fare rise to RPI or less. This would help Londoners at a time when their living standards are being squeezed.

Since 2008 bus fares have increased by 56% from 90p to £1.40, a weekly zone 1-6 off-peak travelcard has gone up by 21% to £8.50 and a monthly Zone 1-3 has gone up by 25% to £136.70.

Today local residents in South-West & West Central London are being hit with an above inflation fare rise, at a time when they are facing a real squeeze. It’s time Boris understood the pressure on Londoner’s pockets and reduced the fare rise to inflation or less. Before the election he said he would ‘bear down on fares’ but we have seen no evidence of this since.

To add insult to injury Boris has also announced that there will be above inflation fare rises for another 10 years. He simply doesn’t understand the pressure that ordinary Londoners are under. At a time when rent, food and energy bills are all rising well above inflation the Mayor needs to use his powers to reduce the pressure on Londoners.

With extra pressures on household budgets where does Boris expect people to keep finding extra money for his fare rises? Rather than campaigning for more tax cuts for the very richest, Boris should be spending more time on helping working Londoners who are struggling just to get by.

 The Mayor’s commitment to raise fares above inflation can be found on page 48 of the business plan.

Yesterday l was pleasantly surprised to see one of the national papers, the Guardian editorial taking an interest in a very local interest for many using the tube in central London, where’s the Circle line gone?  

I welcomed the change made in December 2009 to extended the service to Hammersmith, making it more reliable with fewer delays as well. Little did l realise it would put a stop to the service going anti-clockwise (Westbound) from Edgware Rd tube station as the Guardian editorial suggests and appears to be the case from my own useage of the station. So rather then a Circle line we have a Lasso line, as it extends itself to Hammersmith.

Now it should not be to hard to have Circle lines trains going westbound from Edgware Rd, as its central to any improvements. The thing which would really transform the service is removing the dated signal box at Edgware Rd tube stations which dates back to the 1920’s and still controls amazingly one of the busiest junctions on the tube map.  Improve this and you could have more trains going through the junction in both directions.

On the same matter, Simon Jenkins takes a different angle in his column of the 18th of December in the Evening Standard. He is right to look forward to celebrating the Metropolitan line’s 150th birthday in 2013 but l am not sure its being getting the respect it deserves as the Metropolitan ( between Paddington & Farringdon line )line falls well behind other younger lines like the Victoria, Jubilee & Northern lines in its upgrade works. As a result the signal box in Edgware Road dates back to the 1920’s and in Baker Street rain regularly gets down to platform 5 from the Marylebone Rd above. You would have thought these oldest line would be first, in the queue to get upgraded. Instead much newer lines like the Victoria line opened in 1970 and the Jubilee extension has had alot more attention by London Underground both within the PPP and outside it. If these signal upgrades and platform works were done before the celebrations of London’s public transport heritage, that would be more fitting way to celebrate their 150th birthday.

So lets see the Circle line brought back with improvements at Edgware Rd tube and in particular the updating of the signal box at the tube station. In the meantime, it should be known as the lasso line.

Areial photo of Thames Ditton Island which maybe under threat from flooding

It was time the floods that have been affecting  the rest of the country were about to affect us in London as well, as reported by local news in London yesterday.

At present the Thames catchment is completely saturated due to the continued rainfall which is  producing very high river flows. When l got in touch with the Environment Agency, l was assured that it continues to ensure the rivers remain monitored for their  levels and where necessary the Agency will be able to provide appropriate flood warnings to the public to safeguard themselves and their property.

What made this weekend even more unusual is that we also see a period of spring tides peaking at the weekend. That is the tidal pull of a full moon.  So we have a double whammy with the high rainfall  flows coming down the river combined with the spring  tides coming up the river producing levels upstream in Teddington which puts property on islands such as Trowlock and Thames Ditton at risk. To safeguard these properties the Thames Barrier closed on two occasions on Thursday 27th December and in the early hours of today Friday 28th to prevent the tide from flowing into London and further increasing river levels.

Although the river flows are gradually reducing , the weather systems coming in over the weekend may see higher tide levels. The Environment Agency will continue to monitor the situation and if conditions require they will again close the Barrier. If you live in Thames Ditton or Trowlock islands, and want to be informed of the river levels please find the links within the names of the islands above.  

So whilst there is no risk to areas in central London from tidal flooding, islands in the Thames like Thames Ditton on the boundary of  Greater London and Trowlock in the Royal Borough of Richmond are certainly under threat this last weekend of 2012. But for the legacy of the old GLC in the form of  the Thames Barrier, we would not be in a position to protect them from flooding from down stream on the Thames.

Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Stephen Greenhalgh will be attending the consultation in Westminster

Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

"The Police and Crime Consultation will only last one hour and Boris’ Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime intends on packing in two of these sessions every night. This is a complete sham and doesn’t give residents enough time to digest the plans and comment on all of the areas that will be covered.

"This is a deliberate strategy to push through plans that the Mayor has already made ““ to close 4 front-counters and reduce the number of officers in Westminster. This has already happened with a loss of 252

　

Ends

Notes

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Murad Qureshi AM is a Londonwide Assembly Member

along with Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM. The Police and Crime Consultation will be published on 7 January 2013. The first consultation session is taking place in Lambeth and Southwark on 9 January, giving residents only two days to get accustomed to the plans before being consulted by the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime. officers since May 2010. There is still no information on how residents will be able to find out what the plans are for Westminster policing are before the meeting, which is not good enough.

Joining in the campaign at BAQ 2012 last week – however there is a serious message

Earlier this week the London Assembly released an issue paper – Air pollution in London–  setting out a number of pressing issues at the beginning of the present political term, stating that air pollution is still a serious issue and more must be done to tackle it to mitigate its ill effects. This while that London’s air pollution is already the worst of any European capital city.

At the sametime, according to official figures released by DEFRA  up to 9 per cent  of deaths in the capital’s most polluted areas is attributable to air pollution in places in Central London  like the City of London. ( They are official Defra estimates based on nationwide modelling of pollutant levels and a scientifically-based estimate of the mortality impact of pollutant levels) Furthermore no one borough in the suburbs is lower then the England average of 5.6 even in places like Bromley & Havering.

Borough breakdowns ( Percentage figure of deaths attributed to air pollution)

 Source:  Public Health Observatory

The toxic pollutants are linked to life-shortening lung and heart conditions and the underdevelopment of young peoples lungs and the eahlth costs for the NHS are estimated at £20 billion a year, twice the cost of obesity.  Mayor’s own study estimated there are over 4,000 extra deaths each year in London from particulates, thats almost 20  times the level of road fatalities in London.

So what are we saying?  Well we set out a number of pressing issues, and we’re inviting views from experts and interested organisations about air quality topics for future in-depth work. Concentrations of both PM and NO2 remain too high in London and further action is needed to protect public health and amongst those suggested are below;

• The most polluting vehicles on London’s roads are diesel. Options for reducing emissions should be considered, such as imposing stricter standards for diesel vehicles within the Low Emission Zone.  
• Retrofitting older buses with new technology could cut NOx emissions by more than 70 per cent.  Some believe TfL should do more to find innovative and bold solutions to emissions from its fleet;
• and finally and not least greater promotion of cleaner technologies, such as electric vehicles and cycling, should also be considered.

Now whilst l was in Hong Kong the previous week for the Better Air Quality 2012 conference otherwise known as BAQ 2012 and organised by Clean Air Asia with the theme of Growing cities & healthy cities, the message was clear – no to adaptation and yes to mitigation of poor air. This was highlighted by a campaign launched with false noses with hair growth illustrating some natural adaptation possibly as the dirtier the air the more hair growth that would be needed. So the conference had a clear message, don’t adapt to air pollution. I brought back that message to our shores. Lets hope the Mayor is listening and makes tackling poor air quality his new year resolution.  

The latest figures reveal long-term unemployment (aged 25 and over) has risen in the capital from 42,080 to 56,930 from November 2011 to November 2012.

In response to the latest figures Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM has called for the government and Mayor Boris Johnson to use all their powers to get Londoners back to work. In Hounslow long-term unemployment has increased: 

·         Long term unemployment (aged 25+) has risen by 102%%, from 480 [NOV 11] to 970 [NOV 12] over the same period.

 Â·         Unemployment for people over 50, who have been claiming JSA for over six months has also gone up 8%, from 360[NOV 11] to 390[NOV 12] over the same period.

Labour Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said:

 "It is extremely worrying that long-term unemployment is continuing to rise in Hounslow and across the whole of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">London</place></city>. The mayor keeps talking about job creation but he needs to do more then just talk about it and actually use his powers to tackle this growing crisis and deliver jobs for Londoners who have been out of work for over a year.

 “Unemployment has also gone up for Londoners who are over 50 in Hounslow. The Mayor needs to take this extremely seriously as these people will be struggling with the increase in cost of fares, rent, food and fuel bills.

 “The government is cutting welfare payments and refusing to take into account the cost of living in London so it will be unemployed Londoners, searching for jobs who will be badly affected.”

Ends 

Notes:

1.      Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour Londonwide Assembly Member

2.      Unemployment figures are JobSeekers’ Allowance claimant count, taken directly from the ONS at www.nomisweb.co.uk.

Hong Kong in a map of People’s Republic of China

It has become apparent to me that BAA are in need of both a geography and history lesson as they continue to overstate the case for expanding Heathrow based upon the argument that we do not have enough connections to growing markets like China.

You’d think from their marketing, that we’re lagging behind until, that is, we include the thousands of flights every year to Hong Kong. If we take into account all the flight to Hong Kong, then it’s clear that even in this market, we lead, with Heathrow delivering more services to China than any of its continental rivals. I can’t help but wonder when BAA will finally shed its post-colonial hang-up and accept that Hong Kong was handed back in 1997 and is part of the mainland when going on about lack of links to China.

When Hong Kong was handed back to People’s Republic of China in December 1997, it began operating under “one country, two systems” policy as a special administration region.  As part of China, it’s foreign and defence policies are determined by Beijing not London.  This strikes me as a pretty conclusive determinant of whether Hong Kong belongs to China or not.  

I don’t actually think it serves the best interest of the UK  for BAA to continue to act on the assumption that Hong Kong is still not a part of China!  It is deeply offensive to the Chinese and a reminder to them of what was lost in the Opium wars.  If we continue with this post-colonial hang-up, it’s set to become a bigger problem then the Chinese complaining about not being able to get visas to enter the UK.

If energy prices continue being hiked up, we could see a return to wood fires!

 With another winter of energy price hikes and allegations of “Libor-like” fixing of wholesale gas prices, is it not time to investigate the limitations of private utilities running our energy supplies?

 This week I visited a food bank in Peckham, South East London with my London Assembly Health and Environment Committee colleagues. While there I heard the tragic story of a single mother who has been driven to rely on the food bank to feed her and her children because of the increasing cost of keeping her family warm.

Last month her energy supplier hiked the cost of her energy by six per cent. In the flurry of price rises announced in October, this was rather moderate, with energy companies such as EDF (the biggest supplier of energy to Londoners) hiking prices by eleven per cent.

This is against the backdrop of sustained energy price inflation, where over the past two years energy bills soared by a massive £200 a year, contributing to the cost of living crisis now afflicting millions of families across the UK.

National Energy Action estimates that for every one per cent increase in energy prices, 40,000 customers are dropped into fuel poverty nationally. The Mayor believes that over 560,000Londonhouseholds are fuel poor.

This is incredibly important. Fuel poverty accounts for well over 3,710 excess winter deaths In London per year and the ailments associated with inadequate heating costing the NHS some £850 million annually.

 Energy company price hikes incur a high cost for society and the public purse.

 Yet, the decisions to hike prices prioritise the need for operators to make a profit above the appalling social cost.

 At a London Assembly Health and Environment Committee meeting earlier this month I questioned EDF and British Gas about their energy pricing policy. Both admitted the need to make a profit, despite thousands of Londoners being pushed into fuel poverty. British Gas told me:

 “…we had to increase prices, we have to make a profit, we are a commercial organisation. We do only make five per cent profit and we have maintained that five per cent for many years.”

That “5 per cent profit” was £345 million over the first half of this year alone.

There is something hugely inequitable with a system where private utility suppliers are free to hike prices in this way at a time when the public is struggling to make ends meet.

Energy companies hold customers over a barrel for services that are essential to our basic sustenance, prioritising operating profits over basic public needs. It is not unreasonable to suggest there should be an energy market model in place that does not force low-income households to choose between heating and eating.

I also questioned EDF about the difference between energy prices inFrance, where customers have seen just a 2 per cent increase, while customers in theUKare hit with an 11 per cent price hike. While stating that the presence of nuclear energy inFrancehas produced some stability in French wholesale energy prices, the response pointed very directly to the fact that EDF in the UK is a private, profit making, company. This is very different to their status inFrance. 

 To rub salt into the wound, EDF was a high profile corporate sponsor (‘sustainability partner’) of London 2012. Yet almost immediately after the games EDF has slammed huge price hikes onUKcustomers. 

 The difference in energy price rises from the same supplier across different European countries must be looked into by our counterparts in the European Parliament as a matter of European competition policy. 

 Furthermore, if the “Libor-like” fixing of wholesale gas prices are confirmed by the investigations of the FSA & OFGEM, it really will shine a light on the flawed private utilities model.

 EDF told me that:

 “Yes, so we had to raise our prices recently, as the other energy companies have. It was unavoidable unfortunately due to rising wholesale costs as well as social and environmental obligations on energy companies.” 

 That the wholesale market is potentially corruptible should be a cause for concern. But if the energy providers are shown to have exploited this, then where does this leave the private utility market?

 As things stand, our immediate short term hope is for a mild winter. 

 In the long term, we should look again at whether the interests of consumers are best served by the private utilities model and weak regulatory system that is unable to prevent extortionate price hikes that ignored the impact on households.

 This blog has also been published the politcal blog pages of Left Foot Forward as well.