Whilst BRIC countries interconnect between themselves, can London be the BRIC capital of the world?

At the first of the mayoral discussions at City Hall during the London 2012 Olympics, Jim O’Neill of BRIC fame (and fellow United supporter)  presented his paper Preparing for the Asian Century: Capitals & Markets at a discussion on Preparing for the Asian Century. He suggested in his talk at the beginning of the session that London should become the BRIC capital of the world.

I agreed with his economic analysis on the basis of productivity and labour market movements, that there will be a shift to the East from the West, as long as Asian countries still buy into globalisation. This is not just happening with China & India and the other BRICs ( Brazil & Russia ) but also another emerging group of countries called the N-11 economies which combined with economic and political changes could greatly further impact on the global economy.

Some useful points were made from the floor in response to his pearls of wisdom including the trend of increasing South-South trade & investment; the City not investing in Asia and doing it in other ways which involve the diaspora communities of London; and the importance of culture and language in Asian business.

There is increasing antidotal evidence we are seeing new patterns in trade & investment as we have enhanced levels of South to South transactions like that between two fellow BRICs. For example between Brazil and China was quoted from the floor of the discussion. There is also evidence that we have the same trend between China & India, as China supplies finance to Indian IT entrepreuers who use it to develop the sector in India.  This inter-BRIC interaction is one reflection of the South to South trading, as we also have BRICs investing in other Southern countries like China has already done in the instance of Africa particularly its infrastructure in return for supplies of  raw materials. All this of course bypasses London making it difficult for it to establish itself as the BRIC capital of the world.

As for actual investment into BRICs like China & India, the UK’s net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has risen over the past decade but lags behind that of its main competitors like the US, France & Germany. So it appears the City isn’t doing its job on this front, to help London becoming the BRIC capital of the world. Other ways of doing this exist like helping to get the many diaspora communities in London within the Chinese & Indians to invest their remittances or money transfers into infrastructure rather then immediate consumption. As many government in the South know this is a more reliable and regular source of finance then aid assistance and FDI and something we could assist through the relevant communities.

And finally lets not forget the importance of culture and language in Asia. South Asian communities still invest alot of their savings into gold showing their risk averse nature and something that would need to change if its to help release their saving for infrastructural investment. And there is no doubt talking the same language helps seal the deal in business in Asia. Now given we boasted that we have some 300 odd languages spoken in London when we won the Olympic bid for 2012 in 2005, its a real pity we don’t make the most of this and instead assume both here and aboard that very one speaks English in business. This mind set needs to change, if we are going to make London the BRIC capital of the world.

 So if London is to continue to be the world capital for finance, it better take on board these points that were made on the floor of this discussion at City Hall asap, as Asia becomes increasingly most importance part of the global economy.

It was a pleasure to watch the mens archery final at Lords on early saturday evening between the USA & Italy, coming down to the last shot with the Italians requiring a bulls-eye to win the gold medal. I never thought l would get into such a sport but l certainly did on this particularly evening, as one does with many Olympic sports which don’t normally get much coverage at all.

That said, this was my first visit of an Olympic site that l know well during the cricket season as a spectator. On a big match day during a keenly contested test match like that against the South Africa later in the month, you can expect a sell-out crowd of 30,000.  More importantly the neighbourhood can deal with this well with all the good local transport connections and the informed cricket watching public take a variety of ways to Lords. So it has always surprised me by the over the top transport restrictions of roads through the Olympic Road Network(ORN) in the locality during the archery tournament in the Olympic games. For example along Lisson Grove we have no right turns between St Johns Wood Rd and Rossmore Rd as you travel up towards Lords. This was compounded by the reduction in local parking  for residents around Marylebone, noticably on Grand Central St, Balcombe St and Harewood Avenue and closer of pedestrian crossings as well.

How ever good the archery was going to be at Lords and has been so far, it was never going to attract the numbers we get on a big match day where we get 10,000’s turning out rather then if we are lucky to get 5,000 souls daily to watch the archery. So l do feel these restrictions and many others around Marylebone station were unnessesary in the first place given the scale of interest which was likely to be generated.

The Olympics rings have arrived on the banks of City Hall

Alot has already been said before l add my own contribution to the opening spectacular we saw on friday night engineered brilliantly by Danny Boyle. 

It was very much a British peoples history of the United Kingdom where the focus was on peoples contribution to agriculture, industry and art in their country. When normally the history of the nation is focused on aristocratic and militaristic basis. And while elements were very British in its eccentricity and even bonkers, we were all the better for it afterwards. Where else could you have the head of state jumping out of a helicopter to arrive at the global stage!

It was an apt tribute to the British people and the £27 million spent was excellent value for money given the feel good factor it generated subsequently and how its helped our good feelings about hosting the Olympic Games.

Figures released following a question to City Hall by Assembly Member Murad Qureshi last week show a steady annual rise in recorded crime, from 465 in 2002-2003 to 2,375 in 2011-2012.

The Metropolitan Police has been responsible for tackling park crime since 2003-2004.

Mr Qureshi said: “When the Royal Parks were managing there appears to be less crime; since the Met takes over there is more. It does suggest the Parks have been less of a priority.”

Mr Qureshi, who is a jogger in Regent’s Park, said he asked the questions following reports of a day-time rape of a young woman in May.

Explaining the rise, Mr Johnson said: “An increase in the number of crimes is attributed mainly to pro-active park policing approach especially to drug-related offences.

"A breakdown of the crimes shows an increase in drug offences due to pro-active policing so that the parks are not seen as a “˜free drug-taking/dealing zone’.”

Data for 2003-2004 had gone missing and figures could not be provided for that year.

Mr Qureshi, said he has written to the commissioner about the figures, added: “How has policing the Royal Parks been undertaken?

"I would like to know how the parks are policed operationally, for example, are they part of the Safer Neighbourhoods policing remit or is there a special dedicated unit?”

Mr Johnson said that a “dedicated Royal Parks Operational Command Unit” was set up on April 1 2004 by the Met, adding: “The unit provides 24/7, high visibility policing and public reassurance, in line with the principles of safer neighbourhood policing.

"It also tackles crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour, enforces Royal Park regulations and deals with local priorities.”

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Speaking after the event, Labour London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

"The Olympics will be a huge success and I was delighted to welcome the Palestinian Olympic delegation to London’s City Hall. The Games are bringing together people from across the globe in a shared celebration of sporting excellence and achievement."

"When London won the bid in 2005 we said that our city has people from across the world and every nation would feel at home. London is a truly diverse city that we all draw immense strength from and we should continue to celebrate this diversity. We warmly welcome the Palestinian team and wish them well in their Olympic endeavours. During this holy month of Ramadan I was especially honoured to share an Itfar dinner with them at City Hall last night."

　

Ends

Notes:

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Murad Qureshi is a London-wide Assembly Member.

Attached is a picture of Assembly Member Qureshi addressing last night’s reception with Hani Halabi – Chef de Mission and Palestinian Olympic team members and coaching staff.

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Palestinian Olympic Team at City Hall

When l was at Gaza strip last year l promised that l would give the Palestinian Olympic Team a reception when they arrived in London for the 2012 Olympics.  Well l trust people fell l  have achieved this by hosting an iftar reception on the 25th of July for them with the International Arab Charity(IAC).It is said about the Olympics that its not the winning but the taking part that matters the most. Well in the case of the Palestinians its more then that as getting here is a job in itself given the numerous obstacles and hurdles placed in their way. It was revealed at the reception that here in London was the first time the team had actually got together, as travel restrictions imposed on the team members from  Gaza, Cairo, West Bank and Jerusulem make it impossible for them to meet up in the Middle East.

When we won the Olympic bid in Singapore 2005, we stated that in London you could find 300 odd communities who would support their national sides. Now even though the Palestinian community is one of the smaller ones in London, nonetheless it does exist and the iftar reception was also an opportunity for the team to meet the Palestinian community particularly based in West London. Those there on the night certainly enjoyed meeting the team and their athletes respond well to Palestinians living in London. All we need now is their support as spectators at the various events the atheletes are contending in their individual competitions.

 And finally l am sure that the Palestinian team would draw alot of attention here in London and get the support of British sports fans as we have a healthy tradition of backing the underdog. So in participating in the London 2012 Olympics, it will be an important step towards maintaining Palestinian identity amongst not just the nations competing but also British public.

local W9 hero shows his class

The Mayor is right to triumph how true athletes like Wiggins can inspire us all to a brighter sporting future, it’s just a real pity that the great and the good at the City of Westminster failed to realise this after his victories in 2008.

The winning of the Tour de France by local W9 boy Bradley Wiggins is truly remarkable, not only as the first British person to have achieved this accolade but by the manner of the victory and the style in which he did it.  It will no doubt have a dramatic effect on the London 2012 Olympics as he returns to London to compete in the cycle road race next weekend; similar to the effect by Greece’s EURO Cup victory on the 2004 games in Athens, which I was lucky enough to witness first hand.

I welcome the call from papers like the Daily Telegraph for some recognition of his achievement nationally with even a knighthood, but it is a shame that his home borough, the City of Westminster turned down a proposal to award him the Freedom of the City in 2008 when it was put up Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg.  This was despite him winning 2 gold medals at the Athens Olympic Games brining his Olympic haul to 6 medals including 4 golds! That made him the greatest Olympiad to hail from the City.  The Tories simply refused saying they would put up a plaque at Paddington Recreation ground instead, which we are still unsure ever got done. Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg will no doubt pursue this again in light of Wiggin’s latest achievements in France and I wish this initiative again much success but l hope snobbery won’t get in the way on this occasion.

Now Bradley grew up in Maida Vale on the Church Commissioners Dibdin House estate just before Kilburn proper begins and falls within the W9 post code.  When was a bit of Westminster ever in Kilburn, you may ask?   He attended the local school, St Augustine’s in the City of Westminster and used local sports facilities like Paddington Recreation ground and Hyde Park for his sporting endeavours.  But he had to leave Westminster to pursue his dreams because the best training centre for his cycling ambitions were at the Commonwealth Game’s velodrome in Manchester.  However, his mother and grandmother remained in the neighbourhood.

So we have a working class hero from W9 and while he may not have got the recognition he deserves from his home borough in 2008, he has moved onto much greater things and should  now be awarded the recognition he deserves, locally, nationally and globally. Westminster sadly missed an opportunity, to celebrate a local hero and to inspire others in the borough to follow in his footsteps some 4 years earlier.

Royal Parks in central London

Following the criticism in the ES  about the Met not alerting users of Regents Park in the aftermath of the daytime rape in early June, made me wonder whether policing the Royals Parks was becoming less of a priority for the Met?  In particular after responsibility for policing the Royal Parks moved over the Met in 2004.  I decided to ask a few questions on this front.  In fact my intention was to ask the Police Commissioner similar questions about this matter at the last MOPAC but as he was instructed not to attend by the  Deputy Mayor for Policing, Stephen Greenhalgh so l was unable to ask him directly.  Instead, I had to resort to writing to him about the matter and I await his response.

In the meantime I tabled some written MQTs  and I now have the responses, in particular the figures for the number of reported crimes since the Met took over.   Since then, crime levels in the parks have moved up from the hundreds to the thousands from 916 for the whole of 2005 to some 2000 plus by 2011.  Whilst still in the control of the Royal Parks in the early part of the century, the figure stood at about 500 crimes annually then suddenly it jumps to around 1,000 crimes annually under the Met before reaching 2,000 plus by the end of last year.

The Met tell us that the increase in the number of crimes is attributable mainly to a more proactive policing approach of the parks particularly to drug related offences.  This has apparently stopped the Parks becoming free drug-taking and dealing zones, however the rising trend is at odds with the general trend which we are told is falling crime?

Clearly I’ll need to ask for more information like a break down of the type of crime broken down by Royal Parks.  This information together with the awaited response to my letter to the Police Commissioner may give a better insight into what’s been happening in our Royal Parks.  In the meantime, prima facie figures suggest to me that crime in the Royal Parks have not been a policing priority for the Met since they’ve taken over.

Cities for Clean Air Conference panel in the morning session 14th July 2012 ( left to right ) Andrew of Cities for Clean Air, Alan Andrews of Client Earth; Dr Ian Mudway, Kings College; Jenny Bates, FoE

Last weekend, l was able to address an audience at the Cities for Clean Air conference in Central London on a panel which uniquely had lawyers,scientists,campaigners and the odd politican like myself!

I made my contribution by asserting that its the second biggest public health issue after smoking as if you check the figures in London from TfL its 20 times the killer of road fatalities annually in terms of premature deaths. Moreover those affected by it reduce their life expectancy by a minimum of six/eight months at least. Its harmful health affects also include respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, so for example its been suggested it doesn’t help the lung development of young people.  

At a recent Health & Environment Committee meeting we got an update on the poor air quality situation in London from Kings College across 100 monitoring stations across London over 2011. The new figures revealed that limits were breached at most monitoring sites near busy roads. In particular NO2 limits were breached at the majority of sites and locations in Central London; 5 locations further away on the roads of inner & outer London and those close to Heathrow as well. As for PM10 levels, these were over the limits on 2 kerbsides & 3 roadsides as well as one industrial site. This all illustrates the extent of the problems of poor air quality in Greater London.

In the Central London hotspot there is a consensus amongst Local Authorities like the City of Westminster, Camden & City of London of how to tackle the issues head on but the Mayor has yet to sign up to their suggestions. These include a better deployment of retrofitted buses in central London; age limits on taxis with the offer of a car scrappage scheme; and a fifth phase of the Mayor’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ) which would cover black carbon and PM 2.5’s for pollutants currently not registered.

But let us not forget this is not just a central London problem but affects the suburbans of London as well. Putney & Brixton have there own particular problems with Putney being the buses and Brixton just the level of traffic. In Neasden & Acton lane we have more industrial sources for the air pollution problems in the neighbourhood and finally of course we have Heathrow with the volume of traffic the airport attracts, its the second biggest hotspot in London after Central London.  

There is next to nothing in the Mayors manifesto for his relection in May that deals with poor air quality but it appears he is working on his 2020 vision. If he wants to make an impact, then he should sign up to the Central London LA s consensus; taken on board the House of Commons Environment Audit Committee recommendatiosn on public awareness; and finally the recommendation fo the London Assembly Health & Environment Committee.

At last week’s Transport Committee, we were able to talk about the alarming increase in cycling casualities in Cental London boroughs like City of Westminster, Camden, Islington as revealed by TFL figures recently issues for 2011. When seeing the figures first time l wondered could the different approaches to the London Cycle network(LCN) by boroughs in Central London be a contributing factor in the alarming increase of cycle casualities in London shown in the TfL figures recently released?

As the figures show, we have over 20 per cent increases in cycling casualities in central London boroughs like Westminster, Camden and Islington which under TfL definitions are statistically significant given we have over 200 instances. So something else is clearly happening other then the volume of cyclists having increased.

As someone who only cycles in central London, l have been aware that the different boroughs have different approaches to the London Cycle Network(LCN).  For example in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) we have a shared space approach, best and possibly only illustrated in Exhibition Rd. While in the City of Westminster, its very much soft surface segregation with cycle lanes but not much else. While in Camden its hard surface segregation with hard kerbs along with the cycle lanes. As you move between the boroughs the different approaches are very obvious to any regular cyclist.

Interestingly if you look at the figures for cyclist casualties in the RBKC  its actually dropped by 5 per cent, though we need to be reminded that the number of casualty events are less then 200, its not statistically significant.

So it appears in the central London context, while clearly we have more cyclists on the roads, its in the boroughs where we have some sort of segregation via lanes we have  the highest increases of cycling casualities. The exception to the rule is in RBKC where with its shared space notion it has actually gone down though the figures here are considered not statistically significant. So it will be interesting to see how the debate on what is the best way to offer protection to cyclists on the roads goes with these figures in the near future.

This all the while when the biggest increases in cycling casualities are actually in the surburbs as places like Waltham Forest and Croydon where we see alarming increases of around 50 per cent. But again these figures are seen not to be statistically significant. Time will tell us if that is the case but in the meantime, both boroughs need to look at the specific cases to see if a pattern is emerging and get dealt with through local measures.

So in merely posing a question about whether the different approaches to the London Cycle network(LCN) by boroughs in Central London maybe another contributing factor in the alarming increase of cycle casualities in London, l have yet to come to a statistically significant conclusion.