The London Echo Opinion

Boris Johnson, Not The Home Office, Should Choose London’s Police Chief

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:04:03 +0100

Why is Jacqui Smith so determined to assert her authority over our Mayor in the appointment of the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police?

The Home Secretary has turned down Boris Johnson's suggestion that he should have the final say over a replacement for Sir Ian Blair, the outgoing Met Chief.

She told him, in a letter which made its way to the newspapers: "I would make the decision on who to recommend to her majesty after interviewing one or more of the candidates."

Now, the Evening Standard reports that a battle of wills is taking place behind the scenes - extending even into disagreements over the wording of the job advert.

Boris no doubt has his flaws. But he is the person directly elected by Londoners to run our city, and one of the things we expect of him is to make our streets safer.

He may succeed or he may not. However, he must be allowed the powers he needs to give it his best shot - and if he fails, we'll kick him out in the next mayoral election.

Britain Should Not Follow Barack Obama's Lead On Tax Cuts

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:33:22 +0100

Our party leaders are racing to jump on board the Obama bandwagon.

David Cameron taunted Gordon Brown in the Commons by asking whether he still believed it was "no time for a novice" - a reference to Brown's speech to Labour's annual conference.

The Tory leader sees the election of Barack Obama as proof that change can be a good thing.

From his point of view, it shows that what people want is a fresh face, like the US President-elect or, indeed, Mr Cameron.

The Prime Minister draws a different lesson. Writing in the Observer, he argues that Obama's victory reflects "the collapse of a failed laissez-faire dogma" and what he calls "the old free market fundamentalism".

In other words, it's a victory for the left.

We also read in the Sunday Mirror that Labour is planning massive tax cuts, apparently costing the Treasury £15 billion.

This is in keeping with Mr Brown's admiration for Obama, who also promised tax cuts during his election campaign.

At the same time, Labour is boasting about its plans to continue massive levels of public spending.

There's been a lot of speculation about what Barack Obama's victory will mean Britain.

But it looks like the immediate effect will be to give the Government an excuse to borrow even more.

When The Government Says It Wants To Spy On Terrorists, That Means You

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:46:30 +0100

Lots of people like to bash the Daily Mail for being a scurrilous right-wing rag, but all credit to them for uncovering the way councils are using legislation nominally aimed at terrorists to spy on ordinary residents.

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act allows public bodies to use "investigatory powers" such as "the interception of communications" and "covert surveillance" to gather information. In practice, this means things like opening people's mail and putting up hidden cameras to record their movements.

Officially, the Act is there to help "the security and intelligence agencies, law enforcement and other public authorities" do their job. Which sounds reasonable enough.

Even in these cynical times, most of us would assume the security and intelligence agencies focus their efforts on fighting terrorism or serious organised crime, and if a little phone tapping or secret filming is going to help then all power to them.

Ask An American: A Simple Guide to Electoral Craziness, Part One

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:46:31 +0100

Mr J, our correspondent from the US of A, explains what's what in the race for the White House:

It seems as if everyone in the world is watching the American Presidential election. It's become the biggest most expensive and highest rated reality TV show in history.

"I know what you're thinking: American and subtle is like Merlot and Ice, it just doesn't go together. Believe me, we can be subtle."

It all came to crystal clarity just how important this election is to the rest of the world as I was sitting in a bar with a lady friend, a platonic friend mind you. As she's quite the looker it was no surprise when a randy Englishman, who was old enough to be my grandfather's younger brother, proceeded to chat up my non-date.

As the old man, let's call him "Randy", held court with my non-date while I received sympathetic looks from the wait staff, I couldn't help but marvel at how well versed he was with American politics - and how he missed many of the subtle nuances. I know what you're thinking: American and subtle is like Merlot and Ice, it just doesn't go together. Believe me we can be subtle. So let's talk details and get a better understanding of what's going on here in the States.

Tony McNulty is Minister for London - So What Does He Do?

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:45:23 +0100

You may think our beloved Mayor is the most powerful politician in London, but he has a rival - a chap by the name of Tony McNulty.

Mr McNulty (Lab Harrow East), a welfare minister, doubles up as "The Minister for London", supposedly giving the capital a larger voice in the machinery of Government.

Last week he attended the first meeting of the Council of Regional Ministers, a new body set up by Gordon Brown as part of the Prime Minister's efforts to steer Britain through the financial crisis.

It includes the other Ministers of the English regions (London is considered a region) as well as Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Ministers.

A press release issued by the Government's News Distribution Service states: "Helping savers, small businesses and homeowners in London through the worldwide economic problems was top of the agenda."

But what is Mr McNulty going to do about it? As Minister for London he has no powers whatsoever.

As blogger Dizzy points out, the clue comes later on in the release, when it states that the council's remit includes: "[to] disseminate key messages for Regional Ministers to use in their discussions in the regions. This will include the narrative agreed by the NEC."

The NEC in this case is the National Economic Council - another of Mr Brown's new committees - which includes senior Cabinet members but not Mr McNulty.

In other words, his role is not actually to tell the Government what we think, but to tell us...

Ellen Barnes: Homes for people, not rabbits

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:17:27 +0100

A Mori poll recently commissioned by English Partnerships and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment shows that around half of all residents living in new housing in London and the south east are dissatisfied with the amount of space in their home.

Purchasers are not getting what they want - they are putting up with what they get, it concluded.
Mayor, Boris Johnston, appalled at 'shameful space standards in both private and public housing', says he will from now on take a personal interest in planning decisions. Speaking to architects at the London Festival of Architecture earlier this year, Boris likened new homes to rabbit hutches.

Let us hope that Boris indeed finds the time and maintains the enthusiasm for his cause and does not, like his predecessor, succumb to pressure from the Home Builders' Federation and abandon his good intentions.

Former mayor Ken Livingstone shelved a report recommending the re-introduction of space standards in line with the acclaimed Parker Morris Standard following lobbying by the HBF, whose head of planning, Andrew Whitaker, declared the report 'extremely unhelpful at a time when we are all fighting hard to get housing numbers up'.

Well, he would say that wouldn't he? Not many planners, architects or executives of home building companies live in properties where people have to queue for the loo and fall over one another's feet getting from the sitting room to the dining room.

Take it from someone who has. It's no fun and not conducive...

Ellen Barnes: A Lucky Escape?

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:23:51 +0100

Sir Ian Blair should think himself lucky. Rather than gently easing him out of his job, Boris Johnson could have left Sir Ian there to sweat out an inquiry into how lucrative police contracts were awarded to one of his friends

Now he's no longer in post, Sir Ian will not face the possibility of disciplinary proceedings over the 'cash for cronies' saga. Neither will he be there to face the cameras when the results of the inquest into the death of an innocent Brazilian resident of our capital are made known.

Jacqui Smith was quick to introduce politics into the arena, telling Boris publicly he should keep party politics out of policing without explaining precisely which Tory policy he was propogating.

In a decent world the Scotland Yard commissioner would have jumped before he was pushed. The buck has to stop somewhere and when you're the top man at Scotland Yard it stops with you.

Whoever was ultimately responsible for the tragic events that lead to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes on that tube train in 2005, it should have been Ian Blair who shouldered the blame and made an honourable exit.

First, Sir Ian hailed the police action as a great success, even though within Scotland Yard it seems to have been known that an innocent man had been killed. Maybe nobody bothered to tell Sir Ian.

And then from police sources came a succession of untruths about the events of that fateful morning and suggestions that...

Peter Mandelson's Return: Genius or Madness?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:53:49 +0100

There's a thin line between genius and madness. It's not immediately clear which side of the divide Gordon Brown has landed with his Cabinet reshuffle.

Tony Blair once said that the true measure of whether Labour had really changed, and embraced his "New Labour" project, would be if it learned to love Peter Mandelson.

It was an admission that his good friend Mr Mandelson was loathed by sections of the party.

By that yardstick, the party hasn't changed very much. The new Business Secretary remains a divisive figure today.

So has Mr Brown made a mistake bringing him back?

To answer that question, one needs to look at what lies behind Mr Mandelson's unpopularity.

Media coverage of his return to the Cabinet has focused partly on the fact that he has already been in the Government twice - and was forced to resign both times (although, on the second occasion at least, it soon transpired that he had actually done nothing wrong).

But while this may raise questions about his fitness for office today, it has little to do with the concern felt by some Labour MPs.

The truth is that some Labour politicians still despise Mr Mandelson for his role in transforming Labour from an election-losing vehicle for the left, into a party which embraced the free market, stole the centre ground and won three election victories.

Sacking Gordon Brown Will Not Help Labour

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 18:52:07 +0100

Labour backbenchers are kidding themselves if they think their fortunes will improve by sacking Gordon Brown.

It's understandable if MPs are panicking. After a good ten years of walking all over the Conservatives, they now face not just defeat at the next General Election but the prospect of a landslide victory for David Cameron's party, which Labour could take a decade to recover from.

And the analysis put forward by the likes of Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham, is correct. Labour has no answer to Mr Cameron's call for greater social justice and the importance of the family.

The government is good at talking about the economy and public services in abstract terms, but not so good at talking about people.

But this reflects the shallowness of the whole New Labour project, which began in the mid-1990s and defined Labour almost solely by what it was not - not the Tories and not an old-style, working class party of the left.

Ellen Barnes: Ealing Council's Child Snoopers

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:03:53 +0100

W.C. Fields, the early 20th century American misanthrope and actor, famously hated children. He is quoted as saying, 'Children should neither be seen or heard from - ever again'. He also said, 'I like children. If they are properly cooked.'

He'd have had a feast in Southwark, where about 400 children have been recruited to form a vigilante group, charged with spying on their elders and reporting perceived misdemeanours.

It is reported that Ealing council presides over 'hundreds of Junior Streetwatchers, aged eight to 10 years, trained to identify and report environment crimes'. This lot have even been given a name. Will they be fitted out for uniforms next!

This is not only a disgusting abuse of children; it is extremely dangerous. There is no-one more spiteful or vitriolic than a small girl with a grudge. Ask anyone who's ever been a small girl!

Some authorities are even offering money in exchange for information.

Have they never read Lord of the Flies, where a group of boys stranded and alone quickly turned into a bunch of savages? Or even the William books? William and the Outlaws would have had a ball 'reporting' their adult adversaries, especially if there was a shilling to be made in the process.

There are perfectly respectable youth groups - cubs, brownies, scouts, guides, a plethora of cadet corps - who would be only too pleased to organise themselves into graffiti cleaning or litter-picking work parties and whose leaders would blanche and run a mile at the...