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Monday, 08 March 2010 16:45 |
After a long flight by campaigners, the Mayor today finally announced the three new Rape Crisis centres he promised during his election campaign nearly two years ago.
Matty Mitford, Spokesperson for the Boris Keep Your Promise Campaign said.
"I'm sure we join all other campaigns for Women in welcoming the new centres, it is a leap forward for vulnerable women in London. Our worry is that, since Boris cut his original funding pledge by 1.6 million, or over half, there is now no clear mention of who will pay for the centre's running costs. They Mayor's funding only lasts for two years, after which who will fund these new centres? With all councils facing huge cuts over the next few years, we could easily find ourselves in the position of having Rape Crisis Centres with no money to run them, all because Boris wouldn't award the money he promised in his manifesto."
David Babbs, Director of Campaigning Organisation 38 Degrees says, "We are glad to show that people-powered campaigning can really work. We will be keeping a close eye on Mayor Johnson to see his original promises are kept. It's the money that matters, not the press release."
Labour's policing spokesperson on the London Assembly, Joanne McCartney AM, said: "While of course this funding is welcome and will hopefully make a real difference, it is overdue and questions still remain about where the rest of the promised money is coming from. Boris Johnson did pledge to act immediately and to provide long-term funding but it's been a long time coming, falls short of the £2.2 million in his manifesto - meaning other organisations are now picking up a greater proportion of the cost of the mayor's pledge - and it's far from clear how sustainable in the long term this financial support is."
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Thursday, 04 March 2010 13:29 |
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Labour respond to reports that Mayor Boris Johnson has written to his disgraced fire authority deputy, Bertha Joseph, for further clarification but STILL refuses to sack her. Labour's leader at City Hall, Len Duvall, said: "Boris has known about this since October, if not before. You have to wonder why it's taking him so long to decide whether someone who spent money intended for children's charities on ball gowns for herself is not fit for office? I understand Boris's reluctance to lose yet another appointment in sleazy circumstances but it's time he did the right thing and removed this councillor from his administration." Bertha Joseph was found to have brought her office into disrepute by Brent council on 13 October 2009. She appealed and, as her appeal was on-going, was appointed by City Hall to the position of deputy chair of London's Fire and Emergency Planning Authority - a position for which she receives £19,000 in allowances. Councillor Joseph lost her appeal on 9 February - almost one month ago - and was suspended from the council for six months.
The judge who heard her case criticised her "repeated lack of credibility" and said that, because of her actions, "she surely cannot expect again to serve as Mayor". He also said her actions could have deprived charities of funds.
Because of legal loophole, Councillor Joseph's suspension from Brent council does not disbar her from the fire authority unless the Mayor decides she is unfit for office. Despite repeated calls, Boris Johnson still refuses to act. Boris Johnson on Bertha Joseph: 11 February
"The legal advice clearly shows there is nothing to prevent Bertha Joseph from serving on the board."
Councillor Joseph was found guilty in October 2009 and lost her appeal on 9 February 2010
Later on 11 February
“I can’t quite establish from what you’re saying what the charges against this councillor are. If there are legal proceedings to be followed and if there is a suspected crime here then I’m sure that the police will be called in.” 24 February
"I understand why you want to attack LFEPA, magnificently chaired as it is, I understand why you want to beat up on Tory councillors but I’m not going to be dragged into making any premature declarations today." |
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Wednesday, 03 March 2010 14:39 |
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On the sad death of Michael Foot today Ken Livingstone said: "Michael Foot was consistent in his politics and principles throughout his political life from the 1930s until his sad death today. "He was right on the majority of issues when the political establishment were wrong as his staunch anti-fascism and his dedication to the abolition of nuclear weapons demonstrated. "Michael was a founder member of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the 1950s and continued to be a dedicated and vocal member until this very day. He recently said in an interview 'The most important question facing the human race is the one CND raised on that first march – why are we spending a fortune developing and storing weapons which will destroy the world? We haven’t made as much progress as we should have done, but the message is clearer now than ever before. The world should listen.' "During my time as Mayor he regularly attended the annual Peace Party we hosted with CND and Stop the War. "With the death of Michael Foot the movement have lost a true socialist, one of our foremost peace campaigners and one of the kindest of politicians. "My thoughts and condolences are with his family." |
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Tuesday, 02 March 2010 15:55 |
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In the New Statesman Ken Livingstone writes: “The mayor of London’s new and greater powers over housing should provide a springboard for radical advance, both for the present more difficult economic situation and in preparation for economic recovery." "Under a key plank of the London-wide policy that I set – that half of all new homes ahould be affordable – developers and boroughs had to strive to do their utmost to meet the housing needs of Londoners. By the time of the London mayoral elections in 2008 that policy was already delivering more cheap homes than at any time since 1977. You might well ask, if the policy of reducing pressure for affordable homes is so effective why did it not deliver when the Tories were last in power? The answer is obvious – reduced pressure on developers and borough planning committees is the wrong approach. |
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Monday, 22 February 2010 18:04 |
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This is how we are going to change the world. I should be in charge. New works by Bob and Roberta Smith
19 February-10 April Hales Gallery, TEA BUILDING, 7 BETHNAL GREEN ROAD, LONDON, E1 6LA Bob and Roberta Smith are asking you to be part of the show and “help change the world”. Using pen and paper, the postal system and Facebook, Bob and Roberta Smith are inviting people to help them write a series of letters to leading politicians over four Saturdays in March. Each Saturday they will focus on a different politician, asking them to comment on relevant issues. Letters include writing to Munira Mirza, the Mayor's Cultural Adviser, asking “why when the BNP are gaining a foothold in London, has she and the Mayor cut London’s Anti Racism Festival, 'RISE' and funding for other music festivals just at a time when they are needed more than ever?” People are also invited to decorate their letters, turning them into drawings or posters. All sessions will commence at 1pm at Hales Gallery, pens and paper will be provided and all letters will be collected at the end of the day and sent to the intended recipient the following Monday. |
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Friday, 19 February 2010 12:36 |
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by Simon Birkett, Founder of the cross-party Campaign for Clean Air in London (CCAL) I emphasised two points at the Progressive London conference. First, air pollution in London is much worse than most of us have realised. It averages over twice the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organisation near our busiest roads. Why has the government therefore failed to use the readily understood international metric of ‘premature deaths’ to warn people about the impact of poor air quality when it saw updated health assessments in 2001, 2006 and 2009? Why has it been so slow generally in updating air quality statistics? |
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