London boroughs at the cutting edge
Boris Johnson owes a lot to Bromley, which gave him 60 percent of its first preference votes in 2008 compared with just 20 percent for Ken Livingstone. He seems to find the borough's people rather amusing, judging by a speech he gave to students at Imperial College last year (watch from around 2:20). They could be less of a giggling matter for the Mayor if they take against his plans to remove half the sergeants from Safer Neighbourhood Teams. Borough commander Charles Griggs has asked the Met to allow him to keep all 22 of his. Boris will be examined about his budget, which includes funding for policing, by the Assembly next Thursday. A breakdown for the boroughs' SNTs will follow in March. How will Boris-loving Bromley fare?
Welcome to Cuts City. The Inside Croydon website has launched a lengthy attack on Conservative Councillor Sara Bashford over her attitude to local library closures. That's not such a big issue here in Hackney where, as a Labour activist glumly reminded me in the Narrow Way last Saturday, they were pared back in the Nineties thanks to the borough's financial crisis of the time. Interestingly, Labour Barking and Dagenham has announced that its libraries will be spared the axe. Ho! w did th ey do it? Perhaps Croydon should give them call.
The famous Harry Phibbs, a very youthful 45, has produced a rather disparaging hit list of "achievements" of Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman. One or two of the items look a bit tendentious to me - it's not easy appointing a cabinet when barely half a dozen Councillors are even prepared to be members of it - but the charitable Taxpayers Alliance has seized upon them unquestioningly. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before both Harry and the TPA lacerate Conservative-run Barnet for paying a Christmas temp 21,000 a month. Burning our money, these Tories! And picking on the business community too! Why, that Boris Johnson is planning a "tax" raid on developers in far-off Sutton (and elsewhere) to help fund Crossrail ("Kill it now": S. Jenkins)! If that's not "top down" interference, I don't know what is. Are you listening, Eric Pickles? Sort it out!
But enough messing about. This afternoon a group of pupils from a primary school in Haringey will be delivering letters to Tottenham Hotspur FC's chairman Daniel Levy asking him to abandon his plans to move the club from Tottenham to the Olympic stadium or, indeed, anywhere else. The Olympic Park Legacy Company is moving towards a decision about the long-term future of the Stratford bowl. Haringey Council says that if Spurs leave Tottenham it will devastate an already hard-up community - not an outcome consistent with the large regeneration goals of the Games. I've no doubt the London Mayor agrees.
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