Times newspaper gets behind 20 mph campaign

It was good to see The Times getting behind the 20mph campaign today, with it's front page on cycling and eight point manifesto (covenant), which includes the call for a default limit of 20mph on residential streets. There is another story tomorrow (Friday) which features the widespread support that the Times is already getting.

The newspaper's campaign follows the collision with a lorry of Mary Bowers, a Times reporter, at a junction on Wapping Highway close to The Times offices on 4 November.

Two days before that accident (on 2nd Nov), I was out with Jenny Jones and members of Lambeth and Southwark Green Parties highlighting the dangers of cycling, and calling for a 20mph limit to be introduced.



Lambeth and Southwark between them account for half of the ten most dangerous locations in London for cyclists. Of the 32 boroughs in London Lambeth has the second highest casualty rate for both pedestrians and cyclists. Southwark has the fourth highest overall casualty rate. In December we highlighted that road deaths trebled in Lambeth last year.

Jenny has written for the Guardian website today on this issue.

Lambeth has highest school exclusion rate in inner London

I have had a response to a Freedom of Information request from Lambeth Council regarding exclusion rates in the borough.

The stats I asked for show permanent exclusions increasing steadily over the last five years:

These figures are alarming. But also of concern was the commentary that Lambeth provided along with the requested information. Rather than simply providing the facts it claimed in its response:

"Lambeth’s permanent exclusion rates are in line with most Inner London Boroughs which have all fluctuated in the past five years.”

So let's look at the last five years compared to other inner London boroughs. Fortunately comparative stats are available on the Department for Education Website. What a comparison reveals is that Lambeth’s exclusion rates were the highest of all 14 inner London boroughs in 2009/10 (the latest year that statistics are available).

In 2008/09 it also topped the tables with the most exclusions of any inner London borough.

In 2007/08 it had the second worst exclusion rates.

In 2006/07 it had the third worst exclusion rates.

In 2005/06 it again had the third worst exclusion rates.

So as well as being manifestly untrue that Lambeth’s exclusion rates haven’t been in line with most inner city boroughs, there hasn’t been much “fluctuation” either. If anything there has been a steady and gradual deterioration over the last five years compared with other inner city boroughs.

The apparent unwillingness to even acknowledge that there is a problem is the most worrying thing of all.

Cleaning up Lambeth

Whilst there's an important big issue around cleaning up mismanagement, and some have suggested 'endemic corruption' in Lambeth Council, there's also the stuff that directly affects people's everyday lives.

Lambeth Greens have been highlighting, and pushing the council, to do far more with regard to the basic tasks that Councils should be performing around maintaining Lambeth's Streets - from fixing potholes so that the roads are better for cycling to getting rubbish cleared.

As part of that's we'll be reporting on this blog periodically what we are doing. By way of example, I have just reported this dumped rubbish including recycling bags and bits of old wood spilling out onto the pavement opposite St Leonard's School on Mitcham Lane at the bottom of Keen's Close in Streatham. It's been accumulating for a few days, and is a regular dumping area which Lambeth never seems to deal with.

I'll provide an update here on when it gets cleared (and if it returns!).

Simon Birkett to speak to Lambeth Greens this Wednesday 1st Feb

Simon Birkett, from the Campaign for Clean Air in London, will be coming to speak to Lambeth Greens this Wednesday (1st Feb).

He is coming as part of our Clean Air campaign. Before Christmas we highlighted in the local press how almost 50 schools and nurseries in Lambeth are close to London's schools and nurseries.

Simon recently hit the headlines with his warning that the performance of Olympic Athletes could be put in jeopardy in the event of a summer smog.

We will look together at how pollution can be reduced in the borough through measures such as a reduction in the speed limit to 20 mph, which has shown to ease traffic flow and reduce emissions, and make Lambeth more accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.

Some of the Green Party’s greatest successes over the last 10 years in London—where it has two members elected to the London Assembly—have been around air quality. In 2010 the Mayor agreed to implement an air quality strategy.

But the Green Party has warned that this isn’t enough. Air pollution takes a huge toll on London both economically and socially. London is currently in line for a £300m-EU fine for its breach of air pollution limits. The Government’s own statistics suggest that there are 4,200 premature deaths in London each year due to air pollution.

The cost of air pollution to the UK as a whole has been estimated at £20 billion a year. Research shows that children living near the busiest roads can have 20% lung capacity, with pollution leading to respiratory illness, allergies, asthma and even lung cancer.

The meeting will take place this Wednesday 1st February at 7pm at the Priory Arms, 83 Lansdowne Way, Stockwell. All are very welcome to attend.

Two articles I wrote for the Guardian this week

I have written a couple of articles for the Guardian over the last week or so.

The first looked at the idea of "Responsible Capitalism". This is a concept currently being championed by both David Cameron and local Streatham MP, and Shadow Labour Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna. It is however really a cop-out, which means that the real underlying causes of the financial crisis which we are all facing are not being addressed.

The second article was for today's (Saturday's) Guardian, which built on this. It looked at how we desperately need a 'Transition Economy' and suggested some alternatives to the approach on offer by the three biggest parties. It also suggested that the Green Party is now the natural inheritor of the radical tradition in British Politics which Labour has abandoned.

Streatham MP puts arms companies at centre of Labour's economic plans

It looks as if arms companies are to be at the centre of Labour’s developing approach to the economy – if comments today by Shadow Business Secretary and Streatham MP Chuka Umunna are anything to go by.

The MP tweeted last night in support of an article about the positive economic impact of Rolls Royce (one of the UK’s biggest exporters of military parts and equipment).

The Press Release from the Labour party about the economic/ business speech which Umunna is giving today also singles out BAE Systems – the UK’s biggest arms exporter. It says that the UK Government should buy more of its weapons from British firms like BAE.

Astonishingly this is described as Labour "calling on the Government to use its consumer power to reward companies doing the right thing"

Rolls Royce and BAE were the two firms which David Cameron was heavily criticised for taking to the Middle East, when weapons sold by the UK were being used to suppress civilians in Libya.

As well as being deeply saddening that Labour, even in opposition, appear to be repeating the mistakes of being in Government about cosying up to arms companies, this is also both a policy mistake and a political mistake.

The arms industry already receives around £700 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies every year. This is partly through the funding of research and development. Future generations will look back in amazement, unable to understand why, when faced with the threat of runaway climate change and financial meltdown, we subsidised jobs in the arms industry instead of putting money into renewable energy and other technologies to tackle the environmental and economic threats.

But this is also a political mistake. Three years ago, along with others at Campaign Against Arms Trade, I drew public attention to the involvement of Clarion events, an events company who promote exhibitions like the Baby Show, in arms fayres – where British companies promote their products around the world.

When people on MumsNet heard about Clarion’s involvement they were outraged and several got in contact with me. I went on the Radio 2 Jeremy Vine Programme to discuss it. MumsNet eventually boycotted the Baby Show being absolutely clear in their feelings toward the commercial arms trade.

MumsNet was a group which Labour were particularly keen to target at the last election. They still are given David Cameron’s unpopularity with women, and the disproportionate impact of the cuts on women.

Transport inclusion to be at heart of Lambeth & Southwark campaign

Green mayoral candidate Jenny Jones joined with me and other local people, including members of Lambeth and Southwark Green parties on Friday, for a flashride in Camberwell.

Together we staged a “go slow” of cyclists calling for a 20mph speed limit and safer streets along the new Cycle Superhighway 5.

This new Cycle Superhighway will run from Lewisham to Victoria along busy roads like Peckham High Street and Camberwell New Road with traffic driving past at up to 30mph, making it dangerous and frightening particularly for inexperienced cyclists. Many cyclists and potential cyclists are too frightened and daunted by the prospect of getting on a bike in the Capital.

It marked the start of the Green campaign in Lambeth and Southwark, which aims to highlight issues around inclusion and local transport.

Our research has found that the boroughs get one of the rawest deals in London when it comes to transport, with large numbers of local people excluded, pushed out or discouraged from using parts of the transport system through fears about safety or inaccessibility. Notably:

• Lambeth and Southwark account for half of the ten most dangerous locations in London for cyclists.

• Of the 32 boroughs in London Lambeth has the second highest casualty rate for both pedestrians and cyclists. Southwark has the fourth highest overall casualty rate.

• Of the 8 tube stations in Lambeth only 1 (Brixton) is wheelchair accessible. A freedom of information request that I submitted uncovered that the lifts at Brixton station have been out of order for 164 days since 2006.

• Eight out of eleven overground stations in Southwark could soon be impacted by cuts leaving them unstaffed and “no go areas” for many travellers. This is likely to make it the hardest hit area in the whole country if the proposals go ahead.

• Both Lambeth and Southwark’s Taxicard schemes, providing subsidised door-to-door transport for people with mobility impairments, have been slashed by 33% and 25% respectively. ( Details of Lambeth Taxicard cuts here. Details of Southwark Taxicard cuts here )

There is an apartheid that runs throughout our transport system which excludes whole sections of London, and nowhere is this more true than in Lambeth and Southwark - and the situation is getting worse not better.

During the election campaign, Greens in Lambeth and Southwark will highlight the different features of the exclusion, and put forward proposals to tackle it.