Jeremy Clarkson has some sensible things (and some not) to say about being London Mayor in the Sunday Times today.
His platform is:
Sounds good to me.
The Conservatives delayed their London mayor selection process yesterday and put up an announcement on their website. I failed to find it the first couple of times I looked because it was listed way down the page under “Other news”. The Evening Standard and others are reporting that the delay will be six months but the announcement does not include a figure.
I am disappointed by the delay and the way it was announced at the last minute. Apparently journalists heard about it before the candidates. The annoucement on the website seems to be incomplete as it does not mention the length of the delay and is not featured very prominently. Good communications is as much about handling bad news as it is about getting out good news and pursuing your own agenda. CCHQ needs to make sure that ordinary London Tories are as much “in the loop” as the press. The website is a tool that the allows the party to create a level information playing field. It is ordinary Tories that will elect a candidate not the village people at CCHQ and in the lobby.
Today the passport people asked me for some more photos. I sent off for a new passport last week and this week they write to say that my photos are too small – apparently my face was a couple of millimetres too short on the photos. I took them in a photobooth at Hammersmith Tube station branded “Photo-me at the Underground” so I expect lots of people have had their photos returned or maybe I just have a freakishly small head?
At least I should be grateful that I got away with paying only £51 for this crap service. Since 1st April this year the passport wallies have been known as the Identity and Passport Service. They are a self-funding agency so they don’t cost the taxpayer much only you have no choice about buying from them. This means they make you use a premium rate 0870 number to call them. It also means they are free to increase their charges as much as they like.
In order to hide the costs of driving through identity cards that no-one wants they are going to keep on ramping up the cost of passports. When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, the cost of a standard passport was only £18. From 5th October a standard ten-year British passport will cost £66, up from the current £51 or a 29% rise. But the last rise was only in December 2005, when fees went up from £42. It gives a £24 rise, or 57%, in less than a year.
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The Evening Standard tonight is reporting that LBC radio DJ Nick Ferrari has been given the green light by Ofcom to take part in the race to be the Tory candidate for London mayor. They also report apparent unrest among Tory MPs about the process and the lack of high calibre candidates. The article looks more like speculation than fact.
The Standard is a bit all over the shop in its editorial. They fail to mention Richard Barnes who is the leading candidate so far. Doubly strange as they reported the endorsement of his candidacy by Lord Stevens only last night. They also fail to mention James Cleverly who, whilst not of the same stature as Barnes, at least was worth a mention. Perhaps the Standard is not the first place you should look for quality journalism. Better off going to conservativehome.com where they are covering the race in much more detail, and more accuratley to boot.
In tonight’s Evening Standard Richard Barnes’ candidacy for London mayor is confirmed.
Apparently Lord Stevens, former Met commissioner and widely touted possible candidate himself, has endorsed Barnes.
Conservative blogger and failed candidate for Lewisham mayor James Cleverly announced today that he is standing as a Conservative candidate for the London mayor. This brings to a total of four those standing. Two obscure Kensington councillors, a think tank wonk who failed to win Hove and another failed parliamentary candidate. See the London Mayor debate blog at conservativehome.com.
I understand that local GLA member, Richard Barnes, will also be handing in his application today. At last a heavyweight candidate with experience of office as leader of Hillingdon council and GLA member.
The Evening Standard has tonight taken up this story which I highlighted here earlier in July (see previous post). The numbers in the story come straight from two letters I got out of TfL.
I originally e-mailed this stuff to the Standard but they did not take it up. I got in contact with the Taxpayers’ Alliance who were more successful than me in getting the Standard’s attention. Well done to James Frayne at the TPA.
After Tuesday’s news that government spin doctors are three times more common under Labour the Evening Standard today reports that government lawyers have pretty much doubled. Apparently figures from the Attorney General’s office show that government lawyers have gone up from 1,107 nine years ago to 2,005 today, a rise of 89%.
Darra Singh, our council’s Chief Executive, is profiled in the Society pages of today’s Guardian. He has been appointed to be the chairman of the government’s Commission for Integration and Cohesion.
At the last council meeting it was announced that Darra’s remuneration for this activity would be split between the Mayor’s charities and Ealing council itself. We pay Darra a whole heap of cash and I would rather he was fulltime really but I think that the commission will be well led.
By the way the only time I look at the Guardian is to look at how stupidly thick and expensive their public sector jobs pages are on a Wednesday. If public bodies were not pouring £100Ks a week into Guardian Society the paper would go out business tomorrow.
Phil Taylor 