Finish line!

Just crossed the line in the Mayor of Greenwich's charity cycle ride- arriving at least within sight of the leading pack (first place actually went to Cllr Brinkhurst's husband Graham). Labour Councillor Peter Brookes was ahead of me, but I didn't mind too much as he knew the way! On the start line I was put at the far right for the photocall, and joked that this wasn't a political comment, insisting 'I need to move to the moderate centre'. Greenwich's Labour MP Nick Raynsford shot back 'I'm afraid we're already occupying it!'. Not for long, Nick, not for long...

We will fight them on the beaches...

The last weekend before Thursday's local elections and with no campaign in London I and a group of Greenwich Tories have spent the day in Brighton leafletting for our colleagues down here. A pleasant day for it, but instead of lazing on the beach we were tramping up and down some quite steep residential roads with a lot of steps to climb- very tiring in this heat! It's all in a good cause though, with the prospect of gains on the Council paving the way to win back the marginal Parliamentary seats in Brighton and Hove. Hopefully our efforts will have helped out a bit, anyway.

Jennings for the GLA

Many congratulations to my friend and colleague Cllr Andy Jennings who was tonight selected as the Conservative GLA candidate for the Greenwich and Lewisham constituency in next year's London elections. He will be a great candidate, and if I were Len Duvall I'd be more than a little worried.

Council Report

Having survived the travel chaos caused by the Deptford fire yesterday, I neglected to report on Wednesday's Full Council meeting, so here goes.

Firstly, it should be noted that the meeting itself was at risk of cancellation (as with last year's cancellation of democracy) , after Labour put forward no substantive business for the agenda. I'm glad the Mayor chose not to do this, however, as the meeting was in fact extremely worthwhile.

Members of the public submitted around a dozen written questions to the meeting - mostly from residents of the Ferrier Estate, complaining about their treatment by the Council during the 'decant' (a dreadful term) process. All those who wished to were able to ask supplementary questions of the Cabinet, and whilst they may not have been satisfied with what they heard, they were at least able to air their concerns.

In the Conservative Group we also sought to make the most of the opportunity to hold the ruling Party to account, submitting a total of around 20 written questions on local issues, including the Blackwall tunnel traffic alterations, school building plans and NHS cuts at the QE Hospital. My colleague Cllr Alex Wilson also asked whether the Council would consider webcasting meetings to open up democracy to local people - a suggestion which Deputy Council Leader Cllr. Angela Cornforth said would horrify some people (well, she said it!).

For my part, I asked the Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr. John Fahy, what measures the Council is taking to promote cycling. Given my experiences over the last two weeks, and in view of the Mayor's cycle ride this Sunday, I thought it was a good opportunity. I received a fairly comprehensive three-page written answer setting out a range of initiatives, which all sound fairly worthy. The Borough is also playing host to the Tour de France later this year, when it passes through in July, and several events are planned around that. In response to my follow-up question, Cllr. Fahy told me the Borough does plan to introduce additional cycle lanes in the coming years - something I welcome, as although Greenwich is by no means the worst place for cycling, there is still very patchy provision across London, and ill-thought out schemes which sometimes achieve the hat-trick of annoying cyclists, drivers and pedestrians simultaneously. I will be following this up to see how the process of designing future routes goes.

I also asked about provision of residential care for adults with severe learning difficulties in the Borough. This follows an emotive case in my ward with which I have been helping recently, and which I am pleased to say seems now to have been sorted out. The Cabinet member, Cllr. David Grant, confirmed that the draft adult care strategy will aim to improve the choices available for those concerned, and give them greater access to infomation during the process. Both he and the senior council officer responsible also spared time for a private chat about the issue after the meeting, for which I am grateful.

In all, a worthwhile (if short) Council meeting, proving that even if the Labour executive do not see fit to bring issues before the Borough's elected representatives, we can still at least try to hold them to account.

The Nightmare ends

Finally made it to North Greenwich a mere hour and a half after getting to the bus stop(it usually takes 25 minutes). It seems there is major disruption on the rail network, and there were crowds of people at the station. I have now just arrived at Westminster where I think later I'll go and kiss my bike and apologise for cheating on it with another mode of transport.

Reasons to cycle number 3

I hadn't intended to post yet another rant about public transport quite so soon, but events seem determined to force me into it. Nearly 20 minutes waiting at a busy bus stop on Shooters Hill Road during which a packed 486 sailed past unable to pick up any passengers. Meanwhlle the traffic got heavier, so when the inevitable convoy of at least 5 buses all bunched together arrived we proceeded to sit in a traffic jam resembling Oxford Street on a busy day. Half an hour after leaving my flat, I have moved about 200 yards from my front door. The driver has just announced the extra passengers and traffic are the result of a fire at Deptford knocking out the mainline train services at the same time as a problem with the Blackwall tunnel. We are due at North Greenwich shortly after 9, but as our commendably honest driver said 'who knows?'.

Reasons to Cycle 2

Just opened my evening Standard and seen the above. Sitting as I am on a hot and stuffy mainline train, the thought of going on the infinitely hotter tube in the summer in work clothes is enough to make me want to faint. At least if I cycle I can be in the open, dress coolly and change in the office. Why on earth does it seem impossible to devise a cooling system for the Underground? Mayor Ken announced a prize for a winning solution years ago, and nothing has come of it. If anyone can find a viable plan they should launch a Mayoral bid.

Train Pain

Council meeting tonight, so I left the bike at work in favour of a leisurely commute to the Town Hall on public transport. TfL seem to have other ideas however, as the Jubilee line has been suspended, leaving me to run to Charing Cross and get a train to Woolwich. I'm writing this as we pass through Deptford, so looks like I'll be late to the meeting. Grrr. I'm becoming more committed to my bike by the day.

Clap clinic

More signs of how much the political climate has changed, with the sight of Conservative MPs being enthusiastically applauded by junior doctors. During today's Conservative-instigated debate on the shambles of NHS recruitment, campaigners began clapping from the public gallery as Tory MPs laid into the Government's handling of the situation. They earned a rebuke from the Speaker, but had made their point. The days when Labour could claim to be the party of the NHS are well over. I personally find Patricia Hewitt with her patronising drawl impossible to listen to, and I can only guess at how angry it makes medical staff feel.

On yer bike!

For the past week I've been following David Cameron's example and cycling to work most mornings. This could be dismissed as blatant sycophancy, but I don't care. I need to get fit for summer, and as the weather improves, it's a pleasant way to do it. Having first experimented with leaving my bike at London Bridge and only cycling from there to Westminster, I've now decided there should be no half-measures, and am cycling all the way from Eltham. It's not a bad route, either- through Greenwich and Southwark Parks and not too many busy roads on the rest of the way. It certainly wakes you up in the morning, and as I have a shower near my office it doesn't take too long to freshen up before beginning the day.

Having got used to the ten mile trip each day (I usually cheat on the way back by hopping on a train), I'm now entering the Mayor's charity cycle ride this Sunday, in aid of two very worthy charities. If you want to join me, or for further details, see here.

McDonald's Update

Following the withdrawal of the application for late (or should that be early) opening of McDonald's in Eltham High Street, I now hear rumours that a similar application may be put in for another McDonald's outlet elsewhere in the Borough. More on this if and when I get confirmation.

The chips are down

On returning from my weekend away, I received confirmation that the licencing application by McDonald's in Eltham (to open until the early hours of the morning) has now been withdrawn, ahead of the committee hearing that was due to decide it on Thursday. An excellent result, and all credit to my Conservative ward colleague Spencer Drury , who led the campaign against the application and submitted a petition to Council last month on the issue. Let's hope they see sense and back off for good.

Come on You Blues!

A visit back to my home city of Portsmouth and a rare trip to the football to see Pompey take on Newcastle. Admittedly I can't claim to be a dedicated fan, but it's always good to see the Blue team doing well. And as Tony Blair is a Newcastle fan, there's an added political undertone. Play up Pompey!

Update: Pompey won 2-1, after dominating Newcastle in the first half. Excellent.