Mayor’s rape crisis centres sold short 16 December 2008 by sianberry Jenny Jones today forced London’s Mayor to admit that he will not deliver new rape crisis centres in London on the scale he promised in his manifesto. Before being elected, the Mayor pledged to provide £744,000 a year to fund the one existing rape crisis centre in London, along with three more new centres. However, […] Read more »
Have a Christmas feast, not a feast of waste 11 December 2008 by sianberry On average each household in London will throw out an extra five sacks of waste over this festive period, adding thousands of tonnes of additional waste to council tips or incinerators. Darren has tabled a formal question to the Mayor calling for a high profile campaign to reduce the amount food and other costly waste […] Read more »
Bold action needed to stop London lagging behind on home insulation 9 December 2008 by sianberry A new report says the capital’s rate of insulation is so low – well below the national average – that it would take at least 65 years to fully insulate its homes – almost 50 years too late for the Mayor’sgoal of a 60 percent reduction1 in carbon emissions by 2025. The London Assembly Environment […] Read more »
Mayor loses another senior adviser 9 December 2008 by sianberry Commenting on the resignation of David Ross as the London mayor’s appointment to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), Darren Johnson, said: "David Ross’ continued presence on the Olympics bodies would have turned 2012 into a laughing stock. There was no way there could ever be public confidence in the Olympics’ budget […] Read more »
Union reps could green UK business 8 December 2008 by sianberry Read the article at the Guardian’s Comment is Free The EU climate package, which is currently under negotiation in the European parliament, stresses that employers have a vital role to play in tackling climate change. Over half of our climate emissions in the UK are work-related, yet most businesses have been slow to initiate and […] Read more »
Bendy bus questions over cost, pollution and congestion 5 December 2008 by sianberry Darren Johnson, has responded to the announcement that articulated buses on routes 38, 507 and 521 will be replaced by larger numbers of conventional double and single decker buses. Darren Johnson said: "I want to know what the mayor is hiding. I’m shocked by the fact that the mayor has given no information on the […] Read more »
Assembly welcomes reprieve for Met’s human trafficking team 4 December 2008 by sianberry The announcement that funding for the Metropolitan Police human trafficking unit has been restored has been welcomed by the London Assembly. The country’s only such unit had been threatened with closure as a result of cuts in Home Office funding which the London Assembly unanimously condemned earlier this week1. Today Justice Secretary Jack Straw MP […] Read more »
Plans for house building on Crystal Palace Park 4 December 2008 by sianberry Boris Johnson’s backing for plans to build 180 houses on Crystal Palace Park has been condemned by Darren Johnson, London Assembly Member. The strength of feeling locally was reflected in a 8,000 signature petition which Darren Johnson presented at the London Assembly on behalf of the residents on the 14th June 2006 against this development […] Read more »
Funding for human trafficking unit must be found 3 December 2008 by sianberry The London Assembly today condemned a Home Office decision to cut more than £2million from the Metropolitan Police human trafficking unit, and called on both the Home Office and the Mayor to find the funding to keep the unit going. Members unanimously agreed an amended motion1 that praised the work of the unit and highlighted […] Read more »
Euro MP defends right to protest over animal protection 1 December 2008 by sianberry Jean Lambert, London’s Green Party MEP, raised concerns over constraints on civil liberties and the right to protest at Animal Aid’s Christmas Without Cruelty Fayre in London yesterday. Other speakers included fellow Green Peter Tatchell, on the failures of London Zoo, and Darren Colliss, who gave an insight into Sea Shepherd’s marine campaigns. Jean Lambert […] Read more »