Now the dust has settled, just a quick note to say that I’m no longer a councillor following my decision to stand down from Lewisham Council at the elections on 6th May, 2010.
The new Liberal Democrat councillors for Lee Green Ward are Cllr Pauline Beck and Cllr Sven Griesenbeck.
At time of writing, Pauline’s council contact details were still being finalised, but Sven can be contacted on cllr_sven.griesenbeck {at} lewisham.gov(.)uk or 8297 4826.
Many thanks to everyone I’ve worked with over my four years on Lewisham Council. It’s been an interesting experience – frustrating at times, but often extremely rewarding.
I will leave this blog as-is for the time being in case some of the archive is of use to local residents. I have been (slightly) bitten by the blogging bug so it’s possible this blog might re-emerge in another form at some point in the future.
In fact, you can create your own headline online here – go on, give it a go. My personal favourite so far? ”Could Nick Clegg destroy Cliff Richard?”. In fact, that’s probably tomorrow’s Daily Mail headline – highlighting Nick’s alleged love of Sacha Distel and Edith Piaf in preference to home-grown stars.
I just pose one question – if newspaper barons like Rupert Murdoch and the Barclay Brothers are so scared of this guy, who leads a third party that hasn’t been in government for 65 years, then why is that? Could it be that they fear Nick’s about to upset the cosy consensus they enjoy with the two old parties?
Of course, you’d expect me to stick up for Nick, but you mightn’t expect Iain Dale, who ran for the Tories at the last General Election, to point out that this press coverage is manifestly unfair, and probably counter-productive. Of course, we’ve seen this before with Neil Kinnock, and over in the US, there were similarly far-fetched attacks on John Kerry and Barack Obama.
I don’t know whether the Lib Dem surge in the polls will last – it could disappear as quickly as it arrived – but I do know that Britain needs change, and this election offers us a good chance. But only if people ignore these lunatic tales in the press, and stick with their instincts.
As someone who’s old enough to remember Playschool, I was gutted to miss meeting Floella Benjamin when she dropped in to Lee Green yesterday in support of Pete’s campaign to become our next MP.
Floella met up with Pete, Pauline, Chris and other Lib Dem candidates and visit the Manor House Library and Manor House Gardens.
Those of you who’ve received our latest FOCUS leaflet will know that I’m not standing for re-election at the local elections which take place on May 6th. However, I’m really pleased that there’s a strong local Lib Dem team ready to fight for our area and continue the work Paul, Sven and I have started.
Paul is also taking this opportunity to stand down, but Sven is re-standing, and will be joined by Jim Caple – who’s been editing our local FOCUS newsletters – and Pauline Beck, who is a former chair of the Leybridge Tenants Association. Pauline, Jim and Sven will be a really strong team for our area.
For my part, the decision to stand down has been a bit of a wrench. I’ve really enjoyed serving our area for the last four years, but at this stage in my life, I really don’t feel able to commit to a four-year term of office, and it’d be unfair to my colleagues and neighbours to offer myself for re-election when I know there’s a chance I won’t be able to complete my term of office. I’m still at an early stage of my career, and my partner and I have decided that we’d like to return to my native north east, which I really miss.
I’m still here for the time being though, and I’ll be doing everything I can to ensure Sven, Pauline and Jim are elected to provide a strong, independent voice for our area on Lewisham Council, and to elect Pete Pattisson as our next MP and Chris Maines as our new Mayor.
I’ve received a letter from the Crown Estate today together with a glossy document which basically summarises all the objections they’ve had to their proposal to sell their housing estates in London, including their homes here in Lee Green.
The document simply tells residents what they already know – that everyone with an ounce of sense is against their proposal! They tell us that their board will consider in coming weeks whether to proceed with the proposal. If they do so, and once they’ve selected a buyer, a further round of consultation will occur. There’s no promise of a ballot though.
So, a reprieve for a little while, but still no sign that they will withdraw the proposal, and without a ballot, a further round of consultation isn’t worth much.
Well, 
