Lib Dems win Haverstock byelection

I'm delighted to tell you that the Liberal Democrats have gained another councillor in Camden - 24 year old Matt Sanders. He beat the Labour candidate in the Haverstock byelection by 160 votes. The Greens came third and - as in the Kentish Town byelection - the Tories came last.

I've been canvassing the "Belsize" bits of Haverstock quite hard in recent weeks. It felt close. Labour fought hard and dirty. But in the end the margin was bigger than I expected. Our candidate was good. We put a lot of effort into the campaign. When we were able to talk to people they listened and understood what we're trying to do.

We're selling some commercial and street properties to pay for upgrading the majority of social housing stock because the alternative is just to let it collapse into disrepair which is what Labour did. We have tried to secure value for money in Council services where Labour simply continued to tax and spend. We are putting sustainablity at the heart of everything we do rather than just putting a few tokenistic windmills on top of the Town Hall as Labour had proposed. We are putting a lot of effort into improving customer care and listening to residents.

There's always more to do but the voters of Haverstock seem to be saying that we're heading in the right direction and that's gratifying.

Pointless Patio Heaters

One of the worst ways to waste energy and add to the problem of global warming is to heat the air outside using patio heaters. If we’re going to get serious about global warming, then we have to stop this infernal practice. That’s why the Camden Sustainability Task Force has recommended that the Council do everything in its power to persuade pubs, restaurants and residents not to use patio heaters.

We probably have maximum ten years to stabilise our carbon emissions and keep global warming to under 2ºC. If we don’t, then the sort of weather extremes we have all noticed (the hottest April on record, the wettest June on record, the worst flooding in July on record etc) will get worse and worse. Drought combined with savage storms will mean crops will fail in many parts of the world and our supermarkets will struggle to supply us with fresh food. Worse, those in affected areas will start migrating in their millions. We may think that a slightly sunnier UK would be a good thing, but for those displaced from Africa, southern Europe and beyond the UK will seem like an oasis. And make no mistake – they will try to come here.

It’s not a dream, it’s not a Great Climate Change Swindle – it’s happening. Look at the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - www.ipcc.ch/SPM13apr07.pdf . Not one serious climate change scientist anywhere in the world disagrees – the planet is heating up faster than ever before and we’re the problem. If we don’t stop the warming at 2ºC, then the Earth will start throwing in its own punishments which we will be unable to stop. The Amazon rainforest - the world’s largest absorber of greenhouse gases - will burn up. The Siberian tundra will melt releasing vast quantities of the greenhouse gas methane. The highly toxic gas hydrogen sulphide will rise from the bottom of our seas because of warming waters and kill coastal communities in their sleep. The North Pole is probably already doomed but Antarctica could melt as well provoking sea level rises that would turn Oxford into a seaside town.

We are part of the problem but we can be part of the solution too. We have to change as individuals, as communities, as institutions, as businesses, as countries and as a planet. We can do it and must do it. For our children and our children’s children. Patio heaters are not part of the solution.

Revamping the Swiss Cottage gyratory

Transport for London has just launched a glossy and expensive consultation on the Swiss Cottage gyratory system. Looking at the pack they have sent out you would think that they were planning to rework the whole area. But not a bit of it. The “consultation” amounts to little more than a couple of minor bus stop changes. Groups like the Camden Cycling Campaign and the Belsize Residents Association, who have suggested a host of constructive changes, appear to have been completely ignored.

Yet the Swiss Cottage gyratory is in terrible need of a rethink. It is a huge physical blockage between east and west. It was designed for vehicles not people. Cyclists take their life in their hands when they try to negotiate it. Let’s see some imagination. Look at Paris. The “peripherique” motorway running around Paris now has parkland over parts of it thereby linking inner and outer Paris. Imagine if you could walk over the Swiss Cottage gyratory system on grass!

More importantly let’s see some real consultation from TfL. Traditionally they have been concerned by traffic flow and bus lanes rather than the aspirations of local residents, pedestrians or cyclists. That has got to change.

Labour, Tory - it's the same thing.

It’s quite incredible to see so many politicians defecting from the Tories to Labour or from Labour to the Tories. That never used to be possible. What it shows, I believe, is that there's now very little to choose between the two parties. They're both right of centre, authoritarian, free market and desperate to win at any cost. When I joined Labour back in the 1980s it was a progressive party. Now, after ten years of Blair and Brown, it's a conservative party.

Try asking a Labour Party supporter to name one positive thing the government has done since 2001. Nobody can. There are none. Before 2001 we had independence of the Central Bank, Sure Start Children's Centres, the minimum wage, devolution and increased investment in health and education. All good policies I agree with. Since 2001 we've had the Iraq War, overly close relations with George Bush, isolation in Europe, Trident renewal, ID cards, detention without trial, Foundation Hospitals, Academies, nuclear power, a widening gap between rich and poor, and almost no action on Climate Change. And the Tories supported virtually all of those measures, indeed some of them were only passed with Tory backing in Parliament.

The Liberal Democrats are often accused of being all things to all people. But the truth is that the Lib Dems have stayed exactly where they have always been - in the progressive centre of British politics. The Lib Dems have always believed in fair election system where every vote counts rather than one where swing voters in a few marginal constituencies have all the power. The Lib Dems have always believed in serious action on Climate Change rather than putting tokenistic wind turbines on Notting Hill roofs!

The Lib Dems have always believed in increased investment in education. Remember the 1p on tax to fund education pledge? The Lib Dems have always believed in pro-active local policing rather than reactive, patrol car-based policing. The Lib Dems have always believed in rehabilitation of offenders rather than locking them away in crowded prisons where they learn to become better criminals. The Lib Dems have always believed in protecting civil liberties rather than introducing draconian measures which subvert the democratic values we all hold dear.

I believe that's the real choice in politics today - between the Lib Dems at the progressive centre, and Labour and the Tories on the authoritarian right.