The answer to the expense scandal is ....(insert your pet project here)

The answer to the expense scandal is ....(insert your pet project here)
I have heard some rubbish flung around on the airwaves, online and in print about the way to restore public confidence in the light of the MP's expenses and allowances farce.

When I hear a statement starting with the words "the only way to restore public confidence is to...." I hang my head because most of the time the next few words will be the personal hobby horse of the person speaking. We've already had proportional representation held up as the silver bullet, we've had a call for no holidays for MPs and now James Purnell is saying that state funding of political parties is the way forward.

It's funny how the parties which have most trouble convincing people to support them electorally or financially are the ones which are most keen on a politics tax.

Don't the RMT get it?

All over London there are people in the private sector who already earn less than tube drivers and are having their hours cut, their pay cut or even losing their jobs.

Yet Bob Crow is calling a series of tube strikes which will further add to their difficulties. I'm far from convinced that the strikes are just about pay and conditions, the RMT like to flex their muscles every now and then, but even if it was it doesn't show much solidarity with the other London workers.

MPA and then the media

I was with the MPA this morning but this afternoon and evening will be devoted to the media.

I was interviewed in my capacity as the Mayor's Ambassador for Youth by truetube.co.uk which is a video based youth website.  You can watch the result in about a week.

If you need a media hit from me sooner you can tune in to LBC from 8.00pm and listen to me take part in a live round table discussion on Petrie Hoskin's show.

Boris' near death experience

Boris was very nearly squished by a car which was flung across the road by passing van.  While it may sound like the set up for a joke it is true and was all caught on CCTV.

A chap called Beatnic photographed the aftermath and stick the pics on flickr.

BNP and garden parties - they don't get out much

Later this summer Susie and I will go to Buckingham Palace to attend a Royal Garden Party, we're both very excited.

Everyone else seems to be getting very excited about Richard Barnbrook being invited and bringing Nick Griffin as his partner. To be honest I think it rather sad, here's why:

1. They will find themselves standing around not being talked to. This is what Barnbrook does a lot at formal City Hall functions.
2. They will not meet the Queen. Most people who attend don't get to and the Royal's team of fixers will make sure that the Queen won't get into any embarrassing situations.
3. Bring your "boss" to an event like this does rather say "I don't have any friends".
4. Putting out a press release about the invite does rather say "I don't get out much" and a quick look at Mr Barnbrook's declaration of hospitality confirms this.
5. The Royal family are immigrants! Hardly in line with the BNP's core values.

I like Boris but I think he's wrong to make a big this about this invite, Barnbrook got elected and will get invites every now and then. If we have a bun fight every time they do they will get the exposure that they so desperately crave.

P.S. I wonder if he'll wear a morning suit or prove that the brown one really is the only one he owns?

This guy is funny

Ditching the Speaker won't make the problem go away

The news channels and the internet are buzzing with the news that the Speaker of the House of Commons is about to resign. This is a necessary precursor to widespread reform in the fees office and of MPs' expenses and allowances. But it is not in itself enough.

While watching footage from Parliament I see too many happy faces, this is a bad and sad day for Parliament and if MPs don't understand that they are in deeper trouble than they realise.

Outside of the Westminster village people will not care if the Speaker is Micheal Martin or anyone else. They want to see MPs brought to book and the system cleaned up. Today is the start of that process not the end.

Don't fear the BNP, just point and laugh

Ahead of the European Elections I have been asked to sign petitions, pass on links, watch videos and generally plead for people not to vote for the BNP. I'm happy to do these things but I must confess to being less fearful about the BNP gaining a few seats than others seem to be.

You see, I know a thing or two about the BNP in office, I sit next to a member of the BNP at the London Assembly. What is it like having to sit next to someone who represents a party with such unappetising views? It can be summed up in one word: comic!

If you want to see just how ineffective a BNP protest vote really is just look at this video clip (fast forward to 1 hour, 9 minutes and 50 seconds) of Richard Barnbrook AM at work at the last Mayor's Questions.

Loss of confidence in the Speaker

The Speaker of the House of Commons should have the confidence of the house. Micheal Martin does not.

Not only is the a motion of no confidence being debated later today but PoliticsHome's recent poll of Westminster insiders had 87% of respondents calling for the Speaker to step down, including more than ten times as many MPs as have so far said it publicly.

When the Speaker was first criticized the Labour stalwarts threw out accusations of classism and racism as motives. Had the Speaker and Labour members been more open and less defencive changes could have been made and the current impasse avoided.

Assuming all criticism is based on narrow party political advantage is dangerous and stupid, as the Speaker's current difficulties testify.

Least surprising news of the day

Troops 'left with outdated kit'.

The House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee have issued a report saying that delays in defence projects have left front-line troops in Afghanistan with almost obsolete equipment.

To be fair that's nothing new, this picture is of a Rolls Royce Armoured Car in the western desert in 1940, it first came into British Army service in 1914.

Who is the Minister for defence equipment? It's our old friend Quentin Davies. I would like to lay all the blame at his door (trust me I really would) but the inability to buy on behalf of the forces knows no political boundaries.

Standard defence procurement seems to deliver the wrong kit, late and over budget, the real irony is that we seem to get it right when we're in a rush.

Here's an idea! Why not just buy everything in a rush?

I want you to watch this Labour attack ad.

Why is a Conservative showing an advert for the Labour party? It proves beyond a doubt that the spirit Draper and McBride is still strong in Labour HQ, nothing positive, nothing forward thinking, nothing honest.

It does more damage to Labour than it could possibly do to us.

Weak and indecisive

Gordon Brown and the Labour party have looked weak and paralysed by indecision in the wake of the expenses scandal. David Cameron has been tougher and quicker in dealing with this.

This shouldn't be a surprise. Brown has form in this area. From the election that never was to his slow and weak response to the Draper/McBride affair, he seems unable to take the bold step needed to get ahead of a problem.

This means that bad news drags on and he ends up looking forced into positions rather than doing what is right out of choice.

The message that this broadcasts is that he is too weak and indecisive to govern.

MPs expenses

I didn't comment on the Labour party expenses story when it first came out because I knew that there was likely to be bad new for some Conservatives too. Unfortunately I was proven right.

I'm not sure that many MPs have really grasped the scale of damage that this episode has caused, the House of Commons has been brought into disrepute. This story will not go away until serious changes are made in the way allowances and expenses are paid, this will mean that some MPs will get significantly less than they're used to.

What would I do differently? My proposals are simple and reflect common practice in other areas of life.

1. Parliament buys up a stock of properties within a sensible distance of Westminster, these are then allocated to MPs whose constituency is too far from London to commute. They are furnished and decorated by parliament with any extra "luxuries" paid for by the MP. There should be enough 3-4 bedroom flats to accommodate MPs who want to locate their families to London.

2. All staff are employed by parliament, rather than the MP. The MP can draw up a job spec and person spec (agreed by the commons authorities) and conducts the interviews. They can employ friends, relatives etc. but their work will be performance managed centrally by parliament to prevent payment for no/little work.

3. All expenses to be paid on submission of receipts.

4. MPs to recieve a significant increase in their salaries. This may seem controversial but MPs salaries are out of kilter with other people doing jobs of similar responsibility or standing. Most MPs work long hours and have a challenging job. There are some MPs who are lazy, stupid or just ineffective, they should just be voted out.

Alan Johnson sticks the knife in

With Gordon Brown's slow-mo self destruct now inevitable, Alan Johnson seems to be lined up to take over. Apparently he's very popular.

Not in Sidcup he isn't!!!!

He has just given the green light to the highly contentious service cuts at Queen Mary's Hospital. It is outrageous that he is cutting services at QMH in the face of such strong support for the hospital amongst local residents.

It has one of the best A&E departments in London, receiving a very high ranking in the Healthcare Commission patients’ survey. All of the neighbouring hospitals received lower scores. Even the Independent Reconfiguration Panel recognised that the A&E at QEH is ‘cramped’ and ‘the facilities at UHL were most in need of modernisation and development.’

I'm still sceptical about the clinical need for slashing services. The Bexley Times’s investigation has exposed that there is no record of the 100 local clinicians who apparently supported the cutting of these vital services.

From the outset, these proposals to cut back on care at Queen Mary’s were handled badly. The consultation process did not allow respondents to save the A&E, the consultant-led maternity unit or the inpatient paediatric unit at Queen Mary’s – the public were given three options but they all involved closing these units.

The whole process has been a scandal.

Would it be fair for Martin Sheen to run as president?

Actor Martin Sheen has ruled himself out of running for US president, "too many meetings" he says, "fair enough" I say.

But it got me thinking. Would it be fair for him to run as president anyway? Would it really be possible to separate the actor from the character? Not to think that he's already got the experience and that he did it so well "last time"?

I suspect that deep down Americans would really be voting for Jed Bartlett rather than Martin Sheen. I feel that my ideas about the political power of Hollywood has already been vindicated!

Bye bye Dolly

A while ago I said that if we all stopped talking about Derek Draper he would just go away. We all stopped talking about him for a few weeks and guess what? He goes away.

To be fair the whole McBride situation may have had something to do with it.

London Assembly AGM

There are two big meetings in my diary for today.

The first is the London Assembly AGM, this is where we elect the Assembly's Chair a Deputy Chair and the chairs of the various committees. Last year's meeting was a bit shambolic and as my first ever meeting as an Assembly Member left me distinctly underwhelmed. I hope this year's will be slicker.

The second meeting is of the Health & Public Services committee, we're looking into the preparations for swine flu. The concern over swine flu may well prove to have been unnecessary as the early indications from the USA look positive, but at some point we may have to deal with a more aggressive flu strain and I want to make sure we know what we're doing if we do.

You can watch both meetings on the live webcast.

Is London prepared for a swine flu outbreak?

Tomorrow I'll be chairing a meeting of the Health & Public Services Committee here at the London Assembly.

We will have Dr Simon Tanner, Regional Director for Public Health in London, answering questions on London's preparedness for a potential swine flu outbreak. You can see the full agenda for the meeting here or watch it live on our webcast from 3.30PM.

Susie is keen to see me with a body like this

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Is Clarke going after Brown?

Charles Clarke has let rip with a blistering attack on Gordon Brown.

I can't help but wonder if this is the opening salvo in a post European elections leadership bid.

Boris' first year, not yet

I hate to rain on everyone's parade but today isn't Boris' first anniversary of being Mayor.

The election was on the 1st of May 2008, the count and results announcement wasn't until the 2nd of May, the signing in wasn't until Saturday the 3rd of May and he assumed office on the 4th of May.

As fair as I'm aware we don't have any major announcements coming out over the back holiday weekend so most of the 1st year round-ups that are appearing today should still be accurate by the 4th.

I'll be writing a round-up of my first year on the assembly over the weekend, you can get it by signing up to my email newsletter.