Thinking the Unthinkable

I am watching Ken Livingstone on Question Time as I type. The debate is still going on but he was right on the money on Libya and he was also impressive on the general direction of the present government.

I have to admit that I have begun to think the unthinkable, at least in respect of the upcoming London Mayoral election. Whether or not the Libyan campaign is over by then there will be others and having an anti-war voice in such a prominent position during the 2012 Olympics in particular could be immensely beneficial. Indeed it could well save many innocent lives.

If anybody thinks I am wrong, please use the Comments section below to tell me why.

Three Wise Men....a postscript

As we promised those who came along to the Question Time event earlier in the week (see below), we have studied the comments which were submitted on the survey sheets at the end of the debate and have taken on board some of the suggestions that have been made to improve it for next year and to provide an even more effective platform through which residents attending can let us know of their concerns.

One thing that surprised and pleased me was that I seem to have held my own in the "ratings". Attendees were asked to rate the performances of the three elected members on the panel as well as of the Scrutiny team. My rating was marginally ahead of one of my colleagues, and just a little behind the other. Considering I was on "away" territory - almost exclusively discussing service matters rather than the community empowerment issues which are the ICG's concern - I am very happy with this.

Overall the event itself was very well received, with a very large majority expressing the view that it had been a useful exercise.

Three Wise Men?

Probably not. But Council Leader Peter Thompson, Deputy Leader Mark Bowen and I did our best to give full and honest answers when questions were put to us by residents at what will hopefully have been the first of many Question Time events hosted by the London Borough of Hounslow's Overview & Scrutiny Committee at the Civic Centre last night.

Questions were asked on a whole range of subjects, including parking, leisure, social services, conservation and the credit crunch. O&SC Chair Councillor Peter Carey, who was superb as Master of Ceremonies for the event, then put them to each of us for our comments.

There is never too much we can do to engage reisdents and to find out what their concerns really are. Although the gathering last night was too small to be accepted with confidence as being reliably representative, it enabled us to make a very good start.