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I'm a councillor in the London Borough of Wandsworth; this blog mainly covers that, sometimes general politics and policy and occasionally anything else that takes my fancy.
Monthly Archives: December 2010
What motivates people
I have been a rubbish blogger recently. In my defence the dream of mainly working from (a small) home hasn’t been so dreamlike since the birth of our second child! The result has been that a lot has had to suffer, including this blog. I want to, and will, keep it going, but why? What
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Unemployment claims in Wandsworth
Almost no change in Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claims in the borough for November! In October there were 6,056 claims, in November 6,055 (a change of just -0.02%). The year-on-year change is a little happier, it’s a drop of 586 (-8.82%) from this time in 2009. The longer term impact of the recession is clear, the
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Gas and water leaks
With the start of another icy blast of cold weather the council’s Roadworks Bulletin this week contained a useful bit of information about water and gas leaks (which I’m posting as much for my own information): The cold weather significantly increases the likelihood of leaking water and gas mains, which quickly go on to become
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Death and decay
I’m aware that the blog (and my online life in general) has taken something of a knock recently. I’m not above blaming little children for this; having another child has eaten into the time I spent on it. But what better way to get back into the swing of things with the death and decay
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The council doesn’t have all the answers
“The council doesn’t have all the answers” was one of the closing comments by the council’s deputy leader, Maurice Heaster, during a debate on the Wandsworth Challenge last week. I would hope, to most, that this is fairly self-evident, but sometimes you wonder. You wonder first because there is a tendency for government (of whatever
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Grit, ice, open data and conspiracy
View Grit bin locations in a larger map The response to my mapping of grit bins last week has fascinated me. Of course, the overwhelming majority of people totally ignored it, but some appreciated it and it was rather flattering to be picked up by the LGIU, and even more so to have been highlighted
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Gritting Wandsworth
It’s that time of year when the weather dominates council life. We have been out gritting for days (since Saturday morning to be precise) both priority road routes and pavements. By far the hardest job is gritting pavements, mainly because these have to be done manually. The council concentrates on priority areas for pavement gritting,
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Queenstown Food and Wine Application
View Larger Map Queenstown Food and Wine, a corner shop on Queenstown Road, have applied for an increase in their current licensed hours. The application is for off-sales from 0700 to 0200 seven days a week. While this is earlier than many nearby licensed premises (for example Inigo, around the corner on Wandsworth Road in
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Public health in Wandsworth
Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, came to Wandsworth to launch the public health white paper yesterday. I’ve been very remiss in not posting much about health on here, despite the fact that it’s probably the most exciting area of local government at the moment and presents a huge opportunity for local councils
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Posted in Health
Tagged Andrew Lansley, big society, public health, Roehampton, white paper
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