Does anyone even know what an Oyster Extension Permit is?

Apparently London's train companies have agreed to abolish the totally confusing and bureaucratic Oyster Extension Permit. For those that don't know, if you are travelling through London on an Oyster season ticket and want to use some pay as you go money to top up your journey beyond your zones you have to get one of these permits if your extended journey is on a train. If you stick to the tube or Overground you are fine. Most people didn't know as how would anyone sensible expect to have to do such a thing?

It would be easier to know whether this insane system has been abolished had mayor Boris Johnson stuck to his 2008 manifesto pledge to hold a "public" rail summit. Instead it was held in private so we only know about this from whatever has leaked out. If it is true then it signals progress.

Hopefully getting around London will be much easier and less confusing. Soon. Perhaps. Probably. Bring on 2012.

Lib Dem bashing

Medhi Hasan suggests that the coalition has exposed "Labour's worst tribalist tendencies". To some extent this is true. The party has enjoyed baiting the Lib Dems as a diversion from its own problems: losing power. I admit that I've enjoyed taking part, though that emanates more from having campaigned directly against the Lib Dems in Islington for many years. Locally they have always been my foe.

Hasan argues that Lib Dem baiting is a problem for Labour because it ignores the common ground between the two parties. He highlights rebels in the Lib Dem ranks, such as Charles Kennedy and Lord Oakeshott. Labour should extend an olive branch to disaffected Lib Dems, because the social democratic arm of that party historically derives from Labour and there is some common ground.  That isn't enough for me. Just as the Lib Dems held the Labour Party accountable for the actions of the leadership when in power, I feel we must do the same. We're involved in a competitive electoral fight. The Lib Dems know where we are.

If the "natural home for Lib Dems is on the left" they need to start proving that by their actions in government, at their conferences and if that doesn't work they should find themselves a new home while they still have the chance.

Miliband's momentum?

I had been waiting for Ed Miliband to grow into his role as Labour leader. Watching PMQs today positive signs were apparent. He comes across clearer that in his early days in charge, though there was no killer punch. He has a little bit to go before he is able to match Cameron's wit and ease at the despatch box. None of this matters too much as we can all remember William Hague repeatedly getting the better of Tony Blair at PMQs yet he got nowhere because he just wasn't credible.

What matters for Ed Miliband is whether he and his team can take advantage of the Tories' unpopularity. For that to make an impact a clear and consistent narrative has be repeatedly communicated. His media image is improving with a real test around the corner in May's local elections. That is his first opportunity to gain momentum. All successful opposition leaders need to gain that to show that are heading towards power and that the government is on the way out.


  Labour has opened up a consistent five plus point lead over the Tories. That is the kind of killer punch and momentum Ed Miliband needs. I hope it is reflected in the real opinion poll in May.

Lib Dem wipeout?

Much has been made of the Lib Dems' latest low in finishing sixth in this week's Barnsley by-election. Does this really signal the descent into oblivion for the Tory lap-dogs? The prospects don't look good for them. All those who were duped into thinking Clegg's party were actually of the progressive left and voted for them instead of Labour at the election will surely continue to desert the yellow.

That prognosis could be too simplistic. Boundary changes will take many seats away from Labour at the next election. Couple that with unclear prospects for the AV referendum and there could be a very different political landscape in the near future. The Tories are likely to suffer from being a very unpopiular government.

This presents a huge political opportunity for Ed Miliband. He has to highlight splits within the Lib Dem support, Barnsley showed that many of these will come back to Labour. More crucially he and Ed Balls have to gain credibility for alternative economic policies to the slash and burn from the Tories.

At the moment there is so much uncertainty with the only certainty that the Lib Dems will wretch to more new lows before an election in four years that could be anyone's.

East London Line to Highbury and Islington

The East London Line began running to Highbury and Islington today. This means that I might start to socialise with some of my acquaintances from South London. Not only will it help me get around London it also illustrates a point about political planning.

Boris Johnson unveiled the extension today but it is actually the work of former Labour mayor Ken Livingstone. The new East London Line forms part of his vision for an orbital railway for London. This plan was formed during his first term but has only opened with one year left of Johnson's term. That shows how long it takes for transformational projects like this to come to fruition.



That mayor Johnson has ensured that there are no plans for any similar projects in London at the moment we will have to wait a long time before anything else like this improves the lives of Londoners again.  Crossrail wasn't Boris' to scrap. This leaves me slightly worried that there isn't a sustainable plan for keeping London moving in years to come. At least not with the Tories in charge there won't be.

Australian holidays

I'm now back in the UK after a few weeks visiting the family in Australia.I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and completely understand why so many people rave about the place.

I went to see England lose a One Day International at the SCG, watched Sydney FC play Wellington Phoenix at the Sydney Football Stadium and greyhounds race at Wentworth Park. The A-League is well set up though domestic league soccer still has some way to go in Australia before it becomes officially popular. The 45,000 capacity stadium was about 10% full for a match that I reckon compares to a slower paced English League One.

When I wasn't watching sport inevitably I spent time on Sydney's numerous beaches. Bondi was full of Japanese and English tourists, likewise Coogee. Balmoral was my favourite with its 1920s charm. After leaving Sydney's Taronga Zoo, worth visiting for the breathtaking views of the city alone, I walked along the coastal path and found a completely deserted beach, Whiting, which I then spent the afternoon on, completely to myself. It has views of the harbour, Opera House and when I swam out a little, the Harbour Bridge too. Unbeatable.

I also followed the impending New South Wales state elections with some interest. Labor has held the state since 1995 and is under considerable pressure to retain power. To me looking at it from afar I read both Labor and the Liberal party promising to build new rail new lines in Sydney and arguing over who would build the most. Labor seem to be apologising through their TV advertising for not having done enough with power too. When you get to that stage it looks like you are onto a loser. We shall see.

A rather nice long holiday

As those who know me will be aware I am currently in Sydney visiting the family. I also stopped off for a weekend in Malaysia on the way out for a wedding and whistle stop tour. I've not been blogging because I have been holidaying, but I have noticed a few things of note on my trip:

• The high percentage of female political leaders in Australia is quite striking and very welcome (especially as most of them are Labor!)
• A signer always seems to accompany politicians on TV when they speak, could we do this in the UK?
• Political advertising on TV: I quite like it
• People get drunk at the Sydney Cricket Ground on low strength beer
• Kevin Pietersen gives "banter" back to the crowd: I quite like it

Attack, attack,attack,attack, attack!

Alan Johnson's fall was anticipated by many for some time though it is always disappointing to lose someone of such obvious talent. Every cloud though and the silver lining is that as Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is going to be a high profile attack dog for Labour.

I've found it difficult to see the Tory government making their most aggressive cuts while Labour and Ed Miliband get their own house in order. Balls is likely to be aggressive and abrasive and will ensure Labour gets heard. This is vital, for there needs to be an alternative narrative to that emanating from the Tories. If not, the Tory narrative could be the one upon which the next election id fought on, and that would be bad for Labour.

It helps of course, that there was a second silver lining for Labour on Friday with Tory media chief Andy Coulson resigning. That makes it just a bit more difficult for the Tories to spin that narrative.

A new airport for London, are you serious Boris?

I underestimated Boris Johnson. I didn't think he was that serious in pursuing plans for a new London airport in the Thames Estuary. I'm sorry for underestimating Johnson and not anticipating the all of the bad ideas he throws his considerable weight behind.

After suggesting that Heathrow cannot meet London's needs into the future he proposes to undertake yet another study into the viability of a new airport somewhere else. Not so long ago he was espousing the virtues of a new airport in the Thames Estuary, Boris Island. This idea was widely panned, by airlines and locals alike for cutting off access to large parts of the UK and for cutting off the jobs supply to west London.

If airlines don't want to move and the government doesn't want to provide any money for a new airport our mayor would be better of spending time and scarce money improving London's current transport headaches. He could negotiate with the tube unions and put a stop to strikes, like he promised, or he could accept that he needs the money from the Western Congestion Charge zone and bring it back, he could introduce a higher charge for gas guzzlers, he could investigate options for future London transport links, like cross-river tram, that he cancelled.

While Heathrow really matters to London, Boris has wasted most of his mayoralty investigating plans for an alternative and has delivered nothing. He has also delivered only one major change to London's transport - higher costs and lower revenues. I really should have anticipated that.

Does anyone actually read election leaflets?

There was a minor media furore when Phil Woolas was booted out of parliament for telling lies on his election leaflets. Last night Labour won Oldham East and Saddleworth and increased a slender majority of the shameless Lib Dems. What particularly struck me is that almost none of the reporting or TV  interviews with voters mentioned the Woolas "scandal". People weren't interested it seems. This suggests that nobody really cares about political leaflets, other than for the nuisance they cause to porches and doormats. If they really mattered there would have been a backlash against Labour, but there wasn't.

The media have also reported the drop in support for the Lib Dems and Tories as "expected" and typical for a government at this stage. When Labour lost by elections it was always magnified to be a huge setback for Brown. The real test, for the media and Miliband's Labour, will come when there is a by election in a Tory-Labour marginal. The result and how that is reported will then give a good indication of both the political and media mood.

Despite everything, Labour expected to win Oldham East and the only "disastrous" result for any party would have been for Labour to lose. Miliband has passed his first test with this by election a good demonstration of the enthusiasm that seems to be back within the Labour Party. Victor Debbie Abrahams reported that there were over 1400 Labour volunteers helping her campaign. That is phenomenal. Onwards to the next one. More of that sort of turnout from the Labour ranks and a win over the deeply unpopular Tories in a future by election is a real possibility.

UPDATE: just to be clear, this isn't a defence of Woolas' actions, merely me noting that despite the gravity of his expulsion this wasn't that important in the campaign.

A year of pain

It was fashionable in the 1980s for our high streets to have closed down shops, for people to be out of work, for there to be regular protests against the government and for each new year to be welcomed with huge increases to the cost of commuting. After the years of plenty in the noughties it appears that we are headed for a 1980s re-run.

Both the Tories and Lib Dems promised us all at the election that they wouldn't put up VAT. The sales tax is commonly regarded as regressive, hitting the poorest hardest.

Instead of a new politics of trust 2011 is already showing to be a year of expensive broken promises. Expect the resentment to continue, the cost of living to rise and the shops to start closing.

Happy New Year.

The end of the SDP?

It is bbvious that there are splits of opinion among Lib Dems. They have always been, in effect, two different parties with two very distinct ideologies. I can't see how ex-Labour Party and SDP members like Vince Cable can really stomach acting as puppets for an incredibly right wing Tory government.

If ministers wholeheartedly disagree with the government's programme and they don't feel that they can fairly argue their case within it, they should do the honourable thing and quit. Perhaps the SDP splitters should think about what happened in the early 1980s and come back to Labour.

Are we in football manager territory?

Ed Miliband has not been Labour leader for very long. I spoke briefly on this morning's LBC breakfast show with Nick Ferrari about whether he is doing a good job or not. Is it too early to be making this kind of judgement?

Of course it is. It feels like we are applying football manager levels of scrutiny to our leaders. This is unrealistic but also reflects the political and media landscape today. Everyone is looking for an immediate response to feed the 24 hour news and Twittering demand.

John Reid said today that Ed needs to show some of his cards now. He is right but I get the feeling that Ed is devising his. plan and is taking a long term view and had picked those as the battles he wants to win.

He is now building a team and has appointed his spokesperson. I want to see Ed hit the ground running in 2011. The coalition have plenty of weaknesses that are ripe for exploitation.

Is it too early to judge? Yes, but those judgements are being made already. The time is ready to start running.

Just what they would have wanted

Reading through the weekend's newspapers it struck me that the Tories are doing quite well out of this coalition. There have been mass protests against student fees, but the Lib Dems and Nick Clegg were the butt of that. Unpopular decision have not significantly affected their poll rating and neither has a new Labour leader. Yet they are driving through a programme of cuts and policies that they will long have dreamed of and are getting the Lib Dems to do their dirty work for them. Perfect?

There could be trouble around the corner with Ken Clarke's relaxing of criminal justice. The cuts will bite and people will lash back at the Tories I'm sure. The Tories are as guilty as the Lib Dems of breaking pre-election promises. David Cameron gave personal guarantees that Child Benefit wouldn't be cut and nobody ever suggested that VAT would go up, yet it has.

The mud hasn't stuck to the Tories, I bet they cant' believe their luck.

Bother for Teather

Lib Dem education minister and former Islington councillor Sarah Teather will be lining up with her colleagues to vote for trebling of tuition fees tomorrow. That much was clear today when she refused to answer questions from Sky News about why she had changed her mind on fees. Like many Lib Dems she probably hasn't and like most Lib Dems hadn't thought there would be any consequences of any of their policies as they all knew they wouldn't  win the election - except Nick Clegg who still hides behind the claim that the policy only counted if they won.

The Lib Dems are being punished on this issue precisely because they made such play of being honest and offering a new politics and because this policy was used at the election to demonstrate this. They are being punished because it was this policy that garnered so many votes for them. They can't have it both ways.

This isn't about voters not understanding the art of compromise and coalition. People haven't forgotten that the Lib Dems specifically targeted the student vote to win university seats.

Teather might not like it but she and her colleagues have to live in their own mess. Her more than many because she chose to raise the issue of student fees in her maiden speech to parliament. She said: 


"tuition fees are serious issues of concern to my constituents. All the evidence suggests that fear of debt will deter those from lower income families and ethnic minority communities."


Finally, a reminder from her own website in 2008, courtesy of the Wayback machine:

Of course, just like the real Sarah Teather, and despite the issue being so "close to her heart", her current site makes no mention of tuition fees at all. If actions speak louder than words, tomorrow she and the rest of the Lib Dems get to show us what they really think.

Judge Lib Dem MPs on what they do, not what they say

I picked up a great letter in Exeter's Express and Echo reminding us all of the specific wording of the Lib Dems' tuition fees election pledge:


'I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative.'


Abstention means they will still be breaking their promise as they pledged to vote against. As is rightly pointed out, the pledge doesn't specify that this is dependent on being in government - when even Lib Dem supporters have to admit there was zero chance of them being the largest party after the election. They pledged to vote against increased fees. Full stop. End of. 


For once the language of the Lib Dems was plain. They should be held to that. 

How many straws can a camel's back hold?

This week's tuition fees vote is the first big tests of the Lib Dems coalition strength. I don't expect any major casualties yet as Clegg's belief in himself and the coalition remains strong. Cracks are appearing underneath though with junior ministers looking set to quit the coalition this week. When you only have 57 MPs there isn't a great choice for the party when selecting for government jobs.

Michael Crockart looks set to be the first to go. More are likely to follow. When the coalition was first announced and Tories were just happy to be back in government and Lib Dems couldn't believe their luck I predicted that the biggest tests were then unknown. The coalition agreement could only plan for what the two parties knew would arise, not for the unknowns to come.

That Clegg is facing his first casualties from the "know" policy agenda should be a worry for him.

Tuition fees: what changed for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems?

Nick Clegg has claimed the reason his party can't stick to their pre-election pledge to scrap tuition fees is that they didn't win the election. He is right, the Lib Dems lost seats. It is an insult to anyone with half a brain to suggest that the Lib Dems were ever likely to win the general election.

Reading the full transcript of Clegg's Independent on Sunday interview reveals him to be a fantasist presenting himself as a realist. If he really thinks that his party could have won the election he deserves to be given his own three hour Sunday evening television show. Everyone knows that Clegg had no chance of being the first election winning Liberal prime minister since Asquith in 1911.



If we all accept that Clegg was never going to win the election that should be discounted as a reason for not standing up for his party's most prominent election pledge in coalition. Clegg could feasibly argue that not winning the election 'changes' everything so much that his party have no policies at all. If that is so why bother voting for them?

Lib Dem credibility hits a new low

Just over six months ago Nick Clegg was basking in the glow of being publicly recognised for the first time after the televised leadership debates. In Islington his party had clung on to power since a knife edge election in 2006, controlling the council since 2000. How things have changed. Islington went Labour in a landslide result and Clegg faces revolt from his party after selling out to take part in a slash'n'burn Tory government. Golden boy Vince Cable can't even work out whether he supports his own policy of hiking tuition fees.

Not content with letting the Tories push through a severe programme of cuts to education funding nationally, in Islington the Lib Dems are up to their old scaremongering tricks (see leaflet, left). Their latest leaflet suggests that the local Labour council is planning to close a range of primary schools.  What is going on? I thought the Lib Dems were in charge of education now as part of a coalition with their Tory chums? Former Islington Lib Dem councillor Sarah Teather runs the education department with Michael Gove and Cable is pushing through the tripling of tuition fees.

Admittedly Islington Lib Dems have mis-spelt the name of "Hugerford" (sic) school so I can only presume that this latest campaign isn't serious. What I expect is the Lib Dems to "campaign" against the fictitious school closures and then claim victory in a few months when, miraculously, the schools don't close. That means at least two more leaflets.

Local councillors, like me, are perplexed at where these allegations have come from. Perhaps this list was written by another Lib Dem activist, just like when Kingston Lib Dem Dan Falchikov admitted he was behind the bogus claims that Kingston Hospital was going to close. Of course, Clegg was quick to jump on that bandwagon and have his photo taken "campaign" there.

Having lived under a Lib Dem council in Richmond and then Islington for many years I've got used to their negativity. I've never got used to the cheek of it all though.

Lets not forget that elsewhere, Lib Dem leaflets are smelling the coffee and encouraging their former voters to go with Labour. At least the Lib Dems have managed to overtake "other" in the latest YouGov poll. There is at least some comfort for the wicked.

No more mister nice guy

The Economist is there to make me feel guilty. Guilty that I don't read it often enough. Guilty that I'd feel a better person were I to read it regularly. I read it today and found two articles resonating with me. One speculating that the Lib Dems are losing their branding as the "nice guys" of British politics and the other suggesting that Labour needs "to find an updated, outline version of Tony Blair’s election-winning Labour philosophy, combining respect for markets with a belief in strong public services, but fitted to the no-money age."


An election is unlikely to take place until 2015 but the fault lines of party politics are shifting already. We have a coalition for the first time since the second world war. The Lib Dems are in power for the first time since the first world war. Labour is out of power for the first time this century.


Nick Clegg went into the election with a sky high reputation, suffered a poor election result but was rewarded with power. The "sacrifices" made to secure coalition already look like proving fatal for the Lib Dems. Sooner or later "ordinary voters start to think of the Lib Dems and the Tories as a sort of amorphous “coalition party”, if that happens Clegg will be the loser.


At the same time Labour have a huge opportunity. A gap is likely to appear which will need to be filled with only one party able to credibly oppose and argue against the coalition. The faster it works out how to do that the better or it may find that the fault lines have shifted yet further, requiring another reinvention.