May 2008 Archives

THERE'S no doubt about it Boris has made a blistering start to his new job as London mayor.

Just a few of the things he's done includes; banning booze on public transport as from June 1, getting rid of the Londoner, dubbed as Ken Livingstone's 'propaganda paper', moved back towards a policy of zero tolerance on crime, met the mayor of New York to forge stronger links between the two great cities - and he's is now even looking to cap the London mayorship to two terms which is probably a very good idea to stop cronyism.
Yes, the pace of change has certainly been upped in London.

On a more local basis let's hope this pace is also kept up by his deputy Mr Richard Barnes, who is the Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon.
Having recently met Mr Barnes at an election hustings which I chaired, he spoke passionately about the dire facilities at Ealing Broadway station and a determination to make the changes to improve this important transport hub.
So far, the changes have been very slow - still no sign of a lift at Ealing Broadway - so let's hope Mr Barnes can speed up the process by using his new influence.
It's essential for him to keep Ealing in the spotlight if it's top thrive as a business centre.
This takes on particular urgency with the planned opening of the Westfield Shopping Centre in White City, just around the corner.
Ealing must have excellent transport and parking facilities if it's to retain it's position as a major centre in the capital.
If it's traders, shoppers, commuters are hampered by inadequate transport facilities the consequences will be unbearable.