Tam Langley for Lewisham Deptford

Tam's new website

2010-09-25T18:20:00.000+01:00

Taking Liberal Democrat Policies into Government

2010-05-12T17:20:00.001+01:00

The policy agreement for the new Government is full of Liberal Democrat policies. It is a real chance to put into action the ideas that we have campaigned for. The key policies are below.

A Fair Start for Children

· Introduce a Pupil Premium to give all children a fair start.

Fairer taxes and Economic Reform

A substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011 with a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objective
Reform of the banking system, ensuring a flow of lending to businesses and a Banking Levy. An independent commission on separating retail and investment banking.
Capital Gains Tax reform

Fair Politics

Fixed-term parliaments and a referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
A power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP was found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing.
A wholly or mainly elected House of Lords on the basis of proportional representation.
Giving Parliament control of its own agenda so that all bills are properly debated.
Enacting the Calman Commission proposals and a referendum on further Welsh devolution.
A statutory register of lobbyists.
A limit on political donations and reform of party funding in order to remove big money from politics.
Radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups.

A fair and sustainable future

Establish a smart electricity grid and the roll-out of smart meters.
Establish feed-in tariff systems in electricity
A huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion.
The creation of a green investment bank.
The provision of home energy improvement paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.
Retention of energy performance certificates when HIPs are scrapped.
Measures to encourage marine energy.
The establishment of an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient CCS to meet the emissions performance standard.
Establish a high-speed rail network.
Cancel the third runway at Heathrow and refuse additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.
Replace the Air Passenger Duty with a ‘per plane’ duty.
The provision of a floor price for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits.
Make the import or possession of illegal timber a criminal offence.
Promote green spaces and wildlife corridors in order to halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity.
Reduce central government carbon emissions by 10 per cent within 12 months.
Increase the target for energy from renewable sources.

Pensions

Restoration of the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011 with a “triple guarantee” that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%.
Phase out the default retirement age and end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75.
Implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policyholders.

Civil Liberties

Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database.
Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.
Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
Adopt the Scottish approach to stopping retention of innocent people’s DNA on the DNA database.
Defend trial by jury.
Restore rights to non-violent protest.
A review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
Further regulation of CCTV.
Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.
End the detention of children for immigration purposes.

Full text of the coalition agreement

2010-05-12T14:11:00.001+01:00

Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiations

Agreements reached

11 May 2010

This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a strong and stable government. It will be followed in due course by a final Coalition Agreement, covering the full range of policy and including foreign, defence and domestic policy issues not covered in this document.

1. Deficit Reduction

The parties agree that deficit reduction and continuing to ensure economic recovery is the most urgent issue facing Britain. We have therefore agreed that there will need to be:

- a significantly accelerated reduction in the structural deficit over the course of a Parliament, with the main burden of deficit reduction borne by reduced spending rather than increased taxes;

- arrangements that will protect those on low incomes from the effect of public sector pay constraint and other spending constraints; and

- protection of jobs by stopping Labour’s proposed jobs tax.

The parties agree that a plan for deficit reduction should be set out in an emergency budget within 50 days of the signing of any agreement; the parties note that the credibility of a plan on deficit reduction depends on its long-term deliverability, not just the depth of immediate cuts. New forecasts of growth and borrowing should be made by an independent Office for Budget Responsibility for this emergency budget.

The parties agree that modest cuts of £6 billion to non-front line services can be made within the financial year 2010-11, subject to advice from the Treasury and the Bank of England on their feasibility and advisability. Some proportion of these savings can be used to support jobs, for example through the cancelling of some backdated demands for business rates. Other policies upon which we are agreed will further support job creation and green investment, such as work programmes for the unemployed and a green deal for energy efficiency investment.

The parties agree that reductions can be made to the Child Trust Fund and tax credits for higher earners.

2. Spending Review – NHS, Schools and a Fairer Society

The parties agree that a full Spending Review should be held, reporting this Autumn, following a fully consultative process involving all tiers of government and the private sector.

The parties agree that funding for the NHS should increase in real terms in each year of the Parliament, while recognising the impact this decision would have on other departments. The target of spending 0.7% of GNI on overseas aid will also remain in place.

We will fund a significant premium for disadvantaged pupils from outside the schools budget by reductions in spending elsewhere.

The parties commit to holding a full Strategic Security and Defence Review alongside the Spending Review with strong involvement of the Treasury.

The Government will be committed to the maintenance of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, and have agreed that the renewal of Trident should be scrutinised to ensure value for money. Liberal Democrats will continue to make the case for alternatives. We will immediately play a strong role in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and press for continued progress on multilateral disarmament.

The parties commit to establishing an independent commission to review the long term affordability of public sector pensions, while protecting accrued rights.

We will restore the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011 with a “triple guarantee” that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats.

3. Tax Measures

The parties agree that the personal allowance for income tax should be increased in order to help lower and middle income earners. We agree to announce in the first Budget a substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011, with the benefits focused on those with lower and middle incomes. This will be funded with the money that would have been used to pay for the increase in Employee National Insurance thresholds proposed by the Conservatives, as well as revenues from increases in Capital Gains Tax rates for non-business assets as described below. The increase in Employer National Insurance thresholds proposed by the Conservatives will go ahead in order to stop Labour’s jobs tax. We also agree to a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objective.

We agree that this should take priority over other tax cuts, including cuts to Inheritance Tax. We also agree that provision will be made for Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain on budget resolutions to introduce transferable tax allowances for married couples without prejudice to this coalition agreement.

The parties agree that a switch should be made to a per-plane, rather than per-passenger duty; a proportion of any increased revenues over time will be used to help fund increases in the personal allowance.

We further agree to seek a detailed agreement on taxing non-business capital gains at rates similar or close to those applied to income, with generous exemptions for entrepreneurial business activities.

The parties agree that tackling tax avoidance is essential for the new government, and that all efforts will be made to do so, including detailed development of Liberal Democrat proposals.

4. Banking Reform

The parties agree that reform to the banking system is essential to avoid a repeat of Labour’s financial crisis, to promote a competitive economy, to sustain the recovery and to protect and sustain jobs.

We agree that a banking levy will be introduced. We will seek a detailed agreement on implementation.

We agree to bring forward detailed proposals for robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses in the financial services sector; in developing these proposals, we will ensure they are effective in reducing risk.

We agree to bring forward detailed proposals to foster diversity, promote mutuals and create a more competitive banking industry.

We agree that ensuring the flow of credit to viable SMEs is essential for supporting growth and should be a core priority for a new government, and we will work together to develop effective proposals to do so. This will include consideration of both a major loan guarantee scheme and the use of net lending targets for the nationalised banks.

The parties wish to reduce systemic risk in the banking system and will establish an independent commission to investigate the complex issue of separating retail and investment banking in a sustainable way; while recognising that this would take time to get right, the commission will be given an initial time frame of one year to report.

The parties agree that the regulatory system needs reform to avoid a repeat of Labour’s financial crisis. We agree to bring forward proposals to give the Bank of England control of macro-prudential regulation and oversight of micro-prudential regulation.

The parties also agree to rule out joining the European Single Currency during the duration of this agreement.

5. Immigration

We have agreed that there should be an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work. We will consider jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit. We will end the detention of children for immigration purposes.

6. Political Reform

The parties agree to the establishment of five year fixed-term parliaments. A Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will put a binding motion before the House of Commons in the first days following this agreement stating that the next general election will be held on the first Thursday of May 2015. Following this motion, legislation will be brought forward to make provision for fixed term parliaments of five years. This legislation will also provide for dissolution if 55% or more of the House votes in favour.

The parties will bring forward a Referendum Bill on electoral reform, which includes provision for the introduction of the Alternative Vote in the event of a positive result in the referendum, as well as for the creation of fewer and more equal sized constituencies. Both parties will whip their Parliamentary Parties in both Houses to support a simple majority referendum on the Alternative Vote, without prejudice to the positions parties will take during such a referendum.

The parties will bring forward early legislation to introduce a power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP was found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing and having had a petition calling for a by-election signed by 10% of his or her constituents.

We agree to establish a committee to bring forward proposals for a wholly or mainly elected upper chamber on the basis of proportional representation. The committee will come forward with a draft motions by December 2010. It is likely that this bill will advocate single long terms of office. It is also likely there will be a grandfathering system for current Peers. In the interim, Lords appointments will be made with the objective of creating a second chamber reflective of the share of the vote secured by the political parties in the last general election.

The parties will bring forward the proposals of the Wright Committee for reform to the House of Commons in full – starting with the proposed committee for management of programmed business and including government business within its scope by the third year of the Parliament.

The parties agree to reduce electoral fraud by speeding up the implementation of individual voter registration.

We have agreed to establish a commission to consider the ‘West Lothian question’.

The parties agree to the implementation of the Calman Commission proposals and the offer of a referendum on further Welsh devolution.

The parties will tackle lobbying through introducing a statutory register of lobbyists. We also agree to pursue a detailed agreement on limiting donations and reforming party funding in order to remove big money from politics.

The parties will promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups. This will include a full review of local government finance.

7. Pensions and Welfare

The parties agree to phase out the default retirement age and hold a review to set the date at which the state pension age starts to rise to 66, although it will not be sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women. We agree to end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75.

We agree to implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policy holders, through an independent payment scheme, for their relative loss as a consequence of regulatory failure.

The parties agree to end all existing welfare to work programmes and to create a single welfare to work programme to help all unemployed people get back into work.

We agree that Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants facing the most significant barriers to work should be referred to the aforementioned newly created welfare to work programme immediately, not after 12 months as is currently the case. We agree that Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants aged under 25 should be referred to the programme after a maximum of six months.

The parties agree to realign contracts with welfare to work service providers to reflect more closely the results they achieve in getting people back into work.

We agree that the funding mechanism used by government to finance welfare to work programmes should be reformed to reflect the fact that initial investment delivers later savings in lower benefit expenditure.

We agree that receipt of benefits for those able to work should be conditional on the willingness to work.

8. Education

Schools

We agree to promote the reform of schools in order to ensure:

- that new providers can enter the state school system in response to parental demand;

- that all schools have greater freedom over curriculum; and,

- that all schools are held properly accountable.

Higher education

We await Lord Browne’s final report into higher education funding, and will judge its proposals against the need to:

- increase social mobility;

- take into account the impact on student debt;

- ensure a properly funded university sector;

- improve the quality of teaching;

- advance scholarship; and,

- attract a higher proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

If the response of the Government to Lord Browne’s report is one that Liberal Democrats cannot accept, then arrangements will be made to enable Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain in any vote.

9. Relations with the EU

We agree that the British Government will be a positive participant in the European Union, playing a strong and positive role with our partners, with the goal of ensuring that all the nations of Europe are equipped to face the challenges of the 21^st century: global competitiveness, global warming and global poverty.

We agree that there should be no further transfer of sovereignty or powers over the course of the next Parliament. We will examine the balance of the EU’s existing competences and will, in particular, work to limit the application of the Working Time Directive in the United Kingdom.

We agree that we will amend the 1972 European Communities Act so that any proposed future Treaty that transferred areas of power, or competences, would be subject to a referendum on that Treaty – a ‘referendum lock’. We will amend the 1972 European Communities Act so that the use of any passerelle would require primary legislation.

We will examine the case for a United Kingdom Sovereignty Bill to make it clear that ultimate authority remains with Parliament.

We agree that Britain will not join or prepare to join the Euro in this Parliament.

We agree that we will strongly defend the UK’s national interests in the forthcoming EU budget negotiations and that the EU budget should only focus on those areas where the EU can add value.

We agree that we will press for the European Parliament only to have one seat, in Brussels.

We agree that we will approach forthcoming legislation in the area of criminal justice on a case by case basis, with a view to maximising our country’s security, protecting Britain’s civil liberties and preserving the integrity of our criminal justice system. Britain will not participate in the establishment of any European Public Prosecutor.

10. Civil liberties

The parties agree to implement a full programme of measures to reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties under the Labour Government and roll back state intrusion.

This will include:

- A Freedom or Great Repeal Bill.

- The scrapping of ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the Contact Point Database.

- Outlawing the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.

- The extension of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.

- Adopting the protections of the Scottish model for the DNA database.

- The protection of historic freedoms through the defence of trial by jury.

- The restoration of rights to non-violent protest.

- The review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.

- Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.

- Further regulation of CCTV.

- Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.

- A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.

11. Environment

The parties agree to implement a full programme of measures to fulfil our joint ambitions for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy, including:

- The establishment of a smart grid and the roll-out of smart meters.

- The full establishment of feed-in tariff systems in electricity – as well as the maintenance of banded ROCs.

- Measures to promote a huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion.

- The creation of a green investment bank.

- The provision of home energy improvement paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.

- Retention of energy performance certificates while scrapping HIPs.

- Measures to encourage marine energy.

- The establishment of an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient CCS to meet the emissions performance standard.

- The establishment of a high-speed rail network.

- The cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow.

- The refusal of additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.

- The replacement of the Air Passenger Duty with a per flight duty.

- The provision of a floor price for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits.

- Measures to make the import or possession of illegal timber a criminal offence.

- Measures to promote green spaces and wildlife corridors in order to halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity.

- Mandating a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

- Continuation of the present Government’s proposals for public sector investment in CCS technology for four coal-fired power stations; and a specific commitment to reduce central government carbon emissions by 10 per cent within 12 months.

- We are agreed that we would seek to increase the target for energy from renewable sources, subject to the advice of the Climate Change Committee.

Liberal Democrats have long opposed any new nuclear construction. Conservatives, by contrast, are committed to allowing the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects (under a new national planning statement) and provided also that they receive no public subsidy.

We have agreed a process that will allow Liberal Democrats to maintain their opposition to nuclear power while permitting the government to bring forward the national planning statement for ratification by Parliament so that new nuclear construction becomes possible.

This process will involve:

- the government completing the drafting of a national planning statement and putting it before Parliament;

- specific agreement that a Liberal Democrat spokesman will speak against the planning statement, but that Liberal Democrat MPs will abstain; and

- clarity that this will not be regarded as an issue of confidence.

Coalition

2010-05-12T11:16:00.000+01:00

Dear friends,

After the astonishing events of the last few days I wanted to share my views with you, particularly since I've been contacted by voters who supported us in the election but are not convinced with our decision to form a coalition Government with the Conservatives.

I was brought up in the 80s to support the Labour party as the natural champion of my family and ordinary working and middle class people. Learning about liberal ideas and seeing the disappointments of Labour in the 90s and noughties I became a firm supporter of the Liberal Democrats. Still my gut reaction on learning no party had an overall majority was to hope for a coalition with Labour - a progressive coalition that could implement some of our key manifesto policies, most importantly:

1. making taxes fairer for ordinary people
2. giving every child a fair start through a pupil premium and investment in state schools particularly in poorer areas like Lewisham
3. political reform to make politiicans more accountable and ensure that every vote counts
4. serious environmental commitments

If, like me, you wondered what happened to the talks between our party and Labour, then you may find this account from our party's spokeperson sheds some light:

"Key members of Labour's negotiating team gave every impression of wanting the process to fail and Labour made no attempt at all to agree a common approach with the Liberal Democrats on issues such as fairer schools funding for the most deprived pupils and taking those on low incomes out of tax.

It became clear to the Liberal Democrats that certain key Labour cabinet ministers were determined to undermine any agreement by holding out on policy issues and suggesting that Labour would not deliver on proportional representation and might not marshal the votes to secure even the most modest form of electoral reform.

It is clear that some people in the Labour Party see opposition as a more attractive alternative to the challenges of creating a progressive, reforming government, not least in the context of a Labour leadership election campaign."

So the choice for us was either forming a coalition with the Conservatives, or taking no place in Government and seeing another election under an unfair system that may have again produced no overall majority (or a majority Conservative government).

Our MPs and Federal Executive decided the better option was to form a coalition government with the Conservatives based on firm policy commitments in all four of the key areas I have outlined above. The Conservatives have also agreed to shelve some of their election policies which were unfair - such as inheritance tax relief for the rich. So in Lewisham our schools should see up to £8million of investment to make class sizes smaller and improve children's education.

Whatever your political leaning and upbringing there is an important principle to remember here - that of Democracy. Like it or not the Conservative Party got many more votes than any other party. Whatever the voting system they should have the first right to seek to govern.

This is an unprecedented situation and I can't predict what lies ahead, but whatever happens I am not going to change or compromise my core beliefs in the importance of civil liberties and fairness. They are important principles that I intend to continue to campaign for - whether we're in Government or in opposition, and I hope that you will join me in this.

Tam

9,633 thank you's!

2010-05-07T10:11:00.004+01:00

Thank you very much to the 9,633 people who voted for a fairer Britain in Lewisham Deptford.

And in particular thanks to the 200 people who came and helped on the campaign.

We got the best result ever for the Liberal Democrats in Lewisham Deptford.

We'll be having an informal drink to celebrate it at Jam Circus on Saturday afternoon at 2pm.

You can find the full result here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/c62.stm

We'll be posting up more details on the local election results when we have them this evening.

All the best,

Rob, Tam & Bo.

Lib Dem Manifesto for Lewisham

2010-04-26T10:50:00.002+01:00

Here's the Liberal Democrat Manifesto for Lewisham:

Lewisham Lib Dem Manifesto

Meeting times for the rest of the campaign

2010-04-26T09:42:00.005+01:00

Wednesday 5th May
12 midday Star Cafe.

6pm 18 Limes Grove.

We'll be out all day so just drop us a line if you can help us.

Election day Thursday 6th
Out all day from early morning until voting stops at 10pm. Meeting places provisionally outside 197 Brockley rise and Kids Corner

Then election night party at venue tbc from 10.15pm onwards.

Meeting times this weekend

2010-04-23T20:23:00.001+01:00

Saturday: 10am Star Cafe, Brockley road,

then lunch break at Jam Circus at 1pm - where we'll be joined by Karin Robinson to share secrets of the Obama campaign.

Then another break at 5pm followed by more canvassing and leaflet delivery into the evening.

Sunday: 11am Star Cafe, Brockley road,

then lunch break at Jam Circus at 1pm -

Then another break at 5pm followed by more canvassing and leaflet delivery into the evening.

Lewisham hospital confirm that they do not follow the Cardiff model

2010-04-21T09:08:00.003+01:00

The Cardiff model of collecting data on knife crime shares information (anonymised of course) on times and places of stabbings with the police.

After it was introduced in Cardiff knife crime fell by 40%, but Lewisham hospital do not share information this way, despite us campaigning for it to do so.

You can find a longer description of how the Cardiff model works here.

And you can read Lewisham hospital's latest letter here

Lib Dem policy on immigration

2010-04-20T12:56:00.003+01:00

It makes me very sad that a fair number of people whose doors I knock on to ask what's their biggest concern cite, 'the problem of immigration'. But when I push them further to say who exactly they mean, it's usually the case that their feelings stem from frustration with the unfairness and inequalities of our society.

I explain to them that I think people who want to come here and work and pay taxes, and are needed by employers, are helping us all out. People like my godmother Jude who came from Jamaica in the 1960s to work as a nurse and has stayed and raised a family here. 'Oh I don't mean people like that,' is the usual response.

But then what about the people who come here seeking asylum because, if they stay in their country, they and their family are likely to be tortured raped or killed? 'Oh not genuine asylum-seekers', is the reponse again. Well what about the women trafficked here illegally - the sex workers or illegal domestic workers. 'I blame the traffickers', comes the response.

When you unpick it, most people share Liberal Democrat views on immigration and asylum - which is that immigrants have contributed enormously to our society through their work in schools, hospitals, public transport and other industries.

And that like other countries around the world we have a responsibility towards people fleeing persecution. And that we need to prioritise deportation of criminals and people traffickers, rather than their victims. We need though to tell the stories of these people and their families to remind people what we're really talking about when we debate immigration and asylum. And we need to make the immigration and asylum systems work better so they are fairer to everyone who has to deal with them.

Meeting times & places for this week

2010-04-18T21:38:00.004+01:00

Thanks so much to everyone who is helping.

If you would like to turn up and help this week, these are the main times we're meeting:

Monday

12 Jam Circus, Brockley road

5:30pm Jam Circus

6pm Kids Corner (corner of Hither Green Lane / George Lane)

Tuesday

5pm Jam Circus

6pm Elverson road DLR

Wednesday

12 Jam Circus

6pm Jam Circus

6pm Elverson road, DLR

Thursday

12 Jam Circus

5pm Jam Circus

5pm Kids corner

Friday

5pm Kids Corner

6pm Jam Circus

My job application to be your MP

2010-04-16T15:57:00.001+01:00

In a few weeks time you will have the opportunity to choose a new MP.

I would be honoured if you would give me that chance. Being an MP is a responsible job, with influence over some of the most important issues in our lives, so you deserve to get a proper job application from me. I include a CV below so that you can judge whether my experience qualifies me for this job.

I am not a professional politician. I have had a twelve year long, successful, career working for charities and in business, managing large teams and budgets.

This has included:

· A campaign to cut crime that exposed how the prison system actually breeds crime

· Working with the Dispensing Doctors Association to save NHS services

· Helping Britain’s only Professor of Honey Bees to raise over £250,000 of funding for research on bee conservation.

I hope you will give me the honour of representing you as your MP, as I would love to put these skills to work for you to champion our area.

Job application to be MP for Lewisham Deptford

Name: Tam Langley

Date of birth: 21st January 1976

Education
1994 - 1998 University of Sussex: Degree in Politics & French

Work
1998 - 2004 Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES)
At VES I campaigned with adults who were terminally ill and mentally competent for a change in the law to give them more choice at the end of their lives.

As Head of Communications I supported Diane Pretty as she fought in the courts for the right to decide how to end her life.

I also worked with Mo Mowlam, who supported our campaign.

2004 - 2009 Weber Shandwick, Public Affairs Practice
Promoted four times in five years, my role as a Director of this global firm involved managing people, advising clients and directing campaigns

Achievements include:

Successfully raising £250,000 for the University of Sussex for research into why honey bees are dying out
Winning support for people with arthritis to receive better treatment for their condition
Improving food labelling to help promote higher welfare pork and sausages
Blocking plans to close doctors' surgeries for the Dispensing Doctor’s Association
Winning eight awards for my work, and named Public Affairs News 'Consultant of the Year', 2009

Personal
I live in south London with my partner Rob and 6 month old daughter Bo.

Interests
I enjoy dancing - lots of different styles - thanks to my Mum who is a professional tango dancer. I like playing the piano and have taught kids to play piano and guitar. I love the outdoors; walking, sailing and bird-watching with my family.

Reference
Dr David Baker, Dispensing Doctors Association, Kirbymoorside, North Yorkshire.

The key points of today's Liberal Democrat manifesto

2010-04-14T13:00:00.000+01:00

Fair taxes: We will ensure no-one pays income tax on the first £10,000 they earn. Most taxpayers will get a tax cut of £700 a year. We’ll pay for it by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the rich, a new tax on mansions worth over £2m, a crack down on tax avoidance and higher aviation duty.

A fair start for all our children: We will get every child the individual attention they need by cutting class sizes. We will spend an extra £2.5bn on schools, targeted at children who need the most help. The average primary school could cut class sizes to 20. An average secondary school could see classes of just 16.

A fair future: a rebalanced, green economy: We will break up the banks and rebalance the economy away from unsustainable financial speculation. We will be honest about where savings must be made in government spending to balance the books and protect our children’s future. And we will create new jobs with a £3.1bn green stimulus and job creation plan in our first year in office, fully funded by cut backs elsewhere.

A fair deal from politicians: We will introduce a fair voting system. We will ensure corrupt MPs can be sacked by their constituents and stop non-doms from donating to parties or sitting in Parliament. We will take power from Westminster and give it to communities, with local power over police and the NHS, and introduce a freedom bill to protect and restore civil liberties.

We also have the following commitments:

Protect front line NHS services. We will help the NHS work better with the money it has and protect front line services by re-investing the savings we find back into healthcare
Recruit 3,000 more police officers to keep our streets safe and scrapping ID cards
Scrap student tuition fees to reduce the burden of student debt immediately and eliminate fee debt altogether over 6 years
A pay rise for our brave service men and women together with cut backs of bureaucrats and top brass officers in the Ministry of Defence
Uprate the basic state pension in line with earnings immediately so that pensioners do not fall further behind when the economy starts to grow again

Meeting times for the rest of this week

2010-04-13T10:02:00.003+01:00

Wednesday 14 April
5pm at Jam Circus, Brockley Road
6pm at Kids corner (corner of Hither Green Lane and George Lane)

Thursday 15 April
2pm at Kids corner
5pm at Jam Circus
6pm at Kids corner

Friday 16 April
11am Kids corner
12 midday at the Star Cafe, Brockley Road

These are the meeting times but we're also usually out and about in
the daytime so whenever you have time to help please call Tam on 07717
852 191

Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th April
Both days:
10am Star cafe, Brockley road
10am Kids corner

Meeting times today and tomorrow

2010-04-12T07:47:00.000+01:00

Monday 12 April
2pm Jam Circus, Brockley road
6pm Kids Corner (on the corner of George lane and Hither Green lane)

Tuesday 13 April
2pm Kids Corner
6pm Jam Circus

Our meeting times this weekend

2010-04-09T10:28:00.001+01:00

Friday 9th April

3pm at Jam Circus

6pm at Kids corner

Saturday 10th April

10am at Kids Corner and also at Star Cafe, Brockley Road

Sunday 11th April
11am at Kids Corner and also at Star Cafe

The key Lib Dem policies of our election campaign

2010-04-08T22:39:00.003+01:00

There are four key Lib Dem policies in our election campaign:

Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket

The first £10,000 you earn tax-free: a tax cut of £700 for most people 3.6 million low earners and pensioners freed from income tax completely.

This is paid for in full by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the wealthy and polluters.

A fair future creating jobs by making Britain greener
Break up the banks and get them lending again to protect real businesses.

Honesty about the tough choices needed to cut the deficit.

Green growth and jobs that last by investing in infrastructure.

A fair chance for every child
Ensure children get the individual attention they need by cutting class sizes.

Made possible by investing £2.5 billion in schools targeted to help struggling pupils. This would bring £8m to Lewisham each year.

Give schools the freedom to make the right choices for their pupils.

A fair deal by cleaning up politics
Put trust back into politics by giving you the right to sack corrupt MPs

Restore and protect hard-won British civil liberties with a Freedom Bill

Overhaul Westminster completely: fair votes, an elected House of Lords, all politicians to pay full British taxes.

Another disappointing delay to the decision on the Victoria - Bellingham service

2010-04-07T23:07:00.002+01:00

An email from TfL has arrived telling me that there's been another delay in a decision on the Crofton Park - Victoria service:

Dear All

In our previous email update on the joint TfL /London TravelWatch
South London Line study, we advised that the analysis of the five
short-listed options was due to be complete around mid March. I’m
writing to let you know that this work has taken longer than
previously anticipated and we are now estimating that the work will be
completed in May 2010.

The main reason for the additional time is that the timetabling
exercise has uncovered a range of problems with some of the options
and we want to investigate how to make these more viable.

We recognise that this will be disappointing to those who are keen to
find out the results of the work that we have been doing to evaluate
the short-listed mitigation options but we will schedule a meeting
once the study has been completed. We would also like to highlight
that the South London Line service is not due to be withdrawn until
2012, so there is still plenty of time to discuss options to mitigate
the impact of its removal.

As we have highlighted throughout the study, TfL currently has no
budget provision to fund any of the short-listed options. We are
currently exploring alternative funding options, which would seek to
bridge the gap between the expected costs of operation and current
projected revenue for the different options under consideration.
However in each case this would also require the support of and a
decision by DfT Ministers.

We will continue to keep you updated about when we will be able to
schedule a meeting to present and discuss the findings with you. As
previously indicated, we will circulate material in advance of the
meeting.

Chris Maines' Six to Fix

2010-04-07T13:51:00.002+01:00

Below is Chris Maines' manifesto of the key 6 things to fix in Lewisham.

Six to Fix

Helping elect Lib Dems in Lewisham - update

2010-04-06T23:34:00.003+01:00

Thanks so much to all the people who came along and canvassed and delivered leaflets today.

Here's a list of when and where we are meeting in the next few days. If you can come along but can't make these specific times then just call me and we'll find you - since we're out every day.

Thursday 8th April

11am at 'Kids corner' on the corner of Hither Green Lane and George Lane
midday at Jam Circus, Brockley Road

6pm at Jam Circus, Brockley Road

Friday 9th April

3pm at Jam Circus

6pm at Kids corner

Saturday 10th April

10am at Kids Corner and also at Star Cafe, Brockley Road

Sunday 11th April
11am at Kids Corner and also at Star Cafe

Monday 12th April
5pm Jam Circus
6pm Kids Corner

Tuesday 13th April
5pm at Jam Circus
6pm at Kids Corner

Helping elect more Lib Dems in Lewisham

2010-03-30T19:19:00.002+01:00

A lot of people are currently asking how they can help the Lib Dems in Lewisham - and we already have well over 100 people working on our campaign locally.

If you'd like to join us then here are the places we're meeting over the next few days:

Wednesday 31st March Jamm Circus, Brockley road at 6pm, Kids Corner on the corner of George Lane and Hither Green Lane at 5pm
Thursday 1st April Kids Corner at 5pm

Easter weekend

Friday 2nd April 10am at the Star Cafe on Brockley Road and at Kids Corner, also 10am
Saturday 3rd April 10am, again meeting at the Star Cafe & Kids Corner
Sunday 4th April - 11am at the same places
Monday 5th April 10am at Kids Corner & the Star Cafe

Next week

Tuesday 6th April at 10am at the Star Cafe & Kids Corner
Tuesday 6th April at 5pm at Kids Corner and 6pm at Jam Circus
Wednesday 7th April at 10am at the Star Cafe & Kids Corner
Wednesday 7th April at 5pm at Kids Corner and 6pm at Jam Circus

On Easter Sunday & Good Friday we will just be delivering leaflets, and at every other time we'll be delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

Latest news for Hither Green & central Lewisham April 2010

2010-03-30T19:12:00.001+01:00

And here's the latest Hither Green & central Lewisham Focus, which has been going through people's letter boxes this week.
Lewisham Central Focus April 2010

Crofton Park news for April 2010

2010-03-30T19:05:00.001+01:00

Here's the latest Focus for Crofton Park for April 2010 - which local residents have received through their front doors this week.

Crofton Park April 2010

Crofton Park Focus for March 2010

2010-03-08T21:20:00.000Z

Crofton Park Focus March 2010

Latest Focus for Hither Green and central Lewisham

2010-02-26T17:19:00.000Z

Lewisham Central Focus FebMar 2010

Lib Dem health policy for general election launched

2010-02-22T18:47:00.001Z

Today Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb launched our Health Policy for the General Election. As the party that first proposed the NHS we are proud of what it achieves and recognise the wonderful work of NHS staff. However, we want to make it even better.

You can read Nick's speech about the NHS from earlier today here, and you can download the Liberal Democrat vision for health here.

Our first priority will be protecting frontline care in tough financial times in areas such as cancer care, mental health treatment, maternity services and dementia treatment by cutting waste and bureaucracy. We will also give patients more control over their treatment, by radically cutting central spending at the Department of Health and electing Health Boards to make key decisions about local services. And under the Liberal Democrats if patients do not get treated on time by the NHS we will pay for them to be treated privately.

We are also showing our commitment to carers in England. We believe that people who selflessly provide care to their loved ones deserve a break. If you are in employment you are entitled to paid holidays but for a huge number of carers that simply isn’t an option. We believe that respite care is a lifeline - not just for carers but for whole families. That’s why we will provide a week’s break from caring every year to the 1 million unpaid carers who provide more than 50hrs care each week.

Getting healthcare right is hugely important to all of us. Only our party has the values and principles that can deliver the NHS our country deserves.

News round up for Brockley & Crofton Park

2010-02-17T09:46:00.001Z

Parking around Honor Oak & Crofton Park stations
Many local residents living close to Honor Oak and Crofton Park stations have raised the issue of difficulty finding parking during the day. We would be interested in your opinions on whether Controlled Parking Zones should be introduced in these streets - please do email us on barrie@lewishamlibdems.org.uk

Crofton Park trains
Transport for London have recently confirmed in an email to Tam Langley that they are still considering the Crofton Park - Victoria service, after Tam submitted a petition of over 400 residents backing it. However TfL look unlikely to make a final decision before the May elections. Residents can still sign the petition here: bit.ly/cptrains

Mattress collection
Lewisham has started a free mattress collecting scheme - just get a sticker from the library or Lewisham's 'access point' in Catford and the mattress will be collected on the same day as normal rubbish.

Hedge planting on Blythe Hill
On 6th February a group of local residents, including Barrie and John from the local Lib Dem team, planted trees to form a hedge on Blythe Hill. These trees have been chosen by the Friends of Blythe Hill Fields to both make the park even more attractive and provide security for the houses behind the park. Photos can be found in the gallery here: http://bit.ly/985b5n

Crime survey
Following replies to our recent crime survey, we have found residents on 14 streets in Crofton Park who want to be involved in Neighbourhood Watch Schemes. The Crofton Park police team will contact these residents soon.

Dates for your diary

16th February to 6th March Write Now theatre festival at the Brockley Jack http://bit.ly/aDhHi1

Every Monday, 8pm, South London Photographic Society meet at Perry Rise Baptist Church, Forest Hill

Every month - 2nd Saturday farmer's market at Hilly Fields

Every weekend (and many weekdays) - Listening to Lewisham - Lib Dems knock on people's doors locally to find out local problems we can help sort out. Reply to this email to join us.

Third Tuesday of the month at 8 pm, 'Try Books!' book group meets in 'Try' Tapas Bar, 37-39 Honor Oak Park. Email try_books@yahoo.co.uk for more details

Crofton Park Ward Assembly
The latest Crofton Park Ward Assembly was held on 30th January. This confirmed a number of small local projects such as a community mosaic project to happen at Crofton Park station in 2010, a street bench being installed by the Chandos pub on Brockley Rise, and plans to repaint yellow anti dog fouling signs on the pavements.

Police advice on concealed knives
Related to the recent gang-related stabbing on Dalrymple Road, PC Hindle of Crofton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team (the group of police assigned to Crofton Park ward) advised residents to keep an eye out for knives concealed at waist level in their garden hedges. To aviod being caught carrying a knive, the trend is for weapons to be hidden in hedges and bushes.

Cuts in police numbers by the London Mayor
Unfortunately the Crofton Park Safer Neighbourhoods police team looks likely to be cut, as a result of the Mayor of London's budget. We will report more when we have more details. You can read the BBC's report here:http://bit.ly/aEMGmq

The latest from London Rail on our campaign to save the Crofton Park - Victoria service

2010-02-10T16:43:00.001Z

Here's the latest message we've received from London Rail:

Further to my email of 8 December, I wanted to provide an update on the TfL/London TravelWatch South London Line study.
We have been evaluating the five shortlisted options that were presented at the meeting on 24 November, which are outlined again below:

Option 1 : A modified East London Line service from Dalston Junction of 4 trains per hour - 2 trains to Clapham Junction and 2 trains to Victoria
Option 2 : A modified East London Line service from Dalston Junction of 6 trains per hour – 4 trains to Clapham Junction and 2 trains to Victoria
Option 3 : A 2 trains per hour service between Victoria and Bellingham
Option 4 : A package of measures: Additional stops in 2 of the 4 existing Orpington – Victoria services at Clapham High Street & Wandsworth Road stations outside of peak times AND additional stops in the 2 trains per hour Gillingham or Dover / Ramsgate services at Peckham Rye & Denmark Hill stations
Option 5 : A package of measures: An additional service of 2 trains per hour between Hither Green and Victoria at peak times AND running of the existing two trains per hour Dartford – Victoria service all day, every day, which would also stop at Clapham High Street & Wandsworth Road stations outside of peak times

TfL and London TravelWatch have been liaising on a regular basis to discuss the progress of the study. Meetings have also been held with DfT and Network Rail to seek their views on the feasibility and deliverability of the five short-listed options. We are now in the process of calculating the costs, social benefits, revenue and forecast demand of each option. Please note, the timescales for this analysis have been slightly extended as the availability of the latest and most suitable modelling tool for this piece of work was delayed. We apologise for this as we know you are keen to see the results.

We expect the analysis to be concluded by around mid March, following which we will need to verify the (draft) report of findings with Network Rail and DfT. We therefore intend to schedule a further stakeholder meeting towards the end of March/early April so we can present and discuss the findings with you. An invite will be sent nearer the time (but with plenty of notice). We also intend to circulate material in advance of the meeting so you have an opportunity to review it beforehand.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Update on Southeastern trains in the snow

2010-02-04T08:41:00.002Z

Lib Dem candidate for Lewisham Central, Max Calo has a good update on his blog here:

http://maxink.wordpress.com

Legal stuff

2010-01-29T08:22:00.003Z

Printed (hosted) by Blogger. Published & promoted by Rob Blackie on behalf of Lewisham Lib Dems at 8 Woodham Road Catford.

Crofton Park Focus for February 2010

2010-01-27T08:26:00.000Z

cp-focus05-Feb2010

Latest Focus for Hither Green and central Lewisham

2010-01-22T08:13:00.001Z

Lewisam Central & Hither Green Focus January 2010

A stabbing on Brockley road

2010-01-20T22:04:00.000Z

I got to Jam Circus last night about half an hour after they'd closed off Crofton Park Road to traffic. A police woman was telling people the road would be shut until the next morning "just because there's been a fight". From the concern on her face and the lines of police tape across the road I feared something serious had happened. Today, police confirmed there had been a stabbing following male youths fighting in Brockley Road, SE4 close to the junction with Dalrymple Road.

A 16-year old boy suffering stab wounds to the arms was taken by hospital by ambulance, where his condition is
understood to be serious but stable.

Two 19-year old men were arrested in connection with the incident. They have
subsequently been released on bail to a date later this month, pending further inquiries.

Detectives from Lewisham CID are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Lewisham CID on 020 8284
8372 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

When I was a teenager the boys were always fighting but no one carried a knife, so the worst that happened was usually a black eye. It wasn't pretty but it didn't put them in hospital fighting for their lives. We have to help change attitudes about carrying knives, so people understand it's both a cowardly and a stupid thing to carry a knife. I feel very sorry for the parents of this young man and hope he'll make a full recovery from his injuries.

The latest on Southeastern trains

2010-01-19T08:21:00.003Z

My colleague Max Calo is running a campaign to get Southeastern trains to refund their public subsidy for the days that it cancelled services during the snow.

You can read more and sign here:
http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/snowtrains

And Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem Greater London Assembly Member and chair of its transport committee, has written to Southeastern trains to demand an explanation of why so many services were cancelled.

Key questions include why a freight service could run during many of these times, but not a passenger service.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Snow & grit

2010-01-11T08:54:00.001Z

I've received a number of enquiries over the last few days about what is being done to grit our icy streets and pavements, and so I wanted to pass on an update I have managed to get out of the Council.

Before the recent spell of cold weather arrived, we asked the Council whether it had sufficient grit to cope, and we were assured they did. However, it now appears we are running very low, and may run out within the next 2 - 3 days.

Therefore, according to the Council:

- Gritting is being done on a 'London resilience' basis - what that means is that all A and B roads (anything coloured yellow, red, orange on a map) should be gritted. A small numbers of others, on bus routes, and required for emergency service access, are also being done.
- Street sweepers are using shovels where possible, but no grit is being put on pavements, in order to conserve supplies.
- The only way roads not currently being gritted will be added to the list is at the request of emergency services.

For more information, click here: http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/NewsAndEvents/News/WeatherConditions.htm

I'm really concerned that older people in particular may be struggling to get out for food, or to keep warm. If you, or anyone you know is in particular need, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me, and I will do my best to arrange for help.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

A Christmas round up

2010-01-06T09:16:00.003Z

Lots of stuff happened over Christmas, which will get written up properly soon.

This includes:

Carol singing for Shelter at Jamm Circus on 20th December
Looking at the many crime surveys that local residents have returned to us
Preparing the next stages of many of our campaigns
Tam being photographed by a prominent women's magazine
Tam launching her bees campaign (more here)

15m sign petition on Copenhagen

2009-12-17T11:08:00.001Z

http://bit.ly/8oOi8X

Another great petition on Copenhagen from Avaaz. Let's hope it works.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Crofton Park news for December

2009-12-04T14:55:00.000Z

Attached below is the Crofton Park Focus for December 2009

Crofton Park ward Focus, December 2009

Meet Michele McClarren

2009-12-04T13:16:00.005Z

Local businesswoman Michele McClarren tells us her life story, and why she’s running for election as a Liberal Democrat

Growing up in Lewisham

Michele’s lived and worked locally for virtually her whole life:
“I was brought up by my mum just off Stanstead Road in the early 1980s so I’ve seen how much
the area’s changed. My family and friends live locally – my best friends all live around Brockley and Crofton Park.”

“I went to Sydenham School, where I passed my exams early – and used to hang out at the
Ackroyd Road Youth Centre.”

Things got more difficult for Michele, though “I left school at 15 because I had got pregnant, and
ended up homeless on the streets.”

Working
Michele was back on her feet quickly though “I ended up being fostered – and was elected as a
representative of other kids leaving care.”

“I’ve always worked,” Michele says, and after a wide range of jobs Michele became an expert in
getting single parents into work.

Getting 5,600 single parents into work
Michele says that her proudest achievement is getting 5,600 single parents back into work in Southwark over four years.

“I help people get the skills, confidence and practical help that they need to get a job. For some people it might be advice on how to dress properly for a job interview, for others on how to keep their job once they get it.

“I was hugged by a woman in Asda the other day who told me that not only was she still in her
job, but that she is now going to university!”

Now Michele is Managing Director of Double Jab – a boxing club in Forest Hill which helps divert young people from trouble.

She’s also standing as a candidate in next year’s local elections for
the Lib Dems.

“Labour have let Lewisham down, and I’m hoping to be part of a fresh start under the Lib Dems,” Michele says.

Relaxing
In the rare moments when Michele isn’t campaigning in Crofton Park, doing her degree, or running a business, she likes to relax at home with her five children, two rabbits and cat.

How you can help Michele
If you would like to donate to Michele's election campaign then click here

And if you'd like to deliver some leaflets for Michele, or volunteer in some other way then email michele@lewishamlibdems.org.uk

Crime survey launched

2009-12-04T08:51:00.002Z

Over the last few months I have been talking to people across Lewisham to find out their concerns.

The top issue is almost always crime and anti-social behaviour, which is why we have launched a crime survey for Lewisham Deptford.

You can take the survey here and we will share the results with you, local groups and the police, as well as acting on it ourselves.

http://survey.libdems.org.uk/take/704

December 2009 Lewisham Central Focus

2009-11-29T11:14:00.001Z

Here is the December 2009 Lewisham Central Focus newsletter - covering the Hither Green and central Lewisham areas.
Lew Cent Focus 1209

Transport in Hither Green

2009-11-27T19:07:00.000Z

Our Lib Dem councillors have been dealing with a wide range of transport problems in Hither Green recently so have launched a transport survey to help them lobby TfL and the train and bus companies.

You can take the survey by clicking on this link.

Good news on Crofton Park's trains to Victoria

2009-11-26T14:07:00.002Z

On Tuesday night I attended a meeting hosted by Transport for London and learned that the Victoria - Bellingham train service that we have campaigned so hard for is back on the table, and under consideration.

Earlier this year, TfL said they could not afford the planned service that would have run from Victoria to Bellingham via Crofton Park, and that it was therefore abandoned.

At the meeting last night I handed in a petition signed by hundreds of local people in favour of the service, and comments from residents which illustrate how badly the service is needed.

TfL have now acknowledged the strength of public support, and included the Victoria to Bellingham 'Option' on a shortlist of five possible future services. They will now review the five options before producing recommendations in February, and assured me they will continue to engage with us throughout this process, so please, continue to ask your friends and neighbours to sign the petition and I will keep you posted on their review.

There are three things you can do to help our campaign:

You can join us handing out petition postcards at Crofton Park station next time we do it
You can donate to our campaign by clicking on the 'donate' button to the right of this post.
You can pass on the petition to your friends and neighbours

PS We have a top campaigner from Barack Obama's campaign in Europe speaking in Crofton Park this Sunday evening, who I will be asking for help with our trains campaign. If you'd like to attend the event please do email me to reserve a space.

Our event with top Obama campaigner Karin Robinson

2009-11-22T11:00:00.000Z

Tickets to our event with top Obama campaigner Karin Robinson are going fast.

If you'd like to grab one before they run out then you can go to lewishamobama.eventbrite.com.

The event is at St. Hilda's Church Hall, just off Brockley Road, at 7pm on Sunday 29th November.

Crofton Park trains scoring criteria for public consultation

2009-11-15T21:34:00.002Z

Attached below are the scoring criteria that will be applied to the decision on whether to cancel the proposed Victoria - Bellingham service.

These will be discussed at the meeting that I, and the local Lib Dem team, will attend on 24th November.

I will be using comments from local residents - and the (almost 100) comments we've had on our petition - as the basis of our submission at that meeting - but all further comments and ideas are very welcome. My apologies if I'm a bit slow getting back to you though since I'm going on holiday for a few days with my daughter Bo & Rob.
Crofton Park stakeholder meeting scoring criteria - London Rail

Mayor's Question Time

2009-11-10T13:56:00.001Z

You can hear my question, and Boris's answer by downloading the LBC podcast here.

It's 42 minutes and 20 seconds in.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

This evening I asked Boris Johnson to save train services from Brockley, Crofton Park and Honor Oak.

2009-11-09T22:24:00.001Z

I was at the People's Question time in Brixton - where I, followed up by Lib Dem Greater London Authority member Caroline Pidgeon, raised the petition that you have signed.

I asked whether Boris was willing to find the money to ensure that the Victoria - Bellingham service was reinstated, and what he would do about the planned cuts to the Brockley / Honor Oak / Forest Hill services.

You can listen yourself on LBC 1152 from 7pm tomorrow (Tuesday) and also on their website in the morning.

There are three things you can do to help our campaign:
You can join us handing out petition postcards at Crofton Park station tomorrow evening from 5:30 to 6:30pm
You can donate to our campaign by clicking here (https://www.paypal.com/cgi- bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick& hosted_button_id=7123324)
You can pass on this petition to your friends and neighbours

While we got no commitments from Boris, we’ve succeeded in pushing the issue up the London agenda, and I’ll be taking our campaign to a meeting with London Rail (part of Boris’s Transport for London) on 24th November. So if you can pass on this petition (bit.ly/YwszA) to your friends and neighbours locally I can take even more signatures to the Mayor’s office.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

10:10 and Lewisham Deptford

2009-11-04T11:27:00.000Z

A couple of weeks ago, Lewisham Deptford MP Joan Ruddock blocked attempts from Lib Dems to sign-up the Government and public bodies to the popular 10:10 campaign, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by 2010.

The motion tabled by Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes would have committed the Government to publish a plan by the end of the year on how it would reduce Parliament's emissions.

The 10:10 campaign had called for MPs of all parties to support the Lib Dem proposal, but Labour MPs led by Minister Joan Ruddock managed to outnumber Opposition MPs and dumb down the motion.

I am very disappointed Ms Ruddock blocked our motion that would have committed the Government and public bodies to take urgent action to get greener. She and her Government talk a lot about saving the planet, but they have failed to support our concrete plans for action to make homes more energy efficient and to sign up public bodies to the 10:10 campaign."

Although Ms Ruddock has signed up personally to the campaign, her Department works out of a buildling with the lowest possible energy rating, and her Government have failed to keep their manifesto pledges to reduce emissions. We need a solid home record on climate change if we want to be taken seriously on the world stage."

Some background

1. Further information on the 10:10 campaign is available here: http://www.1010uk.org/people#whats_going_on

2.Simon Hughes' Opposition Day Debate can be read here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2009-10-21a.976.0&s=ruddock+10%3A10#g982.0

3. The Government's amendment, tabled by Ms Ruddock, removed the commitment for the Government to adhere to the 10:10 campaign's demand to reduce emissions by 10 per cent by 2010.

What Lewisham can learn from Obama - Top European Obama campaigner visits Lewisham Lib Dems

2009-11-04T08:34:00.001Z

We’re delighted to announce that Karin Robinson, formerly Regional Field Director for the Democratic Party working on Obama's campaign in the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, will be visiting Lewisham Lib Dems on 29^th November.

7pm: What Lewisham can learn from the Obama campaign

Demand for tickets has already been very high – so we urge you to book now to avoid missing out! Tickets are available for a minimum donation of 1p, with a recommended donation of £10. Tickets will be reserved for members and supporters who have helped our campaign in the last three months.

You can book tickets here: http://lewishamobama.eventbrite.com/

Update on Crofton Park trains

2009-11-02T21:51:00.002Z

I've just received the following email from London Rail about the next stage of consultation on TfL trains - so relevant for the Bellingham / Crofton Park to Victoria line.

We'll be presenting our petitions, with over 300 signatures so far, to TfL as part of this process. You can sign it here.

Dear All

I am writing to provide an update on progress of the TfL/London TravelWatch South London Line options study.

Many thanks to those of you that provided comments on the long list and scoring methodology, which have been considered and incorporated where possible. We have now met with London TravelWatch to discuss the feedback provided and the progress that TfL has made in applying the scoring criteria to the long list. Given the volume of requests to consider direct links to London Bridge, it has been agreed that TfL will undertake some further work to review the feasibility of retaining the South London Line (one of the long-listed options) with Network Rail and DfT, before completing the scoring and short-listing process.

In light of the additional time it will take to complete this work, we are now proposing to hold the first meeting on 24 November (as opposed to October as stated in our initial letter). We will report back on the outcome of the above work at this meeting.

This invitation has been sent to local MPs and Assembly Members, Local Authorities, a representative from the local user (and campaign) groups, and local business representative groups. We are working jointly with London TravelWatch as the statutory consumer representative body for all passengers and transport users in London and we have been engaging with local groups, who are also working closely with their elected representatives.

The agenda for this meeting will be as follows:

· An update on the progress of the study to date

· Presentation of the feedback provided and how this has been addressed

· Explanation of the options that have been taken forward onto the short list (including rationale)

· Q&A

· Next steps

The meeting will be held on 24th November.

NB. Boroughs and user/other representative groups – please be advised that there is limited space at the venue therefore I would be grateful if you could liaise with your colleagues and send one (maximum two) representative(s) from each organisation.

Please confirm your attendance, including the organisation/group you are representing by return email by Monday 16th November. A list of attendees will need to be provided to Building Security therefore it is imperative that your name is provided in advance so that you are guaranteed access to the meeting.

The amended programme for the study is as follows:

October - November

· Discussion with London TravelWatch on stakeholder feedback and progress to date

· Review of feasibility of direct links to London Bridge with Network Rail/DfT

· Completion of the scoring of schemes on the long list to develop a short list

November

· Meeting with local stakeholders to discuss how feedback has been considered and progress of short listing process

· Review feedback from stakeholder meeting

End November – December

· Assess the operational feasibility of short listed options with Network Rail

· Assess operating costs and revenue of short listed options

· Assess social benefits to determine whether option is value for money (business case analysis)

Early January

· Discuss and agree draft report with London TravelWatch

Mid-late January

· Meeting to present final report and next steps with local stakeholders

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Canvassing and delivering leaflets in Lewisham

2009-10-30T15:49:00.001Z

Here's a picture of 20 of us out in Lewisham last weekend delivering leaflets and knocking on people's doors.

If you'd like to help out just email me - tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Lib Dem environmental policies and campaigns

2009-10-30T12:01:00.000Z

I got this email from Nick Clegg a couple of days ago and thought it was a good summary of Lib Dem environmental policies and campaigns:

Dear Tam,

Today at Prime Minister's Question Time I challenged Gordon Brown over Labour's record on the environment.

Labour's time in office has seen rising carbon emissions, plans agreed for a third run way at Heathrow, more dirty coal-fired power stations and more nuclear energy plants.

This is the shameful record which the Prime Minister will be taking to the major international climate change summit at Copenhagen at the beginning of December.
This afternoon, I met with the heads of the leading climate change campaign groups in Britain to talk about what to expect from the Copenhagen summit. I told them about the distinctive Liberal Democrat policies to tackle climate change in Britain like signing up to the 10:10 campaign, and all developed nations slashing carbon emissions by 40% by 2020.

In the run up to the Copenhagen Summit I will be asking the whole of our Party to spread the word about our radical green agenda. I want everybody who cares about our environment to be left in no doubt that ours is the only mainstream party in Britain that will do what it takes to protect the future of our planet.

You can keep in touch with the campaigns we are fighting on the environment on my website, NickClegg.com. There will soon be more news there about the meeting I had today with leading climate change campaigners. You can also learn about our call last week for the Government to sign up to the 10:10 campaign in Parliament, or the One Planet campaign we launched in the Spring.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg
Leader of the Liberal Democrats

What should be in the Lewisham Lib Dem manifesto?

2009-10-29T08:10:00.003Z

I’m involved in writing the manifesto for the Lewisham Lib Dems for the May 2010 local elections. This manifesto will be implemented if, as we hope, Chris Maines is elected Mayor of Lewisham. We are already the main opposition so if we do even better in May, the manifesto could bring real changes to Lewisham. So I'm really keen everyone has the chance to put forward their ideas.

I’m interested in all suggestions from local residents, and some of your ideas are already on my radar, such as:

1. How can we cut crime?

Many local residents are already involved in our crime cutting campaign. We've been helping to set up more Neighbourhood Watch schemes, reporting anti social behaviour hotspots and supporting anti-crime initiatives like the Enough! scheme for young people.

Duwayne Brooks (our crime spokesman on the council) will be unveiling more ideas later, but in the mean time I'm keen to hear your thoughts.

2. What practical things can be done to improve our environment?

Major campaigns we’re already running focus on saving our train services (particularly from Honor Oak, Brockley and Crofton Park) and improving planned services (like support for the proposed Surrey Canal Road station). And the Lib Dem team is proud to have signed up to the 10:10 campaign both locally and nationally.

Bearing in mind that the council will have limited additional funds, I'd like your ideas on what can be done to reduce our environmental impact and make Lewisham greener.

3. How can we keep council tax down?

Council tax is the most unfair tax of all – hitting people on low incomes particularly hard. How can we keep council tax down while protecting crucial council services?

4. How can Lewisham council become more responsive to the public?

Local residents often complain that Lewisham council is bureaucratic and unresponsive.

People have suggested to me that better use of the internet, like using free services such as FixMyStreet more, could both save money and make Lewisham more responsive to the public.

What else can we do that would open up the council and make it more responsive to the public without requiring expensive technology?

All ideas are welcome – simply comment below or email me on tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk

Rubbish and derelict buildings

2009-10-25T08:32:00.004Z

Our team reported more rubbish yesterday, and put out a leaflet showing where we'd got rubbish cleared up from Brockley road.

Among the rubbish was this chair, at the bus stop outside Mr Lawrence on Brockley road.

An updated map of where we're pursuing local problems will be posted up once we've solved some technical problems.

Latest Focus for the Crofton Park & Honor Oak area

2009-10-23T11:30:00.000+01:00

The latest Focus for the Crofton Park ward (covering the Honor Oak, Brockley, Stanstead road and Blythe Hill areas) starts being delivered this weekend.

If you'd like to help us deliver local news please do email me on tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk.

A copy is below.

cp-focus09-Oct2009

Greenwich foot tunnel update for cyclists

2009-10-23T09:28:00.002+01:00

My colleague, Greater London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, has passed on the following answers about the Greenwich Foot Tunnel being closed to cyclists.

The bad news is that the Mayor & TfL are refusing to consider allowing bikes on the DLR temporarily.

There still seems to be a possibility of bikes being carried on Thames Clippers - though TfL don't seem to be moving with any haste on this.

Greenwich and Woolwich Foot tunnels
Question No: 2810 / 2009
John Biggs

In your response, dated 24 August, to my letter enquiring whether you would consider allowing bicycles to travel on the DLR during the tunnel closures, you imply that this course of action would be virtually impossible due to health and safety considerations. However, a few days later you informed Greenwich Council that a relaxation of the DLR’s bicycle policy was ‘under consideration’. Would you agree that you are merely stalling time by feigning to Greenwich Council that you are looking into allowing bicycles on the DLR, when you have already effectively dismissed this idea? If not, what other interpretation can be placed on this deceit?

Answer from the Mayor:
DLR does from time to time review the policy on carrying full size bikes but there have not been significant differences in the factors concerned and indeed the system has been getting busier which tends to re-inforce the position. Modifying the system/vehicles specifically to allow bikes would involve extensive work and is unlikely to be practical or cost effective.

As previously stated, the closures of the tunnels are not envisaged to be extensive.

Greenwich and Woolwich Foot tunnels 2
Question No: 2811 / 2009
John Biggs

How many times have you asked TfL to review their decision to allow bicycles on to the DLR? How many times prior to you becoming Mayor have the GLA pursued this with TfL? Between each of these requests to TfL, have there been significant differences in the review outcomes? - Have modifications been made to the DLR between each review that might allow full-size bicycles to be carried while still complying with health and safety regulations?

Answer from the Mayor:
Please my answer to MQ2810 / 2009.

*
Greenwich and Woolwich Foot tunnels 3
Question No: 2812 / 2009
John Biggs

Following your meeting with the leader of the Greenwich Council and his negotiations with Thames Clippers to discuss alternative river crossing arrangements during the tunnel closures, do you have any tangible outcomes yet?

Answer from the Mayor:
Greenwich Council has discussed with Thames Clippers and others the logistics and practicalities of carrying foot tunnel users and their bicycles by ferry. Alternative crossing arrangements will be finalised by the council when the tunnel contractor’s programme has been agreed.

Brian Paddick in Lewisham

2009-10-22T19:29:00.002+01:00

I had an enjoyable evening at an (appropriate for Lib Dems!) Gurkha restaurant with Brian Paddick on Monday. Brian used to be a policeman in Deptford, Brockley and Ladywell, so knows a bit about the different types of crime problems in the area.

He made a number of interesting points about how best to prevent crime. What stood out most for me was his experience of fighting knife and gun crime. As he pointed out, knives and guns are mainly used to intimidate innocent people – which means a number of innocent people in our community know people who are using weapons. The question is how you persuade the victims of these threats to report them to the police. Building trust between the police and the community they serve is part of this, as is engaging with local people to listen to what their priorities for the police are. I will be talking to local police about this as part of our campaign against crime.

Thanks to Brian – who I’m sure we’ll see again back in his Lewisham stomping ground.

Latest Focus for Hither Green and central Lewisham

2009-10-22T08:28:00.002+01:00

The latest Focus newsletter for Hither Green and central Lewisham started being delivered last weekend.

If you would like to help us deliver news to local residents then please email me on tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk.

Here's a copy:

Lewisham and Hither Green Focus October 2009

Trains, buses and stations updates from London Rail

2009-10-15T19:33:00.004+01:00

Following my September meeting with London Rail I've chased down their reply. It confirms that I am invited to attend an October meeting to discuss the 'Options Study' that is supposed to look into the cancellation of the planned Victoria to Bellingham (via Crofton Park) line. They have yet to confirm a date for this though and we're already half way through the month!

There are also updates in this letter on Surrey Canal Road station, bus replacement services on the East London Line, and upgrades to Brockley and other stations. I will continue to press for further details on these so that residents round here aren't left out.

Finally my colleague Councillor Philip Peake (Forest Hill) was going to the protest on cuts to Brockley and Honor Oak's trains this morning - I'll report back when I hear from him.
Letter from London Rail

Tam will be on maternity leave for a couple of weeks

2009-09-23T04:16:00.001+01:00

All comments, emails and phone calls will be dealt with on Tam's return.

All the best,

Rob (Tam's partner).

2009-09-21T16:53:00.002+01:00

I visited Deptford Action Group for the Elderly (DAGE) this week, a charity based on the High Street which helps pensioners get advice on a range of services, and provides an important social network for elderly people who might otherwise be isolated and lonely. Through the year they run parties and outings, and on a daily basis the cafe offers a warm welcome with music, friendly conversation and free hot drinks and food.

Thanks to Harry the Chairman for spoiling me with sandwiches and tea, and to the lovely ladies like Selina (in the photo) who were so welcoming. I would urge people to point your older neighbours in their direction, and if you have furniture that could be re-used or can otherwise help them please get in touch. www.dage.org.uk

East London Line & Surrey Canal Road

2009-09-16T11:00:00.001+01:00

As part of my meeting with Ian Brown (MD of London Rail) I asked for an update on whether a new station at Surrey Canal Road could be built, given the strength of local support for more train services to serve this part of Lewisham.

He told me that £7million has been found towards building one, but according to Mr Brown, a further £3million is still needed, and a 'business case' assessing the viability of the service is in development. I have asked for further details of how this and will let local residents know as soon as I receive these.

I also asked about the cancellation of the New Cross to Canada Water rail replacement service.

Local people have explained that this leaves them facing longer journeys to school and work, when in practice they deserve an equivalent service. Mr Brown said the service was stopped because insufficient numbers of people were using it. He added that the journey time using alternative buses was not substantially longer. I have asked for details of the numbers of people who were using the replacement service, and will let local residents know as soon as I have these.

Crofton Park Trains update

2009-09-15T18:13:00.000+01:00

On Friday prospective Lib Dem Lewisham MPs - Pete Pattisson, Alex Feakes and I - met with Ian Brown, the MD of London Rail. We asked him to explain why a proposed Victoria to Bellingham service via Crofton Park, that would have run 7-days a week, had been axed, and what account had been taken of local people's views on this.

London Rail say the money that would have paid for the service was needed for the East London Line. We explained that hundreds of people had signed our petition to save the service (add your name at http://bit.ly/cptrains) and that we wanted a proper opportunity to input to the 'Options Study' that is now being carried out. Mr Brown and his colleague said that, since the service had been proposed but not implemented, there was no obligation upon them to hold a public consultation.

However, he recognised the strength of feeling that existed about the service, and undertook to provide us with details as to how we can input to the study they are now carrying out in partnership with Travelwatch. A meeting is planned for October, and there may be other opportunities for us to share the views of local people - I will update you as soon as they confirm these.

Please do keeping on emailing me your views - I presented them to Ian Brown on Friday - and will continue to do so.

I'll also be posting up on the other issues I raised in the next day or so.

Latest Crofton Park / Honor Oak Park Focus

2009-09-13T12:50:00.000+01:00

The September Crofton Park / Honor Oak Park Focus can be found below.

September Crofton Park Focus

Time to recycle this Labour-run Council?

2009-09-10T20:25:00.000+01:00

When I was out in Hither Green the other day with Liberal Democrat Lewisham Mayoral candidate Chris Maines I was surprised to find out that the amount of waste each household is producing has risen, but the amount they recycle has fallen.

The Labour-run council has been set targets to reduce the amount of household waste produced to 62.83Kg per household, but instead, waste has increased in recent months to 70.36 Kg per household (April figure).

While the council was aiming to recycle 23% of household waste, this also fell to 14.26% during April - making Lewisham one of the worst in the country for recycling.

The Council said there was, "a discrepancy in the percentage of waste the contractor said they were recycling, which had a negative effect on both our recycling rate and the percentage of waste that was sent to landfill.”

This isn't good enough! We need to improve our environmental record not get worse at recycling. I will be asking the Council what can be done to make sure the contractor improves their performance and reporting. I'm also including a recycling appeal in my campaign for Lewisham Depftord to make sure people know how they can recycle more of their rubbish.

News on Crofton Park trains

2009-09-08T08:43:00.000+01:00

Good news. I’ve been invited, with the other local prospective Lib Dem MPs, to meet up with Ian Brown, managing director of London Rail (part of Transport for London), to discuss the Victoria to Bellingham line.

So I’ll be taking our petition, now with 100s of names on it, to London Rail on Friday of this week.

Two things you can do to help the campaign in the next few days:

1. Pass on a link to the petition to a friend who lives locally – so that we have even more people on our petition by Friday bit.ly/YwszA;

2. Donate £10 – which will allow us to print another 100 petition postcards for local residents to sign. Lots of local residents are helping us distribute these cards as soon as they are printed later this week. Click on the donate button to hte right of this post to donate £10.

Thanks again for your support – with your help we’ll save Crofton Park’s service to Victoria.

Hither Green and Lewisham Central news

2009-09-07T12:15:00.005+01:00

I had a great couple of evenings out with the Lewisham Central Lib Dem Focus team last week, and the new September Focus newsletter can be found below.

Key issues local residents are raising include:

Plans to close exit 4 from Lewisham station

The parking 'honeytrap' near Lewisham hospital

Lib Dem and local campaigners saving Hither Green landmark 'Kids Corner'

A Hither Green property boarded up and lost by Lewisham council since 2007!

The dangerous junction on Courthill road (sign our petition at http://bit.ly/1Dtfq)

September Lewisham Central Focus

Greenwich foot tunnel closure

2009-09-05T17:01:00.001+01:00

My colleague Caroline Pidgeon at the GLA has pursued the closure of the Greenwich foot tunnel with both the Mayor (who blames Greenwich) and Greenwich council (who haven't yet replied).

These letters and questions are in PDF's below.

Mayor Boris answers Re Greenwich Foot Tunnel Closure

Letter from Lib Dems to Greenwich Re Foot Tunnel Closure 4th Sept

Meeting cyclists to protest the closure of the Greenwich foot tunnel

2009-09-03T21:29:00.001+01:00

Fab arty photo of the meeting - missing my bike but at 8 months' pregnant I just can't get it going! Still if Boris can do it...

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Clean air in central Lewisham

2009-09-03T20:25:00.001+01:00

The Lib Dem team in Lewisham Central have been campaigning for years on air quality and green spaces in the centre of Lewisham.

If you’d like to find out levels of pollution close to where you live either email me (tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk) and I’ll get our team to ask a question of the council, or you can have a look at whether the London air quality network has a monitoring station near you by clicking on this link.

http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/publicstats.asp?region=0&bulletin=&site=LW2&postcode=&statyear=2009&mapview=all&objective=All

Cyclists and the Greenwich Foot Tunnel

2009-09-02T08:20:00.002+01:00

Last week I joined Lib Dem GLA member Caroline Pidgeon and local cyclists to campaign against closure of the Greenwich foot tunnel for cyclists, causing some of them to have an extra 16 miles on their commute!

Full story here.

Cutting crime in Crofton Park and Honor Oak Park

2009-08-29T15:01:00.000+01:00

You may have seen recent insurance company figures suggesting that Forest Hill, and
parts of the Crofton Park area, have some of the highest levels of burglary in London.

Even more worrying, there were almost forty instances of violence in the Crofton Park
and Honor Oak Park area in July alone this year, and almost fifty in June.

While it is important we do not give in to fear of crime, there is a real problem here
that needs attention.

Labour say they are proud of their record on crime in Lewisham. I think this is just
not good enough!

People are rightly concerned by levels of crime, whether it's burglary, muggings or the
even more terrible crimes we all read about in the papers.

It's the job of politicians to do what they can to help cut crime, and so as your Liberal
Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman I am writing to see if you would like to help set
up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

We have an excellent Safer Neighbourhoods team of seven Police and Community
Support Officers who have been working with 14 streets in Crofton Park to set up
Neighbourhood Watch schemes. These are proven to cut crime - and many streets do
not yet have one.

If you would like to set up a Neighbourhood Watch scheme then just email
me at tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk. I'll pass on your details and those of your
interested neighbours to our local safer neighbourhoods team.

With your help I think we can help to cut crime in Lewisham.

(Violent crime statistics are from the Metropolitan Police crime maps. The breakdown of crimes is 27 'violence against the person', 5 'most serious violence', 'personal robbery' 5, for a total of 37 violent crimes. This compares to 49 in June. To find these go to maps.met.police.uk and search for Crofton Park, then navigate through the text pages to Crofton Park ward etc.)

How rising sea levels will effect Deptford

2009-08-21T13:02:00.000+01:00

We must tackle global warming before it hits communities around the world including Deptford.

It’s sad to see reports in the last few days that the defences around Deptford Creek won’t be enough to save us from the effects of climate change. I’ve created a map to show which areas around Deptford are most vulnerable to sea rises.

Issues we've reported in Crofton Park recently

2009-08-20T08:45:00.001+01:00

This map shows local problems that the Lib Dem Focus team has recently reported in Crofton Park, from damaged pavements in Blythe Hill, to dumped rubbish in Honor Oak Park to streetsigns in poor shape everywhere.

If you have any local problems that you'd like us to fix email me on tam@lewishamlibdems.org.uk or leave a comment here.

Latest Crofton Park / Honor Oak Park Focus

2009-08-18T09:15:00.000+01:00

The latest Crofton Park / Honor Oak Park Focus - addressing local issues like the Forest Hill swimming pool, Crofton Park's trains and housing can be found here:

croftonpark-Aug2009

Crofton Park Trains - some more details

2009-08-17T17:31:00.001+01:00

A couple of people have asked me for more details on the background to the Crofton Park trains being cancelled. Here are some more details.

The Bellingham to Victoria service was first proposed in the South London Route Utilisation Strategy published by Network Rail in March 2008.

The purpose of the new service was to mitigate the loss of the South London Line (London Bridge to Victoria), which would have been physically necessary for the East London Line Phase II to be built.

The concern of transport planners and local residents was that Denmark Hill and other stations on the route would lose their frequent service to Victoria and that Clapham High Street would lose any direct connection to Victoria.

The Bellingham proposal would have solved this problem. The two projects (ELL Phase II and Bellingham-Victoria) were supposed to be part of the same package/proposal, as they supplemented each other.

TfL first proposed dropping the new Bellingham service, claiming it was unnecessary, and they asked the DfT for the new Bellingham service's 24 million to go towards ELL Phase II instead. Then the DfT made the dropping of the Bellingham service a condition of ELL Phase II funding.

If you want to read the full strategy click here.

Thanks for signing the petition to save Crofton Park's trains

2009-08-16T19:23:00.001+01:00

This weekend we have delivered thousands of leaflets to people around the Crofton Park area asking them to sign our petition to save Crofton Park's train planned services.

Thanks to the many people who have already signed up to our petition - we'll be keeping you updated on progress in the months to come.

Posted via email from Tamora's posterous

Kids Korner saved

2009-08-08T10:53:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to report that on Thursday night the Lewisham planning committee turned down an application to convert Kids Korner into a block of flats.

Congratulations to local campaigners, including Lib Dem campaigner Max Calò, who have worked so hard on this campaign.

I joined Max petitioning outside Hither Green station on Wednesday night - and was told by many local residents how much they love this wonderful Art Deco landmark.

You can find out more about the campaign to get Kids Korner turned into an arts & community centre at the Hither Green Hall website.

A safe crossing at the junction of Courthill road and Lewisham High Street

2009-08-06T19:36:00.002+01:00

In April of 2009 a woman was run over and seriously injured on the junction of Courthill Road and Lewisham High Street.

Local Lib Dem councillors are campaigning for a safer road crossing before a child going to the nearby swimming pool or going to school is run over.

Transport for London say that traffic locally should take precedence over safety of pedestrians - and aren't willing to commit to any deadline to even reviewing ways to make the junction safer.

600 local people have already signed this petition for a safer junction - please forward this to your friends to get them to sign too.

To sign click here:

Save Crofton Park's trains

2009-08-01T16:58:00.000+01:00

A planned new train service from Victoria to Bellingham, via Crofton Park, has been secretly axed by Transport for London. The 'Phantom Train' would have made given our transport links in Lewisham a huge boost.

The Liberal Democrats are fighting to save this service, but we need your help!

Please join the campaign and sign this online petition.

Thank you

2009-07-30T23:32:00.000+01:00

Thank you so much to the Liberal Democrat members who selected me as their Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford tonight.

I look forward to working with you to get more Liberal Democrats elected to make Lewisham fairer, greener and safer.

If I can help you at all, or you would like to offer help to my campaign then please email me at tamora4deptford@gmail.com