News International set to establish a “Free School” in Newham?

Posted by Now London on Apr 26, 2012 in Education, News | 0 comments

An exchange of emails between News International and the Department of Education posed the possibility of the company establishing a Free School in Newham.

The proposal has caused outrage with the National Union of Teachers in the vanguard opposing the plan.

Commenting on the exchange, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union said:

“It is disgraceful that, at the same time as local authority education budgets and school funding was being cut, DfE officials were in conversation with News International over the establishment of a NI-sponsored free school in the London Borough of Newham.

“These emails clearly expose the lie that free schools are ‘parent led’ schools, established in response to parental demand and local need. They reveal the extent to which the Government is pursuing an ideological educational agenda that has nothing to do with meeting the needs of local families and everything to do with promoting its own vanity projects and those of its corporate supporters.

“The NUT opposes the whole of this process and urges the Education Select Committee to instigate an urgent Inquiry into the Government’s free schools’ policy.”

Ken is the greenest of main Mayoral candidates

Posted by Now London on Apr 26, 2012 in Ken Livingstone, Mayor, News | 0 comments

Labour’s Ken Livingstone is the greenest of the two main candidates to be London Mayor, an independent analysis by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace reveals today [Thursday 26 April 2012].

The environment organisations assessed the manifestos, pledges and published records of the four leading mayoral candidates, ranking them on six key environmental issues: air pollution, transport, aviation, climate change, energy and energy efficiency and green spaces.

Green Party candidate Jenny Jones emerged as the greenest candidate for London Mayor, followed by Labour’s Ken Livingstone. Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick came third with current Mayor, Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party, trailing in fourth place.

Friends of the Earth’s Policy and Campaigns Director Craig Bennett said:

"If you live in the capital and care about your health and green spaces, and the city’s economy, you should care who runs London.

"From fresher air and cheaper public transport to open spaces for our children to play in, the Mayor’s environmental decisions can be make or break for Londoners’ quality of life.

"The next Mayor must put the environment at the heart of policy-making – and give us all a prosperous, clean and safe capital to be proud of."

(more…)

TfL’s High Court injunction prevents Addison Lee from instructing its drivers to use bus lanes

Posted by Now London on Apr 26, 2012 in News, Transport | 0 comments

Following a ruling from the High Court today (Thursday 26 April) Addison Lee is prevented from instructing or encouraging its drivers to drive in bus lanes and must remove the statement on its website instructing drivers to do so. 

The Court also declared that the ‘indemnity’ Addison Lee issued to its drivers on 14 April offering to pay for fines and other costs when they drove in bus lanes was “void and unenforceable“, and cannot be repeated.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said:

“Today’s judgment prevents Addison Lee from instructing or encouraging its drivers to drive in bus lanes in London.  The court felt compelled to grant an injunction because of the substantial risk of Addison Lee taking action that could result in the law being broken.  We maintain that Addison Lee’s instruction to its drivers was irresponsible and at odds with its position as a private hire operator. 

“Bus lanes enable buses to move around the capital efficiently carrying more than six million passengers a day.  We maintain that allowing tens of thousands of Private Hire Vehicles to drive in bus lanes would impact on the reliability of our bus services, and risks inconveniencing our customers.”

The interim injunction will remain in place until judicial review proceedings, on the issues of private hire in bus lanes, conclude. 

Despite the instruction from Addison Lee we are pleased to see that, last week the vast majority of private hire drivers continued to obey the law and not drive in bus lanes.

Tube cleaners balloted for strike action

Posted by Now London on Apr 26, 2012 in News, Transport | 0 comments

Tube Union RMT confirmed today that it is to begin balloting tube cleaners working for ISS and Initial for both strike action and action short of a strike in disputes over pay, pensions and benefits.

RMT is demanding that the cleaners, who do some of the dirtiest jobs often in appalling conditions to keep the tube running, should receive in return:

• A substantial, above inflation Pay Increase
• A substantial Olympic Bonus, in line with the payments offered to LOROL staff
• A Sick Pay Scheme
• Free Travel Passes for All
• Improvements to the Pension Scheme

Despite attempts to resolve these issues with the companies through negotiations both ISS and Initial have failed to come up with offers that end the exploitation of the tube cleaners and which reward them with pay, pensions and working conditions that reflect the crucial role that the staff play in delivering a clean and safe tube environment.

(more…)

Ken: Boris has broken over half his promises–the facts

Posted by Now London on Apr 25, 2012 in Ken Livingstone, Mayor, News | 0 comments

Mayoral Candidate, Ken Livingstone has revealed that Boris Johnson has not only not delivered on his 2008 manifesto, failing to meet 57% of his promises, but he has offered a different opinion about it too, one that lacks any obviously apparent factual basis, by claiming he has met 91%. To back this up, Livingstone has produced a detailed report of what Boris, or has not delivered.

Mr Livingstone commented: “Tory Boris Johnson’s broken promises are being felt by millions of Londoners but they can’t pull the wool over Londoners’ eyes forever. This detailed and fair analysis of his manifesto shows that he has broken at least 57% of his 2008 promises including tackling knife crime, taking direct responsibility for the police and keeping ticket offices open.”

The damning report cuts through Johnson’s claims like a hot knife through butter.

In launching his 2012 progress report on March 14th this year, Tory Boris Johnson claimed that he had delivered 91% of his 2008 manifesto promises. This is not the case. The analysis shows that he has broken at least 57% of his 2008 promises.

(more…)