Keep it up Laura

Over on ConHome Tim Montgomerie has started a campaign to keep Laura Kuenssberg blogging. I'm more than happy to sign up to that.

I think that for all the moans about the BBC that come from my side of politics the BBC's political team has real strength in depth and Laura's summer blogging has shown that.

The blogging world is split between those who think that group blogs don't really work and those that do. ConHome and the Spectator coffee house blog have shown that multi author blogs can be excellent even though the single author blogs like Guido, Iain Dale and mine tend to dominate. OK maybe not mine then ;-)

I agree with Tim that getting more of the BBC political team blogging would be good. So keep it up Laura K!

Earn yor travel back

During the mayoral election campaign the issue of young people's behaviour on the buses came up more than any other transport issue.

Boris promised to deal with it and today we completed the a series of policies which have and will reduce crime and antisocial behaviour on the buses.

We already have more uniformed presence on the transport network than at any point in the last 25 years, last year we introduced a behaviour code for recipients of the Zip card and today we launched a payback scheme for young people who breach that code.

Young people who misbehave on bses will have their passes confiscated and will either have to wait a year to get it back or can earn their passes back with voluntary work.

This plan will improve behaviour, teach responsibility and introduce young people to volunteering.

Transport crime has already fallen since Boris brought in his plans and this will help to continue that improvement.

I love the forces...... but

This story about a £200 million MOD procurement blunder shows that not all defence spending is good defence spending.

As we move into increasingly tough economic times and the need to reduce public spending it is worth remembering that there is waste and inefficiency even in the government departments closest to our hearts.

Brown is a coward!

There, I've said it.

Politics shouldn't be about personal abuse and I don't like name calling (although I have stooped to this in the past), but Brown has shown himself to be undeserving of anything better.

Brown spent ten years hiding in the shadow of Tony Blair (remember him?) whenever there was a tough decision or bad news to deal with. It was just about forgivable when he was Chancellor. Now that he is PM there can be no excuse for hiding from the tough stuff.

The release of al-Megrahi has been a national embarrassment and has done lasting damage to our relationship with the USA. While I am well aware that this was done by a devolved government Brown has commented on everything from Big Brother to the cricket results. How he can choose to remain silent over this issue is beyond comprehension.

I understand Brown's dilemma, any comment he makes with either annoy the USA or Libya and damage our relationship with one. Even putting the obvious moral case to one side I know which country I would prefer to stay friends with.

Child Victims of Crime - Charity bike ride

On Sunday I joined Dominic Chambers and his team for the final leg of their Tour de Force cycle ride in support of the Child Victims of Crime charity.

Dom has ridden to every police force HQ in Britain and Sunday was a visit to the British Transport Police in Camden, the Met in New Scotland Yard and final the City of London Police at London Wall. Hands up who know there were three police HQs in London!

I felt a bit of a fraud as even with the miles to and from home at the beginning and end I only did 20 miles, Dom and his team have travelled over 2,500 miles in the last 25 days. That averages over 100 per day.

Huge congratulations to Dom and all the team.

I'm back!

To quote James Brown.

Actually I got back at the begining of the week but other than a few internal meetings at City Hall I have stayed away from news and politics a bit to do some DIY around the house and spend some time with the kids.

So what's been happening? A plane crash and a hoo-ha about private school fees in Bromley, Europa Gym in Erith still trying to get funding to relocate, Labour desperately trying to make a row over the NHS.

The news which saddened me the most was the escalating death toll in Afghanistan and attempts to smear the name of Gen. Dannatt by the Labour government. Disgusting.

On a lighter note I see that my good friends at the Jewish Lads and Girls Brigade have broken the world record for custard pie throwing!!!!!

I'll be updating the blog properly now and if you want to get my regular email newsletter you can sign up here.

Off on holiday

I'm off to France for ten days of family time. Blogging will be somewhere between light and non-existent.

See you all in mid August.

London has some of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country

The Health & Public Services Committee today publishes a report into the sexual health of young Londoners, and it's not good news.

Young Londoners’ sexual health is still among the worst in the country, despite projects and improvements to the way services work. Teenage pregnancy rates in 18 London boroughs are higher than the national average, and in some London boroughs, 1 in 13 young girls is falling pregnant.

The rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhoea and herpes have increased and are still above national levels. In addition, 16-24 year olds account for nearly half of all STIs diagnosed in London’s Genitourinary Medicine (GUM) clinics.

To help address this problem, the report recommends:
* Sex and relationship education should be a core component of the soon-to-be mandatory personal, social and health education curriculum
* Pan-London branding and improved sharing of good practice and joint working for the chlamydia screening programme and sexual health media campaigns.
* The Mayor’s forthcoming Health Inequalities Strategy should include measures to improve young Londoners’ sexual health and reduce rates of teenage pregnancy.
* A sexual health champion should be appointed to encourage the implementation of good practice across the capital.

Click here to read the report.

Does a lot'a work for charity, doesn't like to talk about it!

Smashy and Nicey are two of my favourite comedy characters. I couldn't help but think of them when I saw this story about Gordon Brown doing voluntary work over his Summer holiday.

The story made it very clear that the Prime Minister didn't want anyone to know about his selfless activities during August. He must be furious that his philanthropy has been leaked to the press, I know I would be.

I wonder if he is more annoyed than when we found out that he had root canal work done with no anesthetic, or that he pumps iron to the Arctic Monkeys, or that he saved the world from boom and bust?

I feel sorry for the guy! No I really do! Just like Clarke Kent, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne etc, he just wants to save the world without any of the kudos or hullabaloo. It is such a shame that we, the media obsessed bystanders, won't let him just get on with it.

All a bit cynical?

I've just read the new ideas that the government have put forward to fast track the process by which people can become British citizens.

One of their ideas is that people who join a political party or a trade union can get their qualification time reduced by two years. The rational is that the demonstration of commitment should be rewarded. I wonder which political party the Labour government are expecting most of those new immigrants to join?

I would be a little less cynical about this if the government hadn't made it so difficult for people who have served in our armed forces to become British citizens. It seems that fighting for this country isn't a good enough demonstration of commitment but bunging the Labour party some money via a union is.