Mayor of London's Outer London Fund

I have just written to Hounslow Council to urge them to apply for funding from the Mayor of London's Outer London Fund for the renewal of town centres.

Last week the Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced a £50 million fund to boost regeneration and rejuvenate town centres at the very heart of local London communities. This fund will revitalise projects or get new schemes off the ground at exactly the right time for communities concerned about the future. The money offered will go a long way to support the establishment of local business districts and the improvement of retail, leisure, culture and arts provision. It will bring vibrancy back into communities, providing more secure features for those who live and work locally and above all improving the quality of life of many.

A major step forward to stimulate economic growth in London's vital network of Outer London town centres, this fund will specifically target those boroughs which benefit less directly from the 2012 Games and Crossrail and will accelerate a pan-London economic recovery advancing job opportunities not just for a few but for many.

The announcement from the Mayor's office of a fund to benefit Outer London's key community hubs is to be welcomed by all those living locally. I sincerely hope that Hounslow Council will consider applying for a grant to fund regeneration of key local urban centres, including Brentford High Street and Hounslow Town Centre.

Boris standing for Mayor in 2012

Great news that Boris Johnson is standing again for Mayor of London in 2012.

I think he has done a great job. He has been focusing on cutting crime, protecting green spaces, improving public transport, building more affordable housing and supporting London through a difficult recession. Much progress has been made...but there is more to be done, which is why we need Boris for another term as Mayor. This is after all as Boris says "the greatest city on earth"!

Try out his website on www.backboris2012.com

Brentford School for Girls

London Mayor Boris Johnson visited the constituency again yesterday. He did a Question & Answer session with pupils at Brentford Girls School, yesterday, which I had the pleasure to be at along with members of Housnlow council.

It was a typical energetic performance from Boris, who answered a bag full of questions from the smart, well behaved girls at the school: the Olympics, food, cycling, trains, buses, walking and crime all came up. My only surprise, given last week’s High Court decision, was that there were no questions on Heathrow!

Education is a key policy area for a potential Conservative administration so if you want more details see here: http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Schools.aspx

Skyride for Cyclists - a great day!

Even although I was feeling under the weather with a cold and cough, I managed to get out this weekend to participate in the Hounslow Skyride. There was an excellent atmosphere around Syon Park and Osterley Park where individuals, friends and families were all participating in a day of cycling around the Borough.

This was a great initiative from Boris Johnson and one that hopefully will encourage many people to cycle more. Great for health and great for the environment!

Boris Johnson in Hounslow today

This afternoon, the Mayor of London is in Hounslow to celebrate the launch of Freewheel, Hounslow. http://www.london.gov.uk/freewheel/signup/

After his official duties, Boris will be joining me and some Councillors and doing a walkabout on the High Street. Please do come along and meet us at 4.30-5pm. We will be walking from School Road and heading west to Bell/Cressy Corner.

There are a lot of issues that Boris and I agree on. The most important being our opposition to Heathrow expansion.

Change at City Hall! Well done to Boris!

A tremendous result last night! Boris Johnson.was elected as the first Conservative Mayor of London. Voter turnout was 45% on Thursday and the winner was announced late last night:
Boris Johnson - 1,168,738 votes (53.2%)
Ken Livingstone - 1,028,966 votes (46.8%)

Locally in SW London, the result for Tony Arbour was:
Conservative - 76,913, Lib Dem - 49,985, Labour - 30,190
Thank you to all those who helped with the campaign and gave their time, energy, enthusiasm and commitment to getting the right result! Today there is now a new team in city hall. Today is the start of a new and better London.

It was an awful night for Labour and Gordon Brown in general. Not only, did they lose London, but they also had a huge defeat right across England:
Labour - 18 Councils (-434) = -10%
Conservative - 65 Councils (+300) = +10%
Lib Dem - 12 Councils (+33) = 0%
NOC/Ind - 64 Councils (+101) = +1%

This was a loud and clear message, that people want change. Can Gordon Brown survive for much longer?

Boris Johnson meeting local residents

Boris Johnson made a great impression as he visited Chatsworth Avenue in Hounslow to talk to local residents about Heathrow expansion. Unlike Ruth Kelly, he came to see for himself, what it was like to live under the flight path.

Boris has said clearly that he is against Heathrow expansion as he knows how much it will affect the quality of life of residents who live in the area.

Given the ridiculous mess and confusion at Terminal 5 last week and this week ... how can we even trust BAA to run their current capacity effectively and professionally.

Photo - Mary with Farhana Letzelter with daughter Ophelia, aged 4 years, and Cllr Brad Fisher, Boris Johnson MP and Tony Arbour (London Assembly member)

Back Boris at the Boat Race

Despite the wind and rain, all seemed to enjoy the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race today along the Thames. We started with a team drink at the George & Devonshire pub at the Hogarth roundabout and ended with a well-needed cup of team at Chiswick Pier!

There was a great atmosphere as hundreds of people turned out to watch Oxford win comfortably over last year's winner. Due to the weather, it was the slowest race for 61 years.

Londoners joined in the fun and enthusiastically took our Back Boris balloons from the team in the photo!

The tide has turned and it is now time for change in London. Lets all 'Back Boris' and show how much London means to us.

Photo (from left to right): Alexandra & Gabriella Giles, David Giles, Charles Tannock MEP, Andrew Craig, Fiona, Mary Macleod, Jonathan and Harriett Baldwin and James Collins. Cllr John Todd and Cllr Barbara Reid were still in the pub!

Politics in the Classroom

Yesterday I visited Chiswick Community School with Sam Hearn, the Chiswick Riverside by-election candidate and Boris Johnson MP, the Conservative London mayoral candidate. Sayeeda Warsi, the Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion, and two local Councillors - John Todd and Felicity Barwood also joined us.

Andrew Dodge, the Chair of Governors, kindly welcomed us when we got there and introduced us to some great students. The sixth form gave us some tough questions.... but ones which were really important, including the real differences between Labour and Conservative, the role of leadership in politics and the ability of ID cards to improve national security. I was impressed with them ... they were thoughful and insightful. I am sure they will all go on to have great careers ahead of them.