London Councils Summit 2012

On Saturday I went to the London Councils Summit at the medieval Guildhall in the City of London. I had my ward surgery at 10am so I missed the morning session and opening keynote speech by London Mayor, Boris Johnson. I gather it was as silly and superficial as usual.

I stopped off at a lunchtime London Councils "micro-surgery" on "Social Media" and came away convinced that I should try a "Tweet up" Councillor Surgery. Tell everyone I will be available on twitter on such and such date and time for 1 hour for West Ham ward matters. Watch this space.

After lunch I went to the breakout session "Mind the funding gap" with  Cllr Richard Cornelius, leader of LB Barnet, Cllr Catherine West leader of LB Islington, Chair John O'Brien and LSE director, Tony Travers.

We all live in our own political comfort zones and bubbles. So it is rewarding to come out and meet the enemy, and find they are as convinced and comfortable with their own political prejudices as you are with yours. Catherine and Richard are chalk and cheese. Yet they were both polite and humorous in their attempts to convince us of the merits of their very different approaches to the dire and desperate financial situation we are in.

In the Q&A Richard was not impressed with my comment about the report last week by PWC that London Councils pension funds could have been £1.6 billion better off if they had merged. Nor that the outsourcing of all Barnet Council back office services will result in his pension scheme going belly up and this will completely wreak their finances.

You can check out my twitter account of the debate here 17 November 2012.

The final session "taking the temperature - London's Political Landscape" by Robert Gordon Clark and Tony Travers was so interesting that I stopped tweeting in case I missed anything. You can check out what people did tweet about at #lcSummit. 

Of trots and trolls: My new followers

Oh dear - last week I had Jon of the Rogers becoming one of my followers on twitter (which was bad enough) but last night I had Big Bad Mikey Law becoming one as well!

While it is gratifying of course that they have seen the error of their ways and want to follow the forces of light and reason.

I do of course have my doubts about the sincerity of these conversions while on their road to nowhere.

When the law really is an Ass

Michael Harris at Left Foot Forward is spot on here with his analysis about the recent twittergate debacles. Paul Chambers and Tory Cllr Gareth Compton are stupid, arrogant and thoughtless - but not criminals.

"Even free speech fundamentalists agree with US Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’s point that free speech would not protect an idiot who shouted fire in a crowded theatre and caused a panic. Though as one of the most ardent free speech campaigners alive today, Aryeh Neier, points out in Index on Censorship magazine (“Radio Redux”):

“… the stress on circumstances is crucial. If the theatre were empty at the time, there would be no panic and, therefore, in Holmes’s judgement, no basis for punishing the false shout of fire.”

English law now seems to suggest that merely to shout fire is enough to initiate a prosecution – which is utterly chilling for free expression".

Such hard cases make for bad legal outcomes.  The UK Justice system is in danger of making itself a laughing stock over this issue.

Live twittering on Gordon's speech

This is live from the Labour Party conference floor. Waiting for the "big event" - the speech of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to conference.

People are still rushing around trying to get to their seats, there is loud lively music (Levellers "Beautiful Day"). I am with Rachel from West Ham delegation. Charlene the other delegate is sitting with Sarah Brown.

I am going to try and tweet for the first time. Not the best time to start but I have been inspired by last nights "Twinge"" (twitter at the fringe).

Check out "grayee" at #Lab09. Here goes....