Dog Owners bite back against Kit Malthouse

Dog owners have reacted angrily to proposals by Boris Johnson's Deputy Mayor or Policing Kit Malthouse to wipe entire breeds of dog off the map.

Under the plans, all bull dogs including the Staffordshire Bull Terrier would need to be registered, muzzled and neutered, effectively killing off those breeds within the UK.

Breed clubs across the country are now in the process of a letter-writing campaign to prevent these proposals from ever being implemented in the UK.

Writing in the Times earlier this week Kit Malthouse labeled the animals as "weapon dogs":

"As well as punishing owners appropriately for use of this weapon, we should be bolder about removing it from circulation altogether.

In Ontario, that is what has happened. The provincial government produced a law that banned all bull breeds and derivatives, including pitbulls and the Staffordshire bull terrier. All such existing dogs had to be registered, neutered and muzzled, leading to the bull-types dying out and owners learning to love the labrador or pug. The result? A huge fall in the number of dog-related injuries and incidents. This approach manages to be both humane to those who have a dog of this type and draws a line under the problem.

Serious penalties will make dog owners think twice, but surely it is time for us to look to our Commonwealth cousins and find a way gently to phase out the canine weapons that terrorise the streets of Peckham, Toxteth and Moss Side."

Kit does not mention the fact that in Ontario, owners who refused to have their pets neutered, were forced to hand them over to the state where they were then "euthanized" or killed.

In a letter to the Deputy Mayor sent yesterday, Helen Reaney of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breed Council writes:

Dear Mr Malthouse,

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breed Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is horrified at the irresponsible comments you made in the on-line version of The Times. Your suggestions regarding the Stafford are totally ridiculous and it is clear that any research conducted by the Deputy Mayor’s office has been totally inadequate, exhibiting an appalling degree of incompetence...

(Click here to read the rest)

Eighteen Breed clubs across the country are now believed to be in the process of writing to Mr Malthouse about this, with anger spreading into the speciality press

While the RSPCA have also campaigned against the proliferation of "status dogs" they have instead concentrated on "the deed and not the breed"

Dangerous owners, not dangerous dogs

The problem dominated the RSPCA's first annual conference in June this year where Tim Wass, chief officer of the RSPCA inspectorate, made it clear that:

"Everyone is rightly talking about dangerous owners, rather than dangerous dogs."

With that in mind, the RSPCA believes that current breed-focused legislation is failing enforcers, dog owners and the dogs themselves.

Any future legislation should focus on the 'deed rather than the breed' of the dog. "Dogs are a product of their environment rather than their breed, and it is the growing culture of irresponsibility that needs instead to be challenged," explains Chief Officer Wass.

Neither Boris Johnson, nor the Conservative leadership have yet given their public backing to Kit's proposals.

Boris Johnson leaves Dial-a-Ride callers hanging

Hundreds of disabled Londoners have had their their requests for the Dial-a-Ride service refused every day, as TfL struggles to cope with the demand.

The service was relaunched last week, after a series of headlines about the many Londoners being left stranded by the service.

In the lead up to the relaunch, users were sent an email stating that:

From Monday 26th October, when customers call us they will notice some new features including:

• Automatic estimates of how long it will take before an operator can take their call
• Easier to understand options to choose from
• Music whilst on you are on hold

They were told that the old contact numbers for the service would no longer work, and were given a new set of numbers instead.

They were then urged to phone 020 7466 0251 if they were still experiencing problems with the service.

Unfortunately almost two weeks after this service was launched, the number which is still listed on the TfL website remains completely offline:

Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee and Liberal Democrat AM Caroline Pidgeon said today:

"If the Mayor simply ensured that Dial-a-Ride users were listened to he would not make the insulting claim that Dial-a-Ride's service is continuing to improve."

"It is already bad enough that Dial-a-Ride users face extensive delays in booking trips but now every day 400 trips are refused to Dial-a-Ride users across London - a figure far higher than two or three years ago."

Dial-a-Ride is still largely popular and was made free for all users at the start of 2008. However, last year Boris johnson also placed a cap on the funding for the service.

This cap, along with the rising demand for the service, means that in some parts of London almost 20% calls were refused this summer.

But with those people now not even able to make their views about the service known, the real level of dissatisfaction could be even higher still.

Government slashes funding for Freedom Pass

Councils across London reacted angrily today, to the news that the government will slash funding for the Freedom Pass.

The capital had been promised a £58 million special grant for free bus travel this year but this has been reduced to just £29 million.

According to the proposals:

"it was originally anticipated that London would require a very significant grant to meet the cost of concessionary passengers from the surrounding counties now travelling for free on the extensive London Bus Network. It has now transpired that there have been far fewer of these trips than was anticipated"

The almost £29 million taken from London will help prop up the government's national concessionary scheme instead.

London Councils’ Chairman, Councillor Merrick Cockell, said today:

“The Government’s decision at this late stage to alter the deal already agreed is absolutely stunning and will be met with anger across the capital. Boroughs have already budgeted for this funding and now London is facing having the amount of funding it was promised almost halved."

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon said today:

“After Boris Johnson’s decision to hike bus fares by 20% Londoners now face a double whammy with this savage cut in funding for the Freedom Pass.

“London is the only major city in the country to be hit by these Government proposals. Hard up London council taxpayers, who are already facing a steep rise in fares, will now have to pay even more in their council tax to maintain London’s Freedom Pass.”

Thorns

Freedom pass funding has long been a thorny issue between the Mayor, the government and London boroughs.

Earlier this year Boris sought to remove some of those thorns by giving up his own reserve powers on the issue.

Unfortunately for some, he changed the way the scheme was funded, meaning some boroughs were forced to contribute much more.

And as boroughs across the capital announce plans to either freeze or reduce their level of council tax, this money will now have to come from elsewhere instead.

For many Londoners this will mean more hidden charges, more fees, and more rows over the future of the freedom pass itself.

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-Update- Boris Johnson's transport advisor Kulveer Ranger, said:

"It is quite simply outrageous for the Government to announce they intend to reconsider funding arrangements that were already agreed and we will be seeking urgent clarification from the Minister on how this might affect Londoners. One of the Mayor's top priorities has been to protect the right to free travel for the less well off and elderly in the capital. He knows how important this privilege can be to the over 60s, which is why he found funding to make it 24 hours and why he will do everything in his power to ensure it continues."

Boris crosses to the Far East but misses Near South

Like the Olympic games, Boris Johnson needs a physical legacy to remind us all of him once he's gone.

Unfortunately, his plans for a living bridge, a second Blackwall tunnel and a Thames Airport are unlikely to happen soon, if at all.

So with both time and money short, Boris has to take his opportunities where he can.

And here we have the first part of Boris's physical legacy to London, a revolutionary new design of er... pedestrian crossing.

Based on crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops traffic in all directions, allowing shoppers to cross diagonally in an "X" as well as straight ahead.

The £5m junction is able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection.

It will be officially unveiled at 0945 GMT by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

In homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, the mayor will strike a two-metre high cymbal as Japanese musicians play taiko drums.

A giant X, in the form of 60m (196ft) of red ribbon will then be unfurled by devotees of cult Japanese Manga characters dressed in colourful costumes.

Mr Johnson said the crossing, controlled by traffic lights, was "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense".

Now the crossing and ceremony sounds great and all, but if Boris really wanted inspiration for this, then he didn't need to travel all the way to the Far East.

In fact just a short journey down to the Near South would have done as well.

-Update- Cllr James Cousins and Dave Cross and The Metro have joined the fight to reclaim Balham's honour

Two Tories rewarded for misconduct and greed

There have been two stories in this past week that neatly sum up the current state of play in Tory London.

Last week a Conservative member of Boris Johnson's Fire Authority was suspended from Brent council for serious misconduct.

Understandably there were immediate calls for her to stand down from her position on LFEPA.

However, rather than stand down, it soon became clear that the Tories actually wanted to promote her to a new role as Deputy Chair.

Urged to prevent this, Boris stood aside and allowed her to be rewarded with this new role (and allowance) instead.

Now thanks to Boris, the disgraced and suspended Cllr Bertha Joseph will join the even more disgraced Cllr Brian Coleman in representing the Fire Service to Londoners.

Self-regulation

Earlier this year the Standard also exposed the Tory leader of London Councils Merrick Cockell for his love of transatlantic junkets and taxpayer-funded limousines.

Like his sometime dining companion Ian Clement, Mr Cockell's grand visits to luxury international hotels were financed at the not so grand local-taxpayers' expense

However, while Clement lied about his dining companions, Cockell failed to even declare the "colleague" he shared a meal with at the Four Seasons restaurant, New York.

Asked who this person was, and what they were discussing, Cockell would only say that he had forgotten.

Repeatedly pushed on why this was, Cockell finally replied:

From: "leader@rbkc.gov.uk"

To: ***********@btinternet.com

Sent: Monday, 21 September, 2009 11:57:38 AM

Subject: RE: January 2007

Dear Mr *******

I regret that I do not have this information from two and a half years

ago. Had I the information you are requesting then it would have been

provided in response to your earlier FOI and other enquiries.

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Merrick Cockell

Leader, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

So how has Cockell's incompetence and greed been dealt with? Well with a lovely new role on the Audit Commision of course.

How very reassuring.

And where are those other tireless defenders of taxpayer value, the Taxpayers' Alliance when you need them?

Well they're tirelessly defending a Tory MP of course.