It's been a day of walking - from home up to Court Lane to do some delivery, then up to a Neighbourhood Watch meeting in Oscott. 1pm on a Sunday is probably not the best time to hold the meeting, but there were a fair number of people there. The beat officer was not there - a message came through to say that they had arrested someone and were therefore unable to attend, which I suppose is an occupational hazard. Despite that, it was useful to get an idea of issues on the ground - though it is more focused on Oscott than Kingstanding, some problems (and solutions) are the same everywhere. It does make for an interesting contrast to see how things are handled differently in other wards - I've got an ever growing list of projects I think we could borrow or things I need to find out more about.

Full Council meets this week, with a busy agenda - there are five Scrutiny Reports coming to this meeting, and as it is likely to be the last Council Meeting before a General Election, I'm sure all the Prospective Parliamentary Candidates in the Chamber will be speaking at every turn..well, two of them anyway; a third has yet to prove capable of coherent speech.  I thought getting through the election campaign without smoking would be a challenge - it seems I am to be tested on Tuesday as well..

I'll post this here, though I imagine it will be in the press soon enough..

Labour Party Response to the Judgment of the Election Commissionerfficeffice" />

Immediately following on from the publication of the judgment by the Election Commissioner, Richard Mawrey QC, the Labour Party has announced the appointment of a senior member of its National Executive Committee to oversee the upcoming election campaign in the city of ffice:smarttags" />Birmingham.

NEC member, Mike Griffiths, has been appointed by the General Secretary of the Labour Party to oversee the election campaign and to study the Election Court judgment in order to ensure that lessons are learned.

Mr Griffiths, who heads-up the Labour Party’s National Organisation Committee, commented:

"The Labour Party expects the highest standards of integrity and honesty

from its councillors and campaign workers.  These standards have not been met in Aston and Bordesley Green Wards in Birmingham.

"The Labour Party condemns totally any and all cases of electoral fraud or

abuse of the electoral rules. 

“The judgment just delivered is lengthy and detailed and raises many issues that the Labour Party will consider extremely carefully. It also needs to be considered in the context of 7.7m postal votes cast last year in the June 2004 elections.

"The Labour Party will now conduct a vigorous disciplinary process and in

the meantime the 6 Councillors and the Aston Ward Organiser, are immediately suspended pending the completion of the disciplinary inquiry."

Mr Griffiths confirmed that he would be overseeing the Labour Party's

campaigning in Birmingham in the forthcoming General Election. His first priority will be to ensure that the Electoral Commission's Code of Conduct on the handling of postal votes and postal vote applications by political party activists is widely circulated and understood by Labour Party activists.

At last week's Council Meeting, a Scrutiny Report on the Role of Members and the Full Council was tabled. One aspect of the evidence gathering was a MORI study which involved interviewing councillors about their roles. One of the more widely reported findings was that  "(there is) widespread concern about political point-scoring and rudeness combined with an intimidating and uncivilised atmosphere in the council chamber." I would have spoken in the debate but there hardly seemed any point given the behaviour of some people in the Chamber while we were discussing the issue. We're all guilty of it, though some are much worse then others - but it is a shame that the Council Chamber is not a place to get things done, and to have a high quality of debate. If we were to be broadcast on the big screen in Victoria Square, as suggested in the report, I think most people would have a lower opinion of their elected representatives than they do now.

Saturday was a rather better day. I went to the Witton Lodge Community Association Spring Fayre for an hour in the morning. Despite being a bit chilly, there was a good turn out and range of local organisations with entertainment and freebies. Earlier this year, there were free apple trees for local residents, and this time there were hanging baskets and pot plants - all part of the ongoing efforts to 'green' the estate. I did, however, duck out of the fun run to go and do some leafleting in Edgbaston in the afternoon, though I probably made up for it with running down the stairs (thankfully not up) of several tower blocks..

I've been back home in London for the past couple of days, to attend a funeral service for my former teacher and friend Doreen. Doreen taught History and Politics, and was my teacher for GCSE and A Level Politics, as well as being a major influence on my decision to carry on my studies at University. She kept in touch with numerous ex pupils, and many of us attended the service yesterday. It was standing room only in the chapel and there was a lot of laughter, which I think is as much as most of us would wish for if we were able to attend our own funerals.

Under the circumstances, I've been thinking a lot about my own political background. I grew up in a solid Tory constituency - Old Bexley and Sidcup, which Edward Heath held for 50 years. Since 1997 though, it has looked rather less safe for the Tories - the majority is down, and the Council has finally gone over to Labour control (led by another of Doreen's former pupils). My parent's ward remains Tory, but they don't seem to do any work there at all. I'm trying to convince my parents to agitate and complain to their Councillors, but it's an uphill struggle..still, I will be keeping an eye out for this result on May 5th, and for the Labour candidate Gavin Moore..

After a six month lull, YouGov are now after me for my opinion several times a week. Obviously, some of this is standard election polling - although with the occasional odd question like 'which of these fictional characters would you vote for?' (Jed Bartlet in case you were wondering). Last night though, I wound up answering questions about Birmingham - initially about black cabs in Birmingham, plus a few questions about more general issues - where is that information going? I am a bit dubious about YouGov sometimes, because they are paying for completion, and they do have details which allow them to select a sample. How that could affect the results versus a random sample poll would be interesting to look at.