Local Election Special

Well, I thought I'd come out of retirement to show my disgust at the total lack of attention being paid to the local elections here in London. OK, I know there aren't any exciting televised debates with audience participation and red buttons to press. Local politics often seems dull and all about such mundane subjects as refuse collection, recycling, planning control, parking, maintaining the roads and fixing broken paving slabs. (oh and education, social services, housing...)

But what councils do matters. It matters to the people who have the chance to choose who run them (but rarely use it) and it matters to the children who don't get to vote but do have to go to schools, some of which are actually still run by elected local authorities.

But following the themes of this blog and its forerunners, I decided to write to the local candidates for the parties standing in my ward (Peckham Rye) focusing on libraries, local shops, and cycling and walking:

Libraries: Public libraries provide not just a free leisure service but a vital lifeline to those who need internet access to apply for jobs and purchase goods, support for lifelong learning and a place to study. Children especially gain enormously from being able to choose and read the books they like, giving them the opportunity to acquire the reading habit early on. In times of recession, this service becomes even more important to help people retrain and get back into employment. If elected, will you fight to defend our local libraries (Dulwich and Nunhead) from budget cuts and neglect?

Shops: Lordship Lane is a shining example of the success of small shops providing a unique and characterful centre for the community. If elected will you ensure that independent shops are not driven out by high rents and prevent large chains from running rough-shod over planning rules?

Walking and Cycling: The cycling facilities in Southwark are reasonable but there's huge room for improvement. Will you ensure that the cycle network is expanded and existing routes improved. Will you ensure that all road schemes prioritise cyclists and pedestrians over through traffic?

So far the only party to reply is the Liberal Democrats. I'd like to hear what the others have to say.