Murad on his travels
PAST FEW WEEKS
It was good to see London on the world stage as host for the G20 Summit which discussed plans for the new economic order, but for Londoners the main issue understandably was the policing of the G20 demos. I have written a column for the West End Extra expressing my concerns over this issue.
Electric cars have been in the news recently, so l decided to pay a visit to the UPS depot in Kentish Town which is one of the first businesses adapting its operations to emission-free electrical vehicles. So look out for their iconic brown vans around London delivering parcels and letters.
I was interviewed by Radio 4 about Olympics issues, in particular the Olympic Road Network to be used during the Games, and its impact on local residents. And I celebrated St George's Day with our Catalan friends at an event organised by the Government of Catalonia.
A major concern of mine has been the state of London's street markets, which I got the Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee to investigate during my first term on the London Assembly. So I was pleased to be offered an opportunity in April to visit Acton Market, which was refurbished under the previous Mayor's 100 Public Spaces programme.
On the London Assembly's Environment Committee during the past few months the major issue that we have been discussing has been air quality in the capital. As part of our investigation we made a site visit to one of the air quality monitoring stations on the Marylebone Road where we met local residents to hear their concerns. The committee's report Every breath you take: an investigation into air quality in London was published this week. You can read our conclusions on this pressing matter for Londoners on the GLA website.
NEXT FEW WEEKS
I shall be working with Oxfam on their climate change campaign, and meeting government ministers to lobby on pressing environmental issues for Londoners. On 6 May the London Assembly will hold its AGM where we will decide on the composition of committees for the next year. And at Mayor’s Question Time on 21 May we will have our first opportunity to question the Mayor since March.
