Paul Johnston

Welcome to the Lib Dem MEP who has today joined the Tory Party. His friends will be sure of a warm welcome. There's one or two Lib Dems in Kingston who might well feel at home with us...........

Read all about it here http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20071126/tuk-lib-dem-mep-defects-to-tory-party-6323e80_3.html 

These pictures are of accidents on Ewell Road in Surbiton in the first half of 2007. The walls are those of gardens in Iris Close. The junction is that with Kingsdowne Road. The accidents occurred to cars travelling northbound from Tolworth towards Kingston. There is a very slight bend to the right yet one car has come off the road in broad daylight with sufficient force to demolish a garden wall and another has turned itself completely over - also in broad daylight - having hit a lamppost. Fortunately I do not believe anyone was killed in these accidents, though it isn't very long since the former chairman of Surbiton Coservative Club was fatally injured when crossing Ewell Road at night just a few yards from the scene of both these accidents.

According to figures reported in the Surrey Comet Ewell Road has become the worst road in Kingston for accidents. It is difficult to say why, though one theory is that some drivers accelerate on approach to avoid being held up by the array of traffic lights put at the Kingsdowne Road junction some years ago to make it safer.

Whatever.....I have taken the issue up with Kingston Traffic Engineers several times since February and they have promised to take it up with Transport for London. I hope they have done so. However I fear that this issue may be too small for such a mighty organisation to take notice of. City Hall is so far away and has so much else on its mind. This 'remote control' is just one aspect of the system introduced by Blair to appease the hankerers after the good old days of County Hall and the GLC.

Saw poor old Ming in the House of Commons the other day. Seemed to be a shadow of his former self. He must now feel a bit like Charles Kennedy did a couple of years ago. I wonder what his Chief of Staff Ed Davey thinks about it all.

I thought Vince Cable was making a fair fist of his stand-in role, but was very disappointed that he saw fit to indulge in childish gesture politics over the banquet in honour of the King of Saudi Arabia. Apart from anything else it showed an inclination to put personal pique before the national interest - and very scant respect for the Queen, who had invited him. Ming, one feels, woukld have been more adult about it. Twickenham electors please note. 

As for the runners I am a little surprised at the narrowness of the field. I expected Simon Hughes to keep his head down after the last time and I didn't expect Mr. Oaten to resurface - one hears so little of him these days. The 'Bring Back Charlie' movement never had much of a chance but I did think David Laws of Yeovil might fancy his chances. He'll probably regret not putting his hat in the ring eventually - or is he worried about the challenge he faces from Kevin Davis?? Nick Clegg? Hmm....bit of a Tory by all accounts - that's probably how he won the former Tory seat of Hallam. Some of the Lib Dem blogs suggest a groundswell of support for Chris Huhne.......very courageous, considering the tiny swing to Conservative needed to take Eastleigh.

 If only Susan Kramer had stood............