Anders Hanson

I’m shocked to see the reports of the fire in Camden Town last night. It’s always slightly surreal when somewhere well known or that you know personally is destroyed in this way. From what I’ve read it seems as though the main damage is to the Hawley Arms and only a part of the market, with most of it escaping damage, but that is bad enough with this place being such a huge attraction that is not only unique in the UK but a real icon of London.

I have been to Camden Town quite a bit over the last few years as it was where I would always meet up with one of my friends when I was in London. Even if you never buy anything, it’s just a fascinating place to spend time just wandering and enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells…. oh and the pancakes too.

There is more about the fire from someone who lives nearby on Ben Greening’s blog.

Never has the famous Liberal Democrat slogan used on countless leaflets across the country never been more appropriate for a candidate. It is rare for us to have a candidate who has experience that is so closely matched to the job they are going for and with a profile and background that proves they can do the job.

If what I have read about the launch of Brian Paddick’s candidacy is anything to go by, then this could be an exciting mayoral election for Liberal Democrats in London. I am not denying it is going to be a tough contest to win, but I think we have the best candidate to do that. I also like the slogan “Serious about London”, which fits well with the fact he can do the job, that the other candidates are engaged in some superficial personality contest, and that this election is so important for the future direction of the city.

Brian also has a pretty impressive website. It reminds me a lot of the sort of websites that presidential candidates have in the United States, which I imagine is the inspiration. But for an election that is so focused on the individual that is highly appropriate. It is clear, easy to use and actually makes Brian Paddick and his campaign appear both accessible and something that people will want to join in with.

But as ever I have caveats. Brian will I am sure do a great job of working with the media, getting out there campaigning and generally meeting the right people. But the biggest handicap to his campaign is the fact that Liberal Democrat strength across London is so haphazard. Brian can do well by being seen in the media, (something that is probably disproportionately important in a London mayoral election than in most other elections), but as most Lib Dems know, it is the campaigning on the ground that matters the most. Although the Liberal Democrats are doing better and better in London, I imagine there are huge parts of the city that never ever see a Liberal Democrat leaflet, and there is no way the party can turn that round before May the 1st. I suspect the same may be said of the Tories and Labour, but their reliance on leaflets is less than ours. It is the lack of Lib Dem campaigners and campaigning activity across the whole of London that could prove the achilles heel in the campaign.

Despite all of that, I really wish the campaign well. Not only because I would always back the Lib Dem candidate anyway, but also because Brian has impressed me with his speaking ability since I first heard him and by his willingness to engage with members (and to put me right on some things when he had to). Brian has previously described himself as the “high risk, high return candidate“. Well that was to some extent what Nick Clegg was trying to be in the leadership election, but which only really came in to effect afterwards. So with Brian Paddick and Nick Clegg as figureheads for the campaign, and with some new exciting people on the Lib Dem GLA list, this campaign should enthuse many people to get involved. Brian is probably the ideal candidate for Nick to be campaigning with at the start of his leadership, as it fits well with the style he seems to be trying to adopt.

I am not usually this effusive about an election contest, and perhaps I am overstating the wonders of Brian and his campaign a bit, but I believe this is the best opportunity the party will ever have to use a high profile candidate, that is competent, that is genuinely different from what we usually put forward, and will allow us to make a real impact on the politics of London.

I found too many good articles and blog postings about Brian’s mayoral launch so I have had to list all the ones that I think are worth reading here:

ALEX WILCOCK: Go Brian!
EVENING STANDARD: How I would cut crime and make London safer
JONATHAN FRYER: Paddick does the Lambeth walk
ROSS LYDALL: No more ’softly, softly’ as slick Paddick launches mayoral bid
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT VOICE: Paddick launches Mayoral campaign

I used the fact I was in London this Wednesday to visit somewhere I’ve been planning to visit for a while - Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields - and I was very pleased that I did.

The museum is in a set of three houses that were built by architect Sir John Soane in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The houses were used by Sir John Soane as his own residence, but he also started collecting items that interested him and were useful from an architectural point of view. So this house is now a mixture of ordinary household rooms of that period, and a fascinating and occasionally bizarre collection of items that stuffs full a whole series of large and small rooms, corridors, courtyards and galleries that make up the rest of this jumble of a building.

But as well as being an interesting place to look around, with more and more unusual things to see at every corner, it was also incredibly atmospheric. I arrived there at about 4pm, just as it was about to go dark, and so with much of the house only lit by candles, it got more and more mysterious as it went on. The staff make strenuous efforts to preserve this atmosphere by only admitting a set number of people at a time, and by ensuring all mobile phones are switched off before you go in. I think this is probably a place to go to at least twice - once as it is going dark and once in the middle of the day when the daylight allows you to see more of the things that are on display.

If you’re fascinated by architecture and history then you should definitely go. But if you’re in London are simply fascinated by unusual places, then it is also a must see. Oh, and it’s free to go in as well!

Finally, at the moment there is also an interesting exhibition there on the Adam Brothers and some of their architecture in London and Edinburgh. So it is also well worth visiting before the 12th January 2008. And while you’re there, also have a walk round Lincoln’s Inn as that is also really interesting, and so incredibly quiet compared to the noise and bustle in the surrounding area.

Liberal Democrat selections don’t normally generate a buzz of excitement, but yesterday afternoon’s hustings for the London mayoral candidate showed that they can and with good cause. Despite struggling to get a selection going earlier in the year, the party can now be really proud of the people that are being put forward.

Chamali Fernando was first up and completely wowed everyone in the room. She was confident, passionate, articulate and managed that difficult feat of appearing to be intelligent and serious whilst also being fun and down to earth. She was less confident in answering questions from the audience, but that should not detract from a very able performance. If she is selected she would really bring something very different to the mayoral confident and she would stand out from the other candidates.

Brian Paddick started off by setting people’s minds at rest - he is not a johnny come lately as he was a Lib Dem member ten years ago but let it lapse when he became a senior police officer. His speech was articulate, funny and assured, and he thankfully did not talk in that strange stilted formal manner that police officers often adopt on television. He proved that he was a person who could not only be a brilliant candidate but also a very able mayor, and he was very good at answering the questions. He was also good at emphasising his human side by references to his upbringing in London.

Fiyaz Mughal was the serious candidate. I know that because he told us several times in his speech. I think in other circumstances he would have come across as a very competent candidate, but up against the other two he was quite bland and everything he said was long-winded with him frequently running over time, and he gave far too much dry detail about everything which I think is inappropriate for that sort of event and won’t work on TV or the press if he is selected. In fact his slightly snide comments about the other candidates on his own website, confirms to me why he is not the person to be our candidate. The main thing in his favour though is that he is the nearest to having done a ‘normal’ job with ‘ordinary’ people.

Having listened to all three I am still sure that it has to be Brian Paddick. Despite my praise for Chamali - and she really is very good - I don’t think she’s quite ready. Whilst she would stand out as something different, something fresh and could potentially really enthuse people, I believe that Brian Paddick is a much more credible person for the job. His position as a senior and successful police officer, and the fact that he has put liberal words in to action and shown it works, gives him a headstart in a campaign. He has also faced down critics and hopefully can do the same in a campaign that could be equally challenging.

BRIAN PADDICK

CHAMALI FERNANDO

FIYAZ MUGHAL

I can’t help but feel sorry for the other two people going for the Lib Dem nomination for Mayor of London, as Brian Paddick is always going to be the star attraction and I’d be astonished if he doesn’t get selected.

I was going to reserve judgement on him until I had read more about his platform and heard him at conference, but having read Alex Wilcock’s excellent and informative posting about him I am pretty convinced already. I wouldn’t say that I always agree with Alex, because I don’t. But he is one of the best people I know for effectively articulating what the Liberal Democrats are about, and if he is convinced and thinks Brian Paddick can articulate those ideas too then that’s a pretty strong recommendation for me.

I do though have two particular concerns about Brian Paddick:

• He might have the right beliefs and principles, but how will he work with the party? I am not too worried about him having a very short track-record in supporting the party, I think we get too hung up about things like that when it comes to candidates. But what I don’t know is how he will interact with the party’s organisation in London and how he will work with the party’s members and campaigners - something that will be crucial if he is to run an effective campaign. All political parties have their quirks in the way that they operate and organise - will he be able to cope with ours, just as can we cope with his?
• There have been all sorts of allegations made about him over the years. Are we sure that they are all completely unfounded? I know that our candidate approval process is supposed to weed these things out, (on reflection, perhaps not the best phrase I could have used), but with someone who has been so high profile and so controversial we need to be absolutely certain.

All in all though, I am pretty impressed that he is one of our potential candidates, and I hope that if he doesn’t win, he will stick with us and keep campaigning for the party. I don’t like celebrity politics, and that is one of the main reasons I don’t like having directly elected mayors in the first place. But if we are to stand any chance of winning a contest as big as the election of the Mayor of London, we either have to be capable of campaigning on the ground in every part of London or we need a candidate that is already well known but is also a Liberal Democrat.

ALEX WILCOCK: Brian Paddick: He’s not the Messiah, He’s a… Very Distinguished Police Officer