I've joined the Tories..... and a gym

After a great deal of soul-searching, I've taken one of the hardest political decisions in my life. One that will probably see friends decide no longer to be friends and possibly making new friends.

I have joined the Conservative Party. It was a difficult decision and I know will hurt, anger and upset many. After 27 years of unbroken membership of the Labour Party, I really did not feel at home with Labour any more. It has been on the cards for many months and as I say, a great deal of soul-searching. It also means that I have become the lone Haringey Conservative Councillor facing 31 Labour and 25 Lib Dems at council meetings. What fun lays ahead for me. I have made clear however that at council meetings, I will vote against Labour where I feel it is right and vote for them when also correct. I will not be an Opposition councillor just for the sake of opposing, for Labour has done many good things over the years as well as ones that I have not been happy with.

I moved to the Tories yesterday in a photo-shoot with Party chairman, Eric Pickles. Some of the remarks on some websites have been nasty and cruel, but interesting is that most people who have said nasty things have hidden away their real name. Attack me if you will for my decision, but to my face please. So, yesterday afternoon and last night I was out in Noel Park delivering letters to local residents letting them know of my decision to defect. But the main thing I want to say is that I hope to continue working hard for the people who voted for me, to show even more than the trust they put in me three years is deserved. The reaction was very mixed, as I expected and interesting to hear people saying things like "I'll remain your friend, but will not vote for you" to "I have always voted for you for your standing up for Noel Park and will continue to do so".

Finally, I reiterate, I am sorry to any one who feels hurt and betrayed. Time will tell whether Noel Park residents accept this apology and it is to them that I will listen to and work for.

In the meantime, I have finally had my first hour and a half in the gym at the Tottenham Court Road YMCA. I won the membership of this in an auction last year, so I hope to burn off a few calories and perhaps start to eat a bit more healthy.

A whole new start...... though I am shattered!!!!

Keep changing

For some reason, I do seem to enjoy changing the settings on the blogs.

I suppose one looks at it and thinks, a change is needed and nothing is good as a change (sometimes), but sometimes change is just what the doctor ordered.

Looking at some of my past blogs, it seems that I have talked a lot about Doctor Who and that will continue in future blogs as well.

I've mentioned in previous blogs about forthcoming DVDs and there are so many due, one such release scheduled for 6th July is called the Black Guardian triology from 1983 and one of the stories includes a four-parter entitled 'Mawdryn Undead' featuring the return of local Haringey resident, Nicholas Courtney, who I was with only a week ago. More on that soon.

There is so much to say about changing and as the good Doctor would say "I'll tell you later"......

Not the Mayor any more!!

It's interesting to think that my last blogging was almost a year ago and yet I hardly blogged.

Apologies for that, it was a fun and exciting year and one day I'll probably go into more detail. In the meantime, and hopefully a lot sooner I'll delete the name of this blogsite to something much more different.

Look out for that and for many more exciting days and months ahead.....

New title for blogs

It is quite obvious that I have blogged for a while, so I am now relaunching the blog site from Alan's blogs to..... The Mayor blogs in Haringey.

I will try and be as non-Party political as possible and talk rather about my duties as Mayor.

I hope that you will find interesting what I am getting up to with my Consort and Chaplain as well as raising awareness for my Mayoral charity, 'Different Strokes' - supporting younger stroke survivors in Haringey.

Thanks Hillary, good luck Obama and the fear of race

I was one of those hoping that Hillary Clinton would be the Democrat candidate for the White House on 4th November.

However, a week is a long time in politics and 5 months a life-time in US politics. Whatever was going to happen with the Democrats history was in the making, either the first woman to have a serious run for President or a black person. And it's Barack Obama who has the chance to make history. And how the world wants him, but let's face it, the world wants anyone who is not a Republican.

But not all Democrats it would seem. Some of Hillary Clinton's supporters seem more intent on John McCain becoming President rather than Obama, you'd never think they were in the same party and it poses two questions? First, all those who buried their heads in the sands in 2000 and voted Green/Ralph Nader rather than Al Gore, do they really want to be like Guardian readers who think that they know better than anyone else and if they don't have it their way they will be the party-poopers? Second, and far more worrying. Is it race?

We have heard a lot about how the black vote has come out for Obama, yet I fear that some Democrats will use any excuse, other than openly mentioning the race issue, not to support Obama. And this is where Obama and the Democrats may have a problem. Remember Tenneessee when Harold Ford Jnr ran for the Senate two years ago? The Democrats had major House and Senate gains, some in tight contests (Virginia springs to mind giving the Democrats their Senate win) and Harold Ford lost.... just and he is black. The race question was not mentioned aloud, but you worry and you fear.

I hope Obama will not be a Harold Ford on a national stage.

So, thank you Hillary for your campaign. You would have made, I believe, an excellent, President and let us hope it is not long before we have a woman President. But in the meantime, good luck to Obama and here's hoping that the hype balloon does not burst.

Back as the Mayor!!

Having thought that my blogging was going to come to an end, it was a short end.

For the coming year I have the pleasure and honour to be the Mayor of Haringey. And what an honour. I have held the post before in 1995-96 when I was Haringey's and Britain's youngest Mayor at 29. Now, I am slightly older and there are two Mayors who are younger than me in London, Hammersmith & Fulham's Andrew Johnson is 28 and Merton's Martin Whelton is 33. This really is excellent news, for as I said in my acceptance that age should not be a barrier to public office. I wish both Andrew and Martin well for their year, as well of course as all the other Mayors in the London Boroughs. And to the Boroughs who have elected Mayors, I also wish well to the Speaker of Hackney, Chairman of Lewisham and Civic Ambassador of Newham.

Much of the blogs for the year ahead now will be about my year as Mayor and my charity work for Different Strokes, working for younger stroke survivors.

For all those who have sent their good wishes, thank you. I am so looking forward to the remaining 50 weeks in office.

It has been a light start so far, but nevertheless, enjoyable. My first official function was to welcome HRH The Duke of Gloucester to the Lea Valley Primary School for the opening of their new music centre. Added to that I have been able to do my first Citizenship Ceremony as Haringey welcomes those who wish to become British citizenships. And on Thursday just gone was attending the Haringey Business Awards which was a fantastic evening, on which more I will blog shortly. Congratulations to all the winners though!

Just some of the events in the coming week include that of a Service at St. Paul's Cathedral hosted by the Lord Mayor of London followed by a reception at the Mansion House. I will also be thanking local volunteers for their services to volunteering in Haringey. Over 70 certificates I have signed amounting to 1,000s of volunteer hours. Added to that will be the Better Haringey Awards, the Haringey & District Scouts AGM, the Better Haringey Green Fair, the Haringey LGBT Network annual meeting, a garden party at Capel Manor and attending the Barnet Civic Service.

For a number of these engagements I will be joined by my good friend who is my Consort for the year ahead, Lance Chinnian, and my Parish Priest, Fr. Simon Clark of St. Mark's Church. Yes, Haringey's Mayor has a Chaplain for the first time in over 30 years. For those who know me will know that I care a lot about tradition.

So onward to more for the year!!

Not a fashion parade.... but

I was interested in Hunter and Shooter's blog about events at the Tottenham Remembrance Service on Sunday gone to share my views about the Wood Green service.

Once again, and I am really sorry to say, we did not have the service in St. Michael's Church, which is a real shame, but hey they want to be political correct I guess, but it leaves a sad feeling especially for members of the Royal British Legion. By the way, I was Christened at St. Michael's and have gone there for services on a number of occasions in recent years.

However, moving on and of course it was nice to see a couple of hundred people turn up, the cadets, different associations from the forces and voluntary and community groups and of course, we politicians were there. For the record, I have been attending the Wood Green service since around the age of 12 when my Nan first took me. Nuff moving away, what I was taken aback over, and I know that this is not a fashion parade, was the decision of our MP to wear as short a dress, or was it a skirt, possible, with high-heel shoes and what can only be described as a tea cosy on her head! A number of people, and not all Labour or politicians made comments about this.

It just seemed as if the MP was going to a private function afterwards and didn't want to change. I'm sorry if this seems a personal attack and it really isn't meant to be, but it did not look respectful and I hope that next year she'll think about what she is wearing and where she is wearing it.