1st January 2000
Announcment of Ram Gidoomal's Candidacy for Mayor of London
Ladies & Gentlemen - thank you for coming to this Press Launch.
Ladies & Gentlemen - thank you for coming to this Press Launch.
I am delighted to announce my candidacy for the Mayoralty of London as a member of Britian’s first Christian Democratic party, the Christian Peoples Alliance. My six key pledges to Londoners are:
Elimination of discrimination in all public bodies
Provision of stress free transport
A cleaner, greener London
Economic regeneration of inner city boroughs
Leading the drive to restore public confidence in the police and the police force’s own morale
Transparent, open, accountable and inclusive government
Let me elaborate very briefly on each one of these 6 pledges
Discrimination
Discrimination is not new to London, or indeed to this country - I am reminded of my experience when I returned from Switzerland in 1986 to take charge of the UK operation of the Inlaks Group - my family business.
Arriving at Aberdeen airport on my first visit, I was received by a very glum looking Scotsman, Foster Gault. You can tell a glum face across any culture in this world! He had a placard “Highland Seafoods”. I went up to him, introduced myself and almost instantly he smiled.
We went to the factory and were met by a glum-looking Reception Committee. Foster introduced me as the new Managing Director. As I went through the Factory, one by one I saw very glum-looking faces turn into beaming, smiling faces.
Three months later, as I got to know the people better, I asked Foster, “When I arrived, you all looked glum and miserable and then suddenly, you all looked very happy.”
He said, “Well Ram, to tell you the truth, we were expecting an Englishman!!” Discrimination is a key issue in London with One in four Londoners coming from minority communities and research showing very clearly higher levels of unemployment despite higher levels of education in many cases.
The Prime Minister in his address to his party nearly three years ago said the following, which is pertinent.
“ I want the 21st century to be the century of the radicals.
We cannot be a beacon to the world unless the talents of all the people shine through. Not one black high court judge; not one chief constable or permanent secretary. Not one army officer above the rank of colonel. Not one Asian, either. Not a record of pride for the British establishment. And not a record of pride for the British Parliament that there are so few black and Asian MPs. I am against positive discrimination. But there is no harm in reminding ourselves just how much negative discrimination there is.”
What is frustrating is that this same statement can be made three years later, indicating very little progress. Fighting discrimination will be my number one priority in London.
Another key pledge is the promise of Stress Free Transport
Coaches
London's motorways, the M25 and the radial routes are clogged because they are full of cars with an average of 1.4 people in them, a vastly inefficient way of travelling. One coach removes a mile of car traffic from a motorway lane. We need the M25 and radial motorways with coach lanes, a fast service round the M25 and transfer stops at the radial motorways into and out of London and links to the outer underground. We need to eliminate the long drag into and out of Victoria Coach Station for most journeys. With coaches frequent, faster, more comfortable and more relaxed than car travel, we could transfer millions of journeys, clear the motorways and cut pollution on those journeys. We need to move from self-interest resulting in traffic jams to communal solutions. And this is crucial because it is so closely linked with pollution and the environment.
Transport
I will not go through what is already in the manifesto document, but one of the key issues that all candidates have raised is London Underground and its financing.
Issue a Peoples Bond to raise investment for London Underground The Underground needs rebuilding and extending after decades of neglect. We oppose the privatisation plans of the Conservatives and Labour as we believe privatisation will slow down the process of making improvements. Private companies usually want to invest (not too much) out of profits after recovering the money spent on purchasing the line. We believe that the Underground should remain with the people, because it is a London public service. Privatisation means that profits take priority over keeping fare increases to a minimum, investment in safety and services.
The Underground needs investment and we plan to raise this by issuing a Peoples Bond. Every citizen in London will have the right to purchase a bond. If they are unable, or do not wish, to buy a bond, they will have the right to trade in their option at the market rate.
We favour a Bond Issue because it will be more cost efficient. A Peoples Bond will ensure that the key stakeholders - the citizens of London - directly influence the running, operation, maintenance and improvement of London Underground with a direct say and impact on services. Targeted cost reduction and more effective operations can generate revenue for re-investment and repayments.
My third pledge to Londoners is for A Cleaner, Greener London Let me mention some key points
Reduce traffic pollution - At present, Londoners live with high levels of pollution, asthma, dirt, illness and travel stress. Our proposed transport measures would improve this significantly, saving billions in congestion, pollution and routine car costs
The dominance of cars in London spoils the environment of many key communal areas. We want to encourage local communities to create pedestrian priority zones designed to ensure the safety of children and other pedestrians in centres where people congregate.
Set new recycling & energy saving targets
Tackle pollution related health problems
Encourage tree planting
Economic Regeneration
Recently, I was invited to a meeting where the London Development Partnership, the shadow board that has been set up in advance of the London Assembly, gave a presentation of their manifesto for prospective mayoral candidates.
The chief executive Eric Sorenson began his presentation by showing us a map of London from the last century drawn by General William Booth of the Salvation Army. The map was drawn to show the poverty stricken areas of London. I am told that he actually worked in these very buildings, and his records are stored here. A current map of the poorer areas of London showed that not much has changed in the past century.
I was a founder director and vice chairman of SOLOTEC, founder chairman Business Link London South, an advisor to the New Deal Task Force, and in my role in these business support and employment agencies, I have travelled across the country visiting high depravation areas in Salford, in Bradford, in Birmingham and, of course, right across London. What is clear is that a lot of good work is being done but it is not enough. Much more can and needs to be done. The problem, as always, is resources. Not that the resources are not there, but they need releasing. And I am convinced that if we can come up with radical ideas. New and creative initiatives, then funds will follow and flow. One initiative that we plan to set up is a London Regeneration Fund. Public, private, government and voluntary sector in partnership to raise capital that will enable interest to be spent on the poorest areas of London. Services provided would include micro-business start up funds, partnerships with corporate buyers and suppliers to get help in kind, start up facilities (discount packs, credit, extended payment terms, credit guarantees, etc.) These to be supplemented by the provision of business mentors, business surgeries and access to Internet services.
This proposal is not based on theory but on experience gained as Chairman of the 9 Chief Executives of all Business Links in London. I visited every single one of the Links and the area they covered and so I know what I am talking about.
Inward Investment - Appoint business ambassadors
Refugees from Manifesto
Supply chain - inclusive - wider net - billion spent in public sector
My fifth pledge relates to Policing
I was recently asked to address a national meeting of the Association of Chief Police Officers and shared this story with them.
In a training exam, a police recruit was set the following predicament: You are on the beat and you see two dogs fighting. The dogs knock a baby out of its pram, causing a car to swerve off the road, smashing into a grocer’s shop. A pedestrian is seriously injured, but during the confusion a woman’s bag is snatched, a crowd of onlookers chase after the thief and, in the huge build up of traffic, the ambulance is blocked from the victim of the crash. State in order of priority, your course of action.
He answered: “Take off uniform and mingle with crowd.”
The word ACTION is a simple acronym that summarises my agenda
Awareness of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Britain (includes training)
Communicate with the local communities you are serving
Trust and be seen as trustworthy
Inclusive in serving and in recruiting
Open to change, to challenge
No compromise on your professionalism
At the end of the day, this is built one action at a time.
Main conclusion
There is a lot of good work that is going on - I have had meetings with the Chairman of the National Black Police Organisation, Inspector Leeroy Logan and the Strategic Advisor to the Positive Action Team of the Met, Denise Milani. Together we came up with a lot of exciting, positive ideas that will ensure that the good work that is being done by many police officers is publicly recognised and rewarded.
My sixth pledge is for Transparent & accountable governance We aim to establish the GLA as the most modern, open and efficient local government in the world. We will benchmark against the best performing cities in the world and set ambitious, comprehensive, quantifiable targets to be achieved by the end of the Mayor’s term of office.
We will work closely with all sectors of the communities by appointing representatives to work with the Mayor and contributing to all GLA policies at an early stage. All of London’s publicly funded bodies must be reviewed for inclusiveness, customer focus and added value.
All public appointments will be under Nolan principles and strictly monitored and reported on, at all stages (from search to appointment), to ensure that all public bodies reflect the community being served. Those that do not, will be named and shamed.
The task before us does seem enormous. How will we achieve all this? You know, at the end of the day there is no magic wand or magic formula. In his book The Star Thrower, Lorans Eisley tells of the day he was walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed up. He saw a boy picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the ocean. When he asked him why, the boy said, “If I don’t, they’ll die!” “But how can saving so few make a difference when so many are doomed” Eisley asked.
The little guy picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean and said, “It is going to make a lot of difference for this one!” Eisley left the boy and went home to continue writing, only to find he couldn’t type a single word. So he returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish back into the ocean.
The key to achieving what is in our manifesto will depend on the individual positive actions of each Londoner. The smallest action is better than the best intention. And words can be turned to action with minimum effort if the heart and mind are committed to building a fairer London.
A London where all sectors of society can participate; to build London’s community on the shared values; and to restore hope by sharing together in London’s prosperity.
Our goal is to be passionate about social justice, racial reconciliation and the regeneration of divided communities. We must be a voice for the voiceless. Our vision is to transform our city into a place of celebration where everyone, enjoys the benefits of living and working in one of the greatest capitals of the globe.
Announcment of Ram Gidoomal's Candidacy for Mayor of London
Press Launch
Toynbee Hall, Londo
Ladies & Gentlemen - thank you for coming to this Press Launch.Ladies & Gentlemen - thank you for coming to this Press Launch.
I am delighted to announce my candidacy for the Mayoralty of London as a member of Britian’s first Christian Democratic party, the Christian Peoples Alliance. My six key pledges to Londoners are:
Elimination of discrimination in all public bodies
Provision of stress free transport
A cleaner, greener London
Economic regeneration of inner city boroughs
Leading the drive to restore public confidence in the police and the police force’s own morale
Transparent, open, accountable and inclusive government
Let me elaborate very briefly on each one of these 6 pledges
Discrimination
Discrimination is not new to London, or indeed to this country - I am reminded of my experience when I returned from Switzerland in 1986 to take charge of the UK operation of the Inlaks Group - my family business.
Arriving at Aberdeen airport on my first visit, I was received by a very glum looking Scotsman, Foster Gault. You can tell a glum face across any culture in this world! He had a placard “Highland Seafoods”. I went up to him, introduced myself and almost instantly he smiled.
We went to the factory and were met by a glum-looking Reception Committee. Foster introduced me as the new Managing Director. As I went through the Factory, one by one I saw very glum-looking faces turn into beaming, smiling faces.
Three months later, as I got to know the people better, I asked Foster, “When I arrived, you all looked glum and miserable and then suddenly, you all looked very happy.”
He said, “Well Ram, to tell you the truth, we were expecting an Englishman!!” Discrimination is a key issue in London with One in four Londoners coming from minority communities and research showing very clearly higher levels of unemployment despite higher levels of education in many cases.
The Prime Minister in his address to his party nearly three years ago said the following, which is pertinent.
“ I want the 21st century to be the century of the radicals.
We cannot be a beacon to the world unless the talents of all the people shine through. Not one black high court judge; not one chief constable or permanent secretary. Not one army officer above the rank of colonel. Not one Asian, either. Not a record of pride for the British establishment. And not a record of pride for the British Parliament that there are so few black and Asian MPs. I am against positive discrimination. But there is no harm in reminding ourselves just how much negative discrimination there is.”
What is frustrating is that this same statement can be made three years later, indicating very little progress. Fighting discrimination will be my number one priority in London.
Another key pledge is the promise of Stress Free Transport
Coaches
London's motorways, the M25 and the radial routes are clogged because they are full of cars with an average of 1.4 people in them, a vastly inefficient way of travelling. One coach removes a mile of car traffic from a motorway lane. We need the M25 and radial motorways with coach lanes, a fast service round the M25 and transfer stops at the radial motorways into and out of London and links to the outer underground. We need to eliminate the long drag into and out of Victoria Coach Station for most journeys. With coaches frequent, faster, more comfortable and more relaxed than car travel, we could transfer millions of journeys, clear the motorways and cut pollution on those journeys. We need to move from self-interest resulting in traffic jams to communal solutions. And this is crucial because it is so closely linked with pollution and the environment.
Transport
I will not go through what is already in the manifesto document, but one of the key issues that all candidates have raised is London Underground and its financing.
Issue a Peoples Bond to raise investment for London Underground The Underground needs rebuilding and extending after decades of neglect. We oppose the privatisation plans of the Conservatives and Labour as we believe privatisation will slow down the process of making improvements. Private companies usually want to invest (not too much) out of profits after recovering the money spent on purchasing the line. We believe that the Underground should remain with the people, because it is a London public service. Privatisation means that profits take priority over keeping fare increases to a minimum, investment in safety and services.
The Underground needs investment and we plan to raise this by issuing a Peoples Bond. Every citizen in London will have the right to purchase a bond. If they are unable, or do not wish, to buy a bond, they will have the right to trade in their option at the market rate.
We favour a Bond Issue because it will be more cost efficient. A Peoples Bond will ensure that the key stakeholders - the citizens of London - directly influence the running, operation, maintenance and improvement of London Underground with a direct say and impact on services. Targeted cost reduction and more effective operations can generate revenue for re-investment and repayments.
My third pledge to Londoners is for A Cleaner, Greener London Let me mention some key points
Reduce traffic pollution - At present, Londoners live with high levels of pollution, asthma, dirt, illness and travel stress. Our proposed transport measures would improve this significantly, saving billions in congestion, pollution and routine car costs
The dominance of cars in London spoils the environment of many key communal areas. We want to encourage local communities to create pedestrian priority zones designed to ensure the safety of children and other pedestrians in centres where people congregate.
Set new recycling & energy saving targets
Tackle pollution related health problems
Encourage tree planting
Economic Regeneration
Recently, I was invited to a meeting where the London Development Partnership, the shadow board that has been set up in advance of the London Assembly, gave a presentation of their manifesto for prospective mayoral candidates.
The chief executive Eric Sorenson began his presentation by showing us a map of London from the last century drawn by General William Booth of the Salvation Army. The map was drawn to show the poverty stricken areas of London. I am told that he actually worked in these very buildings, and his records are stored here. A current map of the poorer areas of London showed that not much has changed in the past century.
I was a founder director and vice chairman of SOLOTEC, founder chairman Business Link London South, an advisor to the New Deal Task Force, and in my role in these business support and employment agencies, I have travelled across the country visiting high depravation areas in Salford, in Bradford, in Birmingham and, of course, right across London. What is clear is that a lot of good work is being done but it is not enough. Much more can and needs to be done. The problem, as always, is resources. Not that the resources are not there, but they need releasing. And I am convinced that if we can come up with radical ideas. New and creative initiatives, then funds will follow and flow. One initiative that we plan to set up is a London Regeneration Fund. Public, private, government and voluntary sector in partnership to raise capital that will enable interest to be spent on the poorest areas of London. Services provided would include micro-business start up funds, partnerships with corporate buyers and suppliers to get help in kind, start up facilities (discount packs, credit, extended payment terms, credit guarantees, etc.) These to be supplemented by the provision of business mentors, business surgeries and access to Internet services.
This proposal is not based on theory but on experience gained as Chairman of the 9 Chief Executives of all Business Links in London. I visited every single one of the Links and the area they covered and so I know what I am talking about.
Inward Investment - Appoint business ambassadors
Refugees from Manifesto
Supply chain - inclusive - wider net - billion spent in public sector
My fifth pledge relates to Policing
I was recently asked to address a national meeting of the Association of Chief Police Officers and shared this story with them.
In a training exam, a police recruit was set the following predicament: You are on the beat and you see two dogs fighting. The dogs knock a baby out of its pram, causing a car to swerve off the road, smashing into a grocer’s shop. A pedestrian is seriously injured, but during the confusion a woman’s bag is snatched, a crowd of onlookers chase after the thief and, in the huge build up of traffic, the ambulance is blocked from the victim of the crash. State in order of priority, your course of action.
He answered: “Take off uniform and mingle with crowd.”
The word ACTION is a simple acronym that summarises my agenda
Awareness of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Britain (includes training)
Communicate with the local communities you are serving
Trust and be seen as trustworthy
Inclusive in serving and in recruiting
Open to change, to challenge
No compromise on your professionalism
At the end of the day, this is built one action at a time.
Main conclusion
There is a lot of good work that is going on - I have had meetings with the Chairman of the National Black Police Organisation, Inspector Leeroy Logan and the Strategic Advisor to the Positive Action Team of the Met, Denise Milani. Together we came up with a lot of exciting, positive ideas that will ensure that the good work that is being done by many police officers is publicly recognised and rewarded.
My sixth pledge is for Transparent & accountable governance We aim to establish the GLA as the most modern, open and efficient local government in the world. We will benchmark against the best performing cities in the world and set ambitious, comprehensive, quantifiable targets to be achieved by the end of the Mayor’s term of office.
We will work closely with all sectors of the communities by appointing representatives to work with the Mayor and contributing to all GLA policies at an early stage. All of London’s publicly funded bodies must be reviewed for inclusiveness, customer focus and added value.
All public appointments will be under Nolan principles and strictly monitored and reported on, at all stages (from search to appointment), to ensure that all public bodies reflect the community being served. Those that do not, will be named and shamed.
The task before us does seem enormous. How will we achieve all this? You know, at the end of the day there is no magic wand or magic formula. In his book The Star Thrower, Lorans Eisley tells of the day he was walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed up. He saw a boy picking them up one by one and throwing them back into the ocean. When he asked him why, the boy said, “If I don’t, they’ll die!” “But how can saving so few make a difference when so many are doomed” Eisley asked.
The little guy picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean and said, “It is going to make a lot of difference for this one!” Eisley left the boy and went home to continue writing, only to find he couldn’t type a single word. So he returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish back into the ocean.
The key to achieving what is in our manifesto will depend on the individual positive actions of each Londoner. The smallest action is better than the best intention. And words can be turned to action with minimum effort if the heart and mind are committed to building a fairer London.
A London where all sectors of society can participate; to build London’s community on the shared values; and to restore hope by sharing together in London’s prosperity.
Our goal is to be passionate about social justice, racial reconciliation and the regeneration of divided communities. We must be a voice for the voiceless. Our vision is to transform our city into a place of celebration where everyone, enjoys the benefits of living and working in one of the greatest capitals of the globe.
