Will extra cops be enough? The Cameron statement had just two concrete measures – an increase from 6,000 to 16,000 in the number of police on the streets of London tonight and the recall of parliament on Thursday. But should he have gone further? Should other measures be considered? We’ll see what happens tonight. @MikeSmithsonPB
Metro ..or will it spread more? So Dave is back and this morning we have a meeting a COBRA – a move that was so derided in the early days of Brown’s premiership in 2007. Maybe the idea that people at the top are fully focussed on dealing with the situation will provide reassurance to the public and to the police who’ve been asked to do a challenging job in almost a political vacuum. My guess is that we’ll see…
My wife and I have just got back from London where we have had a special dinner with our three children. We’ve been dead worried. Our elder daughter lives in Croydon – the other lives on the Clapham-Brixton border and, like tens of thousands of people tonight, no doubt, we’ve been worried sick about our loved ones. Thankfully I’ve just had a text and both the girls are now safely back home. Quite where this is all leading it’s hard…
View Larger Map The signs are that there’s going to be a good attendance of PBers at the next site event a week tonight. Like the past few London get-togethers the venue is the Dirty Dick public house in Bishopsgate which is almost across the road from the main entrance of Liverpool Liverpool Street station. The event starts at about 6.30. See you there. @MikeSmithsonPB
Could his decision hurt him next May? The big riot follow-up story this afternoon is a meeting of Met chiefs with the home secretary, Theresa May, who has just returned from holiday. Quite whether this was her scheduled return date or she’s back early we don’t know – but at least it gives the impression that senior ministers are taking this seriously. Her presence in the capital after a worrying forty-eight hours for many Londoners contrasts sharply with Boris who,…
What’ll this do the Met’s battered leadership? What a Monday morning. The riots in north London spreading with suggestions about the veracity of the original reports of the incident on Thursday that sparked off Saturday’s riots – and of course the financial turmoil across Europe. The papers have no doubts about the main story – riots in North London which moved to Enfield last night. If the latest reports about the shooting of Mark Duggan are correct then that is…
Is mixing church and state going too far? The big event this weekend the 2012 White House race has been a massive prayer event at a stadium in Houston attended by thousands of people. A key participant was the Texas governor and the man said to be just about to declare his candidature, Rick Perry. It seems that the whole event was devised as part of the build-up before his announcement. His detractors say that he’s going too far in…
Henry G Manson says it could provide an opening for Ken With 9 months to go to London mayoral election we’re now in the territory where campaign themes are developed and firmed up. Even though it is not within mayoral powers, the 50p tax is one issue could certainly come into the mix. Boris Johnson has been the most strident Conservative politician in calling to abolish the last government’s 50p tax rate on those earning over £150,000 per year. This…