The takeover of Borisworld by real, grounded, serious individuals continues apace. First Tim Parker was dethroned by the super serious Sir Simon Milton, then Boris welcomed the Ken-era Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and finally the Congestion Charge consultation seems to be angling for a ‘keep it and improve it’ vote, much as the unaltered Ken-era TfL would have wished it.
Now we (finally) have a new face for the Environment brief. Who would that be? Which think tank did they spring from? Policy Exchange? Right-wing Tory MP’s assistant? Know-nothing juvenile with the right connections? Climate change denier? Right-wing journalist? Jeremy Clarkson?
Wrong. She’s Isabel Dedring from TfL. Yes, the unchanged Ken-era dinosaur TfL which everyone and his dog have been waiting to see axed into Tory friendly form. Not only are they surviving, they’re pushing back, it seems.
Isabel is currently Director of the Policy Unit for Transport for London, overseeing over the last four years the development and delivery of a wide range of strategies covering climate change, low carbon transport, low carbon building retrofits and sustainable travel planning.
Gasp! A woman? Smart one? Appointed to a high-profile position in the team? Things really are looking up. She’s also totally on board with the green agenda, it seems.
It’s hard to underestimate how important a bit of news this is. Tim Parker famously opined that there were no women good enough for high positions. He goes, and a woman appears in a high profile position. Boy was he wrong, eh?
Oh, and motorists? She’s not a fan. See this Guardian article:
London buses, based on average occupancy of 15 people, have a footprint of 80g of CO2 per kilometer, double the Tube. Rail 60g. And the car? The Department for Environment says the average petrol car has a footprint of 180g per km. (Obviously not 4WD Chelsea tractors - they’re nearly 400g a kilometre). So the same journey would emit 1,036kg of CO2.
Whew. I can’t see motorist-friendly policies being pushed through without opposition. She’s going to be a *very* strong voice at the top level in favour of a continuity agenda. Watch for the wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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Simon Milton’s quote on this appointment from this morning’s environment committee meeting:
“We are interested in having the right people. We are not interested in their particular genealogy with who the particular mayor might be.”
That’s certainly a change in emphasis from the new numero uno at City Hall. Perhaps a bit of realism has crept in from his experiences at the LGA.
Sums it up, basically. Good news all round. I’ve no objections to Boris tearing a hole in the national Conservative Party as long as he doesn’t tear a hole in London. Parochial old leftie that I am. I do hope that he really has a) realised (post-Lewis and Parker) that the national party is against him and b) has decided he doesn’t give a toss, since he’s actually more powerful than they are.
“Dedring admits they need to speak to Japan about this, where they make fast, light trains, not slow, heavy ones.”
This is so on-the-ball I’m actually bouncing up and down with excitement. This is what people like Roger Ford have been saying for *years* is actually important in environmental terms - it’s really all maths and engineering, not the tree-hugging stereotype beloved of the right. My kind of environmentalist, in fact.
very easy on the eye is isabel; when she gets fed up bothering about the environment she can always have a shot at being an fhm high street honey!
None of that, please.
This is excellent news! Does this mean Zaphod Beeblebrox Headhunters concluded there were no Policy Exchange dweebs suitable? Amazing.