The best 404 I'll ever see....

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/error404?errorurl=http://imblive:8080/passports-and-immigration/id-cards/

Just googled "National Identity Cards" and the first hit was the link above. That the link returned a 404 error (page cannot be found) has made my week.

The Identity and Passport Service's website has the following announcement on the ID card scheme:

Identity cards

Both Parties that now form the new Government stated in their manifestos that they will cancel Identity Cards and the National Identity Register. We will announce in due course how this will be achieved. Applications can continue to be made for ID cards but we would advise anyone thinking of applying to wait for further announcements.

Until Parliament agrees otherwise, identity cards remain valid and as such can still be used as an identity document and for travel within Europe. We will update you with further information as soon as we have it.

A few thoughts in the light of day

Well, after all the hype, all the campaigning and the uncertainty, all the delivery and canvassing come rain and shine, we finally got to find out if all our work paid off.

On the one hand, it certainly didn't. Labour's vote was strengthened and they successfully returned all three candidates in Peninsula, with myself, Malcolm and Toks coming into 4th, 5th and 6th places respectively. We've held our ground in Blackheath and Eltham, but lost it in Kidbrooke and Shooters Hill. Most disappointing for the Greenwich team was the result in Charlton - we really hoped that our efforts combined with Labour's apathy there would have paid dividends for us. The biggest disappointment for the Federation was David Gold closely missing out on election as MP for Eltham.

But on the other hand we've obviously struck a chord with a sizable minority of people throughout Greenwich and Woolwich who are not just unhappy with the results of the current regime, but look to us as the ones who have the best policies to make a change for the better. We've also unequivocally established ourselves as the second party on the Peninsula, contrary to Andrew Gilligan's prediction. I'm only sorry that we weren't able to persuade more people to trust us to deliver a council that listens to its residents and cares more about keeping the ward cleaner and safer.

The campaign has been a lively one, with (mostly!) good-natured banter between ourselves, Labour and the Greens (unfortunately I didn't see any Liberals around and about in Peninsula, although I was fortunate to briefly meet Alex Cunliffe at the Friends of the Pleasurance AGM and Alexa Hills when I was seconded to Blackheath Westcombe in the afternoon) - I had no doubt that all of the candidates I met, in spite of our political differences, are well-meaning and genuinely interesting people, and I look forward to seeing them around in the future.

The election count at the David Beckham academy was cold, long and draining. I felt most sorry for the counting staff, who worked in shifts coated, hatted and gloved - at least we were able to nip into the warm for a cuppa every once in awhile! I lasted until just after 3am, when all the walking, talking, driving and telling finally caught up with me.

Looking ahead, it's back to business as usual: holding our councillors (including our new addition in Cllr Miranda Williams) to account, listening and acting on peoples' concerns. I've got a couple of issues that came up that were put on the back burner over the last couple of weeks that will keep me more than busy in the coming weeks and months. It leaves me only to thank the 1,426 people who voted for me - I really appreciate it.

Sitrep for the bank holiday

Out and about today, it was heartening to see all our work coming together - seeing so many people coming out on their bank holiday to bring all our work for the last few years together. Word on the street is anecdotally encouraging for us, with people of an informed opinion saying that Greenwich Council has been dominated by Labour for too long. Of course there are still a great many of both undecided and disengaged voters who are still wary of political overtures: no doubt events at a national level play their part in this.

To those who may read this blog to find out what Greenwich Conservatives want to do to take the borough forward, our manifesto can be viewed here. I've copied out our 5 headline policy pledges below, because I believe they summarise not just the most important things that need to change in Greenwich, but also how we propose to going about changing them. I believe our policies to be the most detailed and necessary steps that need to be taken urgently to change transform the council into one that we can all be proud of. I hope you do too.

Our 5 Headline Policies (see our manifesto for all our policies in detail)

• First, requiring all senior Council Officers to submit their departmental budgets to an independent, outside auditor to assess how efficiently Greenwich Council has handled your money over the last few years. We intend to reverse Labour’s automatic assumption that the public has an insatiable appetite to be taxed.

• Second, inviting outside contractors to tender via open competition for the business of sweeping our streets. It is a sad fact that Greenwich is often referred to as “one of the dirtiest London Boroughs” – for a Borough often in the centre of our nation’s history (and as a major tourist attraction as a result) this is unacceptable.

• Third, undertaking a complete review of education provision within the borough with a view to increasing the number of schools and ensuring that Greenwich schools rise from the bottom of the league tables in London at GCSE. A Conservative Council would pledge to raise results in this borough to ensure our children have a better opportunity in life.

• Fourth, abolishing Greenwich Time. This weekly propaganda paper paid for by the taxpayers of this borough is a waste of money as it uses public money to push the Labour Council’s point of view down the throats of Greenwich residents. Abolishing Greenwich Time is both cost effective and the right thing to do.

• Fifth, introducing funding for additional town centre police teams in Greenwich and Eltham within our first year. We believe that the Violent and Organised Crime Unit in Woolwich has been a success and would continue to fund that group for the next four years (a pledge the Labour Council has yet to make).
Respecting the judgment of our fellow residents as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this “Contract with Greenwich”.