Mayor Johnson & Hackney

And so despite our borough's impressive support for Ken Livingstone, Mayor Boris Johnson is a reality. What might it mean for Hackney? Inside Housing reports:

"Jamie Carswell, the Labour deputy mayor of Hackney Council, said he was pleased Mr Johnson had stuck with his predecessor's target of building 50,000 homes a year. Labour-controlled boroughs wanted to work constructively with the new mayor, he added, although Hackney had concerns about some of his policies. Mr Johnson's First Steps policy to help people onto the housing ladder appeared to target families which were 'quite well off', Mr Carswell said."

That's a real worry about Johnson's housing policy, though the various organisations I spoke to during the campaign thought it may have some virtues too. We'll see. Meanwhile, having just returned from City Hall, I can report that our Assembly Member Jennette Arnold has been elected its new chair. Labour, Lib Dem and Green members voted for her. The Tories backed their own candidate. The BNP member abstained. More here.