Mary Reid

Yesterday evening we held a dinner in honour of the retiring Mayor, Cllr Yogan Yoganathan. Seven other past Mayors turned up for the event.

In my tribute I said that Yogan was the smiliest Mayor I had ever met; even when he appeared serious it was usually a wind-up. He brought warmth and happiness with him wherever he went. But when he did need to be serious, such as when promoting the tsunami appeal or dealing with the impact of 7th July, he imbued the occasions with dignity.

In good form, Yogan kept us laughing throughout his speech, undaunted by the fact that a clutch of ex-Mayors were running a sweepstake on how long he would speak for.

So, thanks, Yogan, for being a wonderful ambassador for the Borough. You're a hard act to follow.

Kingston Green Fair is always full of unusual and delightful surprises. At its heart it is a "celebration of sustainability" - everything is powered by wind, sun or bicycle. It takes place every year on the Spring Bank Holiday beside the Thames in Canbury Gardens.

After an early shower, which had us all running for the Green Homes Exhibition tent, the weather was kind today.

Among the many fascinating stalls my attention was drawn to two of them. The lead story in today's Independent was about biodegradable bottles that you can throw into the compost heap when empty, and the first stall I saw was one selling the Belu bottles. So I bought one, of course.

Then later I came across Freecycle.  A simple idea - post details of any goods you don't want on the website and browse through for items you could give a home to.  Everything is free.  It is a win-win-win concept: clear out the things you no longer need, find things you want, keep goods out of landfill. The Kingston Freecycle group already has over 200 members.

Kingston's Green Fair was one of the first of its kind, nineteen years ago, and has inspired many other events across the country. This year it is the official preview preview event for London's Annual Green Festival.

A live performance of David Fanshawe's African Sanctus is a rare treat. It combines original recordings taken across Africa, interspersed and overlaid with a choral mass accompanied by a rock band and djembe drums.

So I was really looking forward to the concert yesterday by Kingston University Chorus, and found it exciting and uplifting.

But there was an unexpected treat before the interval - the challenging and unfamiliar Trombone Concerto by Derek Bourgeois. This was performed by the University Orchestra, featuring an astonishing interpretation of the solo part by second year student, David Horden.

Thanks to the conductor and general source of inspiration, David Osbon.

Did you know that we have a boarding school in Kingston? 

Marymount is an independent international girls school managed by a Catholic order, tucked away in Coombe Hill.

The students come from all over the world - from Japan to Angola - and take the International Baccalaureate.  They enjoy an American-style graduation ceremony when they finish. 

Here are some of the girls lining up for their Yearbook photo before today's big event.

At the ceremony some of them entranced the large audience of parents and friends with their confident and intelligent speeches.

It was good to make contact with the independent sector.  Whilst living in the Borough these young people are just as much a part of our community as those in our state schools.

I wouldn't normally include a formal group photo on my blog, preferring informal shots, but this is a remarkable collection of heroes.

Every person standing in this picture was commended by the Borough Commander, Chief Superintendant Angela List, at a ceremony yesterday.

We heard how some had shown bravery when dealing with violent criminals or rescuing people; some had conducted difficult investigations; some had had a significant impact on the number of burglaries and robberies in the Borough; some had diffused tensions after 7th July. 

One member of the Council's housing team, Grace Slade, was also honoured for partnership working.

I know I couldn't do the job.  These Police officers take a risk every time they go outside the doors of the station.  And they put their emotional as well as their physical well-being at risk, because some of the cases they deal with are deeply disturbing.

I've encountered the Police three times in the last 24 hours, on one occasion being escorted by them! 

This picture shows a pupil at Lovelace School showing his CoP card to Superintendant Sue Hill yesterday.

The Community or Police sticker card is another brainwave of Sgt James Ellis of the Chessington Safer Neighbourhood team.  They are handing them out to all the Year 6 pupils in the area.

The children can collect photo stickers when they see members of the team, or when they do community based activities like join the library or a club.

The class with the most stickers will get a day out courtesy of Chessington World of Adventures, plus a Woolworths voucher. (Thanks, guys!)

And over on YoungLivin' they can find clues about where they might find the people and what clubs they can join.

What a great way for the Police to meet and gain the confidence of young people before they move on to secondary schools.

My CoP card signed by PCSO Kevin Byres

In the evening I attended the Chessington Safer Neighbourhoods meeting as a ward councillor.  We heard that last year, thanks to our brilliant team, crime has reduced by an astonishing 16%.

I met these two colourful characters at the Fun In Sheltered Housing day.

Hundreds of Kingston University students volunteer to help the local community every year, so it was great to be able to honour some of them on Tuesday evening.  And where better than in Oceana? - all those who won the special 'Stand Out' awards were able to stay on for a good night out.

There was more to celebrate last evening when I gave out the certificates at Kingston Rotary's Adult Achievement Awards.  These were given to adults who had been studying either at Kingston College or through Kingston Adult Education. Many had overcome serious barriers of disability, caring responsibilities, or lack of education.

That was rather special for me as in the past I have taught at both institutions. "Teachers are our greatest resource - but I would say that, wouldn't I?"

More learning will be taking place at the superb new wildlife garden at Coombe Hill Junior School. I forgot to take my camera and really regret that now as other schools really should go and see what they've done.  The garden has all kinds of habitats - pond, boggy area, nettle patch, woodland, log piles, shrubbery - as well as quiet areas for children to sit. I announced it open and then some goldfish were released into the pond.

I've been busy giving out sports medals and cups to our Borough stars. 

On Sunday it was to the winners of the Borough's Swimming Gala. Apparently a lot of them swim at 5.30am every morning! That is extraordinary commitment to their sport and we have some very talented swimmers in Kingston.

Then today the Junior Gymnastics Festival took place at Tolworth Gym Club. The club has excellent facilities - I'm told they are the best in the region. So it was a real treat for these youngsters, some of whom had only been learning gymnastics for a couple of months, to compete here.  A couple of the more experienced children have already competed at national level.

I mentioned my visit to the Disability Ten Pin Bowling Tournament last week and now have a photo with the Mencap team.

I have had three events in my diary for some time - then to my delight found myself attending them all officially.

One was the inspection of the 2nd Hook Scout and Guide Band (see yesterday) which has its home in my ward. 

On Sunday morning we joined in the Unity Service for churches in Surbiton and Chessington.  Around a thousand people attended at TRC, enthused by an excellent band and singers.  It was good to start our Mayoral year among so many friends.

Today's celebration of 75 years of Beverley Boys School and its launch as Coombe Boys was unmissable. It started with a service full of music, including a sweet rendering of Rutter's 'For the beauty of the earth' by the Coombe Girls choir. Then on to the school for a dramatic multi-media journey through the school's log book, which included a tribute to Cyril Barton VC.

The event was rounded off as the inimitable Clifford Fisher, Head of Beverley from 1960 to 1984, joined the current Head, Carol Campbell, to toast the new incarnation of the school as Coombe Boys.

Over at the Museum I opened the Brill exhibition, which is well worth a visit. It is a fascinating set of paintings and drawings of buildings in the borough, past and present. Each year the collection grows as new work is commissioned or a competition is held.

Here are the three students from the University whose interpretations of 133 London Road are all joining the collection.

Then off yesterday morning to Tolworth  to greet personally 130 people with physical or learning disabilities who were all competing in ten-pin bowling. This is the second year that Kingston has hosted this highly enjoyable tournament. RBK's sports officers and the staff at Charrington Bowl are to be congratulated at organising the logistics, which were far from simple.

Ian and I had already accepted an invitation to the 2nd Hook Band Inspection last night, so I think some people were a bit surprised to see us turn up in RBK1.  These are our local Scout and Guides, attached to our church. It is a young band with an average age of 12. For nine of them it was their first inspection and they were probably nervous, but I was really impressed.  I couldn't manage to march up and down playing an instrument after only a few months tuition.

As I said, it is so good to see young people involved in music, not just listening and dancing to it, but creating music and performing it for others to enjoy. I'm hoping to add a movie of this very soon.

Apparently Kingston is the only Scout District to have three bands, and this drew the national co-ordinator to the event.

Off to Dysart School yesterday for my very first engagement, and an excellent start given my focus on young people.

Dysart is our school for children with severe learning diffficulties.  I called in to see the older students last year when they were launching their Young Enterprise scheme selling hand made products online.

This time they were celebrating two weeks of work experience. As well as saying 'well done' (two thumbs up) to the young people it was also a chance to thank the five or six employers who had taken on the responsibility of introducing them to work.  The students had been given a good range of tasks from photocopying to replenishing stock and cleaning.

Then on to my first proper diary meeting with the staff from the Mayor's Office.  Lots of invitations to look at, and some awkward clashes to resolve.  If we do say 'no' to some local events it is always with the hope that the organisation will come back with another date that we can do.  Invitations from inside the Borough always take precedence over outside bodies.

Yesterday, at Annual Council, I was elected and installed as the Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

The picture shows me with the retiring Mayor, Cllr Yogan Yoganathan.

The election for the new Mayor is normally held at the Council meeting before Annual Council, which gives the Mayor Elect a few weeks to prepare for the role. 

This year the whole Council was re-elected on 4th May, and the election of Mayor could not take place until yesterday, so it has all been a bit of a rush.

I have to admit that I was very nervous.  It is an extraordinary honour, and I was only too aware of the historical importance of the role in this ancient borough, as well as its significance today.

This was my acceptance speech:

The declaration and oath that I have just taken are solemn promises to serve the Royal Borough and this Council to the best of my ability.  I take them very seriously.

I consider it a great honour to act as Mayor for this wonderful Borough – a place with a long and romantic history, with a thriving commercial heart and with a vision for the future.

I thank you for your support.  I do appreciate why there was a contested election today, but want to assure you that I don’t hold it against you!

I hope that all members will give me their full support in the role of Mayor, which I carry out on behalf of all of you.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome all new  members to the Council. Congratulations on your election. You should find the experience as a councillor both stimulating and challenging.

Some of you will know that I believe strongly in the role of elected representatives in a participatory democracy. I value the presence of all of you here. Together we can do much to improve the lives and environment of the citizens of this Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

I also said this:

You may not be surprised to hear that my theme for the year will be connected with young people, in particular how to give them the skills and opportunities to participate fully in their communities. 

As far as my charity is concerned, I am exploring the possibility of setting up or, hopefully, using an existing mechanism by which money raised could be paid into what would, in effect, be a trust fund and then re-distributed as grants to benefit young people within the borough.  My investigations are still at an early stage but I will let you know their outcome as soon as possible.

I've been out delivering envelopes for Christian Aid week.  Not part of my political duties though philosophically related.

You may have seen their quirky TV ads on the theme 'You add, we multiply'.

Whilst on that subject you must check out mailorderchickens.

After concentrating in my blog on local issues for so long, it is good to be able to comment on national politics again.

The Labour Government seems to be in a downward spiral.  Every attempt to correct its course seems to add further turbulence. 

We now have a Minister-for-everything-that-Prescott-used-to-do-but-without-the-houses who cannot bring herself to admit that she does not support the equalities programme. We have DEFRA headed by three ministers who do not have a single farm between them in their constituencies. We have the credible Jack Straw sidelined because he doesn't back Bush on Iran.

The popularity ratings for both Bush and Blair are at their lowest point ever.

For the sake of the health of this country Blair must bow out now.  We have a competent and compassionate PM-in-waiting.  Admittedly having Brown in place would strengthen the Government and make it more electable in the future, but I am not one of those politicos who want the Government to fail purely for the gain of my party.  The good of the country must be the first consideration.

Pundits have been giving Blair twelve to fifteen months, but I'd be surprised if he is still PM by October.  There - that's my prediction.

If you have any interest at all in local democracy then you should head for Budapest this summer.  Or, if you prefer, Baltimore.

We held a small, highly successful international symposium last summer. This year it's bigger, better and there are two of them!

Both symposia will be wonderful opportunities to network with local activists and policy makers from around the world.

We've also lined up speakers at Ministerial level alongside community practitioners. And the events will include the formal launch of the International Centre of Excellence for Local e-Democracy, which has grown out of the National Project.

You can read the agendas and register here.

I promised to write more about the count on Thursday night. 

Election days are always exhausting, exhilarating and stressful all at the same time.

It's difficult to sleep the night before, and the morning starts early.  7am found me sitting outside a polling station.  Around here the tellers from the different parties are generally friendly towards each other and we exchange numbers if we don't catch them clearly.

We can never know, of course, how people have voted. We do ask for voters' numbers after they have voted so we can check them against our known supporters. Throughout the day we knock on doors and drop leaflets to remind our supporters to vote.

I probably walked a dozen miles during the day, possibly more. The weather was excellent, but by the end I had accumulated several large blisters.

The count started as soon as the polls ended at 10pm. The hall is arranged with a couple of tables for each ward.  One of the ballot boxes is emptied on to the table and the counting clerks flatten the papers out and put them in bundles of fifty.  All is done under the careful scrutiny of the candidates and their counting agents. This gives us our first glimpse of how the vote has gone.

The total number of votes cast is checked against the numbers recorded at the polling station. Then the process is repeated for the other boxes.

Next comes the interesting bit.  All the ballot papers for the ward are thrown together and then sorted.  Most people vote for a party slate of three candidates, so piles start to build up for each party.  The remaining papers have votes split between parties, or votes for only one or two candidates.  A small handful are deemed spoilt votes.

All the split and single votes are then recorded on tally sheets.  Many of the wards, like mine, had quite close results, so these votes are highly significant.

The conventional wisdom is that for each party, the first person on the ballot paper gets more votes than the others.  This is because some people think they only have one vote and so select the first one from the party they want.  This was certainly evident this year, but it was overlaid by other voting patterns - such as the voters who voted only for women, or only for candidates who live in the ward.  Sadly, candidates with ethnic minority names tended to get fewer votes than their fellow party candidates, and this applied across all the parties. They always lost out in wards which returned two councillors of one party and one of another.

Eventually the candidates' agents are called over to the Returning Officer to agree on the result.  At this stage if the numbers are close the losing agent will call for a recount. Some wards run to three recounts but at some point the Returning Officer will give a ruling. 

We had some pretty close results - only one vote between two candidates at one stage - but fortunately we did not have any tied votes as happened in 2002.

In terms of the political outcome, we saw a swing to the Conservatives across the borough, matching the national trend. There were some local variations; in Berrylands the Liberal Democrats took three seats from the Conservatives.  Previously spilt wards, like Coombe Vale and St James were taken by the Conservatives.  Other wards which Lib Dems had held before became Conservative/Lib Dem splits - Alexandra, Canbury, Old Malden.  And in Norbiton Lib Dems took one of the seats from Labour.

With so many close results everyone's nerves were on edge throughout the long night.  The actual control of the council hung on the last recount and just six votes.

And yet, people behaved throughout with courtesy to each other.  There was no jeering, which I have heard at elections elsewhere.  Losing your seat is a horrible experience, and no-one in that position, whatever their politics, should be treated with anything other than dignity.

In stark contrast, courteous is the last term I would use to describe some individuals who have posted offensive comments on both my blog and Kevin Davis's. They have used this platform anonymously to express demeaning comments about us, our colleagues and our political rivals.

Sue Baker, Ian and I were re-elected in Chessington North and Hook.  Overall, the balance of seats on Kingston Council is:

Liberal Democrat: 25

Conservative: 21

Labour: 2

Many thanks to all of you who supported Liberal Democrats in the election.

For full details of all the wards and elected councillors go to the Kingston Council website.

It's now 5am.  We've only just got home after the count - there were lots of recounts.  More later....

I'm rather busy this week! So I won't be blogging for a few days.

Over on the Kingston Borough Liberal Democrats website you can read about our election campaign, book a lift to the polling station, or send an email to the ward Focus teams.