200 days to go!
East End Life, January 9
With 200 days to go before the greatest show on
earth reaches our doorstep, 2012 promises to be an exciting and
challenging year in equal measure.
It is exciting because we will have the opportunity of
showcasing the borough to the world and residents will get access
to reserved tickets for the Olympic Live Site at Victoria Park.
Visitors will want to see more than just the most high-profile
tourist sites. As we have shown in our campaign for city status,
the history of Britain is reflected within our borough boundaries
and we want to help local businesses get the most out of this
opportunity.
I have written before about the challenges of the Games in terms
of transport disruption, and throughout 2011 I worked to minimise
disruption. I have asked Transport for London to run four business
events to explain the impact of the Games on our local
infrastructure. More information will be available in East End Life
next week.
We will also be taking steps so that our services can continue
to be run during the Games and again we will be keeping residents
informed using the pages of East End Life.
Last week an important milestone for a united multicultural
Britain was reached when two men were found guilty and sentenced
for the terrible murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
Amidst all the coverage there was one shining light: the dignity
and determination with which the Lawrence family have conducted
themselves. The best way we can honour Stephen’s legacy is to
strengthen our commitment to tackling institutional discrimination
and exclusion and by confronting all prejudices, inequalities and
unfair treatment whenever and wherever they raise their ugly
heads.
This week sees the first steps in discussing the council’s
budget proposals for 2012-13 and, despite the challenges of
government cuts, we have managed to protect key services and
preserve investment in housing.
This budget is intended to keep as much money as possible in
your pocket as we propose to freeze council tax for the third year
in a row. In these difficult economic times I intend to ensure the
council does as much as it can to support people through an
economic crisis not of our causing.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman