O'Connell pledges to get rid of 4x4 (From Your Local Guardian)

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O'Connell pledges to get rid of 4x4

12:12pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

comment Comments (22) Have your say »

By Kirsty Whalley »

Councillor Steve O'Connell has pledged to get rid of his gas-guzzling Honda CR-V by October after his appointment to the environment committee in the Greater London Assembly (GLA).

"The environment committee is a cause very close to my heart as I am keen to protect the environment in Croydon and Sutton," he said. He added that his 4x4 would be "gone by October".

Coun O'Connell, who is Croydon Council's crime spokesman, will also serve on the budget committee and will be responsible for scrutinizing the Mayor of London's spending proposals.

He also has a seat on the Metropolitan Police Authority, which scrutinises the work of the capital's force.

"The budget committee is obviously very significant bearing in mind the size of the budget. I hope to shine a light on the finance of the GLA and the Mayor and ensure that the best services possible are delivered to Croydon and Sutton," he said.

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Mitsky, Croydon says...
1:01pm Tue 13 May 08

OK, so he is on the Committee THEN decides to get rid of the car? Hmmm... And why should it take upto 5 months to get rid of it? If it is truly about the environment then why not be the end of this month?

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suttonpeopledotcom, Sutton says...
2:05pm Tue 13 May 08

He added that his 4x4 would be "gone by October"

Why wait until then? you would be causing excessive pollution in the mean time?? I would rather see somebody picked for the Environment committee who is a bit more environmentally aware and responsible.

responsible for scrutinizing the Mayor of London's spending proposals.

lets hope his scrutinizing principles arnt as bad as his environmental awareness principles then!

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Kes, Upper Norwood says...
2:41pm Tue 13 May 08

Good idea, Steve! I think everybody should get bikes. Imagine Gordon peddling away down Whitehall. That'd take the 'smile' off his face.

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Kes, Upper Norwood says...
2:46pm Tue 13 May 08

suttonpeopledotcom wrote:

He added that his 4x4 would be "gone by October"
Why wait until then? you would be causing excessive pollution in the mean time?? I would rather see somebody picked for the Environment committee who is a bit more environmentally aware and responsible.
responsible for scrutinizing the Mayor of London's spending proposals.
lets hope his scrutinizing principles arnt as bad as his environmental awareness principles then!

They've not made a bad start by getting rid of that regular rag through our letter-boxes called the 'Londoner'. A saving of £3 million. Carry on with the scrutinizing!

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Graham, Wallington says...
5:50pm Tue 13 May 08

What a dick. If he'd had the slightest interest in the environment he wouldn't have been driving the thing in the first place. If this toryboy is typical of the new appointments in the London Assembly then we're really in for a grim four years.

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Kes, Upper Norwood says...
7:56pm Tue 13 May 08

Graham wrote:
What a dick. If he'd had the slightest interest in the environment he wouldn't have been driving the thing in the first place. If this toryboy is typical of the new appointments in the London Assembly then we're really in for a grim four years.

This "Dick" doubled the Tory majority in Croydon and Lemon controlled Sutton which includes Wallington, I believe? You have my sympathy.

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alan, purley says...
11:44pm Tue 13 May 08

clearly steve is a hypocrite

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Paul, Upper Norwood says...
9:02am Wed 14 May 08

Have to agree with spngbob. He'll doubtless be seen in the company of that seething sh*te environmental reporter David Shukman on BBC News.

"Look at this 4x4 that has washed in from the Wandle having floated 13000 miles to end up in NZ. The damage this has done is terrible. At least one thousand loggerhead turtles have attempted to eat their way through the engine block; sinking to the ocean floor and drowning. Fifty million hammerhead sharks washed up off the Yemen after swallowing high octane fuel from the tank, the carbon footprint from the decaying sharks is massive.

What do you think Cllr o'Connell?"

"I agree!"

Enviromental issues = Lefty bóllócks, all designed to get more taxes out of us.

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
9:37am Wed 14 May 08

If Cllr Steve O'Connel is Croydon Council's crime spokesman then he must have jaw ache with the never ending criminal activity in Croydon.

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
10:17am Wed 14 May 08

I don't know what the fuss is about. He is getting rid of it. So what is the problem? I bought myself a Nissan Qashquai in March - it looks and feels like a 4x4, but isn't. Two of the models are, but mine was the cheaper one. Having spent years having physio for my back, I have at last found a car with a seat which one can raise and - instead of looking through the steering wheel - I can look over it. Parts of this area are dangerous to drive in when there is snow. My old car used to slide all over the place. People who live North of the borough don't know what thick snow looks like. Cul-de-sacs are never gritted - so a 4x4 is really the only safe car to drive.

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c may, biggin hill says...
10:58am Wed 14 May 08

im falling about laughing here never have i heard so much tosh weve had about 2 days snow in last 5 years

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
11:30am Wed 14 May 08

Sorry - you need lessons in Geography. You are in Biggin Hill. I am in Selsdon. People who sit in their houses watching TV or finding excuses not to go in to work don't worry about snow. The rest of us need to get out - several times a day. Admittedly, the heavy snow doesn't happen that often, but it does happen - every few years. It will happen again. I have photographs of cars and whole streets covered in snow here. There was one year when nobody could get their cars out for a week. The Croydon Advertiser published a lovely story about two boys who were clearing the snow for the residents in our cul-de-sac. Of course, you obviously know more than the newspaper reporters, you seem to think???

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DAN, Sutton says...
2:39pm Wed 14 May 08

You are going wildly off topic Anne! The story is about a councilor who after being appointed to the environment committee in the GLA. It isn't about the changing of the seasons...

As other have pointed out, obviously the guy is a hypocrite, Environment isn't as close to his heart as perhaps his political ambitions are.

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c may, biggin hill says...
4:44pm Wed 14 May 08

ANNE GILES wrote:
Sorry - you need lessons in Geography. You are in Biggin Hill. I am in Selsdon. People who sit in their houses watching TV or finding excuses not to go in to work don\'t worry about snow. The rest of us need to get out - several times a day. Admittedly, the heavy snow doesn\'t happen that often, but it does happen - every few years. It will happen again. I have photographs of cars and whole streets covered in snow here. There was one year when nobody could get their cars out for a week. The Croydon Advertiser published a lovely story about two boys who were clearing the snow for the residents in our cul-de-sac. Of course, you obviously know more than the newspaper reporters, you seem to think???

never been unemployed or claimed benifits in my life anne ever lol still laughing here

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
5:07pm Wed 14 May 08

I wasn't talking about being unemployed - I was talking about people using snow as an excuse for not managing to get in to work, when - with the use of a 4x4 - they would not have a problem.

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Cllr Paul Scully, Carshalton says...
5:59pm Wed 14 May 08

Some depressing comments here. Those who scoff at Steve's decision show why it was so hard to encourage a serious environmental debate for so many years. His main job will be to encourage behavioural change with regard to emissions and recycling. He is setting this example himself which should be welcomed. Instead we get the evangelical environmentalists prepared to scorn anyone who has ever left a mere carbon toe-print.

Get off your high horse. if you are serious about the environment rather than conveniently posturing, get behind the serious debate.

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Bob Peel, I am one who had a proper job! says...
7:29am Thu 15 May 08

Cllr Paul Scully wrote:
Some depressing comments here. Those who scoff at Steve's decision show why it was so hard to encourage a serious environmental debate for so many years. His main job will be to encourage behavioural change with regard to emissions and recycling. He is setting this example himself which should be welcomed. Instead we get the evangelical environmentalists prepared to scorn anyone who has ever left a mere carbon toe-print.

Get off your high horse. if you are serious about the environment rather than conveniently posturing, get behind the serious debate.

Councillors are parasites on the backs of the council tax payers.

A bigger con for a job you could not get this side of politics.

Massive remuneration + expenses for being merely elected as a councillor; then enhance that with the 'Cabinet Member for 'some ineffectual but impressive title, and spend the next five years waffling nonsense and regurgitating the same old, sorry chesnuts.

Mightly impressed with the back-up for Stephen '4x4' O'Connell.

I'll bet you're not so quick to act for members of the public though.

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
9:13am Thu 15 May 08

Bob - why the chip on your shoulder yet again? I have an excellent relationship with a councillor here in Selsdon. As soon as I hear that something needs doing here, I e-mail him and he replies straight away, also contacting the relevant department at the Council. Wheelie bins not emptied, green boxes not emptied, grit boxes that need filling up, garden waste not collected, etc. etc., parking, or advice on anything at all.

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ANNE GILES ALTER EGO, CROYDOOM says...
9:09am Fri 16 May 08

Ok... anne stop posting on these articles. EVERYTIME you do you go completely off track and start talking about your constant phoning of the council and complaining!! do you have them on speed dial #1!? Not only that but you feel the need to throw fuel into conversations with people which causes comment upon comment of slaggin matches!

Please stop... its getting as annoying as Croydon kids itchy trigger fingers!

This is about another polition saying one thing and doing another... yet again. If he is thinking about the enviroment then he should get rid of the car now and not october! no doubt hel be selling the 4x4 in exchange for a fuel guzzling merc or jag!

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
2:10pm Fri 16 May 08

No chip on my shoulder at all Anne. Your Cllr's *might* be ok but those in the area I live in are well duff. They only ever take anything on to save their political posotion and to remain Cllrs.

To give you a clue; Cllr Pat Ryan has taken up the cause of the PO closure at Central Hill, SE19. That sounds a right noble gesture until you discover he lives a few doors away. If it closes he (or possibly his wife, if employed on his expenses as his secretary/researcher
) will have a lot farther to go. And that, from my experience is what a majority of Cllrs are like.

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Bob Peel, Croydon says...
2:16pm Fri 16 May 08

On the other hand Anne;

I am glad that Mr o'Connell is involved with the MPA and CCPCC. The latter certainly needs to be looked into, especially its administration and finance. Too much is being spent on the admin and there is nothing being actually done about anything. To coin a word, the group is a sinecure and self-serving. It is also dodgy and as left-wing as Livingstone and I would have thought that Lee Jasper had a finger in it, except I know better.

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ANNE GILES, SELSDON says...
2:44pm Fri 16 May 08

I suppose everyone is different. Our Councillor Phil Thomas is well known for getting things done, so I always approach him. On the other hand, there is one I don't particularly get on with, but I don't mention names. He seems fairly prejudiced.

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