Review of the year: June 2008

I had a great response to my campaign to expose the shocking state of Putney's roads which continued throughout June, as all of these examples posted on my news pages during the month show.

The Labour Government announced its intention to make public swimming pools free to use - initially for pensioners and young children but eventually for everyone; something I strongly support and which you'll never get from the Conservatives.

The Summer edition of The Putney Paper was published, leading on the high-rise threat to Putney which continues today. I set out my position on this problem in an editorial titled Putney is not Manhattan.

Fuel prices began a shocking Summer rise, due to the refusal of OPEC countries to increase production, fear over gas supplies from Russia and financial speculators driving up prices just to make a quick buck in one of the last acts of greed before they precipitated the global economic crisis.

Separate but related, Channel 4 News exposed the blindingly obvious. London Labour MPs have been at the forefront of lobbying to get more funding for the least affluent parts of the country - all of which happen to be in London.

And internationally, the consequences of Burma's dismal response to the Hurricane catastrophe started to be exposed, while in Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe lost an election and exacted a terrible price in order to cling to power.