Disclaimer: This blog contains my views and not necessarily those of any organisations with which I’m involved.

Welcome and thanks for looking at this blog. It was originally intended to look mostly at local politics, issues and ideas in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, where I moved in 2007 and where I’ve been involved in local politics and activism with the Lib Dems and Transition Town Kingston and been a school governor at St Andrew’s and St Mark’s (www.sasm.kingston.sch.uk) in Surbiton.

However, this local experience, the MA course I have been studying in Planning and Sustainability at Kingston University, my professional roles at The Campaign Company and then Living Streets, the national charity that stands up for pedestrians, the political landscape since the 2010 General Election and my personal interest have led this blog to focus more on the issue of localism – decentralising power to smaller geographical communities.

A quick skim should show that I’m quite driven by this issue. More power for communities to make decisions – and allocate budgets – affecting their local areas was a key reason why I stood (unsuccessfully) for election as a councillor in 2010. Localism has become a far more prominent political trend in the UK since the 2010 general election and I have been following this closely and occasionally discussing trends and making suggestions through this blog.

So have a read, leave a comment, even if it’s just a quick hello, and feel free to contact me at majeed@cantab.net.