We're expecting the Mayoral and local Lewisham Council results after 8pm and 11pm respectively. I don't know what they will be but, from the General Election results, they might well be quite good for Labour. In a directly elected Mayoral system, I don't think it's healthy for the Mayor to have a one-party majority in the Council chamber, and would be sad if that is what the result turns out to be. Especially if it means the loss of good local councillors from the minority parties who have put in a great deal of effort for their local communities. That might be the sad and inevitable consequence of having local and general elections on the same day. Of course, I might be proved wrong. I often am.

I might also be wrong about my concerns about the tone of some of the election literature in this campaign. I think we may have descended too often into negative, ad hominem (or ad feminam) attacks. If so, I hope we learn the lessons from that.

I don't yet know whether I will cut myself totally adrift from partisan politics, but I certainly intend to do much less (some would say even less) of it. But I'll still be around in the local community, and I've got a new interest as the Programme Secretary of the Lewisham Local History Society. Story of my life: studied History, made History, am History :-)

Lewisham Council is warning residents about a bogus recruitment agency offering fake council jobs to extract job seeker's personal information.

People using legitimate job search sites to find work are being targeted by an agency called Haines Employment which claims to be recruiting for council positions.

The hoax organisation may have a link on genuine recruitment sites which asks people to submit their details via a CV.

Individuals are then sent an email from 'hainesemployment@googlemail.com' to say they have been offered a position as a receptionist or office assistant at their local council. The emails, sent by 'James Haines', also contain a council extra information pack and tell the job seeker they are required to start work.

The recipient is asked to fill in a fake application pack which asks for bank and credit card details and personal details, including information about parents and former names. The email also asks for a £6 payment via credit card for a fast-tracked CRB check.

Lewisham Council would never ask for bank or credit card details at the application stage. There is also no way to fast track CRB checks by the payment of any advance fee.

Residents who are concerned that they may have been scammed by this organisation should report it to Lewisham Police on 0300 123 1212. Anyone who has filled in the false application pack and sent it off should also contact their bank and credit card company immediately and take steps to protect their identity using the Home Office website link below.

People should be vigilant about contact from any individual or organisation claiming to be working on behalf of Lewisham Council which asks for in-depth personal information or bank account and credit card details.

Strictly speaking, of course, they're both wrong. Even The Monster Raving Loony Party could win 'here' if enough people voted for them. However, it is somewhat unlikely, as would be a Conservative victory 'here'. But it all depends on what 'here' means, and what election we're talking about.

In General Elections, the Deptford constituency has been almost continuously Labour, with hefty majorities, for over a hundred years. Even in a meltdown year for Labour, it would be heroic for anyone to claim to be able to beat them 'here'. The Liberal Democrat claim is based on the fact that they came second to Labour at the last General Election in 2005, and the Green Party were in fourth place. But to be fair, they were a long way behind Labour, and only a little ahead of the Conservatives, who were only a little ahead of the Green Party. The Green claim is based on the fact that they have more local councillors than the Liberal Democrats in the Deptford constituency, and performed better in the last European and London Mayoral elections. But we're facing different elections this year, in which people are voting on different issues, and may well vote differently. I used to live a Sheffield constituency which voted solidly Liberal Democrat in local elections. But every General Election, they were heftily trounced by Labour.

The position is similar for the Mayoral election for Lewisham on 6 May. Last time, in 2006, it was won by Labour, with the Liberal Democrats second, Conservatives third, and the Green Party fourth, and 'here' was the boundaries of the whole Borough of Lewisham, of which the Deptford constituency formed a third. Again, the Green claim is based on their good performance in the European and London elections, and is subject to the same caveats as the General Election. One slight difference is that if no one candidate wins over half the vote in Mayoral election, second votes are distributed between the two leading candidates. So you could, as I did, give your first vote to the Liberal Democrats, and your second vote to the Green candidate. Or you could do vice versa. So you get two bites at the Mayoral cherry. With probably not much difference to the overall result.

For the election of individual councillors, we are back to the evil first past the post system, and 'here' becomes crucial. In the ward where I live - Lewisham Central - it is absurd for the Green Party to claim that only they can beat Labour. There are two Liberal Democrat councillors and one exceptionally inactive Labour one, who only beat the third Lib Dem by 39 votes in2006. The Green Party was nowhere in contention. But, again to be fair and to risk the wrath of my own party, it would be equally absurd for the Liberal Democrats to claim that only they could bear Labour in the councillor elections in Ladywell and Brockley wards, where the real battle is between the Labour and Green parties. Crofton Park - a Labour ward targetted by both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party - could go to any one of those three. And I would be pleasantly surprised if New Cross and Evelyn wards in the north of the Deptford constituency did anything other than return second rate Labour councillors again (Heidi Alexander - whom I do respect - isn't standing).

The very next day, as other councils stepped in to supply Lewisham's urgent needs, media reports shockingly revealed that huge amounts of grit were covering the entrance to the Town Hall, in Catford. At the same time, pavements and side roads across the borough were snowbound.

Cllr Philip Peake (LD-Forest Hill) said: " It seems because levels of grit were so dangerously low, the Council were reluctant to give me any information at the time, I had to use a Freedom of Information request to get them to admit the true situation. It appears that Lewisham needed three top-ups from other local councils. How many residents from other areas suffered because of Lewisham's poor planning?"

Councillor Chris Maines, Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate added: " The Council should have expect cold weather in January, I have called for an immediate review of the emergency planning and the Council's reaction to severe weather conditions. Lewisham needs to reconsider its policy of grit provision, clearing pavements and giving residents support to help neighbours overcome these conditions. Lewisham Council does not learn from previous experiences and trundles on. We need a new Mayor to look at these issues with a fresh mind."

Speaking personally (Andrew Milton) I think the Council were extremely disingenous to forget to mention any of this when I asked a question in Full Council in January on what lessons they had learned from the cold spell. All the Deputy Mayor could manage was to criticise me for daring to suggest they might look at gritting pavements.

"A new collection of electronic books and audio books will soon be available to Lewisham residents. From 22nd February the new service launches to Lewisham residents, and through our partner boroughs, simultaneously to residents in Bexley and Bromley. All users will be able to borrow ebooks and e-audio-books for up to two weeks. These files can be transferred to personal devices such as MP3 players, eReaders and iPhones. When the loan time finishes, the files will automatically delete themselves. During this initial phase, stocks are limited and each item can only be loaned to one person at a time. In the future, more stock and functionality will be added.

The Library & Information Service invite you to a preview demonstration of this exciting new Virtual Library on Thursday 11th February, 6.30-7.30pm in the Civic Suite, which precedes the Healthier Communities Select Committee meeting.

The price of the £50 ticket includes reception and dinner. Bookings in advance only.

Guest speakers: David Starkey CBE, FSA, Baroness Sally Hamwee and Councillor John Russell.

Tickets available from:

Cllr. John Russell, 22 Thorpewood Avenue, London SE26 4BX. Tel: 07951 024588

Cllr_John.Russell@lewisham.gov.uk