I received this email from a constituent the other day and am posting both it and my response as it might be an interesting topic for discussion:

"I don't really understand the idea of asking us to have a say. I have contacted a couple of council departments over the last couple of months to ask who will pick the bill for damage to my car ( this is when it  happens, and it will) due to the increasing number of speed bumps in the  Middleton and Belle Isle area's.

A reduction of just five miles an hour means the difference between life and death for a child that is hit by a car.

Busy this morning as I've got to spend all afternoon in full council. It will be a long one today as the opposition have called a special meeting straight after the main meeting. This means the first meeting will be from 14:00 to 19:30 and then starting again at 19:45 to debate more white papers.

Won't be able to blog from the chamber this afternoon as Vodafone has my mobile for repairs and all they've given me is some sort of antique Nokia that I can't get my Palm to recognise.

I'm musing over who the new General Secretary of the Labour Party will be now that David Triesman has announced his departure. Many of the contenders from two years ago have now gone on to do other things. David Evans is doing some excellent work with his own business The Campaign Company, Andrew Sharp is also in the private sector as director of policy at transport public affairs specialist the Waterfront Partnership.

Some of those still around are Chris Lennie, the ex-Northen regional director and now deputy general secretary, and Matt Carter, the assistant general secretary with responsibility for policy. The Guardian also touts Maggie Jones from Unison.

David Triesman was a total contrast to Margaret McDonagh. David's approach was very cerebral and policy driven (for example the launch of Foresight, the new internal Labour Party think tank) while Margaret was a campaign machine. It is my belief that the new general secretary needs to combine both aptitudes and ideally can also foster better relations with the trade unions. Margaret gave the impression that she thought of ordinary party members as little more than foot soldiers for campaigning. While David totally failed to shine on the campaign front.

My money would be on Matt Carter. I've known Matt for years - since we were both in Young Labour in the early 90s and then later I worked alongside him at the North and Yorkshire Regional Labour Party. Matt combines a formidable policy brain with lots of experience of slog your guts out streetfighting campaigns. Against him could be that he is too young (although I have to say he seems a lot older than he really is!).

On the surface both Chris Lennie and Maggie Jones would appear to be good for trade union relations, but on the other hand Triesman also came from a union background and it didn't appear to make much difference.

Thanks to British Spin for corrections (and praise!)

British Spin also suggests another couple of names. Joe Irvin is one that I hadn't heard. Matthew Taylor is one that people have talked about, but like British Spin I can't see why he would want the job.

Yesterday's full council was extremely long and quite acrimonious in parts. I spent some time pondering how both the Lib Dems and the Tories have clung for so long to the worst possible leaders. Both parties have quite credible performers in more junior positions but are sticking to the two clowns as leaders.

If Andrew Carter (Conservative) and Mark Harris (Lib Dem) weren't both so tedious and act so nasty in full council then the situation would be hilarious. For Labour I suppose it is quite good that the opposition are led by two buffoons, but I wonder how long it is before they wise up and do an IDS 'night of the long knives'.

Lord Mayor. I’d like to speak on item 115 on page 22. I very much welcome the Local Shops Security and Enhancement Scheme. In wards like my own local shops provide a vital facility for many local people who would otherwise find it difficult. Elderly people and young families without access to a car are just some of those to benefit.

By improving the security of local shops on troubled or isolated estates we can help to arrest the cycle of decline and create a sustainable future for local people.

Shopkeepers will receive cash grants to pay for improvements such as panic alarms, CCTV, shutters, security doors and fencing. Money will also be available to improve shop fronts and the surrounding areas.

This might include anything from improved lighting and better paving to seating and even public works of art. There is nothing more depressing than shops on a local estate with vandalised fronts daubed in graffiti. We want to create attractive, safe and welcoming environments that will encourage local people into the shops and drive away the louts and vandals.

We want to make Leeds a better place to live and these grants are about helping to create sustainable local communities. It will help shops to remain open and at the heart of our communities so that local people will continue to benefit from having services close at hand.

Local shops are also playing a vital role in how the council improves its customer service with paypoints in local shops so that residents find it easier to pay their rents and council tax.

It is not just the shop owners and shoppers who will benefit from improved security. Shop workers will also benefit.

Last year more than 16,000 shop workers were physically attacked, almost 50,000 threatened with attack and 70,000 verbally abused. This is the tip of the iceberg as many incidents aren’t even reported.

I’d like to praise the shop workers union USDAW for the brilliant Freedom from Fear campaign it is running to help the dangers to shop workers. Thanks to this hard hitting campaign people are now saying enough is enough. We have been softly softly for too long. As a society we need to show that we mean business. We need to fight back and say this is not right. We need to get back some basic standards of respect.

I know that this new local shops security initiative in Leeds will help to make a difference. Improving the security of local shops and protecting the people that work and shop in them is part of Labour’s crack down on loutish anti-social behaviour.

Thank you Lord Mayor.

To make your whites sparkle visit New Labour, New Thinker, New Britain.

Or to put it another way Paul Richards has redesigned his blog - and very smart it looks. To quote: "This blog is unashamedly pro-Labour in outlook, in favour of Blair rather than the alternatives, and interested in seeing a Labour Government re-elected for a third term. " Well said, no arguments from me.