Kalveer Ranger moved from Transport

A report in the Guardian this afternoon claims the talented  Kalveer Ranger, transport adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson, has been moved from his post. In what some commentators consider a demotion Mr. Ranger will now head the Environment brief in a direct exchange with Isabel Dedring, who will take the his former role.

Although the Mayor took all the credit for the bikes, it was Ranger who successfully implenteed the scheme. He   opened the East London Line extension, and was to steer through the Cross Rail project in the run up to London's Olympic Games.

The piece by Helene Mulholland also reports that economic advisor, Anthony Browne has been removed from his post and will now head the Mayor’s re election campaign.

Sadly, the reshuffle was precipitated by the death of Simon Milton last week. However, what could have been an opportunity to transform the Mayor’s top team to be more representative it looks like the Mayor has  squandered that opportunity.  Of the 18 members of the Mayor’s team only two are from BME communities. None are African Caribbean.

In terms of the directly elected London Assembly only two of the twenty five members are from a BME background.

All of this is in spite of the fact that more than 40% of London’s population describe themselves as ‘Black or from a minority ethnic background’.

In the run up to 2012 London elections OBV will be putting pressure on the parties to ensure that there is a greater diversity of candidates in winnable seats. Talent in the capital comes in all shades, it should therefore be reflected in our London Governance too.

Picture: Kalveer Ranger