Kit Malthouse
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Kit Malthouse | |
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Incumbent | |
Assumed office 1 May 2008 |
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Preceded by | Angie Bray |
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Born | 1966 (age 41–42) |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Conservative |
Kit Malthouse (born 1966) is Deputy Mayor of London with responsibility for the Metropolitan Police. A businessman, politician and writer, he is a Conservative and a member of the London Assembly representing the West Central constituency, which encompasses the City of Westminster, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
A former city councillor and Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council in London he is a member of the Conservative Party and has led a battle, for five years, to eliminate prostitution advertising in telephone booths. Malthouse is also the chief executive of Alpha Strategic PLC, a financial firm listed on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.[1] He is married to Juliana Farha, the founder of Dilettante.
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[edit] Career at Westminster Council, 1998-2006
During his 8 years on the Council, Malthouse had two major jobs, first in charge of Social Services and second, as Deputy Leader in charge of finance. Both these roles involved in him a number of high profile campaigns:
[edit] Campaign to outlaw advertising for prostitution
Malthouse has campaigned since 2000 for British laws to outlaw the use of telephone booths by prostitutes to advertise their services. He states that this practice is detrimental towards the appearance of the city and disturbing for residents and families, and that this advertising fuels gang controlled prostitution and the traffiking of women across Europe.
This form of advertising is used because, while prostitution itself is legal in England and Wales, keeping a brothel or soliciting for sex are not.
Malthouse also publicized the use of cellular phones for soliciting prostitution. He and some colleagues stood at the Oxford shopping district in London, handing out fake prostitution advertisement cards which included the names and business telephone numbers of cellular telephone company executives. The cards urged people to ring and protest at the company's inaction. Many of the owners received calls from would be prostitute clients and protesters that day. Three companies started barring numbers, possibly in response to the resulting negative publicity. Vodafone, the biggest provider in the United Kingdom, refused to co-operate. Following the general barring of numbers, most pimps and prostitution gangs moved their business to Vodafone and other cellular companies that did not ban this advertising.[2]
[edit] National census
Malthouse challenged the results of the 2001 population census, which he said seriously underestimated the population of the City of Westminster. Following a two year battle with the Office for National Statistics the City of Westminster population was revised upwards by 10%. and a review of future census methodology was commissioned[3]
[edit] Congestion charging
Malthouse was one of the many against the introduction of the London congestion charge, opposing it on the grounds that the idea shouldn't be first introduced in the biggest city in England,[4] London was already one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world,[5], and insinuated the whole scheme was to fill in Transport for London's budgetary shortfall.[6]
[edit] Shirley Porter
As Deputy leader of the council Malthouse was responsible for agreeing to a £12.3M settlement with Dame Shirley Porter over the £27M pound surcharge imposed on her as a result of the Homes for Vote Scandal.[7]
He retired from Westminster City Council at the May 2006 local elections.[8]
[edit] London Assembly, 2008 -
On 26th March 2007 he was selected as the Conservative Candidate for the London Assembly seat of West Central. The Assembly elections took place on 1 May 2008 and Malthouse won comfortably, taking 53% of the vote.[9]
[edit] Deputy Mayor, 2008 -
Effective 6 May 2008, Malthouse was appointed Deputy Mayor of London, Policing [10] by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
[edit] References
- ^ Alpha Strategic PLC website
- ^ Pringle, David. "Why a London Pol Thinks These Ladies Shouldn't Get Calls", Wall Street Journal, 2005-02-07, p. A1.
- ^ Briscoe, Simon. "Population update ends census error", Financial Times, 2004-07-09, p. 5.
- ^ Marston, Paul. "Bid to block road toll fails", The Daily Telegraph, 2002-08-01, p. 2.
- ^ "Britain: A shoo-in" (2002). The Economist 362 (8261): 33.
- ^ Nixson, Matt. "Thousands more drivers face Red Ken's road tolls", Mail on Sunday, 2003-03-15, p. 22.
- ^ Blitz, Roger. "Shirley Porter pays Pounds 12m settlement", Financial Times, 2004-07-06, p. 4.
- ^ Westminster City Council: Canidates 2006. David Boothroyd (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
- ^ Kit Malthouse. Kit Malthouse (2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
- ^ Boris Johnson announces further senior appointments to his administration. london.gov.uk (2008-05-06). Retrieved on 2008-05-13.