The Hope and The Glory....by Semtex

I have had several conversations with Helen Chapman.
She is a charming lady, and one who takes her brief seriously. Although she has never said it to me herself, I have had the opinion that she has been deliberately held back and forced to carry out her brief, well and truly under the cosh.

Inside the corridors of power

I have always publicly stated that I believe the appointment of a joint head of our Licensed Trade and Private Hire is a dangerous conflict of interest. It is a ludicrous appointment, and can only ever find itself surrounded by distrustful, disloyal and precarious situations.


The London Licensed Taxi profession and Private hire Mini Cabs are two different Trades.
The fact that TFL see us as one, is probably a good barometer of how things have got this bad.


Furthermore, it is probably the reason why there has been one Chief to watch over both the London Cab Trade, and the Private Hire industry. It is no surprise therefore to see the enormous gap of discontent getting wider and wider each day.


With no separate Commanders appointments in the pipeline that I know of, it may well turn out to be that Helen Chapman may have to take the reins.


Personally, and as much as I like her, I cannot see her being strong enough. The command and control of 25000 Licensed London Taxis and somewhere in the realms of 70000 TFL approved mini cabs, driving through our metropolis, is one hell of a specialised brief.

I have seen both Mason's and Helen's professional CV's and neither of them are qualified to hold the fort.
To ensure and expect such a huge responsibility and duty of care to run like clockwork, will require a person who has a background of high profile logistic and strategy planning experience. Probably a high ranking police officer or former military commanding officer.

Helen Chapman to replace Dave Stock

In the absence of such excellent professional criteria, we may very well see Helen Chapman attempt to achieve the impossible.
I said on the LTDF forum three days after Mason's 'breath of fresh air' appointment that he was way out of his depth and would most certainly fail.


To be honest, Helen can only give it her best shot from this day onwards. If she fails, it will be as we all expected. But if she manages to turn this huge and important remit on it's axis and gets stuck in, then both her personal and professional future will not only be guaranteed for the remainder of her career, but she will leave a massive legacy of respect and example in her footsteps.


Personally, I would relish such a massive opportunity as this, in my lifetime, and I am envious of Helen's New Year prospects. However, if there is one tiny bit of naiveity, hesitation, backtracking, blame or incompetence along her path of professional edge, the crushing jaws of the disloyal civil service jelly fish, will literally eat her alive.


Going on the previous post and the rumours on the street then, Helen Chapman will be the face to lead us out of this treacle.


Way to go girl, this is your stage and the spotlights are on !


I wish you well, and will watch your progress with hope and interest.


8829 Semtex.