It's not a scientific poll and just for fun but a poll of voting intentions was taken before candidates spoke at this evening's Friends of the Earth Environmental hustings and afterwards.
This was the result:
|
Candidate |
Party |
Before % |
After % |
|
David Stevens |
Green |
29 |
31 |
|
Anton Georgiou |
Liberal Democrat |
21 |
33 |
|
Sunita Hirani |
Conservative |
15 |
14 |
|
Muhammed Butt |
Labour |
35 |
17 |
|
|
Undecided |
9 |
6 |
11 comments:
Twas like watching a car crash in slow motion. Brent deserves much better than this!
We all know Butt is blind to anything other than his Dystopian Brent
Full marks to Cllr Butt for coming on the Zoom, knowing he was likely to take a lot of challenging questions. But his answers were mostly disappointing.
One of the themes was building on green space, when the Climate Emergency Strategy calls for INCREASING it. I was pleased to have the chance to debate this with him, in relation to Brent's Infill plans for our local estate. Here's my question:
• For the Kilburn Square Infill scheme, Brent agreed last Autumn to review scale after emphatic community pushback
• Your team has agreed to address one of three main concerns – the height of a tower
• But they are still insisting on two new Blocks that will not only mean an unacceptable increase of 67% in resident density vs 2019…
• … but also remove mature trees and green space
• How do you justify that in the light of Brent’s commendable Climate Emergency strategy to INCREASE green space?
• We’re in the most greenspace-deprived corner of Brent already
• And please don’t just quote the housing targets – the community acknowledges those and will accept some new housing – but this scheme is grossly lacking balance
In reply he said "but we're still talking to you guys". True - but what they are telling us is that no more change will be made and it's onward to Planning Application
See https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2022/03/letter-response-to-cllr-southwoods.html
Butt- 'we're still talking to you guys'.
He does lots of talking but zero listening to what we say!!!
'Full marks' to Mr. Butt for turning up and confirming he has no interest in the environment in an event organised by Friends of the Earth!
This isn’t coming to answer challenging questions Keith - it’s because he thinks the residents of Brent are complete mugs!
Mr. Butt is addicted to climate destroying development for CIL and Council Tax income and his justification last night that some young nurse is paying less rent because of his intervention is the same justification all climate abusers make - my intentions are good and beneficial – and yes of course I am ‘green’ as well. (Asphalt is 'green' because its cheap to maintain!)
Mr. Butt is so blinded by ideology that he doesn’t seem to know that climate change exacerbates inequality. One of his incompetent patsies even said in the chat at the event – ‘no development no CIL’. His election manifesto is we’ll destroy the planet but there will be money in the CIL fund and the reserves.
Vote for him and end the world.
He’s not responsible for this climate disaster (or indeed anything in Brent) - that's the fault of the Tory government cuts in Westminster.
Really good analysis. Presume Cllr Tatler was the one saying no development no CIL. I often wonder what benefits CIL has provided to the Brent population as a whole, I'm guessing nothing? Butt would knock everything down and build tower blocks if he could.
What about the £17.8 million of CIL money given to Quintain for unnecessary steps outside Wembley Stadium - that money should have been spent on our local parks and other important projects to benefit the our local communitities!
An encouraging "poll" for the Greens and Lib Dems, and well done to Cllr Georgiou for showing that he is better than "The Leader" who has been trying to put him down ever since he won an Alperton seat from Labour.
But polls don't win elections, votes do.
As I've said before (and will probably say again), if the residents of Brent want a change from what is not just an almost "one party state", but in reality a small group of (duly elected) Cabinet members and Senior Council Officers running our borough the way they want to, large numbers of us will need to vote at the local elections in May.
Even if Labour is still the largest party (in which case Cllr. Butt will probably continue as Leader) after those elections, there needs to be a much stronger opposition, to try to genuinely hold the decision makers to account.
As has been shown during the past few years, there is very little that backbench Labour councillors have been willing, or able, to do in challenging the decisions made "at the top". As my recent post (Democracy in Brent - are Cabinet Meetings a Charade?) showed, those decisions are not actually made in public! See: https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2022/03/democracy-in-brent-are-cabinet-meetings.html
Residents in each Ward across Brent need to elect councillors who will listen to what the people they represent say, and stand up for their local community in their dealings with their fellow councillors and Council Officers.
Please try to make sure that you vote for candidates who you believe will do that, whatever party they represent (or no party, if they are standing as an independent or representative of a local organisation), and that you encourage your family, friends and neighbours to do the same.
VOTE, and vote wisely!
If we had PR (Proportional Representation) in local Council elections based on these results we would have a balanced Brent Council and probably a much better Council which would take environmental issues more seriously.
If Labour regain another massive majority under our discredited voting system then we can kiss good bye to any serious attempts to deal with the Climate Emergency. For a start we'll have ever taller monster Tower Blocks (a 32 storey Tower is proposed for Wembley Point area opposite Bridge Park for example and every available grassed area will be built on.
Those people not tribally party political should think about the Parties who support PR (Lib Dems and Greens in the case of the 4 represented at the hustings) and vote for them on 5 May. With an 'unscientific' combined 64% that might lead to a real change to how Brent Council will be run in the future.
And one day later: the " Demolition of car park and 1-2 & 5-18 Windmill Court maisonettes ..." (Ref 21/4690)is approved by Brent Planning without any consideration given to extensive embodied carbon "because it is too small" to consider relevant. Green and play space reduced, mature trees cut down. Exemplary modernist planning trampled over with cram-it-in 'altered estates' post-modern short-termism.
Planning Comittee Wednesday, 23rd March 2022 at 6:00pm
https://brent.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/647998
The planning game is rigged by the dictate of Brent Council being in cahoots with the developers and pityfuly few voices able or willing to stand up to M. Butt and his lackeys.
Brent has no issues with carbon-dirty builds.
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