Readying the car park early this morning
Dawn Butler and Barry Gardiner on the picket line today
Hard to get my head round this. Labour activists tweeted their presence on Aslef picket lines this morning as they joined RMT strikers and Barry Gardiner and Dawn Butler on the picket line.
Meanwhile however, Brent Council was setting up a temporary cara park in a field in Fryent Counrty Park, Wembley and directing Coldplay fans to the Stadium.
Cllr Saquib Butt, a man with many hats, was extolling the virtues of the Council's money making strike breaking on Facebook last night. Saquib is the brother of council leader Muhammed Butt.
This is what he said:
FRYENT PARK **Important information**Hi all,We have received notification from Brent Council that our partners, Wembley Stadium connected by EE have sought the support of the Council in making the event field at Fryent Park available for customer parking on four upcoming dates as below:13th August – ASLEF strike action affecting National Rail services onlyThis has a direct clash with the Coldplay concert on 13th August and an indirect clash with the Coldplay concert on 12th August (skeletal services operating / cessation of services on the 12th August in preparation for the strike)18th August – RMT strike action affecting National Rail services onlyThis has an indirect clash with the Coldplay concert on 17th August (skeletal services operating / cessation of services early on the 17th August in preparation for the strike)19th August – RMT strike action affecting the London Underground network and impacting National Rail services in WembleyThe direct clash with the Coldplay concert on the 19th August has resulted in a change of date to 21st August. This strike action has an indirect impact on the Coldplay concert on 20th August if LU services are not resumed to a full and good service.20th August – RMT strike action affecting National Rail services onlyThis has a direct clash with the Coldplay concert on 20th August and an indirect clash with the rescheduled Coldplay concert on 21st August (skeletal services operating / slow resumption of services – Chiltern Rail have also confirmed engineering works and no National Rail service from Wembley Stadium station)The event field is available for use on a commercial basis to host events that are proposed by the community or event organisers. We charge a fee for this and hold deposits to account for any grounds damage and the need for reinstatement. Damage to the fabric of the park would always be a key consideration but we are satisfied the recent hot and dry weather will mean the ground is strong enough to withstand the parking without any risk of damage.The Council will benefit from a rental income and the proceeds of the parking sales will go to the ‘Best in Class’ fund that supports event day joint operations.As always, please do reach out to us for any concerns/issues and we will arrange for a response as necessary.Our contact details can be found here:
Cllr Butt answered residents' queries and made no bones about the fact that this was a reaction to the strikes:
Saqib ButtAuthorHi Jay , the stadium manages fine on normal event days when there are no strikes. This situation has only arisen due to the travelling public not being able to use the trains etc.
