Showing posts with label Brent Youth Parliament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent Youth Parliament. Show all posts

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Barry Gardiner concerned about 'dangerous tipping point;' as youth loses faith in a society which doesn't provide jobs or respect

The Willesden and Wembley Observer website is carrying these remarks from Barry Gardiner MP on the current disturbances: LINK
I was out until two in the morning last night meeting with different groups of youths. There were a lot of people out on the streets, mostly aged from 16 to 26, but I think most of them were there to see if anything was happening. They weren't going to start any trouble. There was only one incident involving a theft from a car, but this could have happened on any night of the year.


The police posted people where they thought there would be trouble, but the situation didn't develop. I would like to think nothing happened because people didn't want to see the things that had gone on across London happen in their community.
It is a very dangerous situation when you have people losing respect for society and not wanting to be on the side of the law. They ask themselves 'why should I help to protect the society which doesn't provide me with a job and which respects other people more than me?'. That's a very dangerous tipping point indeed.

Boris hasn't handled the situation. Where has he been? He said when he became mayor that he would increase police on the streets, but look what has happened to the Safer Neighbourhood teams in Brent, they have all been amalgamated and people don't have any contact with the police in their area. They are more likely to report crimes if they know their local policeman.

Friday 5 August 2011

More support for Kingsbury student strikers

Kishan Parshotam
It was good to see Kishan Parshotam, chair of Brent Youth Parliament put Tim Loughton, parliamentary under-secretary of state for children, on the spot at the UK Youth Parliament last weekend.

Kishan questioned Loughton about academies consultation and highlighted the recent strike and protest by Kingsbury High School students.

Meanwhile Brent Fightback issued a statement of support for the Kingsbury students:
Brent Fightback, the local campaign against cuts and for  democratically  accountable public services, applauds Kingsbury High School students who  took part in the recent strike. Fightback recognises that this was a  strike for democracy by school students who had been deprived of any  voice in the decision by school governors to seek academy status.

We believe that such decisions should be made only after a full and open debate where both sides are heard followed by a ballot of staff, students and parents and taking into account the views of other schools and community organisations. It must be wrong for a school governing body to make a decision based on short-term financial expediency to the detriment of a well-funded, equitable and democratically accountable  local education system.