Showing posts with label Brent North. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brent North. Show all posts

Thursday 5 September 2013

Gardiner faces demonstration over Modi visit on Monday

There is to be a demonstration on Monday at 11.30am outside the Brent Civic Centre where Barry Gardiner MP for Brent North will be holding his surgery. The demonstration is against Gardiner's invitation, as Chair of Labour Friends of India, to Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujerat,  to address the House of Commons. The demonstration is supported by  South Asian Solidarity, Islamic Human Rights Committee, Brent Trades Council, Brent Labour Representation Committee and many individuals. 

The exchange of letters below sets out the different viewpoints:

Barry Gardiner to Council of Indian Muslims (UK)

Dear Sirs,

 Asalaam Aleyeekum

Thank you for your courtesy in sending to me a copy of your open letter in which you refer to the invitation I issued to Narendra Modi to speak on “The Future of Modern India” in front of an invited audience in the House of Commons. I did this in my capacity as Chairman of Labour Friends of India. I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to set out my reasons for doing so.

Narendra Modi is the Chief Minister of Gujarat, which as you know is where a large proportion of the Indian community in Britain come from originally. He has been re-elected three times since first becoming Chief Minister in 2001, most recently in 2012 with the overwhelming support of both the Hindu and the Muslim community in the State. Since 2001 he has stamped out corruption in the State administration and is widely recognised (even by his enemies) to be personally not corrupt and to live frugally. Many non-resident Indians who hold him in high regard have a keen interest in maintaining their family contacts in Gujarat and are therefore interested to hear his views.

He has presided over what is often referred to as an economic miracle in Gujarat, encouraging foreign direct investment and improving roads, electricity and infrastructure whilst increasing education and healthcare. In particular women’s education has increased and death in childbirth has dropped by a third. All of this, he has done in the aftermath of the devastating Gujarat earthquake which wrecked the city of Bhuj and much of the surrounding villages and towns leaving 600,000 people homeless. The growth rate in the state from 2001 to 2012 has been almost 12% -- the highest of any state in India and as a result of his governance Britain now has more foreign direct investment in Gujarat than in the rest of India put together. He has been voted as the most successful Chief Minister by India Today Magazine 6 years in a row and has recently been made the Leader of the official Opposition Party, the BJP. The BJP is a Hindu Nationalist Party and those are certainly his uncompromising views (he would like India to be a Hindu State just as Pakistan is a Muslim State). However he has always governed in line with the secular constitution of India as did the BJP when it was the party of government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2004.

 I am of course aware of the allegations that he was implicated in – some say that he organised – the appalling rioting that took place in Gujarat in 2002. The riots took place in the immediate aftermath of the murder of 64 Ram Sewaks (Hindu religious) who were locked in a train that was set alight by Muslim extremists who objected to the Ram Sewaks’ demands to build a Hindu temple at Ayodhya. Hindu mobs then went on the rampage in revenge for this atrocity, burning out Muslim shops and homes. The official figure of those killed at the time was 850 but subsequent reports say that up to 2,000 Muslims were murdered. You have quoted from a BBC report that referenced an analysis prepared from contemporaneous accounts including the Human Rights Watch Report compiled immediately afterwards which made it clear that police and other officials had stood by and not tried to protect the Muslim community. This led some to accuse the authorities of a planned massacre.

Other contemporaneous reports in newspapers show that the state government had imposed curfews, issued shoot-on-sight orders and called for the army to prevent the violence from worsening. Clearly there was a horrific failure in the implementation of those orders. In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to inquire into the Gujarat government and Narendra Modi's role in the incidents of communal violence. The SIT reported to the court in December 2010 submitting that they did not find any incriminating evidence against Modi of willfully allowing communal violence in the state. In all the rioting lasted for three days before the police got things under control. (In this respect you may recall that the rioting two years ago here in London took four days for the police to bring under control and they too were accused of standing by and doing nothing.)

Given that the Indian Courts have fully investigated the allegations about official complicity in the riots and have in fact convicted some senior administrative and political figures, it is I think all the more significant that they found that Modi was not implicated in any way.  This has of course not stopped people using the allegations against him for political reasons; and they continue to do so. That is no reason for us to regard them as justified and proven when the Indian courts, under a Congress government, have found that there is not even a case for him to answer.

My assessment in inviting Modi to speak in the UK is that he is a hugely important figure in Indian politics. He is already Leader of the Opposition and depending on the outcome of next year’s elections he could become the Prime Minister of India. At the very least he will continue to be a dominant influence on India’s future direction one way or another. Britain has good relations with India and our trade and education links are strong and growing. It is therefore in my view entirely appropriate that British politicians and leaders of the Indian community in the UK should have an interest in what he has to say about the future direction of his country. 

 I trust that this clarifies the situation for you, and once again want to thank you for affording me the opportunity to address your concerns.

With Kindest Regards
Yours sincerely
Barry Gardiner MPMember of Parliament for Brent NorthChairman of Labour Friends of India

Council of Indian Muslims (UK) response:

Dear Right Hon. Mr. Gardiner,
Thank you for promptly responding to our concerns about your invitation to Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.  Please forgive us for saying that we have been vindicated in our assessment that you have been misinformed.  Before we respond to the points raised in your letter, let us start by providing some background on the most serious charge against Mr. Modi, about his role in the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. 

The viciousness and barbarism that marked the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 including the burning alive of hundreds of people, and brutal sexual violence against women, make the Gujarat riots among the worst human rights violations in recent history. Over 2000 people were killed, countless others wounded, and over 150,000 displaced from their homes.

After their investigation of the violence, Human Rights Watch stated that the “attacks against Muslims (and other religious minorities) in Gujarat have been actively supported by state BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government officials and by the police.” [13]

The "Concerned Citizens Tribunal", established by journalists, retired judges and intellectuals in India to investigate the massacres in Gujarat, noted in its report:
The scrutiny of the evidence, which came before us, also reveals that there was systematic preparation for unleashing the violence all over the State. The attackers had with them the lists of persons and properties of the victims. The lists could not have been prepared without an access to government records and agencies like the state intelligence, the sales tax department, the revenue department and the state electoral rolls. The Muslim localities were identified beforehand, as also the property and business houses belonging to the Muslim community.
[Crime Against Humanity, Volume 1 - An Inquiry into the Carnage in Gujarat]

Babu Bajrangi, a convicted mass-killer of the Gujarat pogrom, acknowledged on camera during a media sting operation, that the pogrom would not have been possible without the support of Chief Minister Narendra Modi [14].  

There is much more evidence that we would be happy to provide, should you need us to corroborate our position against Mr. Modi. 

We would now like to respond to your letter point by point.

1. Modi, “has been re-elected three times since first becoming Chief Minister in 2001”
This is not unusual in Indian electoral politics which is often driven by sectarian loyalty rather than principle. Nor does it mean that he is governing well. The Left Front government ruled the state of West Bengal for 32 years until 2009. Naveen Patnaik (Orissa), Sheila Dikshit (Delhi) also were re-elected three times in a row. You must be aware of the fact that electoral arithmetic does not entirely depend on the persona of any individual, especially in a Westminster model of democracy. 

2. Muslims have voted for him in 2012
The Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), which collects electoral data collected using scientific survey methodology, reported that only 18% of Muslims voted for BJP. 

The same data reports that BJP did not field any Muslim candidate in the last Gujarat election. There were areas where Muslims had no option but to vote for the other candidate. This has nothing to do with Modi. Muslims were forced to express, under threat or intimidation by BJP/RSS, their support for him but there is nothing to suggest that they have voted for him as a community. [3]

3. Since 2001 he has stamped out corruption in the State administration”
This is false – an example of Mr. Modi’s expensive propaganda machine at work. If corruption has been stamped out, why then did the Modi administration resist the appointment of state Lok Ayukta (anti-corruption ombudsman) since 2003? When the State Governor appointed one, the Modi administration contested it up to the Supreme Court where it lost.

4. Modi, “is widely recognized (even by his enemies) to be personally not corrupt and to live frugally.”
Our objections to Mr. Modi's politics concern his fascist traits in politics and government, not his personal lifestyle, which incidentally is also not above board. 

5.  “Many non-resident Indians who hold him in high regard have a keen interest in maintaining their family contacts in Gujarat and are therefore interested to hear his views.”
This is no reason to justify implicit support for his views by providing him with a platform. Emigrants all over the world maintain contact with their families and relatives back home. There may be many in the UK who support other leaders with fascist views and would be very interested to hear them.

6. “He has presided over what is often referred to as an economic miracle in Gujarat, encouraging foreign direct investment and improving roads, electricity and infrastructure whilst increasing education and healthcare....”
Gujarat has not been a leading state in foreign direct investment (FDI). The Gujarat government claims that it signed nearly $1 trillion worth of memoranda of understanding (MoU), putting the state ahead of China! The real numbers tell a different story. Most of the MoUs never come to fruition. Gujarat's actual FDI is only sixth in the country and slightly ahead of (until recently communist ruled) West Bengal. Mr. Modi’s formidable PR armada led by APCO has created the fiction of Modi’s magic in Gujarat’s prosperity. Even if it were true, how much does a pound of human flesh cost?

7. Britain now has more foreign direct investment in Gujarat than in the rest of India put together.
This is a rather unfortunate admission in that it implies that economic interests are more important than human rights. Please note that the massacres he gave free rein to in 2002 also took the lives of three British citizens. These facts, if underlined, would anger the general British population as well. Under these circumstances, it would be highly regrettable for a British politician to be associated with and seen as endorsing Mr. Modi.

8. He has been voted as the most successful Chief Minister in India by Today Magazine 6 years in a row.
India Today is an English language magazine. English is spoken by 2-3% people in India (per the national census of 2001) - the poll therefore does not carry much weight as representing a significant proportion of Indian citizens.

9. He has recently been made the Leader of the Official Opposition Party
The Leader of the Official Opposition Party is in fact Mr. Rajnath Singh; Mr. Modi is simply in charge of the election campaign for 2014 elections.

10. The BJP is a Hindu Nationalist Party. And those are certainly his uncompromising views (he would like India to be a Hindu State just as Pakistan is a Muslim State.)
Thank you for pointing this out. The issue is that the Hindu Nationalist charter goes above and beyond India as a Hindu state a la Pakistan as a Muslim state. The VHP and RSS who are the ideological sources of the Hindu Nationalist movement were strongly influenced by Nazis in their formative years. University of Chicago Professor Martha Nussbaum calls the movement the most successful proto-fascist movement of modern times [1]. To quote Prof. Nussbaum:

“Since long before the 2002 Gujarat riots--in which nearly two thousand Muslims were killed by Hindu extremists--the power of the Hindu right has been growing, threatening India's hard-won constitutional practices of democracy, tolerance, and religious pluralism. Led politically by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu right has sought the subordination of other religious groups and has directed particular vitriol against Muslims, who are cast as devils in need of purging.”

The Hindu Nationalist movement not only threatens the Muslims in India, but Christians, Dalits, Sikhs, Buddhists, and other minorities as well. In the long run, they will threaten other regional powers (Because India, according to them, extends from Afghanistan to Burma and from Tibet to Sri Lanka.)

BJP is the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a fascist group whose leader M. S. Golwalkar in his book We; Our Nationhood Defined, laid down the aims and objectives of this group in these words, “...the foreign races [read non Hindus] in Hindusthan [India] must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture...must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation...We are an old nation; let us deal, as old nations ought to and do deal, with the foreign races...” Otherwise, “...To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic Races—the Jews. Germany has also shown how well impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by.”
India has a remarkably successful constitution.  Modi’s uncompromising views are constitutionally inappropriate and legally unjustifiable. 

11. I am of course aware of the allegations that he was implicated in – some say that he organised – the appalling rioting that took place in Gujarat in 2002…  train that was set alight by Muslim extremists who objected to the Ram Sewaks’ demands to build a Hindu temple at Ayodhya

The official probe conducted by Indian Railways concluded that there was no attack from outside, that the fire started inside the coach; the claim that the fire was started by the Muslims’ as a retaliation to the temple at Ayodhya is a fiction and perhaps uttered here for the first time.

Muslims do not oppose the construction of a Ram Temple. What they are against is the occupation of Waqf (Muslim trust) land, where once stood a historic mosque and that was pulled down by extremist Hindus under the full gaze of the media. 

12. “Hindu mobs...  planned massacre”
As has been pointed out, all evidence points to a planned and systematic ethnic cleansing that could not have been possible without the overt support of the state machinery. A former minister in Modi cabinet Maya Kodnani was convicted by the High Court in Gujarat for her role in the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 [12]. This alone is a damning indictment and proof that the pogrom was planned and executed with direction from the highest levels of the state administration.  

13. “Given that the Indian Courts... Modi was not implicated in any way”
The truth about Modi will be known only when he is out of office and unable to use government machinery to silence his critics– please see what he does to officers who expose his role like Sanjiv Bhat.

14. “This has of course not stopped people using the allegations against him for political reasons; and they continue to do so... That is no reason... there is not even a case for him to answer”

Even the Supreme court has made these allegations [2, 10]. Are you, sir, suggesting that the Indian Supreme court has political agenda?

Mr. Modi has refused to condemn the attack on Muslims; he has instead focused his efforts on denying relief and assistance to the victims [11]. He has polarized Gujarati and Indian society along religious lines, leading to social and commercial boycott of Muslims, walls separating Muslim and Hindu areas in cities and towns and “Muslim-free” villages. There are still tens of thousands of the displaced during 2002 living in shanty towns and temporary refugee camps too afraid to return to their homes and villages.

The amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court has asserted that Modi can be prosecuted [2]. There is enough evidence against him that the United States denies him entry [5,6]. It is difficult to file a case against a Chief Minister everywhere and especially in India. 

15. My assessment in inviting Modi to speak in the UK is that he is a hugely important figure in Indian politics. He is already Leader of the Opposition and depending on the outcome of next year’s elections he could become the Prime Minister of India. At the very least he will continue to be a dominant influence on India’s future direction one way or another. Britain has good relations with India and our trade and education links are strong and growing. It is therefore in my view entirely appropriate that British politicians and leaders of the Indian community in the UK should have an interest in what he has to say about the future direction of his country.

As we have pointed out before, Modi is not the leader of the Opposition. He is not as popular as you have been told [9]. Humanity has nothing to gain from a fascist leader, however alluring his promises may seem. 
We hope we have convinced you that the facts and arguments provided to you by Modi supporters are false and reprehensibly so. We would like to expand on why we oppose Mr. Modi and his propaganda of a Gujarat `miracle.’ 

He inherited a rich state which was richer than the rest of India even before independence - in comparison to other Indian states Gujarat has always been an economically better [4].

Even so, income disparity in Gujarat is one of the most extreme in India. Per data released by the planning commission of India, 31.8% are still below poverty line.  Note that poverty means those who do not earn Rs. 20 (GBP 0.20) per day! 

Responding to a question on malnutrition in Gujarat, Narendra Modi, on 29 August 2012, said: "The middle class is more beauty-conscious than health-conscious that is a challenge…If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they'll have a fight-she'll tell her mother, 'I won't drink milk. I'll get fat."   
We would like to emphasize that Mr. Modi refused to condemn the 2002 riots, let alone apologize to the victims. He walked out of an interview with Karan Thapar when pressed on this. On the contrary he continues to evoke the 2002 case to create his image as a nationalist!

We have tried our best to answer you point by point. We specially request you to watch and read the links and references provided in our responses. If that is difficult, please ask an unbiased and credible source about the facts presented here. At stake are values that are common to both the United Kingdom and India and indeed to all civilized nations [7, 8].

Regards,
Munaf Zeena

Notes and References
[1] “The Clash Within: Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future” Martha Nussbaum Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (2009)
[2] “Gujarat riots: Amicus curiae says Modi can be prosecuted” http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gujarat...amicus-curiae...modi.../946400/
[3] “Muslims solidly against Modi: Katju
[4] Growth Rate: As per the Planning Commission data, this is true that in the period of 1995-2000 and 2001-10, Gujarat increased its annual rate of growth from 8.01% to 8.68%. 
But look at other states Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. In fact, Gujarat was ranked second after Rajasthan (8.34%) in the first period and third after Uttarakhand (11.81%) and Haryana (8.95%) in the second period. Even Bihar and Orissa, the two most backward states of the country, have also shown growth pick up from 4.70% and 4.42% in the first period to 8.02% and 8.13% in the second period. Even smaller states like Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have registered growth of 11.01% and 8.96%, respectively. In 2011, Gujarat ranked sixth among major states with PCI of Rs 63,996, after Haryana (Rs 92,327), Maharashtra (Rs 83,471), Punjab (Rs 67,473), Tamil Nadu (Rs 72,993) and Uttarakhand (Rs 68,292).
25 US lawmakers have urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to continue with America's move. 
http://in.news.yahoo.com/keep-denying-visa-to-modi--us-lawmakers-052424447.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10250928/US-official-warns-against-giving-Indias-Narendra-Modi-a-visa.html
“India will not be able to survive because it has so much diversity, so many religions, castes, languages, ethnic groups, etc.
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-india-would-not-survive-if-modi-becomes-pm-markandey-katju-4191218-NOR.html
Martha C Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago.
"Modi has long been denied a visa to enter the US because of his complicity in the 2002 pogrom, as ascertained by the US State Department. But now, the Naroda Patiya verdicts make official the fact that responsibility for heinous crimes goes very high up in his government," she notes.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-12-24/news/35991670_1_gujarat-chief-minister-gujarat-riots-naroda-patiya
"We do not agree with the content of your seminar and invitation of Narendra Modi as a chief guest," he said. "As a magazine and as a publishing house in India with more than 12 years of standing, we stand by the principles of good taste, decency, progressive values, democratic principles and above all, the Constitution of India. As editor of PrintWeek India, I don't think Narendra Modi stands by these values; and hence the withdrawal of support," Ramnathan said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/printers-protest-narendra-modi-as-chief-guest-pullout-from-conference/1079417/
Passing strictures against the state government, the court said, "Gujarat Government's inadequate response and inaction (to contain the riots) resulted in an anarchic situation which continued unabated for days on".
In a major blow to the Narendra Modi government, the Gujarat High Court today censured it for "inaction and negligence" during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, holding that this had resulted in an "anarchic" situation.
[12] Naroda Patiya case: Former BJP minister Maya Kodnani convicted along with 31 others http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-08-30/news/33499655_1_naroda-patiya-gujarat-riots-kodnani
[13]"We have no orders to save you" - Report by Human Rights Watch
[14] The Truth – Gujarat 2002: Babu Bajrangi

Thursday 15 August 2013

Barry Gardiner caught in August storm over Modi visit





Brent North Labour MP Barry Gardiner has upped his profile in India considerably as can be seen on the many versions of the above interview on the internet and the highly partisan comments it has attracted.

Reaction to the invitation he submitted in his role as Chair of Labour Friends of India to Narendra Modi, leader of the BJP, is also building in the UK. Modi is a controversial figure because of his role in the 2002 communal riots in the Gujerat and he is only just becoming rehabilitated with Barry Gardiner, who counts himself a friend, leading the process. Indeed the India Times called him Modi's 'biggest fan'. LINK

The Conservative Friends of India have joined Gardiner in issuing the  invitation for Modi to speak on the 'Future of India' but the Labour Party is divided on the issue.

John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, told The Hindu that he was “deeply shocked that Mr. Modi has been invited to meet British Parliamentarians, given the continuing concerns in India and across the world at his record on human rights and the sectarian politics of his party.”

He said the invitation
....should certainly not be seen as an endorsement of Modi by the British Labour Party or the British Parliament. I do not believe Modi should be associated with by any true friend of democracy or India.
He added that he “along with others” would “boycott any meetings or events with Modi present.”

Kamaljeet Jandu of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Labour has written to Ed Miliband slamming the invitation LINK :
....So, to my dismay I have learnt that Narendra Modi, who is still the Chief Minister of Gujarat, was invited by Barry Gardiner, Chair of Labour Friends of India, to speak at the House of Commons.
Mr Gardiner believes that since Britain does more business with Gujarat than with the rest of India put together, and he could possibly be India’s next Prime Minister, this is enough to whitewash Mr Modi’s past
Kalpana Wilson, of the South Asian Solidarity Group, strongly disagrees with the invitation.
[They] have invited somebody to address the House of Commons who has been responsible for what can only be called genocidal attacks in which more than two thousand members of the Muslim minority community in Gujarat were targeted for the most horrendous forms of violence and were murdered,

Women and children were particularly targeted, and this is something which South Asian communities in Britain simply are not able to forget.

We're not prepared to see Modi being rehabilitated as a respectable leading politician, which is what this invitation seems to suggest.
The Islamic Human Rights Commission Bookshop, based in Preston Road Wembley, has tweeted a link to the IHRC Report on the riots  in which more than 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, died LINK

A Change.Org petition LINK which has only been up for a day or so has already attracted more than 2,000 signatures calling for the invitation to be withdrawn. It reads:

Stop the Visit of Narendra Modi to the UK! Remember the Gujarat genocide of 2002
We the undersigned write to express our concern at the invitation to address the House of Commons issued to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by the Labour Friends of India and the Conservative Friends of India. We strongly believe that Narendra Modi, who is responsible for the 2002 genocidal attacks in which over 2,000 men, women and children from Gujarat’s Muslim minority community were systematically killed, must not be allowed to visit the UK. Modi’s past visits to the UK have been used to raise extensive funds and support for communal violence, and a visit at this time when Modi is launching a campaign to become India’s next Prime Minister, and continues to try to gain votes using openly fascistic and anti-minority rhetoric, would be particularly dangerous.

In the wake of the 2002 genocide and the extensive documentation of Modi’s role in co-ordinating and sponsoring it. the UK, other EU, and US governments were compelled to distance themselves from Modi and the Gujarat government. However recently we have seen the British government take steps to rehabilitate Modi, as evidenced by meetings between the British High Commissioner and Modi in Ahmedabad. This puts the interests of British corporates wishing to invest in Gujarat ahead of any concerns for human rights and justice, and makes a mockery of the rights of the three British citizens who were murdered during the genocide and whose families are yet to receive justice. We condemn this collusion in Modi’s attempts to deny his role as a mass murderer. We demand that the invitation to Modi is withdrawn and he is refused a visa to the UK.

Sunday 21 April 2013

Barry Gardiner says no demand for Michaela Free School and urges residents to make their views known

In a letter to a constituent, Barry Gardiner MP (Labour, Brent North) has said that he has seen no desire in Brent for the Michaela Free School which is run by Katharine Birbalsingh:
Although there is a shortage of school places in Brent, I do not think that a free school In Wembley is the best solution to this problem, especially as there has not been, to my knowledge, a call from the community to open such a school.
He goes on to urge residents to make their views known on the issue before tomorrow's deadline:
The school has not yet been approved by the DfE and as the consultation period is still open, I would urge you and other concerned residents to complete the online questionnaire so that the views of local people are taken into account. The deadline for submissions is on Monday 22nd April 2013 and the questionnaire can be found here: http://www.mcsbrent.co.uk/questionnaire/ .
Be aware that the questionnaire contains some seemingly fairly innocuous statements which few would disgree with but where agreement can be used to claim that the school is supported.

Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, had written to Gardiner on behalf of Michael Gove and claims that Michaela have had 'production meetings' with Brent Council officials:  
The proposers of Michael Community School are committed to opening a school with a distinct ethos and high expectations that will serve disadvantaged communities in London. The Department considered that their application to open a Free School was strong   and we have been working with them seince September 20122 to develop their school. As Free School projects develop, there are often aspects of the original application that evolve and change. Ministers will consider the final location, evidence of demand and revised plans for the school before making the final decision to open the school.

The Michael Community School is proposing to open in Brent for September 2014. Following an extebnsive site search, the Education Funding Agnecy has been helping the proiposers identify as site which ahs the ca[acity for their proposed school and can serve disadvantaged communities. We believe it is likely that the school will help meet rising demand for places across Brent. The Secretary of State will also consider any evidence that the school proposers provide that the school will improve choice for parents alongside any evidence of basic need for places before deciding whether to enter a funding agreement.

Brent Council has been aware that the Michaela Community School was looking at potentially opening in Brent since last summer. I understand that representatives of the school have had productive meetings with council officials. The Department will write to Brent Council during the school proposers' consultation to seek their further views on the school before a final decision on whether to open the school is made. (My emphasis)

The Secretary of State will ot make the final decision on whether to pen the Michael Community School until the school is ready to enter into a funding agreement. By that point, the school's proposers will have completed a public consultation on the opening of the school. The Secretary of State will also consider the evidence of demand for the school and the potential impact on other nearby state-funded schools.

Finally, we are fully committed to making the Free School programme transparent and accountable. The Department will publish the final pre-opening development cost of each project shortly after the school opens. The Department will also publish the final capital cost of each school once it has been established, which can be after the opening date as sometimes work continues after a school has opened.
Clearly it is important that we know what Brent Council has said during the consultation. The fact that only 8 people in total turned up to the consultation meetings and most, if not all, were opposed to Michaela should have given Brent Council the message that the school is not wanted her.

It is telling that we cannot know the cost, which might well contribute to our views on the project until after the school has opened.


  

 

Saturday 16 February 2013

Barry Gardiner quizzes Michael Gove on Michaela Free School


A Brent North resident writes:
 
I thought followers of Wembley Matters  might be interested in the copy letter below. It appears that I was one of several people to contact our MP raising concerns about the proposed Free School at Wembley Park. Barry Gardiner has put our questions to Michael Gove, and has promised to forward a copy of his response as soon as he receives it.
 
When Gove and David Cameron launched their latest list of approved Free School bids in July last year, it showed that its funding for the Michaela Community School was on the basis that it was to meet demand for a Free School in Lambeth, which it highlighted as a deprived area. I know that Brent has some deprived areas as well, and our schools do need to be fairly funded; but it seems unfair that the money for this school should be taken away from Lambeth, where there is the need and apparently the demand for it, and spent in Wembley Park, where I am not aware of any such demand.
 
Barry Gardiner's letter to Michael Gove:
 
Click on image to enlarge
 

Friday 23 November 2012

I'm Barry - Fly Me!

Today's Independent draws attention to the number of flights and expenses paid trips undertaken by members of parliament LINK 

242 MPs declared an average of £6,500 for 'fact finding missions' and trips.


Barry Gardiner MP, who ironically is Ed Miliband's Special Envoy on Climate Change got a special  mention:
Barry Gardiner, the MP for Brent North, has accepted £52,071 in foreign trips since the election, spending a total of 73 days out of the country as Vice-President of Globe International – an international group representing parliamentarians.



Wednesday 22 February 2012

Barry Gardiner intervenes over Town Hall Library mess

Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, went and saw the state of Brent Town Hall Library himself after complaints from constituents and my February 9th post on the issue LINK

The Library was in a mess after stock and shelves were transferred from closed down libraries including Neasden.

He saw  boxes of books dumped on the floor in disarray and apparently unsorted, stands and shelves with sharp edges unsecured and protruding. He wrote to Sue McKenzie, Head of Brent Library Service to express his concern and remarked that if health and safety inspectors had visited at that time they would have noted several serious health and safety risks.

He requested that the issue be sorted out urgently and also asked what would happen to the books currently being moved from the six libraries, and when they would be available for use by the public. In addition he asked if other options had been considered including dispersal to Brent schools, nurseries or children's centres

I visited the Town Hall Library earlier today and it was a lot tidier, although there are still boxes of unsorted books tucked under the  bookshelves. A number of additional shelving units from Neasden are now in use at the Town Hall. A large space has been cleared for the  '60 years of Wembley' exhibition which begins at the Library on Saturday. It looks likely that things will be quite congested.

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Consternation over boundary changes - see the maps

The Boundary Commission's draft proposals for changes in Brent's parliamentary representation have been received with some consternation - as you can see by comments on this blog and elsewhere. Brent wards would be scattered across five parliamentary constituencies. The 12 week consultation period is now open and closes on December 5th 2011. Two consultation meetings will be held in Brent - both at Brent Town Hall in Wembley (sorry Willesdenites!) on Tuesday 20th October and Wednesday 21st October. Full details are on the Brent website along with PDF's of the maps I reproduce below for those who prefer iconographic representation LINK Click on images to enlarge

   
Wembley and Perivale

Willesden
Stanmore
Hampstead and Kilburn

Harrow
 

Monday 12 September 2011

Boundary changes will mean 5 MPs representing Brent wards

Proposals today from the Boundary Commission for England and Wales could see the people of Brent represented by five different members of parliament.  In order to distribute the electorate of each constituency fairly the following changes are put forward:
  • Kenton ward would join a new Harrow constituency , renamed from the old Harrow East constituency (Current MP Bob Blackman, Conservative)
  • Fryent and Queesnbury wards would join a new Stanmore constituency, renamed from the old Harrow West constituency (Current MP Gareth Thomas (Labour)
  • Brondesbury Park would be taken out of Hampstead and Kilburn, and put into Brent Central and the constituency would be  renamed Willesden. It will now include College Park and Old Oak wards from Hammersmith and Fulham. (Current MP Sarah Teather Liberal Democrat)
  • Brent North would be renamed Wembley and Perivale and include Tokyngton ward and Perivale ward from the old Ealing North Constituency. (Current MP Barry Gardiner Labour)
  •  Kilburn and Queens Park wards will remain in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. Current MP Glenda Jackson Labour)
The proposals will have all the Brent political parties busy  trying to work out the impact on their vote. For older Brentonians the names will bring back memories of the two political entities that were merged to make Brent: Willesden and Wembley. 'Brent' disappears from the parliamentary political landscape.

Sunday 27 June 2010

The rump regroups

According to a blog on UK Polling by ex-Brent Conservative councillor, later Democratic Conservative; and Independent parliamentary candidate, Atiq Malik, all Brent North Conservative Constituency officers have resigned. New elections will take place at an Extraordinary General Meeting on July 22nd 2010.

Despite a strong showing elsewhere the Conservatives did poorly in Brent North with Barry Gardiner increasing his majority for Labour. There was internal controversy about a very late candidate selection which left Harsh Patel, the Conservative candidate very little time to establish himself. This was coupled with the announcement by Bob Blackman, shortly before the poll that he was not going to stand as a councillor in Preston ward and that he would resign his leadership of the Conservative Group after the election. In the local elections the Tories were left with a rump of only 6 seats, all in the north of the borough, compared with 15 at the previous local elections.

Tuesday 4 May 2010

Notes from North Brent

It is a strange old election.  Barry Gardiner is running a campaign that at first glance makes him look like an Independent candidate relying on a personality cult to get himself elected. This pamphlet bears no red colour and you have to search for the sole mention of the Labour Party embedded in the text. It is all about Gardiner's family life.

Children leaving Fryent Primary School who were upset when Barry's red balloons ran out were bemused to be offered large stickers of Barry's smiling face instead. One boy angrily demanded where he could find a blue balloon...

The Liberal Democrats are conspicuous by their absence - presumably they are all concentrating on Teather's campaign in Brent Central. Harsh Patel is saturating the constituency with a plethora of leaflets which are distributed by an army of teenagers.  This could be counterproductive as residents have started complaining about the junk coming through their letter boxes. It is noteworthy that this effort hasn't resulted in a forest of Tory posters.

It may be straws in the wind, or deliberate misinformation, but a senior Tory encountered whilst leafleting said that 'It was turning out better than I thought it would be', while a Labour Party member, charged with telephoning supporters said he had found it hard to motivate people.

Atik Maliq, erstwhile Conservative and Democratic Consertvative councillor, seems to be concentrating on getting his posters into shop windows, though a barbers in Preston Road has both Conservatives, Patel and Malik, in their window.  Malik faced a front page blast from the Willesden and Brent Times last week which reported an unspecified allegation against him and revived comments he made about Sharia law and the whipping of unmarried women who engaged in sexual activity. Any publicity is good publicity?

Meanwhile the demise of the Democratic Conservative Group remains a mystery. They were apparently set up to contest five wards and had collected all the requisite signatures. One version has it that their leader Robert Dunwell, deciding at the last minute that he could use his time and skills better elsewhere; the other that their nominations were deemed inadmissable because of the use of Conservative in the title and there was no time left to redo the nomination forms.

I was leafleting outside Kingsbury Green Primary School with the Independent candidate,  Jannen Vamadeva and witnessed a wonderful encounter. A mum came running up to collect her child and paused to look the tall, Obama-esque figure up and down. She took in his full glory and said, 'Gaawah! I'm goin' to vote for you anytime!' On the way out I tried to interest her in some policies even though I could not match Jannen's appearance.

Canvassing in Brent North reminds you that Wembley is built on hills and my calf muscles are developing well. Traversing the hills you can imagine what the countryside was like before Metroland was built but you also see how the original suburban concept has been vandalised. I lived on the Vally Farm estate (the area between Kingsbury Road and Fryent Way) as a child  and remember the treelined roads and front gardens full of scented flowers.  On the whole estate I could find only a handful of intact front gardens. Most had been turned into car parks without a blade of grass, flower or shrub in sight. The rowan trees that used to line Crundale Avenue have all gone.  On Barn Hill someone who had retained their garden told me that residents had been complaining about the cherry trees spilling their blossom on cars and wanted to rid of them!

Meanwhile I am finding a positive reception amongst many voters and the TV debates seem to have revived interest, albeit in personalities rather than policies. They seem to have turned every other person into a political pundit. One voter, who lives in a house called Camelot, claimed the media were ignoring the fact that governments were made in marginal constitiuencies rather than the percentage vote and predeicted a small Tory majority.

Discussions about 'wasted votes' are coming up regularly but I urge people to vote Green on the basis of their principles, because every party has to start somewhere, that local Green councillors could make an enormous impact, and to demonstrate after the General Election that a high Green vote emphasises the need for a proportional voting system.

We are a small party with no big business backers and need all the practical help we can get.  If you can volunteer in the last couple of days please get in  touch.

Thursday 25 March 2010

Bye-bye Bob

More fun and games amongst the Tories in Brent as we head for the elections. The Conservatives already have two candidates in Brent North (one under an 'Independent' label) . Now we have a Conservative group leader in Brent, who isn't standing in the local elections, but won't resign as leader until after the election.

Bob Blackman has announced he won't be standing in Harrow East MP. However this means the Tories will go into the council election fight with a leader who will have his mind on other matters, and who won't be there to pick up the pieces after the election. Will there be moves to replace him before May 6th?
It will mean that Tory candidates will be fighting with one eye on the upcoming leadership battle and jostling for position. Cllr John Detre (Northwick Park) has already thrown his hat in the ring.

Atiq Malik, standing as an Independent in the Brent North Parliamentary constituency (where I am also a candidate) is one of two Conservative councillors (the other is Robert Dunwell) who formed the Democratic Conservative Group, following disagreements over Blackman's leadership. Blackman was also indirectly criticised by Merrick Cockell, Chairman of London Councils, after he failed to win against Navin Shah in the London Assembly elections in 2008. Cockell said then, "Internal divisions have certainly had an effect and if you are not pulling together defeat is what happens."

A month before the election the Evening Standard had reported accusations by black Conservative Party members that they had been treated in an 'insensitive and unsympathetic way' when trying to attend a local party meeting in Brent North.

Blackman survived an attempt at deselection in Harrow East in 2008 because of his 'underperformance' at the Assembly elections. At the time Conservative Home reported that Conservative HQ were 'disappointed' that deselection wasn't successful.

Friday 5 March 2010

Conservatives select Brent North Candidate - now it's 'Two Tory' Brent

Last night Brent Conservatives selected Cllr Harshadbhai Patel (Preston ward) to fight Brent North. His opponents will include former Conservative councillor colleague Atiq Malik (now a 'Democratic Conservative' councillor) who is standing as an Independent.

Cllr Patel was Mayor of Brent in 2007-8 and is associated with the Federation of Patidar Associations, Brent Indian Association and the Hindu Council. Atiq Malik is actively blogging about the election on UK Polling and Conservative Home to the annoyance of many fellow bloggers. On one blog he claims that at the selection meeting 2 rows of seats were filled with 'up to 30+' new party recruits but doesn't follow with any specific allegation. He claims that Patel has stated that he has 300 'foot soldiers' ready to go out and campaign in the election.

Another contributor asks if the Democratic Conservatives (Malik and Cllr Robert Dunwell) have 'gone into bed with the Greens or the Lib Dems?'As Green Party Candidate for Brent North I can answer that from our perspective with a resounding 'No'!

With a Labour candidate who, in calling for his resignation, demonstrated that he had no faith in Gordon Brown; and two Conservative candidates, Brent North is shaping up to be an interesting (and possibly bewildering) contest.