'Tory Blue-eyed Boy' to stand in Brent North

Brent North Conservatives have selected Ameet Jogia as their candidate to fight Barry Gardiner in the General Election. Paul Lorber will stand for the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are still to select their candidate.

Jogia has been a councillor in Harrow since May 2014 when he received the highest Conservative vote and is said to be an admirer of the controversial Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Barry Gardiner is also a Modi fan.

The previous Brent North Tory candidate Luke Parker is short-listed for Richmond Park where he has family connections.

Cllr Jogia himself has a fan club being hailed as 'The Tory Blue-eyed Boy' in the Asian Times LINK after his maiden speech at Harrow Council.

His speech centred on  his experience as a homeless child in the 1990s and how Harrow Council helped the family back on its feet.

Friends of the Earth chief says environment must not be ignored in General Election

From i-newsonline by Craig Bennett, head of Friends of the Earth LINK

The General Election starting pistol’s been fired and the coming weeks are set to be dominated by Brexit and issues like the NHS, education and our economic well-being.

Let’s not kid ourselves – it’s unlikely that most political parties will put the environment centre-stage in their campaigns. It will take hard work by concerned members of the public and green groups to focus their attention.

But our environment is crucially important for us all.

Air pollution puts strain on NHS

The reality is we’ll struggle to solve the crisis in our NHS while 40,000 people die prematurely every year thanks to the UK’s appalling air pollution. Children, with their developing lungs, are particularly impacted.

Our poorly-insulated, heat-leaking homes account for thousands more deaths annually too.

Our economy is continually burdened by the billions of pounds of subsidies tax-payers hand-over to support dirty fossil fuels and the nuclear industry.

And then there’s climate change. The alarm bells may be tolling, but were still failing to take serious action to deal with an issue that threatens catastrophic harm to both people and our economy.

Severe droughts lead to famine.

Just last month the World Meteorological Office said climate change in 2016 contributed to extreme weather events, including severe droughts that have brought hunger to millions of people in southern and eastern Africa and Central America.

It pointed out that Hurricane Matthew caused widespread suffering in Haiti as the first category 4 storm to make landfall since 1963. Heavy rains and floods affected eastern and southern Asia. Hundreds of people died and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced due to these events.

Six months ago the Living Planet Index showed that global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined by 58 per cent between 1970 and 2012 and that the decline is continuing.

This decline in nature threatens the stability of the ecosystems that we rely on for fresh water, food and other so-called ecosystem services. In our own country our bee populations are declining due to factors such as pesticide-use and disappearing habitats.

Politicians must wake up to the fact that they can’t promise a better future for the UK without properly engaging on these environmental issues. They can’t promise a better future for today’s children and the next generation without committing to urgent local, national and international efforts to address biodiversity loss, climate change and air pollution.

British people want stronger regulations

The British public overwhelmingly want stronger environmental protections. An opinion poll we commissioned by YouGov last summer revealed:

· 83% said Britain should pass laws providing a higher or the same level of protection for wild areas and wildlife species than current EU laws. Only 4% want lower protection.

· 81% want to keep an EU ban on neonicotinoid pesticides that have been found to pose a threat to bees – with only 5% saying it should end.

· 57% said British farming subsidies should put either more or the same emphasis on environmental protection than the current EU subsidies do. Only 7% wanted less emphasis on protecting the environment.

The next six weeks are likely to set the direction of travel for the UK for at least the next five years.

Will the UK maintain the rules and regulations that protect our green and pleasant land and have enabled us to claim global leadership on shared environmental problems? Or will short-term profit win out?

Will our local, national and international environment get better, year on year, with cleaner air, less carbon pollution and more nature? Or will it start to decline?

During the General Election Campaign we must make sure our environment is not ignored. We need every prospective MP to engage with this issue and pledge that the UK will play its role in an urgent global efforts to ensure the next generation will enjoy an environment that’s getting better: a safer climate, flourishing nature, and healthy air, water and food. We can’t afford to let these issues be side-lined.

Greens call on Corbyn and Farron to meet with them to discuss ways to beat the Tories in the General Election

From the Green Party's national website:

The co-leaders of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley, have written to the leaders of Labour and the Liberal Democrats urging them to unite to stop the Tories ‘wrecking Britain’. Lucas and Bartley are calling for a meeting between party leaders to discuss ways to beat the Tories at the General Election and deliver a fairer voting system.

In their letter to Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron, Lucas and Bartley listed a ‘crumbling NHS’ and a ‘bleak future for young people’ as reasons for parties to work together. They also said that working together is key to prevent an ‘extreme’ Brexit inspired by the Tories, UKIP and the DUP.

The call from the Green Party comes after senior figures in Labour – Lisa Nandy, Clive Lewis and Jonathan Reynolds – called on their party to consider standing aside at the Richmond by election last year.  In that election the Green Party stood aside, helping the Liberal Democrats defeat UKIP-backed Zac Goldsmith.

The Green Party expects to stand in seats in ‘every corner of the UK’ in the General Election on June 8th – but are asking Farron and Corbyn to explore options to stand the best chance of beating the Conservatives. At their recent conference the Green Party membership instructed their leaders to explore electoral alliances with other parties to beat the Tories.

Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley will make further announcements in the coming weeks on their plans, but insist that any agreement between parties must be made at a local level by ordinary members who share an interest in defeating the Conservatives.

Caroline Lucas said:

Britain is at a crossroads – and this election will dictate the very future of our country. The Green Party will be standing on a unique policy platform – opposing the Tories’ Brexit and putting forward big ideas for a fairer economy and the protection of our environment. Our call for a meeting between party leaders isn’t about the Greens standing aside – it’s about giving people in this country the best possible chance of defeating the Conservatives and bringing in a truly democratic voting system.
“For the sake of our NHS, our welfare state and our environment we need progressive party leaders to ditch partisan politics just for a moment and think about how we can best stop the Tories from wrecking our country for generations to come.

Note: I personally would not want to make a deal with the Liberal Democrats after their performance in the Coalition and the decision not to enable re-selection of Labour MPs also presents a problem giving the approach of many of them to Corbyn's leadership.

Greens condemn May's 'deep dishonesty' and are ready to pose a real alternative to the politics of the past

The Green Party has responded to Theresa May's announcement of an early General Election with Caroline Lucas MP promising a 'bold, positive vision for a different kind of Britain' while co-leader Jonathan Bartley said that the Green Party would give people a 'real alternative to the politics of the past'.

Caroline Lucas said:

Britain is at a crossroads – and today’s announcement means that people are rightly given a say over the direction this country is going to take. Only the Green Party offers a bold, positive vision for a different kind of Britain. At this election we will stand for an economy that works for everyone, not just the privileged few; a Britain that’s open to the world and the protection of our precious environment. We will stand up to the politics of hatred and division that is scarring our communities and give people across the country a chance to vote for a better Britain.

Jonathan Bartley said:

Theresa May’s announcement today reveals a deep dishonesty at the heart of Government. Despite numerous denials of a plan for an early General Election she has u-turned. The Green Party is ready for this seismic moment in our country’s future. We will be standing candidates in every corner of this country and giving people a real alternative to the politics of the past.

Not many people know this....but there's another party leadership contest starting on Friday!

Amidst the raging publicity over the Conservative and Labour leadership contests readers can be forgiven for not registering that the Green Party leadership and deputy leadership contests are about to start.

Nominations close tomorrow at noon and the campaign commences on Friday until July 24th followed by a month of balloting.

Half of the Green Party Executive positions will also be contested.

Results will be announced at the Green Party autumn contest which assumes greater importance in the light of a possible Autumn General Election.

There has been an increase in Green Party membership applications in London since the Referendum result.

The Benefit Cap, Tulip Siddiq and Election Promises

A Green's place is in the movements

The Green Party is committed to advance its cause through standing in elections but importantly its members are  also involved in many movements for environmental and social justice.

At General Election time the focus is inevitably on election campaigning and there is a danger that this takes away from other, broader campaigns.  In London with the Assembly and Mayoral elections happening next year we could end up continuing on the electoralist road and putting all our energy into getting Green Assembly members elected.

This is important but I would argue that with the Tory's forming a new administration that will renew the war on the poor and the vulnerable that our energy should also go into participating in and building the movements challenging neoliberal policy on  the welfare state, benefit caps, gentrification and social cleansing, reckless plundering of the world's natural resources, fracking, industrialised schooling and the demonisation of migrants.

The Green Party's  Philosophical Basis states:

We do not believe that there is only one way to change society, or that we have all the answers. We seek to be part of a wider green movement that works for these principles through a variety of means. We generally support those who use reasonable and non-violent forms of direct action to further just aims.

Our beliefs will bring us into conflict with those committed to material affluence, the accumulation of power and the unsustainable exploitation of the Earth. We are always ready to negotiate with those who oppose us, and seek fair settlements that respect their needs for security, self esteem and freedom of choice.

We will even work with those who disagree with us where sufficient common ground can be found to do so. However, we do not seek power at any price, and will withdraw our support if we are asked to make irreversible or fundamental compromises.

Yesterday's skirmishes in Downing Street protesting at the Conservative election victory presage a likely new wave of direct action in the face of five more years of austerity and cuts.  The issue of legitimacy of the new Government is clear when you consider that Tories won on 36.9% of the vote, when about a third of the electorate (15.8 m people out of an electorate of 46.4m) did not vote, and that the first past the post system meant hat it took many more voters to elect a minority party MP:

The equivalent figure for Conservative has been quoted at 34,000 and Labour 40,000.

The Green vote in 2010 was just 265,187 but the number of Green MPs remains only one. A proportional system would have give 30 Green MPs although the prospect of many more UKIP MPs is a major concern.  A petition for a fairer voting system has been set up HERE

In her speech yesterday Caroline Lucas MP set out her post-election ideas:

The election results have served as a stark reminder that our political system is broken. The time for electoral reform is long overdue. Only proportional representation will deliver a parliament that is truly legitimate, and that better reflects the views of the people it’s meant to represent.

But we must move forward today. While the campaign for electoral reform gathers momentum, those of us wanting to see a fairer, more compassionate and progressive politics must find new ways of working together, a new way to do politics – and put that into practice now. 

Unless we break free of tribal politics and work together to fight austerity, and promote crucial, common-sense climate policies, we’re faced with an incredibly bleak political future. For the sake of all those who’ll suffer most at the hands of the Tories, we must rethink our relations and recognise the importance of our common ground. 

That should include shared platforms and case-by-case electoral pacts, to build a strong progressive alliance to challenge the Tories over the next five years.  Clearly in Wales and Scotland, where there are PR elections for the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament, this doesn't apply, but where First Past the Post continues to distort election results, it should surely be considered.

And one of the first challenges such an alliance will face is ensuring we win the referendum on membership of the EU.

 While we certainly support urgent EU reform, we cannot allow backward-looking Tories to make common cause with UKIP and lead us out of the EU and into the wilderness.

This is all well and good but it sees things very much through traditional party politics, something that has been rejected by thousands of  activists and seen by many ordinary people as irrelevant to their day to day struggles.  A 'new way of doing politics' should mean the Greens participating much more in struggles on the ground, taking part in direct action (something Lucas was prepared to do over fracking') and most importantly learning from these struggles and feeding what has been learnt into Green Party policy and strategy.

Our position as an 'anti-austerity' party needs to be much more fully explored and explained. Although we said  that being anti-austerity was a different way of doing things and was based on a alternative economic model I think Greens failed to  explain what this would mean in real terms in the context of the media obsession with the deficit and national debt.  This made us vulnerable on the media and in local hustings to the cry of 'but where is the money coming from?' and led to our depiction as 'dreamers' and 'idealists' unrelated to the real world.

In short if we are 'anti-austerity' what are we 'pro'? Can we frame that 'pro' positively to convince people that a different economic system could work to their benefit?  Should there be a new name for the People's Assembly Against Austerity  - the People's Assembly FOR.....

Paul Krugman in his influential Guardian article on the 'austerity delusion' LINK expressed astonishment at UK Labour's buying into the delusion and this may well have contributed to Labour's failure in the election - 'if we are going to have austerity anyway, who not vote for the devil we know?'

Unfortunately the initial reaction to Labour's defeat seems to be an attempt by Blairites to reclaim the agenda and push Labour further right - exemplified by Peter Mandelson on the Marr Show this morning say that Miliband's ditching of 'New Labour' was a 'terrible mistake.' LINK

Mandelson's distancing from the trade unions and their role in the Labour Party gives an impetus to the Green Party's work with trade unions, not only encouraging everyone, and espcially young workers, to join unions but setting up direct links locally and nationally.


If Labour is re-captured by the Blairites it leaves space for creating a real alternative - not just through a political party but through a movement - and establishing a different way of doing politics through social and environmental movements.

We must release passion and creativity to produce an alternative vision for society after the Tory victory

As I left the Civic Centre in the early hours this morning, sickened by the thought of five years of Tory government that will dismember the welfare state, continue the ideological war on the poor, disabled and migrant, and overcome by the sheer ugliness of the Tory's vision for the country, I was arrested by the pure beauty of the song of a blackbird as it opened the dawn chorus in the shadow of Wembley Stadium.

Yes, life goes on and so must the struggle.

There is a beauty in struggle, solidarity and resistance that can send the heart soaring just as much as that blackbird's song.  I felt it when demonstrating with residents from the West Hendon estate, when we prevented fascist groups from marching in Cricklewood, when working with others to try and save the Stonebridge Adventure Playground and at national level when working with Green Party colleagues on a different vision for education.

Faced with the Conservative threat we must find new ways of working together across party lines and involving those who, as evidenced from many of the spoilt ballot papers I saw last night, reject all political parties as 'only in it for themselves'.

We have to show that we are 'in it for each other' and that means putting the movement before party.

The task for the anti-austerity movement is to to develop an alternative model of society and economy that will capture people's imagination and free their passion and creativity to build a different sort of society.

Life goes on. and so does the struggle.

Detailed General Election results for Brent

Six reasons to vote Green tomorrow - for a real alternative to the neoliberal parties

As decision day approaches here are six short videos that support the case for voting Green tomorrow.

Brent Central Hustings Tuesday April 21st 7-9pm

There have been fewer hustings in Brent Central than in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency so this is a chance to meet and question your candidates before polling day. The church is near the corner of All Souls Avenue and Bathurst Gardens,

REGISTER TO VOTE BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

REGISTER HERE BY MIDNIGHT MONDAY

Make your mind up time! Read the Green Party Manifesto here

The Green Party are standing candidates in all the local parliamentary constituencies and feedback on their performance at hustings is excellent.  If you cannot get along to the hustings take a little time to look at the Green Party manifesto. Canidates are Scott Batrtle (Brent North), Shahrar Ali (Brent Central) and Rebecca Johnson (Hampstead and Kilburn)

You can read the short. mini-manifesto here and if this whets your appetite the detailed version is below:

Register to vote NOW! It's not too late.

LINK

Election hustings and meetings in Brent in the next fortnight

Hampstead and Kilburn is well ahead in terms of General Election hustings.  If any organisation has details of hustings in Brent Central and Brent North please send them in. Party allegiances aside I think it is important to have as much open and spirited debate as possible ahead of the General Election.

Here are some of the very different hustings happening in the next two weeks. If you know of more or are organising one and want it publicised please send me a jpeg, png or tiff file. I will add them to this posting.

Tjere will be an opportunity to register to vote at the Harlesden Hustings for those withouyt internet access. Please bring your National Insurance number.

Hampstead and Kilburn hustings

9 April - Queen's Park Residents Association (QPARA) - St Anne's on Salusbury Rd - 7:30pm

10 April - St Andrew's church hustings, Finchley Road - 8pm

13 April - Brent Stop the War hustings - Pakistan Community Centre, NW2 4PU - 7:30pm

15 April - WHAT hustings - Hampstead Synagogue, NW6 1AX - 7pm

17 April - Church of the Transfiguration, 1 Wrentham Avenue, NW10 3HT - 8pm

19 April - Brondesbury Park Synagogue

21 April - Camden Federation of Private Tenants - Swiss Cottage Library - 7pm

22 April - Ham & High hustings at JW3, Finchley Road - 8pm

April 15th at 7pm. IHustingswill be held at Tavistock Hall (behind the Methodist church)., Harlesden high Street

You are invited: This event gives you the opportunity to meet the candidates, listen to their manifestos and points of view on decisive electoral issues, and ask them questions before you decide who to vote for. 

All the parliamentary candidates for Brent Central have been invited and the following have confirmed their attendance:

Labour Candidate, Dawn Butler
Conservative candidate, Dr. Alan Mendoza
Green Party candidate, Shahrar Ali
TUSC Candidate, John Boyle
(original notice said Ibrahim Taguri as Independent but he has since stood down)

Natalie Bennett to debate Green Party Education Policy ahead of the General Election

Natalie Bennett will be speaking on Saturday at a meeting on 'Education and the election - a discussion meeting about education policy' ahead of the General Election.

Cllr Peter Downes will be speaking on behalf of the Liberal Democrats and Cllr Emine Ibrahim for Labour.

Natasha Steel will be speaking from the Hove Park Campaign which successfully defeated academisation plans.

Education and the Election – which way forward for education?
Saturday 11th October 2-4 pm
Open Meeting ALL Welcome
Senate House, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU

Organised by the Anti Academies Alliance

Green Party Education Policy LINK

Brent Green Party's Shahrar Ali becomes male deputy leader of the party

Shahrar Ali and Dawn Butler at 2010 hustings

Shahrar Ali, of Brent Green Party was elected male deputy leader of the party yesterday. Amelia Womack was elected female deputy.

Ali contested Brent Central in the General Election and was both a GLA and European candidate.

In the live YouTube deputy leadership hustings he described himself as at the centre of a left-wing party. He lives in Kingsbury with his young family and lectures in philosophy.

Shahrar Ali is a confident media performer and has a lively debating style which is likely to raise the Green party's profile ahead of the General Election.

He narrowly beat Will Duckworth, the incumbent deputy leader, who is a member of Green Left and the Green Party Trade Union Group.

Duckworth was the first Green Party councillor in the Black Country with strong roots in the local  working class community.

Amelia Womack is a Young Green who campaigned on a clear ecosocialist platform. The Green Party is polling well in the 18-24 age group and Womack's election is likely to strengthen our appeal to many who are looking for an alternative to the neoliberal parties.

Derek Wall, a Green Party veteran and a former Principal , was elected International Co-ordinator.  Wall runs the popular and influential Another Green World blog and also writes for the Morning Star. He is an ecosocialist and a member of Green Left. A passionate advocate for indigenous peoples Wall advocates non-violent direct action to effect change alongside electoral politics.

Romayne Phoenix, another Green Left and GPTU member, was re-elected as the Green Party's Trade
union Liaison Officer. She has worked assiduously to build the Green Party's links with trade unions and was a leading member of the Coalition of Resistance to Austerity and is currently co-chair of the People's Assembly.

She brings energy and passion to the activist campaigning work of the Green Party and has played a major role in bringing together anti-austerity eco-socialist in Europe.

Together, alongside Natalie Bennett who was elected unopposed as Green Party leader, this is a team with wide appeal and a range of strengths and skills that should serve the Green Party well in the year ahead/

FULL RESULTS

These are the election results announced yesterday. In Green Party elections, locally and nationally,  members can always vote to Re-open Nominations (RON) if they are not satisfied with the candidate/s standing.

Party Leader: Natalie Bennett was elected 2618 Re-Open Nominations (RON): 183
Party Deputy Leaders:
In the first round – Amelia Womack was elected with 1598, Will Duckworth's 1108
In the Second round – Shahrar Ali was elected 1314 to Will Duckworth's 1277
Gpex Chair: Richard Mallender was elected 2640 to RON 101
Campaigns Co-Ordinator: Howard Thorpe was elected 2546 to RON 181
Elections Co-Ordinator: Judy Maciejowska was elected 2631 to RON 161
External Communication Co-Ordinator: Penny Kemp/ Clare Phipps/ Matt Hawkins were elected 2586 to RON 147
Management Co-Ordinator Mark Cridge was elected 2636 to RON 82
International Co-Ordinator: Derek Wall was elected 1416 to Anna Clarke’s 891
Trade Union Liaison Officer: Romayne Phoenix was elected 2639 to RON 94
Policy Co-Ordinator: Sam Riches and Caroline Bowes were elected 1786 to Rachel Featherstone and Anna Heyman's 839
Publications Co-Ordinator: Martin Collins was elected 2468 to RON 249

Greens surge in Ipso MORI poll

Hot on the heels of the Greens surge in the polls ahead of the May 22nd European Elections, polling out today shows the Greens have jumped five points and are polling at 8% in non-European polling  ahead of next summer’s General Election.

Reacting to the Ipsos MORI polling, a Green Party spokesperson said:

“The Greens have not polled this strongly in non-European polling ahead of a General Election since 1989, the year the Green Party secured 15% of the vote. Our message of real change for the common good is clearly striking a chord.”

Reacting to the Ipsos MORI poll, The London Evening Standard  reported that, “today’s big winners are the Greens, whose support has shot up from three to eight points on the back of higher exposure in the campaign period.”

Green leader Natalie Bennett attributed the strong polling to the popularity of Green Party policies when given more media exposure and to voters’ disenchantment with the big parties. Speaking from Leeds, she said the polls “chime with what I am hearing around the country”.

According to ICM’s European Elections polling released on May 12th, the Green Party is polling at 10% ahead of the May 22 European Elections, putting it firmly in fourth place and three percentage points ahead of the ailing Liberal Democrats (7%).

The Greens are within touching distance of meeting their target of trebling their number of MEPs from two (Jean Lambert, London, and Keith Taylor, South-East) to six. Based on a national swing the latest poll would give the Greens five seats in England plus one in Scotland. The Lib Dems would have zero seats. Among 18-24 year-olds the Greens are the second most popular political party.

Where next for Green Party policy on education?

My motion instructing the Green Party Policy Committee to initiate a policy development process in the light of Coalition policies, which would result in a  a redrafted Education Policy being presented to a future  Conference, failed to win a majority today. Part of the process I suggested was  to invite contributions from relevant teacher unions, educators and parent campaign groups to help shape the review.

One of the arguments against was that there had been a full and very thorough review in 2007 and that this should not be thrown away. Instead it was argued that a series of amendments should be tabled at a future Conference. It was also argued that the review would take time and may not be ready for the election period.

I believe something far more fundamental is required as you'll see from my speech notes, particularly as the ful schope of the Tory strategy was not evident at the time. . I wanted a far broader and participatory process but if we are to have a relevant policy in place for local elections in 2014 and the General Election in 2015 we must start thinking about amendments for Spring Conference now. The policy is 15 pages long so it is a substantial task. The current policy can be read HERE

These are the notes of my speech (not all of which may have been delivered as set out because of  the time constraints in a very rushed debate at the en of the morning session).

I want to start by acknowledging the work that went into the current policy and the many good and innovative ideas it contains. Don't blame me for the need for revision - blame Michael Gove!

The problem is, as Melissa Benn said at the panel on Friday, we are in a period of profound and unprecedented educational change in terms of both speed and ruthlessness. The post - war  settlement is being bulldozed into oblivion.

This is not just about individual policies but the neoliberal framework - subordination of education to economic aims and accompanying privatisation and profit making and the commodification of childhood.

Michael Gove is stealing our schools, our teachers' professionalism and our children's childhood.

Teachers 'deliver' lessons to deliver higher test results to deliver higher league table position and thus deliver us from Ofsted! (Prayer)

I am involved with many campaigns with parents, governors and teachers and am often  asked, where do you stand, what would you do? I have found the present policy wanting in giving a response.

The foundation of our policy needs to be strengthened - rejecting the Coalition's ideology and linking our approach to alternative views on the economy as well as the aims of education and the defence of childhood.

Although our policies are Green Government 'aspirational' they have to start with present realities and counter them. Don't protest -demand!

Areas for revision:

Local authorities fast disappearing regarding role in education   - academies & free schools and diminishing school improvement services.  We need to think about the 'middle tier' and role of Secretary of State. What democratic structures do we propose beyond the school level. What powers should the Secretary of State have?

We need to sharpen our critique of free schools and academies to stress issues around accountability, reinforcing social divisions and marketisation. Do we propose reintegration into a locally accountable community school system as we do with private schools? Should all schools have the same 'freedoms' as academies and free schools.

Sure Start - reducing and nature of early years education changing. We need more than 'continuing successful schemes such as Sure Start' what is our vision for the early years?

Ofsted - we say 'inspections will be revised' but we need to take account of its increasingly politicised role, the fact that it is privatised (Serco, Tribal) and overlaps with academy chains. What sort of school improvement service do we envisage - role and powers? How does this relate to institutions such as the HMI?

In our policy we say that the Inspectorate and LAs will be involved in the monitoring of governing body accountability structures - revision needed in the light of academies and free schools and decline in role of LA.

Pupil population expansion - because the Government has said any new school should be an academy or free school, LAs are being forced to expand primary schools with some in urban areas having more than 1,000 4-11 year olds and losing play space and additional rooms such as libraries and halls in the process. Again the role of LA in planning and provision has been undermined so we need to reaffirm their right to build new community schools to cope with the rising population.

Teacher education - university level teacher education is rapidly disappearing and being replaced by various 'on the job' training schemes with a neglect (and disparagement) of research, cognitive psychology, philosophy of education etc.   

I hope I have demonstrated sufficient grounds for revision, but more than this I am convinced that with the right policy, actively campaigned for in communities, teacher organisations, parent groups that we have a chance of building massive support and contributing to success in the forthcoming elections as well as having people flocking to support our campaigns. (I mentioned the successful NUT 'It's Time to Stand Up for Education' rallies aimed at parents, governors, teachers and pupils that were held in Brighton, Nottingham and London yesterday)

Declaration of Interests: I am a retired member of the NUT and a retired primary headteacher. I am currently chair of governors of two Brent primary schools and help convene the Brent Governors' Forum.  I am a trustee of the Brent Play Association and run Brent School Without Walls, a voluntary organisation that provides free nature and outdoor activities in Fryent Country Park for primary classes and out of school clubs. 

Mixed reaction to Teather's withdrawal from 2015 election

Sarah Teather's decision not to stand for election in 2015 has come as a surprise to many but her increasing alienation from her party has been clear since her sacking as Children's minister, which itself followed her failure to vote for Government welfare reform. The Daily Mail and Tory MPs vociferously called for her resignation at the time.

Some argue that she missed her moment and should have resigned on a matter of principle at the time rather than limp on until she was sacked. Her post-sacking re-dedication to her constituents was seen by many as an attempt to rekindle local support ahead of the General Election. She was suddenly available to constituents and campaigners again after pleading that ministerial conduct codes prohibited her from openly campaigning on national political issues - she dropped letters to ministerial colleagues instead.

I had a hunch that free from these constraints she would become a more open critic of the Lib Dem's collusion with the Tories and that by 2015, if she survived the likely Lib Dem  electoral disaster, she would be in a position to contest the leadership on the basis of 'I saw it coming'. This would of course have raised difficulties about her General Election campaign and how to distance herself from the party's manifesto.

This was not to be but her position as regards her party appears confused this morning. Her Observer interview says that she no longer feels able to operate within the Parliamentary Liberal Democrat group BUT she will stay in the party. Her personal statement on her website says that she will campaign for Lib Dems in the local elections and for her Lib Dem successor in the 2015 General Election. This seems to indicate that she will not cross the floor of the House.

Similarly Nick Clegg is both a 'decent bloke' who has done many good things but also someone whose stance on immigration left her 'catastrophically depressed'.

Teather's by-election victory six months after Iraq was partly due to her strong anti-war position and she won many plaudits for her progressive stance on Guantanamo and Palestine. Living locally and modestly in Willesden Green she was highly visible on local streets in contrast to Barry Gardiner Labour MP for Brent North who lives out in Chorley Wood. In opposition she won a reputation as a hard-working MP excellent at case work.

However her appointment to government after the General Election was immediately controversial as tuition fees were raised despite signed Lib Dem pledges.  Her passionate maiden speech opposing tuition fees was circulated on the net underlining her 'betrayal' LINK. Her acquiesce to Michael Gove's policies on free schools and academies, and her personal admiration for him, angered many on the left as did her later opposition to equal marriage.

Reaction on Twitter to Teather's decision has ben mixed to say the  least. Iain Dale called her 'A rather sad, pathetic hypocrite and  Alistair Campbell at his most cutting stating:

Sarah Teather- a looming lost seat dressed up as look-at-me 'principles.' Her voting record speaks louder than today's self-pitying whinge

Sunny Hundal called it a 'significant and principled decision' and Marc Cohen commented:

Agree w her politics or not (mostly I don't) as my local MP Sarah Teather has by most accounts been v good &u can't knock her principled stance

Tory MP Nadine Torries wrote:

 Hope knives stay locked away re Sarah Teather. She was never going to retain seat in 2015, has been a good constituency MP. Good luck to her

Patrick Vernon, one of the leading Labour contestants for the Brent Central Parliamentary candidate nomination in an exclusive statement said:

I understand why and appreciate why Sarah Teather has resigned as a Lib Dem MP.  As a former Minster she realises that her party has no moral compass on social justice in fighting for the rights of local people in Brent. It is a pity that she did not give the opportunity for a Labour Candidate to fight against her in the 2015 election so local people can decide on her record as a MP since 2003.

Some people have said that there should be a by election as she may not be committed to Brent over the next 20 months. This is up to Sarah to decide but I do think she does have a duty to organise a public meeting to explain to her constituents her intentions as the current local MP.

In the meanwhile a number of potential candidates including myself are putting ourselves forward as a prospective candidate for Labour in Brent. Local party members need to decide who has a track record working in Brent to build and mobilise an election campaign based on social justice and fighting against the growing inequality facing residents along with the massive cuts  and destruction of public services by the Coalition government. Also the selected candidate has to be transparent and accountable to restore confidence as a public servant to the community

Shahrar Ali, spokesperson for the  Brent Green Party and former parliamentary candidate for Brent Central said:

Having stood against  Sarah Teather as a Green in two general elections, I can testify to her verve on election platforms and her ability to mobilise the local Libdem electoral machine with a finger pointed at a heap of rubbish for good measure. I can't shake off the feeling that her decision not to stand again is as much political calculation based on party unpopularity as the frustration she now declaims with her party direction.

Now is not the time to eulogise about the high points of Teather's political career, not least when Guantanamo remains open for business. With her party in government, injustice remains rife across society home and abroad.

Yes, it is a privilege to represent the electors of Brent and one which I would like to see Teather exercising more with her new-found voice, no less than if she had been intending to stand again