Decision day tomorrow for Tulip, Sally and Sophie in Hampstead and Kilburn contest

Labour Party members in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency will be voting for the successor to Glenda Jackson as parliamentary candidate. Voters will include some some from Brent wards as the constituency straddles the Kilburn High Road.

Tulip Siddiq has not only been endorsed by Muhammed Butt (photo above) but by other Brent Executive members included Ruth Moher, James Denselow, Michael Pavey and Roxanne Mashari. However this line up is put in the shade by none other than Lord Melvyn Bragg of Hampstead Town who has done so much to bore the nation into submission every Thursday morning on Radio Four.

Clearly mindful of the enormous contribution to local politics and mobile phone sales by  Brent's own youthful Cllr Krupa Sheth (photo above), Bragg says:

Her comparative youth is a great asset to a party which more than ever seeks and needs change. She could be a distinctive presence at Westminster.

Not content with just one Lord, Siddiq pulls in none less than Lord Kinnock (still keen to use five words where one will do)  who says:

Tulip embodies everything that is best about young Labour people – she is energetic,conscientious,highly intelligent,approachable and determined to combat prejudice and injustice anywhere and everywhere.

Her sense of judgement is firm and mature and her commitment to public service is total.

Phew! But I mustn't be prejudiced against her she clearly does have some experience and I have heard that even a grizzled old South Kilburn Estate resident and veteran trade unionist has muttered into his beard that he  might vote for her as the best of  'a poor bunch'! However her claim to have 'saved' Camden's libraries has been controversial among her doubters.
 
I do however have an uneasy feeling that this emphasis on youth in an all-women contest is a bit like the controversy surrounding the BBC and women newsreaders. Youth has become a bit of a fetish with Brent Labour since the victory of the 'Young Turks' in the Executive elections and it could lead them astray.

Earlier this week Siddiq was the subject of an alleged 'smear' campaign when an email was sent around about her family's  involvement in Bangladeshi politics and even President Putin made a guest appearance! LINK

 

In contrast Sally Gimson (above) has no Brent endorsements, unless you include Kate Osamor  who is said to be interested in the Brent Central nomination. She does have one Lord, Lord Willy Bach, Justice Shadow in the House of Lords who knew her when she was parliamnetary candidate in South Leicestershire:

As CLP Chair I was in a good position to see how outstanding a candidate she was; hard working, great with people, articulate on the doorstep, fun to work with, and above all putting Labour’s case across.

Her endorsements are strong on the NHS and education with many having known her through her children from when they were in Reception Class. She clearly has strong roots in the local community in Hampstead.

Luca Salice, Chair of Camden Chairs and Governors Forum says:

Sally and I had our political disagreements which Sally always handled with frankness, good humour, friendship and good sense. Sally is politically astute and conscious of strategic priorities while aware of the personal and emotional implications of individual decisions. I am sure that Sally will be a first-rate Labour candidate for this marginal seat and will work hard to win Labour votes amongst those who never voted for us or who have abandoned us over the years.

Interestingly Pat Callaghan, Camden Cabinet member for Adult Social Care, endorses both of the above candidates.

 

The third candidate, Sophie Linden, from Hackney is endorsed by a Lord, Lord Stanley Clinton, but also by  Margaret Hodge MP and David Blunkett. Linden refers to supporting the anti-apartheid struggle and CND in her youth and is endorsed by Bruce Kent:

I warmly endorse Sophie Linden as a Parliamentary candidate. She has hands on grass roots political experience,plenty of vision and ideals and is a hard worker. We need more of her calibre in Parliament.

Blunkett emphasises her experience as an adviser on Education and the Home Office during the  Labour Government.

Linden is backed by several people from Brent including Larry Adebola who says:

I am backing Sophie because what really matters to the people of Hampstead and Kilburn is the lack of affordable house and unemployment. We need a committed and determined candidate who will tackle these issues head on. When I put these issues to Sophie I was impressed by her knowledge and what she wants to do about the issues."

As a Labour outsider there did not appear to be very much difference between the canddiate sin terms of policies but more can be found on their respective websites:

Tulip Siddiq

Sally Gimson

Sophia Linden

Brent Labour elections update

Islington Council leader Catherine West appears to have ditched her possible bid for the Labour Brent Central nomination following reports that she is setting her sights on the Hornsey and Wood Green seat currently held by Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone.

Meanwhile senior Brent Labour sources have bigged up Regent's Park councillor Tulip Suddiq's chances in Hampstead and Kilburn although veteran left-winger Graham Durham immediately commented, 'We don't want another Blairite, we have enough in the PLP already.' The Labour Party source suggested that Sophie Linden, a former special adviser to David Blunkett had no base in Brent and that Fiona Millar had withdrawn when soundings indicated she had little support.

The only new candidate to come forward for a Council Executive position is Cllr Aslam Choudry who will fight Cllr Willehema Mitchell-Murry for Crime and Public Safety.

Other contests so far are:

Children and Families: Michael Pavey vs Mary Arnold
Environment and Neighbourhoods: Roxanne Mashari vs James Powney
Customers and Citizens: James Denselow vs Lesley Jones

There is still time for others to come forward as the hustings are not until May 9th and the Annual General Meeting, where the voting takes place, is on May 11th.

Millar's withdrawal from Hampstead and Kilburn highlights Labour's failures on education

The announcement yesterday that Labour education activist Fiona Millar has withdrawn from the contest to represent Hampstead and Kilburn is a clear sign of the frustration that many party members, teachers and parents feel about Stephen Twigg's failure as Michael Gove's shadow.


Twigg's failure to take Gove on regarding examination reform, free schools, forced academies and the curriculum have led to him being given the hashtag #silenttwigg and facebook commentary on Silent Twigg focus on his latest non-pronoucements as open goals loom before him..

Millar herself is quoted in the Standard as saying:

It is very important that Michael Gove and his policies are challenged vigorously. At the moment that is probably easier to do from outside the party machine and is what I will continue doing.

She went on to say that Labour policy on education 'is too vague at the moment'.

Fiona Millar, along with Melissa Benn and Francis Gilbert are part of the Local Schools Network LINK

Their core message is:

1. Every child has a right to go to an excellent local state school, enabling every child to achieve their full potential.
2. Every state school should have a fair admissions procedure.
3. Every local school should be responsive to their parents and pupils’ needs and wishes and be accountable to the local community.
4. That local schools in difficulties should be supported to improve, not attacked and  demoralised.

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

 

Greens Support Kilburn College

Last night's meeting about the closure of Kilburn College was crowded, angry and militant. Lecturers, students and local residents came together to denouce the closure plans and put forward ideas for active resistance. The main political party candidates for Hampstead and Kilburn spoke platitudes from the platform and soon disappeared.

Speaking from the floor, Peter Murry, an ex-lecturer at Kilburn and a council candidate for  the Brent Kilburn ward spoke passionately of this attack on local people who face challenges such as learning English and getting into employment. He outlined how further education could transform their lives and said that the removal of their access to education was a crime. He supported calls for non-violent direct action and remarked that such tactics were a proud Green Party tradition. He called for further education colleges to be brought back under local authority control.

Bea Campbell, Green Party parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn, spoke about how further education had improved her parents' life chances and suggested that another dimension to the campaign should be a legal route.  She urged the campaign to seek legal assistance to use the recent Equalities legislation to show that the community had not been properly consulted on the proposals, (now a statutory requirement).

Students from the ethnic minority communites spoke movingly of their attachment to their local college and the difference it had made and was making in their lives. There were accounts of the shock they had felt when the announcement was made and their feelings of being completed disregarded by the college governors.

A large number of people, including Green Party members, volunteered to be part of a delegation to the college governors, to try and persuade then to reverse their decision.