Greens out in force at End Austerity Now! demonstration

The extent of the Green Party's recent growth was evident at today's End Austerity Now! demonstration as well as the youth of many of our new members.

There were high spirits as hundreds of Greens processed through the streets of London in the company of thousands of other anti-austerity protesters. The Labour Party was  notably absent apart from the presence of leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn.

Unconfirmed reports say that the Green Bloc was the biggest bloc today.

At the Green Bloc assembly point in Cornhill, City of London Photo: Mike Shaughnessy  

Green Party Trade Union Group  Photo: Shahrar Ali

Green Party leaders Amelia Womack, Shahrar Ali and Natalie Bennett Photo: Amelia Womack

Shahrar Ali speaks out on Confronting a World at War

Shahrar Ali: UK must not add to suffering of those fleeing war

Shahrar Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, is to speak at the Stop the War Coalition’s Conference ‘Confronting a World at War’ this afternoon. He will speak on the subject of war and migration

The conference brings together writers, activists and politicians from around the world to analyse recent conflicts and current foreign policy approaches.

Shahrar Ali said:

The Green Party will contribute to this important debate about conflict resolution with an analysis of unjust war as a major cause of displacement of peoples. Too often governments fail to recognise the long-term impact of foreign policy disasters on the lives of untold families, forced to flee from persecution or from the destructive power of arms these governments have sold abroad or used themselves.

The UK must not add to the suffering of those fleeing from war with the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on movement, which often have inhumane consequences. We must hold to our collective obligations as a common humanity and take joint responsibility for instability we have directly caused or are implicated in.

We have clear policies on dialogue, peace, diplomacy and international cooperation which aim to tackle forced migration at source, to grant communities both the capability to live in peace and also the right of return.

The Green Party has opposed recent UK interventions in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, and holds that the UK needs to rethink its current defence policy. In particular, the Green Party advocates the abolition of Trident.

Confronting a World at War Conference speakers tomorrow includes Green's Deputy Leader Shahrar Ali

Shahrar Ali, Green party deputy leader, is among the speakers at this conference. He will speak on migration and war.

Confronting a World at War conference

BOOK ONLINE NOW Box office 020 7561 4830
Saturday 6 June • 10am - 5pm

TUC • Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3LS

hahrar Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, is to speak at the Stop the War Coalition’s Conference ‘Confronting a World at War’ on Saturday 6 June.

The conference brings together writers, activists and politicians from around the world to analyse recent conflicts and current foreign policy approaches.

Shahrar Ali said:

“The Green Party will contribute to this important debate about conflict resolution with an analysis of unjust war as a major cause of displacement of peoples. Too often governments fail to recognise the long-term impact of foreign policy disasters on the lives of untold families, forced to flee from persecution or from the destructive power of arms these governments have sold abroad or used themselves.

“The UK must not add to the suffering of those fleeing from war with the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on movement, which often have inhumane consequences. We must hold to our collective obligations as a common humanity and take joint responsibility for instability we have directly caused or are implicated in.

“We have clear policies on dialogue, peace, diplomacy and international cooperation which aim to tackle forced migration at source, to grant communities both the capability to live in peace and also the right of return.”

The Green Party has opposed recent UK interventions in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, and holds that the UK needs to rethink its current defence policy. In particular, the Green Party advocates the abolition of Trident.

·      See more at: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2015/06/05/green-party-deputy-leader-to-speak-at-international-anti-war-conference/#sthash.H9UaAMi9.dpuf

Meet the speakers

·      Mustafa Barghouti is an activist and the General Secretary of the Palestine National Initiative. He has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and was Minister of Information in the Palestinian unity government.

·      Medea Benjamin is a leading US peace activist. She is the co-founder of Code Pink and one of the best-known progressive figures in the United States.

·      Tariq Ali is a noted writer and filmmaker. A veteran of the movement against the war in Vietnam, he has for decades been one of the most prominent critics of Western militarism and imperialism.

·      Lindsey German is the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition and one of its founders. She is the author of a number of books, including How a Century of War Changed the Lives of Women (2013). She regularly appears in the media.

·      David Edgar is one of Britain’s most prominent writers and playwrights. He is the President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, as well as a Professor of Playwriting Studies.

·      Richard Sakwa is a Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. His book Frontline Ukraine (December 2014) offers a powerful critique of Western propaganda surrounding the crisis in Ukraine.

·      Victoria Brittain is a prominent author and journalist. She is a former associate foreign editor of the Guardian. She wrote a play about the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp and has co-authored Moazzam Begg’s book Enemy Combatant. She is on the Council of the Institute of Race Relations and is a Patron of Palestine Solidarity.

·      Seumas Milne is a distinguished journalist and writer. He is a columnist and associate editor at The Guardian and the author of the best-selling book The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners.

·      Mark Weisbrot is a writer for peace and social justice. He is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He has written for publications such as New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian etc. He is the co-writer of the screenplay for Oliver Stone’s film South of the Border.

·      Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour MP and a leading British campaigner for peace and social justice. He is the chair of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      Andrew Murray is the Chief-of-Staff at UNITE the Union. He is the former chair of the Stop the War Coalition and is now its Deputy President. He is co-author of the book Stop the War: The Story of Britain’s Biggest Mass Movement (2005).

·      Chris Nineham is the vice chair and founding member of the Stop the War Coalition. He is the author of a number of books including People vs. Tony Blair: Politics, the media and the anti-war movement (2013).

·      John Rees is a national officer and a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition. He is the author of a number of books including Imperialism and Resistance (2010) and A People’s History of London (2012).

·      Explo Nani-Kofi is a Ghanaian-born social researcher and a campaigner for social justice. He coordinates the Campaign against Proxy War in Africa and is the Director of the Kilombo Centre for Civil Society and African Self-Determination.

·      Kate Hudson is the General Secretary of CND and an officer of the Stop the War Coalition. She was Head of Social and Policy Studies at London South Bank University and is now a Visiting Research Fellow.

·      Bruce Kent is a famous peace activist. He was the General Secretary of CND from 1980 to 1985 and its chair from 1987 to 1990. He was also the President of the International Peace Bureau. He is a member of Pax Christi.

·      Lee Jasper is an anti-racist activist and politician who served as Senior Policy Advisor on Equalities to the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.

·      Jonathan Steele is a distinguished journalist and author. He was Foreign News Editor and Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. A recipient of several journalism awards, he is a broadcaster on the BBC and a writer for the London Review of Books.

·      Sami Ramadani is a noted Iraqi dissident. He was an exile from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and founder of Iraqi Democrats against the Occupation. He was for many years a lecturer in sociology at London Metropolitan University. He is a member of the steering committee of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      George Galloway was a most prominent campaigner against the Iraq War in 2003. He is famous for his appearance at the US Senate in defence of his anti war stance. He was Respect MP for Bradford West until May this year. He is also a broadcaster of the current affairs programme Sputnik on RT.

·      Jenny Clegg is a lecturer in Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the author of several books, including China’s Global Strategy: Towards a Multipolar World (2009).

·      Hamja Ahsan is a curator and human rights activist. He leads the Free Talha Ahsan campaign. His brother, Talha Ahsan is a British-born award-winning poet with Asperger’s syndrome who was extradited to the US.

·      Chris Cole is a peace activist and the founder of Drone Wars UK. He is a former Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and co-ordinator of Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

·      Steve Bell is treasurer  of the Stop the War Coalition and a campaigner for Palestine, and against racism and war.

·      Ahmed Al-Ashaf is a political activist, Director Yemenis Culture Centre.

·      Sabby Dhalu is a campaigner, the secretary of Unite Against Fascism and an organiser for Stand up to Racism.

·      Malia Bouattia is the NUS Black Students’ Officer who has been at the forefront of opposing Islamophobia and the heavy-handed policing of British universities.

·      Judith Orr is a writer and campaigner. She is the editor of the Socialist Worker and a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      Carol Turner is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition and a member of the national council of CND. She is author of a forthcoming book on Labour and foreign policy.

·      Matt Willgress is a prominent anti-war and social justice campaigner. He is the national coordinator of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign.

·      Daniel Jakopovich is a writer and anti-war campaigner. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Cambridge and at several other universities, and is a member of the Council of the International Peace Bureau. His forthcoming book is entitled Essays in Defence of Human Dignity.

·      Anas al Tikriti  is from the British Muslim Initiative. He is of Iraqi origin, was one of the chairs on the demo on February 15^th 2003 and is a well known campaigner and speaker against the war.

·      Kevin Ovenden is a writer and campaigner around Palestine and the Middle East. He helped to found Viva Palestina.

·      Sarah Colborne is the director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

·      Erdelan Baran is a member of the foreign affairs committee of the Kurdish organisation, KNK.

·      Shahrar Ali was elected deputy leader of the Green Party in 2014, becoming in the process the first BME deputy of a UK parliamentary party. He has been a vocal critic of successive government’s failed foreign policy and anti-terror legislation.

·      Malia Bouattia is the NUS Black Students’ officer.

·      Akinola Davies Jr is a London-born videographer and activist with the organization Nigerian Lives Matter.

·      Barbara Ntumy is an anti-war, anti-racism and anti-austerity campaigner.

·      Laura Avarez is a Mexican activist. She has been active in several NGOs in Mexico and in London, and has worked for the National Commission for Human Rights in Mexico.

·      Rania Khan is an ex-councillor, teacher and anti-war activist.

·      Kim Sharif is a human rights activist, solicitor, and Director of Yemeni Human Rights.

Confronting a World at War conference

BOOK ONLINE NOW Box office 020 7561 4830
Saturday 6 June • 10am - 5pm

TUC • Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3LS

'Cease and Desist' UKIP threat against Wembley Matters

The UKIP Election Agent for Brent Central, Heino Vockrodt, with jabbing finger, came up to me last night at the Mapesbury Hustings, to threaten action against Wembley Matters.

Vockrodt, glass of wine in hand, said that he would serve a 'cease and desist' order on Wembley Matters if I continued to 'misrepresent' UKIP candidate Stephen Priestley.

Disliking his aggression I told him to go away (in rather more colourful language, I confess) and he turned his attention to a local non-party activist standing nearby, telling her with more threatening body language, "And you! Don't heckle my man!"

Vockrodt stood in Dudden Hill in the May 2014 local elections and hit the headlines over his attitude to Muslims and his suggestion that a Willesden street resembled Helmand Province. LINK


UKIP celebrated its attack on Wembley Matters with a posting on its Brent and Camden Facebook page:

Heino Vockrodt's attack follows a comment submitted to Wembley Matters which I did not publish. It was posted under the name 'TheHV24'.   This is part of what it said:

Martin Francis - the guy who runs Wembley Matters - is a far left extremist activist!
He is Shahrar Ali's electoral agent and supports Mr Ali's fascist "we know better what's good for you so shut up" policies.

This blog is against Electoral Commission rules and I will have it shut down!

Martin Francis & Shahrar Ali are deeply anti-democratic. They're cultural Marxists which can be easily spotted the moment there are a few Black people in the audience: Ali says things like "Black people being brutally arrested by white policemen on Willesden High Road" and other racist remarks.

'TheHV24' also posted my home address on YouTube which I removed.

UKIP's mask of respectability appears to have slipped.

Wembley Matters will continue to cover the election campaign including the statements of UKIP and other candidates.

Tulip, Dawn and War

Prior to Ed Miliband's speech today there had been press comment that foreign policy had played little part in the General Election campaign. Here is Brent we did have a cross-Brent hustings on War, Peace and the Middle East where some of these issues were raised. LINK

'Unintended consequences' of military intervention is as pertinent to Labour as it is to the Conservatives given Blair's intervention in Iraq. What is suprising to me is the lack of comment on Chilcot and the decision to put it on the back burner until after the election. Surely the findings should have formed a centre piece of this General Election?

At the hustings Tulip Siddiq (Labour candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn)  gave specific undertakings about war and said that she had voted for Ed Miliband precisely because David Miliband was too associated with Tony Blair and the Iraq War.

Dawn Butler was not invited to that particular hustings but was asked about her views at a subsequent election meeting. She said she had been against the war in 2003 and had voted against an inquiry in June 2007 because she thought it would have impacted on the British troops that were deployed in Iraq at the time.

This is the motion that Dawn Butler voted for. Only 8 Labour MPs voted against.

  This House, recognising that there have already been four separate independent committees of inquiry into military action in Iraq and recognising the importance of learning all possible lessons from military action in Iraq and its aftermath, declines at this time, whilst the whole effort of the Government and the armed forces is directed towards improving the condition of Iraq, to make a proposal for a further inquiry which would divert attention from this vital task

Earlier in 2006 she had asked Tony Blair a question in the House of Commons which seemed to indicate some disquiet about policy in Iraq.

Butler was subsequently seen as a government loyalist. She seconded the Queen's Speech in November 2007 and became Assistant Chief Whip in September 2008.

Attending the hustings in Brent there have been a number of occasions when candidates have been asked if they would defy the party line (and the party whips) on issues of principle. It is clearly an issue that concerns local people and the shadow of Iraq, it seems to me, is behind much of that concern as Iraq and the war figured quite large in the Brent Central battle between Dawn Butler and Sarah Teather.

Butler's Green challenger in Brent Central, Shahrar Ali, has claimed in his election material that he, rather than Dawn, is Teather's natural successor as far as issues of war and Israel-Palesrtine are concerned.

Over in Hampstead and Kilburn, Tulip Siddiq is challenged by Green candidate Rebecca Johnson, who has a long and distinguished record in the peace and disarmanent movement and is a member of Women In Black.  LINK

Footnote: In case you are wondering, Barry Gardiner, speaking in 2003 after Robin Cook resigned over Iraq stated: 'The Prime Minister has behaved with absolute integrity' but had a different position by 2011 over Libya:  LINK

BBC June 7th 2011

Amid growing unease about Nato's role, MPs are expected to press for a statement on Libya on Tuesday when Parliament returns from its 10-day recess.

Although he voted for the Iraq invasion in 2003, Mr Gardiner says the parallels between the two situations are "ironic".

"Every single argument that has been used over the last eight years to decry what happened in Iraq is being used to justify - with much less justification - what is going on in Libya," he argues.

Despite the frequent military interventions of the Blair years, he believes Labour should be looking further back into its history for its foreign policy principles.

"There is a historic role for Labour that is not being followed through here - as effectively an anti-war party that recognises war is the worst option and something that should be avoided becoming embroiled in at all costs."

And while in no doubt about the nature of the Gaddafi regime, he worries that the current intervention sets a worrying precedent for the future.

"The danger is we are being drawn into a position, in terms of what we should be doing internationally, of it 'does not matter because it is only Gaddafi'."

ELECTION QUIZ: Match Brent Central candidates to their hustings statements

The Kilburn Times held an on-line hustings for the Brent Central candidates this evening. Shahrar Ali (Green), John Boyle (TUSC), Dawn Butler (Labour), Lauren Keith (Lib Dem), Alan Mendoza (Conservative) and Stephen Priestly (UKIP) took part.

Below you will find 12 responses to some of the questions. Can you match answers to the appropriate candidate?
 

1. As a representative of one of the smaller political parties, I can state that I would do everything in my power if elected as your MP in Brent Central to defend against further cuts, and to protect vital services to all the community. I would campaign fiercely to represent the needs of my constituents - in this way, I would hope to mitigate against the wider effects of national forces, to protect those that I am seeking to represent. I would campaign in the House of Commons for further resources

In response to: ‘Nationalise the big developers. Build housing and communities for people rather than profit.’

2. I am inclined to agree with the above statement. Development in itself should be encouraged, providing there is an ethical dimension to it . I feel the NHS should also be protected from private profit too - and while we are at it, the rail network should be re-nationalized to make it more affordable for all!

3. Youth resources are absolutely vital for young people, in terms of providing hope, structure, educational and vocational opportunity, and I would be fighting to defend existing resources and also campaign for much needed new resources!

In response to: Black people in Brent are 2.6 x more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. What will you do to end police discrimination?

4. This needs concerted joint-working a training with the police: this statistic is totally unacceptable and must be challenged. The police should not be allowed to arrest anyone, of any ethnicity, unless they have clear grounds to do so!

5. Denying benefits to migrants as a 'wholesale strategy' is not a compassionate way to approach this matter. I believe that our society should always adopt a compassionate approach, and to take into account the fact that many migrants are fleeing desperate circumstances. The United Kingdom has a very long tradition of tolerance and of assisting people that are in difficult circumstances and it is important that this continues. It is the unscrupulous people traffickers, that should be tackled.

6. The UK has a longstanding tradition of helping people in distress, and this must continue. Huge efforts need to be made to tackle all those that seek to exploit migrants, e.g. people smugglers, those that sexually exploit migrants, and also those that seek to enslave migrants in very low paid work - all these things need to be addressed.

7. All institutions should have clear policies to deal with racism in whichever form this appears

On recall of MPs by the electorate: 

8. Absolutely! This is also our stated policy to make MPs more accountable. I am totally committed to this measure. All other professions are bound by strict codes of practice and MPs should be no different!

9. I feel that all the parties need to be honest with the electorate on the issue of any cuts that they propose to make. For nearly everyone that I have spoken to, the NHS appears to be one of the highest priorities, as many are worried that community and hospital services will seriously suffer should further cuts take place. Greater transparency is needed by all parties on the NHS.

10. I feel the British Pub is a national institution which needs to be robustly defended, as the pub is a place where so many people meet: it is an important part of every community. I have endorsed my support for the Campaign for Real Ale, and would be doing everything in my power to support pubs, brewers and also the customers.

11. Education is absolutely crucial for this economy. A diversity of educational opportunities is required, including academic and vocational training courses. Funding needs to be increased to develop education facilities, and teaching and university education needs to attract the best possible candidates.

In response to: Who is the politician, living or dead, you admire the most and why? please do not say your own party leader. 

12. I would have to say Mahatma Gandhi. He was able to overcome so many obstacles for India to gain its independence and self-governance, via his philosophy of 'non-violent non-cooperation' at great personal cost to himself. His ideas have shaped great thinkers across the globe!

Quiz answers HERE

Brent and Kilburn Times On-line hustings HERE

Shahrar Ali challenges UKIP's Magnus Nielsen on overseas aid

UKIP candidate Magnus Nielsen  (Hampstead and Kilburn) told people attending last night's Catholic hustings at the Church of Transfiguration, Kensal Rise, that they should dig into their own pockets to provide Overseas Aid, reducing addressing inequality to a personal matter rather than a government obligation.

Green candidate Shahrar Ali (Brent Central)  responded by saying that world poverty was a systemic issue based on inequality and globalisation that would be worsened by climate change.

Nielsen has a history of controversy, particularly regarding Islam LINK and  appears quite a different kettle of fish to the apparently rather more benign Stephen Priestley, standing for UKIP in Brent Central.

The Daily Mirror has published a video of an anti-Islam speech by Nielsen HERE

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:

Green Party candidates speak out on War, Peace and the Middle East

Brent Central candidates talking green at the Learie Constantine Centre

From Brent Friends of the Earth

Photo: Jonathan Goldberg      

Parliamentary candidates for Brent Central were questioned on their green credentials at Brent Friends of the Earth's Eco Hustings last Thursday in Willesden.

Green candidate Shahrar Ali, Labour’s Dawn Butler, Conservative Alan Mendoza and UKIP's Stephen Priestley, along with Ollie Hayes, Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, were on the panel. Friends of the Earth's Energy and Climate Change Campaigner, Rose Dickinson took the chair. The panel faced an audience of 60 local residents and party supporters at the Learie Constantine West Indian Association. John Boyle of TUSC, and the Liberal Democrats were also invited.

Climate change, fracking, fuel poverty, TTIP, industrial farming and air pollution were amongst the the issues discussed.

Viv Stein, Spokesperson for Brent Friends of the Earth says, “This election has come at a crucial time for our future. In order to avoid catastrophic climate change we need to leave 80% of fossil fuels in the ground, and invest in renewable energy instead. The current coalition promised to be 'the greenest Government ever' but have failed to live up to this. They've supported gas and oil companies with huge tax breaks, and have damaged investment in green energy in the UK by cutting incentives for renewables.”

“It was good to hear all the candidates talking green, but they and their parties will need to deliver robust, joined-up and sustainable policies to provide a secure future for us all.”

“We asked candidates to sign a pledge that they won't support fracking in Brent or elsewhere, but as yet only Labour,* the Green and UKIP candidates have signed up.”

You can check which candidates have signed the frack free pledge at HERE   Videos of the meeting available HERE

* Note from Martin Francis:  John Boyle, the TUSC candidiate has pointed out that Dawn Butler has NOT signed according to the  FOE website. He has signed on behalf of TUSC. In Brent North only Scott Bartle, the Green candidate, has signed.  LINK

Eco Hustings Public Meeting – Who is the “Greenest” Candidate in Brent Central?

Parliamentary candidates for Brent Central will be answering questions on local and national environmental issues at an Eco Hustings on Thursday 26^th March at Learie Constantine West Indian Association in Willesden.

The public meeting, organised by Brent Friends of the Earth, will put Labour’s Dawn Butler together with Green candidate Shahrar Ali, Conservative Alan Mendoza, UKIP's Stephen Priestley and John Boyle of TUSC, in the spotlight to see just whose policies are really the greenest. The Liberal Democrats have also been invited.

Ian Saville, Spokesperson for Brent Friends of the Earth says, “This election is crucial for our future. We need firm resolve in our elected representatives to tackle climate change by boosting our economy with green jobs and investing in renewable energy instead of dangerous fossil fuels.”

“This meeting will be a chance for voters to see what candidates have to say on local issues, such as proposals for fracking in Park Royal and the expansion of Heathrow airport, and national ones, such as climate change and energy policy. We invite local residents to come along and ask questions on these and other environmental issues. After all what is the point of politics if we haven’t got a habitable planet?”

The free event takes place on Thursday 26^th March at Learie Constantine West Indian Association, 43-47 Dudden Hill Lane in Willesden, NW10 2ET, starting at 7.30pm. The venue is 2 minutes from Dollis Hill tube station, Chapter Road exit. All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be available.

Update: Dawn Butler  (Labour) has now confirmed attendance in addition to Shahrar Ali (Green), Alan Mendoza (Conservative)  and  Stephen Priestly (UKIP)

Next week's General Election Hustings in Brent

Hampstead & Kilburn hustings at Tricycle Theatre, Tuesday 24 March 2015 @ 7:30pm

Hampstead & Kilburn Hustings

hosted by the Tricycle Theatre and Age UK (Brent & Camden)

Tuesday 24 March 2015, 7.30pm

Parliamentary candidates for the Hampstead & Kilburn constituency debate issues and policy affecting children, young people and older people in the area and answer questions from constituents.

Questions must be submitted in advance to creativelearning@tricycle.co.uk, or in person on arrival at the event.

Chair: Geoff Martin, Editor in Chief, Ham & High

Confirmed candidates: Dr Rebecca Johnson (Green), Simon Marcus (Cons), Maajid Nawaz (Lib Dem), Tulip Siddiq (Lab), Magnus Nielsen (UKIP)

This hustings is free to attend, and it is primarily intended for residents in Hampstead & Kilburn constituency.

Taguri may face 'official' Liberal Democrat candidate in Brent Central following donation allegations

Taguri emphasised his 'independent' credential and distanced himself from some Lib Dem policies before the allegations broke - the sign on his  campaign office has no prominent Lib Dem 'brand'

Few would have thought from Ibrahim Taguri's confident and articulate performance at last night's Sufra election hustings that he was about to be engulfed in a media storm over allegations LINK that he had offered a fake businessman a way around declaring donations to the party.

Taguri has now resigned from the party and therefore as an official Liberal Democrat candidate while investigations take place.

In a statement to the BBC he said he would continue campaigning as an independent until his name is cleared and he is readmitted to the party. Lord Ashdown on BBC Radio 4's today programme this morning suggested that he might be opposed by an official Liberal Democrat candidate.

Clearly this would throw the Brent Central campaign wide open with the potential for a split Liberal Democrat vote producing a primary battle between Dawn Butler and the Green Party candidate Shahrar Ali.

Shahrar Ali  commenting this morning said:

This election is now even more widely open than ever imagined. At a meeting last night Dawn Butler spoke of the 'elephant in the room' which was the 'clearing of her name' regarding expenses.

Today we learn  Ibrahim Taguri is under investigation for potential impropriety over advice on electoral donations.

Standing as an independent will not help him. The people of Brent demand nothing less than confidence that their politicians know right from wrong before presuming to serve them.

We need politicians we can trust.

Sufra Foodbank Election Hustings, March 11th

From Sufra Foodbank and Kitchen

In the run up to the general election, we invite you to attend a hustings event for Brent Central on Wednesday 11 March 2015 from 6:45pm.

The event is hosted by Sufra NW London, in partnership with Mitchell Brook Primary School and St. Laurence’s Larder, and will provide an opportunity for local people, including those directly affected by food poverty, to challenge local candidates on policies affecting the future of the community.

Invited guests include:

Alan Mendoza (Conservatives)

Shahrar Ali (Green Party)

Dawn Butler (Labour Party)

Ibrahim Taguri (Liberal Democrats)

Venue: Mitchell Brook Primary School, Bridge Road, London, NW10 9BX

RSVP here.

Three Brent Central General Election candidates united in support of Stonebridge Adventure Playground

A child left this message for staff at Stonebridge Adventure Playground

 
The three candidates General Election candidates so far selected for Brent Central have all pledged support for Stonebridge Adventure Playground which is threatened with closure.

Dawn Butler,  the Labour candidate,  spoke to the local press soon after the plans were announced and has been photographed wearing the Save Stonebridge red t-shirt when she visited the site to give her support to parents and children fighting for the playground;s survival

On November 25th Green Party candidate Shahrar Ali made this statement:

The Stonebridge Adventure Playground is a shining example of what the Green Party means by the common good. For 42 years this facility has been serving three generations of residents in one of Brent's most disadvantaged areas. It is a safe place for children to play and for parents to socialise; encourages outdoor play and exercise rather than leaving children indoors hunched over a screen; and allows for creativity and risk-taking under experienced supervision. The playground is at the heart of the community and helps to keep it stable.

It appears that Brent Council is failing to acknowledge all these positives but instead is making decisions based on narrow short-termism based on accountancy rather than people.

We cannot risk the value of the Adventure Playground being recognised only when it is too late, as happened with the closure of half the borough's libraries. Brent Council must go back to the drawing board and find a way to keep the playground open and staffed, whilst also providing the extra school places and affordable housing that is needed. Any developer contributions should be earmarked for the benefit of existing Stonebridge residents and that includes the Adventure Playground.

Ibrahim Talguri wrote to the playground on December 5th:

Thank you for welcoming me to the Playground. While it was a cold, wet December night, the warmth inside the centre was immediate the moment I stepped inside.

I could instantly feel the sense of home and belonging that you have given to so many children over the last 40 years. For men and women who came here as youngsters to now bring their own children and grandchildren means that you have touched upon something truly special.

A home from home, that provides safety, kindness, and joy. I told you that I could feel the spirit of the place as being alive and vibrant with the happiness of several generations of children. 

To put it simply. Stonebridge Adventure Playground has soul. Real soul that money can’t buy or replace. That’s why I will give you my complete support in keeping this at the heart of the community for Stonebridge and for many years to come.

It is all to rare to find such treasures within London today. It is a city that change beyond recognition and at an unbelievable pace. It is so important to hold close and tight, the things that make our communities what they are.

Stonebridge Adventure Playground is a family home for a big family. Where the children play and the adults take comfort in their company together. This magic place must be protected for the generations to come.

A Conservative candidate has not yet been selected.

 During his budget speech at Full Council on Monday, Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt said:

I respect those for whom the adventure playground remains a key part of their community. I admire how people have stepped forward to say ‘this matters to me, this matters to my family.’ The reality is that we cannot continue to fund projects like this in the way we once did.

Over the last few months, we have asked those who run the adventure playground to work with us to see whether supervised play can continue on that site or be relocated. And so, we hope the adventure playground will respond to our call, to work with us for the good of the people of Stonebridge and Brent.