Give more power to Londoners, demands new chair of London Councils

From London Councils, an organisaton covering all the London boroughs and the City of London

"London local government must have more power and resources devolved from Whitehall to be able to protect Londoners’ public services and their quality of life," says Cllr Claire Kober, who was elected as the new Chair of London Councils today.

London Councils is the cross-party organisation which represents London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation. At the meeting of the Leaders' Committee – comprising the Leaders of all London’s boroughs – it elected Cllr Kober, Leader of Haringey Council since 2008, as its new Chair.

Her election follows the move of Mayor Jules Pipe to be Deputy Mayor of Planning, Regeneration and Skills at City Hall. Prior to her election, Cllr Kober had served as Deputy Chair of London Councils and executive member for infrastructure and regeneration.

"Building on our work with the London Finance Commission, we have been working with the Mayor to develop plans that sustain growth and improve public services through devolution to City Hall and the boroughs," says Cllr Kober.

"We have worked closely with the Core Cities, which includes Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, to develop devolution ambitions and to establish a platform that gives communities across England more power over the things that impact on their lives.

"In the aftermath of the European Referendum 2016, it’s vital that central Government gives more power to London boroughs to work with the Mayor to get on with the job. From finance to the integration of health and care, from housing to skills and employment, London’s boroughs have a vital role in sustaining the position of this great city.

"Bringing London together at this time is essential and London Councils – a cross party organisation which represents the boroughs and the City of London - is well placed to meet this challenge. It is an honour to be elected to serve London local government and our capital in this critical role", concludes Cllr Kober.

Police move neo-Nazi demonstration to Whitehall

The Jewish Chronicle reported this afternoon that the police intend to move Saturday's  neo-Nazi demonstration from Golders Green to Richmond Tearrace, Whitehall.  They will be limited to a static demonstration for 60 minutes from 1pm-2pm.

Golders Green will still be policed as some demonstrators and counter-demonstrators who have not heard of the change of venue may turn up,

Green Euro candidate hits out at industrialisation of schools

A leading Green Party politician has condemned Government league tables that show nearly half the areas with primary schools not meeting new nationally set targets are in Yorkshire.

Cllr Andrew Cooper, who is lead Green candidate for Yorkshire & the Humber in the European elections next year, said he was at least as concerned about the process of league tables as he was about the findings. Greens would abolish league tables as they are currently devised and used.

Many areas badly affected by Government austerity
“These targets are nationally set and take no account of local issues," said Cllr Cooper . "It is telling that many of the schools identified are in areas of social deprivation which have been especially badly affected by the Government’s austerity drive.

League tables a crude mechanism
"Using league tables, which by default rank schools above or below others, is a crude mechanism for determining real educational needs and outcomes. It is not helpful and simply stigmatises schools where teachers, parents and pupils are often working incredibly hard in spite of frequently lacking resources or having to keep adjusting to changing diktats from central Government.”

Cllr Cooper went on to say, ”This comes in the same week we have heard that the Coalition’s flagship policy on free schools is running two times over budget and failing to meet need in areas with oversubscribed places. It is dreadful for the Government to now compound this assault on education by using a one dimensional process to assess our primary schools.”

Cllr Cooper added, “Greens want a very different approach to education. We support a model where needs are determined more locally but on a community basis rather than in the way free schools are allowed to operate, and in particular we want the education process to be one that is geared to individual children’s needs rather than Michael Gove’s latest idea.”

He said that Greens support primary children starting academic schooling at 6 rather than 5, which would be in line with successful education systems such as those in several European countries. Prior to that, building on the Surestart programme, a system of free nursery education should be available with an emphasis on learning through play. Greens would also adopt the Scandinavian model of “all through schools” where pupils would remain in the same school throughout their education but the schools themselves would become more local in their nature and smaller than some of the super-sized establishments found across the UK today.

“We want schools that are linked to the local community, not Whitehall, and that are central to the local area and focus on the varying needs of children,” said Cllr Cooper. “The Government has a two-faced approach of encouraging elitist free schools which drift off in their own direction but then imposes a one-size-fits-all assessment which simply tarnishes the reputation of less well resouced schools and even their local area."

Cllr Cooper concluded, ”Like any parent, I want my children to have an education that meets their needs, not some national target. Schools should not be exam factories; pupils are children, not widgets.”

Whitehall blocked by Syria anti-war protesters - make it massive on Saturday

The crowd in Whitehall

Among the speakers were Jenny Jones Green Am and Diane Abbot MP

A group of Green Party members at the protest

At the gate of Downing Street

Protesters eventually blocked Whitehall

Britain France and the US are poised to attack Syria. Even ex-generals are warning that such an attack can have incalculable consequences. It risks terrible casualties, will intensify the desperate civil war and threatens to draw other regional powers in to the conflict.

As Stop the War's statement on Syria points out 'It seems that the Western governments have already made up their minds about this attack before it has even been reported on by UN weapons inspectors.' This underlines the fact that the intervention, far from being humanitarian, is part of a wider project of regime change.

While our politicians appear to have learnt nothing from the disasters of Afghanistan, Iraq most people in Britain oppose any attack. Only 9% support British troops getting involved and only 25% back missile strike.
 
Protests are taking place across the country today and tomorrow - please check here for details and phone us if you want to organise something in your area.

Make Saturday massive

Saturday's national demonstration is crucial. We need to be a real expression of mass public opinion. Please do everything possible to attend and promote as widely as you can.

The demonstration is now assembling at Temple Tube at midday on Saturday and marching via parliament and Downing Street to Trafalgar Square for a rally. Transport has already been organised from various towns and cities, please contact the office for more information.

Demonstrate - No attack on Syria, this Saturday 31 August. 12 midday,  Temple tube, Victoria Embankment.

Police arresting anti-fascist demonstrators in Whitehall

Since I left the demonstration there are reports of arrests of anti-BNP demonstrators following kettling. Two buses are said to have been  readied to ferry them away.  There are reports that legal advisers trying to give those arrested advice have been pushed back into the kettle.

Follow @PennyRed on twitter for updates #antifa #bnp

Gove to go in September? Will Truss take over?

Elizabeth Truss

I've been doing the round of end of terms concerts and graduation ceremonies at local schools and as usual have been impressed by the talent displayed by Brent children, their confidence and sheer zest for life.  Their teachers are by this time, in the helter skelter of report writing, open evenings, sports days, outings and productions are frazzled, just waiting for Friday.  I wish them all a wonderful summer holiday and the weekend change in the weather should raise their spirits,

Something else may also raise their spirits over the holiday if they have kept their eyes in the rumblings from Whitehall.  There are rumours that the cabinet reshuffle in September may see Michael Gove moved to the Home Office to replace Theresa May.

Initially, the tip off that in this public school educated cabinet, his successor may be a working class woman who was educated at a comprehensive school, may raise spirits even more but a closer look at Elizabeth Truss may make them pause for thought. She has lambasted her own comprehensive education and spoken against 'soft' A level subjects and modular assessment, Both her parents were public sector workers, left-wing and CND supporters and many of her teachers at her Leeds comprehensive were left-wing.

She rejected all this to become an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, completing a GCSE project on her downfall entitled 'End of an Era'.  Will it be the end of an era for some of Michael Gove's obsessions or will Truss take up his baton with relish?

Watch this space.

Thanks to the News Statesman for some of this information. See the full profile HERE