The confused Conservatives of Brent North

Well, look what popped through my door from Brent North Conservatives today! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery of course, but that's not really what caught my attention.

Tories sell themselves on the basis of their efficiency  so I was struck by the fact that the front page ad for what's inside the four page paper got both items wrong: 'Reducing litter and flytipping in our neighbourhood Pg2'  was actually on Page 3. 'Our streets peppered with potholes and broken pavements Pg 4' does not appear at all on any page.,

An item on Roe Green villages battling a commercial Powerleague pitch says it is on the 'Bacon Lane campus' but does not mention the school's name (it is Kingsbury High). However, the article is illustrated  rather unhelpfully with a picture of Roe Green infant and Junior School.

I live in Barnhill ward but there was no  mention of any issues in the ward.  I am not sure what the residents of Chalkhill Estate will make of it.

Labour looking for new candidate in Sudbury

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The Sudbury team in 2013. Aisha Hoda-Benn was elected in May 2014

Brent Labour are searching for a new candidate for Sudbury ward for the local elections in May after Cllr Aisha Hoda-Benn dropped out.

Cllr Hoda-Benn was elected in 2014 and reselected last year. She is currently vice chair of Brent Connects-Wembley and on the Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and the Teachers Joint Consultative Committee. She has been absent for 75% of the meetings she was expected to attend.

The only gift declaration she has made is for a tin of biscuits, valued at £19.95 from the secretary of the mosque in Sudbury.

Sudbury ward is a relatively close contest between Labour and the Liberal Democrats (2014 result)

TUSC standing in Brent election

When I was a teacher I always enjoyed running mock school elections. They are a great educational resource combining an introduction to democratic processes (and their limitations) and writing, speaking and debating skills. I was interested to see campaigning posters at Queens Park Community School when I attended Education Question Time at the school on Friday.

TUSC is standing in the school election although they are standing down nationally in order to back a Corbyn led government LINK.

The election will be held on June 7th, the day before the General Election proper and I look forward to hearing the result.

These are the Lib Dem and Labour posters. I will be happy to publish any from other parties standing at the school that weren't on display in the foyer.

Northwick Park ward candidate selections

Candidates for Northwick Park for May 2018 council elections were chosen last night. Margaret McLennan, currently deputy leader of Brent Council, was selected along with Keith Perrin and Robert Johnson.

The selection assumed greater importance in the light of the One Public Estate proposal for Northwick Park LINK and it is not clear that the trio will be able to agree a common approach.

Brent Labour starts short-listing for 2018 Council Election

Short-listing for the selection of Labour candidates for Brent Council to stand in May 2018 is underway and there are a titbits of information already.  I understand that Cllr Margaret McLennan , deputy leader (currently Northwick Park)and  Cllr Wilhelmina Mitchell Murray (currently Wembley Central) both want to transfer to Stonebridge ward. Cllr Joshua Mitchell Murray (Northwick Park) is also heading south but this time to Harlesden.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that there are a number of current councillors who do not intend to stand again but it's early days and they may yet have temptation put in their way. The list includes veterans Bobby Thomas (Harlesden), Ruth Moher (Fryent), Jean Hossain  and Pat Harrison (Preston) and a more recent cohort including Bernard Collier (Willesden Green), Sam Stopp (Wembley Central) and Sabina Khan (Stonebridge). I was surprised at the suggestion that Kilburn by-election winner Barbara Pitruzzella would not be standing again.

The outcome will give some indication of the degree of support that Cllr Muhammed Butt commands although as one member said there is not much appetite among the more astute members of the Labour Party to become members of a Labour group with so little power. They are aware that Cabinet makes all the key decisions.

However candidates are likely to face some searching cross-examination from the more recent recruits to the Labour Party focusing on some of the controversial issues around the Sustainability and Transformation plan for the health servce and social care, education cuts, Prevent and probably most prominently affordable housing and regeneration.

Cllr Tom Miller has made his pitch for re-selection HERE

Video: Green Party Leader & Deputy Leader Hustings

Voting will be from July 25th until August 25th. All members of the Green Party can vote.
Join or renew membership by July 24th to vote in the leadership elections LINK

The Green Party bids farewell to Natalie Bennett and will have new leader in September

 

A very human leader Pic: documentary.com

Announcement from the Green Party

Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, has announced that she will not to stand for re-election in the Leadership elections, which take place this summer and culminate at the Green Party’s Autumn Conference.

During her hugely successful two-term, four-year stint as leader, Natalie has guided the Party through a period of extraordinary growth and increasing impact.

Under Natalie’s leadership, the Party has increased its number of MEPs by 50% in the 2014 European Elections, recorded its best-ever result in a General Election in 2015 (amassing over one million votes for the first time and saving 123 deposits compared to 4 in 2010) and, most recently, recorded its best-ever performance in London elections, where Greens are now the undisputed third party.

Membership of the Green Party of England and Wales has increased five-fold under Natalie’s watch, supported enormously by her efforts to engage with and inspire local and regional parties from Stroud to Solihull, Sunderland to St Ives.

The party broke in to the televised Leaders’ Debates ahead of the May 2015 General Election and Natalie used the high-profile media opportunities to share widely Green Party values and policies.
Reflecting on her successful spell at the helm, Natalie said:

I have been proud to lead a party through a period of phenomenal expansion and increased impact. With the support of our passionate members and supporters we have been able to achieve much in a relatively short period.

The Green Party offers a genuine alternative to the tired status quo and I am proud that Greens do politics differently.

There’s greatly increased public understanding that when you want the honest, caring, committed view – one that isn’t guided by the views of the latest focus group or fear of a tabloid backlash but by fundamental principles and values – you should come to the Green Party.

Looking to the future, in which I intend to remain fully engaged in Green Party politics, I’m confident the Green Party is going to become increasingly influential on the political scene. We’re the only party with a platform that recognises the essential interrelationship between economic and environmental justice – that we must have a society in which no one fears hunger or homelessness while we collectively live within the environmental limits of our one fragile planet.

 Richard Mallender, Chair of the Green Party Executive, commented:

On behalf of everyone in the Green Party I thank Natalie for her outstanding leadership over the past four years. Without Natalie we would not have been able to achieve all that we have achieved. I am delighted that Natalie will remain active in the party - her support will be invaluable to the new Leadership team as we continue to grow.

Nominations for the Green Party Leadership elections open on 1st June 2016 and close on 30th June. A campaign period will run from 1 July until 24 July, at which point the one-month balloting period begins. The new Leadership team will be unveiled at the Green Party’s Autumn Conference in early September.

Note from Wembley Matters

The leadership of the Green Party is rather different from the more traditional leadership of other political parties.  The Greens previously did not have leaders ,but 'Spokespeople', and the leadership model was only adopted after a vigorous debate.

However in many ways the leader is still a spokesperson as policy continues to be made by the twice yearly conference, with positions in between decided by an elected committee of the party.  This means that the leader cannot make up policy on the hoof and causes problems when TV or radio interviewers expect immediate answers assuming the role is the same as that for traditional parties. The process is sometimes cumbersome but in my view more democratic.

With policy decided by Conference there is less scope for a leadership contest based on policy differences, although differences in emphasis will be significant.  In some ways, Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP, has been more free to put forward policies such as the 'progressive alliance' and this creates some tension at times with some members wary of being bounced into post facto policy.

Within the party there are different perspectives ranging from 'deep greens' very much concerned with prioritising the environment and eco-socialists who see capitalism,  by its very nature, as not being able to deal with the challenge of climate change.  A particular issue that differentiates the green left from the Labour Party is the latters emphasis on economic growth, which is also the basis of capitalism's need for ever expanding markets. The eco-socialist left looks to a socially useful economy rather than a natural resources gobbling, climate change inducing, consumerist economy.

The Party's decision to give equal weight to environmental and social justice has informed the development of policy over  last few years and contributed to the 'Green Surge' of new members in reaction to the neoliberalism of the Labour Party pre-Corbyn.  The Green Party Trade Union Group and Green Left have been reaching out to sections of the labour movement. The Green Left Facebook has nearly 8,000 members and is a lively forum for eco-socialist ideas in the movement.

Inevitably perspectives on the Labour Party under Corbyn, assessment of Labour's developing policies on the environment, economy and voting reform will inform the Green Party's summer of debate, but the unique nature of the Green Party will shape the discussion.

Brent's Shahrar Ali now Number 3 on Green's GLA Election List

Shahrar Ali with Natalie Bennett, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Shahrar Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party is now Number 3 on the London Green Party List for the 2016 GLA election following a recount conducted today by Electoral Reform Services, following a request by the London Green Party.

ShahrarAli  said:

I feel honoured and humbled that members have chosen me as one of their lead candidates and hugely excited at the prospect that Londoners could return their first BME Green to City Hall. It’s gratifying, and comes as a huge relief, to finally know the true result of a hotly contested ballot of over 12,000 members held over the summer, that had to be recounted due to discovery of a significant mistake in the count instructions given by us.

Amongst my priorities, I will give voice to tackling the everyday prejudice or downright racism faced by ethnic minorities. Greens will fight your corner, whether combating illicit racial profiling by police or confronting the Islamophobia in our schools and colleges fostered by the government’s Prevent programme.

As a lifelong Londoner, I would relish the opportunity to represent and serve Londoners’ interests from City Hall. As part of a great Green team, I would tackle the problems faced by ordinary people and the poverty-stricken, whether those marginalised by work which doesn’t pay, public transport that doesn’t come cheap, or by housing that banks on developers and investors at families’ expense. Only Greens are able to offer the radical vision and joined up approach that Londoners desperately need and deserve.

The results of the recount will be officially ratified at the next Green Party  London Regional meeting on 16th November 2015.

Ronald Stewart, member of Haringey Green Party, who originally noticed the count error and raised the alarm,explained:

The quota for the election had been set lower than specified by the London Green Party framework, as a requirement of STV. This gave an incorrect result which did not proportionally reflect the voters’ wishes.

The full list of candidates is now ordered as follows:

1. Sian Berry
2. Caroline Russell
3. Shahrar Ali
4. Jonathan Bartley
5. Noel Lynch
6. Rashid Nix
7. Tom Chance
8. Dee Searle
9. Benali Hamdache
10. Andrea Carey Fuller
11. RoseMary Warrington

Reserve 1. Peter Underwood
Reserve 2. Michael Gold
Reserve 3. Barry Cooper

Will Corbyn end the 'dented shield' in local government?

Congratulations to local Labour Party activists who worked hard in the Corbyn campaign. As one of them remarked to me at the 'Refugees Welcome Here' demonstration yesterday 'this is only the beginning of the struggle.'

The Party's adherence to neoliberalism, the anti-Corbyn Parliamentary Labour Party, and the role of democracy within the party, including Party Conference, are just some of the areas where battles will need to be fought.

On social media today it is clear that some Greens have decided to throw in their lot with the Labour Party, and this includes a number who left Labour for the Greens when they thought Labour had 'lost its way'. However others have stated their intention to stay with the Greens on the basis that eco-socialism is a separate strand of political thinking in contrast to Corbynism which remains committed to 'productivism' LINK

Although this still leaves space for a 'progressive alliance' with the Labour Left on some issues there are problems on the ground with the positions adopted by Labour locally.

Most local councils are beginning their budget process this Autumn ready for April 2016.  Even Conservative council have said that they can no longer provide effective services with the planned cuts in funding.

Labour councils have adopted a 'dented shield position' up this point which means implementing the cuts rather than taking a principled stand against them and setting 'illegal' budgets. This was also true of the minority Green council in Brighton.  In the process services have been cut to the core and out-sourcing has become the norm with some handing over to the voluntary sector.

So how will 'dented shield' councils such as Brent adapt to the new leadership and will this mean that at last they make common cause with anti-austerity and trade union campaigners who have been challenging the cuts both in terms of their necessity and of the damage that they cause?

The May Labour NEC discussed local government issues and included this statement: LINK

Since May 2010 local government has had its funding dramatically cut. Many Councils have had their funding cut by 50% or more. This majority Conservative Government seeks to continue to cut Councils even further and puts vital public services at risk. These cuts are unsustainable and threaten services across the board, including in education, health, social care, fostering and adoption and community safety. We called on colleagues across the Labour movement to work together with Local Government to defend the vital public services our communities rely on. We look forward to working closely with Trade Unions, MPs and others to fight for a fairer deal for local government.

I think it is not just a fight for a 'fairer deal' for local government but for its very survival. In addition to the campaign  over funding there is also the need to preserve the role of local government in providing services with a public sector' ethos and purpose. This means challenging the privatisation of our education system that has taken place through academies and free schools, the out-sourcing of adult social care, children's services and youth provision.

Brent Council has eroded that ethos and undermined the role of democratically  accountable local government by accepting, and sometimes promulgating, the idea that services can be better provided by the private and voluntary sectors.

Only a few Brent Labour councillors nailed their colours to the Corbyn mast during the Labour election campaign and its leader, Cllr Muhammed Butt, argued against his CLP backing Corbyn.

This leaves the Labour Group on Brent Council out of line with both the party nationally and locally. There should be some interesting discussions ahead.

Green Party candidates for London Mayor speak out on the housing crisis

With council and social housing tenants fighting back against developer led regeneration schemes that will deprive them of their homes, families being shipped out of London and private landlords ripping off tenants, housing is likely to be a big issue in the forthcoming London Mayor and GLA elections.

Candidates were asked for their views at the London Green Party Mayoral Hustings at Birkbeck College today:

Brent election meetings and hustings happening next week

Brent Council directed a local resident to Wembley Matters when she asked if the Council could tell her about election hustings in the area.

These are the election meetings and hustings I know are happening in the next week or so. Please email me on mafran@globalnet.co.uk if you are organising a meeting which is not listed.

Monday April 13th (Hampstead and Kilburn and Brent Central) Brent PSC/Stop The War Election Meeting - Pakistan Community Centre, Marley Walk, Station Parade (next to mosque) - Willesden Green station 7pm refreshments, 7.30pm meeting

Wednesday April 15th (Brent Central) Churches Together, 7pm  Tavistock Hall back of Methodist Church, Harlesden High Street, NW10
Wednesday April 15th (H&K) WHAT Hustings, 7pm. Hampstead Synagogue, NW6 1AX

Thursday April 16th (Brent North) Sudbury Residents Association, 7pm St Cuthberts Church, Carlton Avenue West, North Wembley HA0 3QY

Thursday April 16th (H&K)  Time:  7:30pm to 9:30pm Queens Park Community School Aylestone Avenue. NW6


Friday April 17th (Brent North) 7.30pm Association of Churches, St George's, 970 Harrow Road, HA0 2QE
Friday April 17th (Brent Central and Hampstead and Kilburn)  8pm Church of Transfiguration, 1 Wrentham Avenue, NW10 3HT

Sunday April 19th (H&K)  8pm Brondesbury Park Synagogue8pm Brondesbury Park Synagogue 143/145 Brondesbury ParkNW2 5JL (Tickets: https://myus.theus.org.uk/events/19399/general-election-hustings/)

Tuesday 21st April, St Marks Church Hall, All Souls Avenue.7pm (Brent Central)

Organised by Elmwood (and many other) Residents' Association

Hampstead & Kilburn Hustings at the Tricycle March 24th

Hampstead & Kilburn Hustings at the Tricycle Theatre
hosted by the Tricycle 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)

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

Click to book FREE tickets. Tickets required to attend (one the site click on the calendar date).

South Kilburn Hustings on Thursday - Granville Community Centre

Limited Eventbrite tickets available: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/skvoices-husting-2015-tickets-15583908891?aff=efbevent

Romanians protest at denial of democratic right to vote in Romanian election at Wembley polling station

Post by Ion Holban.

Cllr Muhammed Butt gets a 2 year term taking him through to 2016

How does Brent Council resemble a pint of Guinness?

Despite a long and sometimes heated discussion nothing much seems to have emerged from the Labour Group discussion on Monday evening.

A compromise was reached on  the issue of annual elections to the leadership and cabinet. Muhammed Butt wanted elections every 4 years and others wanted to keep automatic annual elections.

It was agreed that leader and cabinet would be elected every two years and other posts would remain annual with an automatic trigger.

That makes Cllr Butt and his Cabiner safe until 2016

Butt to be rebuffed by Labour Group on Monday?

The Brrent Council Labour Group on Monday will be discussing proposals for the Labour leader (and thus at present the Council leader)  and Cabinet to be elected on a basis other than an automatic annual election.

Muhammed Butt after the May elections said that a four year cycle would end the problem of him having to 'look over his shoulder' all the time.

Brent Central Labour Party recently passed the following motion unopposed:

Brent Central CLP believes that because of the benefits in terms of accountability the Leader of the Labour Group and the Cabinet should remain as annually elected positions.

The potential loss of democratic accountability and the loss of ability to exercise some power on an annual basis has been too much for some councillors although there had been talk of introducing some compromise process which would require a certain number of signatories to trigger an election.

Meanwhile disquiet is mounting over the reputational damage the Council and Labour Party is suffering due to the Cabinet's failure to grasp the nettle of the current scandal regarding the Human Resources Department and the personal, business and career relationships between senior council officers.

There has been one Cabinet resignation recently with Cllr Perrin unwilling to explain the reasons for his resignation beyond the usual 'personal reasons' statement.  It would be to his credit if he had taken a principled stand on the Cavani-Corporate Management Team issue and had opposed the decision to spend council tax payers' money on an appeal over the Employment Tribunal's Judgment.

James Powney's concerns expressed on his blog may be dismissed by some as sour grapes from a member of the deposed Ann John team but his concerns are shared by Labour Party members on the Brent Trades Union Council and members of the Brent Labour Representatation Committee who were never Johnites.

Brent Labour to discuss leadership election changes

Following controversy over Muhammed Butt's bid to restrict Labour leadership elections  to every four years, Brent Labour is to hold a special meeting on amendments to Standing Orders on Tuesday 16th September.

Among the proposals, which also includes elections/appointment by the leader to council positions, is this:

The group leadership is not proposing that leadership elections shouldn’t be held at AGMs other than the first of the council term if substantial number of members (a third or more) feel there is a need for this to occur- see paragraph 2 of this section, discussed below. Rather, the suggestion is that a leadership election shouldn’t be held rigidly every year if members see no need for one. Following the recent AGM, it is clear that a number of members wish for this matter to be reviewed, and a full report on it will follow in the coming weeks. 

2. ‘An election for the post of Leader may be called at any AGM if a third or more of the group’s members write to the group Secretary to request that this occur not less than seven days in advance of the meeting. Any election resulting from this trigger mechanism will be conducted by secret ballot. Under no circumstances will the Secretary reveal the name of any member requesting that a contest take place until the threshold of 50% is reached. If this occurs, the Secretary will verify with the Chairs of both the group and the LCF that an election should be called and proceed accordingly.’ 

This paragraph has been substantially altered from that included in the group standing orderscirculated prior to the recent AGM. It was inserted in order to compliment paragraph 1 of this section, ensuring that leadership elections at AGMs will go ahead if a sizable number of members feel this should occur, and that members will feel confident expressing their preference for such an election.

As  I read it, rather than the election of leader being routinely on the agenda of the AGM a group of members will have to ask for such an election. This could be a disincentive as it might be seen as disloyalty or splitting to make such a request.

Will Brent's 'garden tax' lead to more Birmingham style fly-tipping?

Green waste dumped by the roadside in Birmingham

The KilburnTimes LINK is reporting that the Council's proposed charge for recycling green waste revealed on this blog last week will be an annual fee of £40.

Brent councillors and officers would be wise to look at what happened in Birmimgham in May when a £35 charge was introduced by that Labour Council.

Initially only 20,000 of the city's 400,000 households signed up to pay the charge and there were mile long queues of angry drivers at city recycling depots LINK

Green waste was fly-tipped by residents wanting to avoid the charge and it became an issue in the local elections. 

Just before the election bin men were allegedy told to clear up all the dumped green waste according to the Birmingham Mail LINK:

But now binmen have allegedly been told to clear the streets of ALL abandoned green waste this weekend, whether householders have paid for the controversial scheme or not.

Senior GMB shop steward Paul Langley, based at Perry Barr depot, told the Mail: “All the dumped garden rubbish is going to be picked up this weekend – just before the election.

“Our overtime has been cut and now our crews are being told to collect it all. It means the 40,000 people who have paid for a green waste bin and those who have simply dumped their rubbish are getting the same service.

“I have just spoken to a manager and he has confirmed it.”

The proposed charges follow the awarding of the multi-million Public Realm contract to Veolia which is due to take parks maintenance from next month in addition to recycling, residual waste collection, street sweeping and BHP grounds maintenance. Councillors claimed at the time that the new contract would save public money and there was no mention of introducing charges for basic services.

This opens the way for other charges for basic services in addition to what we pay in Council Tax.

At the same time as introducing this charge the Council is also considering landlord licensing which amongst other things is aimed at the 'anti-social' issue of untidy and poorly maintained front gardens. The £40 charge hardly seems an incentive to tackle this issue.

And of course we have the Council's anti-fly tipping campaign while this policy looks likely to increase the amount of illegal fly-tipping adding garden waste to the builders' waste currently common on our streets.

Cllr Perrin, new lead member for the environment needs to look at this again.

Brent Greens call for independent investigation into Brent Council revelations

Brent Green Party issued the following statement this morning:

Brent Green Party is deeply concerned about recent revelations concerning the Corporate Management Team at Brent Council. We call on for an independent investigation of:

1. Corporate Management Team officers being paid through their private companies rather than normal pay roll
2. The contractual arrangements for CMT officers and interim appointments
3. Previous employment and business connections between senior offices appointed by Brent Council on an interim basis
4. The working culture of the Human Resources department
5. Brent Council's Whistle Blowing Policy to ensure that it adequately protects whistle-blowers from harassment and retribution

We further call on Council election candidates to pledge to press for this investigation if elected on Thursday.

Link1

Link2 

 

The Brent Election Green Manifesto - There is an Alternative

We are the alternative, not just in Willesden Green but in every ward across the borough

We will:
· Campaign for REAL accountability
· Fight cuts to local services
· Tackle climate change
· Combat air pollution
· Press for affordable housing for local people
· Oppose bedroom tax evictions
· Support our local schools and oppose their privatisation
· Protect and enhance our local green and  urban spaces
· Press for restoration of  local library provision

Safeguarding local services Brent has already lost millions in funding under the Coalition. The 2015-2016 Brent budget is likely to require cuts that will cause untold damage to the local population. The Green Party is anti-austerity and pro-social justice and so opposed to the Coalition’s attack on the poor and vulnerable. We will oppose any such cuts.

Accountability and Transparency  Many residents have experienced being ignored, bulldozed or mislead by Brent Council. We will make sure the Council is accountable for its  actions and transparent in its dealings with the public. We’ve signed up to Keep Willesden Green’s pledge to submit ourselves, if elected, to recall by 51% of the votes cast in a ward at this election.

Climate Change Greens are working at a national and international level to combat climate change. We will also press for local action including, encouragement of green jobs through a Brent Green Industries zone with start-up subsidies, a programme of energy  efficiency in council and BHP properties including double glazing, insulation and solar panels and a pilot Low Carbon Zone.

Clean Air Air pollution is not just an irritant, but an unseen killer, strongly linked to asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular illness. Over 4000 Londoners die early each year as a result of it. We will work with Green Assembly members for action at the London level to tackle high polluting vehicles and reduce dependency on cars. Locally we support the London Cycling Campaign’s ‘Space for Cycling’ initiative, will press for better public transport to reduce car use, especially the ‘school run’, and encourage a diversity of shops in our local high streets to encourage ‘walkable’ local shopping.

Housing We will support local developments on viable brown field sites that include at least 50%         genuinely affordable housing and that are accompanied by infrastructure improvements including health and education facilities to support the additional population. We will press for the urgent  delivery of the delayed family housing in the Wembley Quintain development. We will oppose evictions of tenants who have defaulted on rent payments because of the unfair bedroom tax.

Education We would strengthen the role of the local authority and its accountability in terms of school improvement and Special Educational Needs provision and campaign for it to be able to build new schools where needed, rather than rely on the costly and undemocratic free schools and academies. We will support the emerging collaborative arrangements between schools that aim to improve the quality of teaching and learning across the borough.

Green Spaces Brent’s increasing population makes green and urban open space even more important and extreme weather requires flood management for Brent’s streams and rivers. We will defend those green open spaces where they exist and insist on their sustainable maintenance as well as supporting the creation of new pocket parks and town squares. New developments will be required to provide play spaces for children and growing spaces for residents. The new Chalkhill Park has shown what a major impact a green space can make on a community both environmentally and in terms of bringing a community together.

Libraries We will press for restoration of accessible local libraries across the borough.

YOUR GREEN CANDIDATES

Alperton - Yusuf Akram, Barnhill - Giovanna Dunmall,  Brondesbury Park- Rai Shamon, Dollis Hill - Pete Murry,    Dudden Hill - Simone Aspis, Fryent - Claire McCarthy,   Harlesden - Simon Erskine, Kensal Green - Sally Ibbotson, Kenton - Graham Allen,

Kilburn - Nas Belazka,   Mapesbury - Scott Bartle, Northwick Park - Mimi Kaltman, Preston - May Erskine,

Queensbury - Adlen Biloum,  Queens Park - Alex Freed, Stonebridge - Brian Orr,   Sudbury - Manish Patel, Tokyngton - Khalid Akram, Welsh Harp - Jafar Hassan, Wembley Central - Kolos Csontos,

So what have Greens been doing since the last election?

Brent Greens  have campaigned on library  closures , the loss of the Willesden Bookshop, the forced  academisation of Gladstone  Park Primary School,  the Harlesden Incinerator, the free schools shambles,  protecting the Welsh Harp from over-development , construction of Chalkhill Park, and the  building of affordable housing rather than luxury  housing for overseas buyers. We opposed the cuts in street cleaning that have left our roads litter strewn. We have relentlessly  tried to hold the council to account despite not holding office. We work WITH campaigns and don’t try to take them over. Elected or not, our campaigning will continue.