Discovering local democracy on-line, the Brent Council way

Guest blog by Philip Grant
 

Although Martin has shared his experience of Monday evening’s Brent Council meeting with you in his blog on “The death of Brent Council”, I am writing to share some personal thoughts, and images, of following part of the same meeting on-line.

At 6.50pm that evening I went onto Brent Council's website to watch the Full Council meeting, so that I could see and hear what (if anything) Cllr. Butt had to say about the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision to reject the Council's appeal in the Rosemarie Clarke case, and hoping that he would finally make a public apology to Rosemarie, on behalf of Brent, for the harm she had suffered at the hands of Cara Davani and other senior Council officers. I was in for a disappointment, as the “Live Streaming” web page showed:

I have never followed social media before, but it seemed that #BrentLive was my only option, so I spent the next half-hour or more watching a column at the right hand side of the screen. The first tweet to appear was from Cllr. Matthew Kelcher (one of the new Labour intake in May 2014), just before the meeting began, to say that he might be making his maiden speech. Thereafter a slow succession of #BrentLive tweets, all apparently from people at the meeting, began to scroll down the column. 

The on screen details said that councillors would ‘be able to reply to tweets’, but it appeared that Cllr. Kelcher had a whole list of tweets ready to issue, each one praising a positive story announced by the successive Cabinet Lead Members who presented their reports to Council. Cllr. Roxanne Mashari even re-tweeted his comment on her positive story! 

One “tweeter” at the meeting commented that although many councillors appeared to be busy on their tablet ‘phones, very few of them seemed to be involved in posting tweets on #BrentLive. An exchange of tweets with another “tweeter” wondered whether they were sending DM’s to each other (perhaps someone will add a comment to let me know what a DM is!). The other replied that they might be playing Candy Crush, which I think is probably a reference to the actions of a Westminster MP, but again I am ignorant of such social media or on-line games terms.

 

Not all “tweeters” were convinced by the views put out on social media by Cllr. Kelcher, especially when it came to the report by the Leader, Cllr. Muhammed Butt. With all of the # and @ references in Matthew Kelcher’s tweets, I got the impression that he must have prepared them in advance, but perhaps he really is a social media whizz-kid (as opposed to my social media dinosaur), and can compose them far more quickly than I can write emails. 

 

Pukkah Punjabi showed that she is not just an anti-Labour “tweeter”, with her comments about the response from the opposition Conservatives. I seem to remember something about a cure for insomnia.

By this time I was finding #BrentLive a bit slow, without the live pictures and sound from the Council Chamber to let me hear exactly what my elected representatives were saying about important issues. Perhaps it would have been better if I had made the effort to be there in person. But then again, perhaps not, if the final tweet I read was a fair reflection of proceedings.

And I never did find out if Cllr. Kelcher made his maiden speech.

Philip Grant

DM equals Direct Message. Tweeters who follow each other can send each other private direct messages.

Green Party's opposition to neo-liberalism and austerity marks them out from other parties

Sam Stopp, Labour Councillor for Wembley Central, caused a stir among fellow councillors, when he posted an article professing admiration for the Green Party, naming them as the true opposition on Brent Council (despite having no councillors) and calling fro Labour and the Greens to work together: I admire the Green Party-I just don't believe them

He uses the example of Brighton to say that Greens, faced with reduced Council funding, do the same as other parties. It is a fair point but ignores the fact that this is a minority adminstration which has been subject to much criticism from within the Green Party (See Red Pepper debate). Extrapolating from one minority Green council to the party in general is a step too far.

One paragraph indicates the difference between the parties quite well:

In the never-ending age of neo-liberalism, the Greens should also be praised for calling for an end to the post-Thatcherite consensus. Often I wish the Labour Party would get back to its roots, oppose this country’s addiction to capital and unashamedly advocate a radical redistribution of wealth. But that’s for another day.

The throw-away last sentence is crucial. The people suffering from the Coalition's austerity measures cannot wait for another day - they are being made homeless today, their children are going hungry today and they will be without heating today.

The Green Party has a clear position of opposition to neo-liberalism and the austerity agendaLINK. As Ed Balls made clear on the BBC Radio 4 programme today, Labour is still trapped within that agenda, and we can look forward to the continuation of austerity and public sector cuts under a future Labour adminstration.

I am a former member of the Labour Party (well it is about 50 years since I left!) who counts himself a socialist and a trade unionist, and because of my concerns about the environment and climate change, an eco-socialist. That is why I am a member of Green Left. I do not think the problem of climate change can be solved within a capitalist system based on ever rising consumption and plundering the planet's resources to extinction.

Sam Stopp calls for Labour and Greens to listen to each other. I am not interested in tribal politics and as a Green will work with anyone on  day to day basis to drive forward the environmental and social justice agenda but we cannot ignore fundamental differences.

Written in a personal capacity

Cllr Butt's alter ego takes to the Twittersphere

Let's face it Brent needs a bit of cheering up at the moment so Cllr Butt's new Twitter identity looks promising, even if it has confused a few people.

The parody account has only a few followers at present but that may change as the situation at Brent Council becomes more widely known.

Here are a few of the first tweets:

And for balance here are recent tweets from the real account:

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.