Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Tuesday, 5 May 2015

The surprising wildlife of Wembley

One of the benefits of getting around the borough leafleting at election time is the accidental discoveries that take place in an area that is full of surprises.

In a corner of Wembley I bumped into Jay Patel who told me about the muntjac deer he sees from his garden close to the River Brent.

Jay says:
It highlights that it is important to look after the river and also not allow developers to build on the small conservation area. The deer come quite often individually however, I managed to see two together once. I see them most days, they graze there in the open space, eating the leaves on the trees and also the dandelions. 
The deer probably come along the 'green corridors' which provide a route from the home counties into London via rivers and railway lines.

The population is believed by some to have spread from Woburn Park in Bedfordshire LINK

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Greens set to beat Lib Dems in London


  • Latest polls put Green Party on 11% in London, 4 points ahead of Liberal Democrats
  • Support for Green Party is surging just before election day
  • Big swing from Labour and Liberal Democrats over to the Greens
With just four days to go until the general election, polls suggest the Green Party could be about to make history in London by beating the Liberal Democrats into third place.

Polling by IpsosMORI gives the Green Party 11% amongst those certain to vote in the capital with the Liberal Democrats trailing on 7%.

The poll demonstrates a huge rise in support for the Greens in London since 2010 and cements their position as the third biggest party in the capital following their strong performance in the 2012 Mayoral and London Assembly elections.

The surge is being driven by the movement of former Labour and Liberal Democrat voters over to the party. Of those respondents who said they would be voting Green in Thursday’s election, one in six had voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 and one in ten had voted for Labour.

Tom Chance, Co-Chair of the London Green Party and candidate for Lewisham West and Penge, said:
Of course this is exactly the news we want to be hearing just before the election but it reflects the feeling we’ve been getting on the ground throughout this campaign when our members have been out and about meeting voters. People are feeling let-down by politics in Britain and they’re hungry for an alternative to the austerity message being served-up on a daily basis by the “established” parties.

What is so exciting is that here in London we already have a great basis from which to deliver that change for voters. We finished third in the last Mayoral election. We have two assembly members, an MEP, and four councillors. This is giving us the base we need to build our influence and our presence.

Voters can go out to the polls on May 7th knowing that by voting Green, they’re contributing to a rapidly growing movement in London. We really are on the verge of making history.

Support for the Green Party in London has surged in the past year. Membership of the party has more than trebled and now stands at over 11,000. The party recently announced that they will be standing candidates in every seat in the capital and that they have achieved a 50-50 gender split amongst their candidates.

Cricklewood Library meeting tonight (Tuesday)


Message from Friends of Cricklewood Library:


A new library is going to be open in Spring next year in Olive Road! It has taken around five years, but it's going to happen. There is a meeting at 7.30 tomorrow in Cricklewood Library for all interested residents and supporters of the library. The new library will be completely self-funding and run by the community.

A new developer has taken over the project and building of four storey mixed development will start soon. The developer will present the plans and explain the building process.

Friends of Cricklewood Library have been named tenants of the 2000ft2 library/community space which will occupy the majority of the ground floor, and they will talk about how the space will be used and all suggestions regarding use of the space are welcome.

In order to set up the library FOCL need to raise a substantial amount of money, and this will be the start of an ongoing fundraising appeal needed to make sure the library is a success.