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WEMBLEY MATTERS News and views on local politics, the environment, climate change, culture and local history
Monday, 10 October 2016
Upcoming Grunwick40 events - exhibition, film, conference
Sunday, 9 October 2016
Amrit Wilson to speak on Grunwick 40 at Ealing Town Hall - October 22nd
Saturday October 22nd 12 noon to 4pm at Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway, London W5
Black History month brings together a
series of events that celebrate the culture, history and achievements of black
and ethnic minority communities. We hope to see you at at what promises to be a
very special event.
Grunwick - 40 years on: Join Leroy Logan, MBE Former Chief Inspector & Chair of Black Police Association and Amrit Wilson Writer and Activist.
Race invites you to join us in remembering and celebrating Black women who were at the forefront of the Grunwick dispute 40 years ago.The day will consist of an exhibition dedicated to Grunwick, various performing artists with cultural food available, plus much more. Further details will follow but please keep this date free, it’s an event not to be missed.
Grunwick - 40 years on: Join Leroy Logan, MBE Former Chief Inspector & Chair of Black Police Association and Amrit Wilson Writer and Activist.
Race invites you to join us in remembering and celebrating Black women who were at the forefront of the Grunwick dispute 40 years ago.The day will consist of an exhibition dedicated to Grunwick, various performing artists with cultural food available, plus much more. Further details will follow but please keep this date free, it’s an event not to be missed.
Organised by GMB Race
Colourful cavalcade of determined anti-fascists commemorate Cable Street's 80th anniversary
The post-Brexit rise in xenophobia amongst politicians, in the mass media and on the street. brought out a great crowd of Londoners today in all their diversity to commemorate the Cable Street anniversary. 80 years ago Oswald Mosley's fascists were prevented from marching through East London's streets by another diverse group of Londoners. the demography may have changed but the determination remains the same.
No to Divide and Rule
They shall NEVER pass
Grunwick Exhibition opens soon at Willesden Green Library
Preston Commnity Hub Library was packed last night for a showing of 'The Great Grunwick Strike'. Here is a shorter film about the strike. The Exhibition about the strike will be opening soon as well as other events. As immigrant workers are targeted by the May government this is not just history but part of a struggle that continues today.
The Exhibition opens at The Library at Willesden Green on October 19th. Volunteers are needed to join a rota helping look after the Exhibition during opening hours engaging with the public and answering their questions. Contact grunwick40@gmail.com
Saturday, 8 October 2016
Contesting the Prevent Strategy in Brent and the Labour Party
I haven't reported back on Monday's Time to Talk about Extremism Meeting LINK because, to be honest, it was hard to get motivated as very little happened. The three expert speakers said not much, but at some length, and seemed curiously detached from real events on the ground.
Cllr Michael Pavey, at the time the lead Cabinet member for Stronger Communities, (I wonder who will replace him? Will the Labour Group decide or will s/he be appointed by Cllr Butt?) in his breezy way said that he would be very disappointed if Prevent made any Brent students feel they could not express themselves. There were murmers of dissent from the audience. He accepted that Prevent was not ideal but claimed, Sinatra fashion, that Brent could do it its way. Prevent was a statutory responsibility and the Counci had to comply.
Similarly in his introductory remarks Cllr Butt said that didn't like Prevent but he wanted to engage with the community and have a frank discussion about it. He also cited the statutory duty.
Interestingly, and I hope to get further information on this, a Muslim solicitor challenged Butt and Pavey saying that while it was a duty for local authorities to prevent recruitment into extremism it was not statutory that to do so they had to follow the Prevent Strategy.
A passionate speech by Humera Khan of the An-Nisa Society challenged the basis of the Prevent Strategy, its stereotyping of the Muslim community as potential terrorists, its impact on pupils' confidence in expressing their views and the failure of the Council to respond to her organisation's request for a dialogue on the issue. An-Nisa, who have been active in Brent for 30 years, run a Sunday School in Wembley that has been attended by hundreds of young people.
Most questions and contributions from the floor were critical of the Prevent Strategy whilst also clearly opposed to young people getting involved in extremist activities (although 'extremist', 'terrorist', 'radicalisation' were never clearly defined). Cllr Liz Dixon recognised the problems with Prevent but asked what would replace it.
In my contribution I asked how the community organisations that Brent engaged with over the strategy had been chosen, remarking that it would be a temptation to unconsciously choose those that were easiest because of existing political, religious or friendship links - ignoring those hard to reach. When Monitoring Prevent in Brent LINK had asked which organisations the Council worked with they had been told the Council were not allowed to give that information. I remarked that I was shocked to discover from members sitting at my table that the Brent Youth Parliament had not been consulted - surely given the concerns abnout young people they should have been first in line?
Cllr Pavey responded by saying that he was frustrated by the restriction on revealing who the Council engaged with and feared that fed suspicion. He said if they were allowed to reveal the information he was sure people would be reassured. He accepted the need to consult with young people through the Brent Youth Parliament - but now of course he is not in the role.
The second half of the meeting were group discussions which were reported back to the whole meeting. Most centred around enabling the different communities of Brent to speak to each other and learn from each other, engage in mutual festivals and cultural events as a way of breaking down barriers. To do this the Council should provide neutral affordable public spaces and facilities - a problem when cuts have meant that Brent Council has closed several such spaces and others such as Granville and Carlton Centres and Preston Community Library Hub are under threat of closure. The young people at my table were particularly concerned about what happened in schools regarding breaking down barriers and wanted higher quality religious education as well as opportunities to meet, discuss and socialise across schools.
Chris Williams, the head of Community Safety in Brent (having previously worked for the Local Government Association and National Policing Improvement Agency), is a passionate advocate of the Prevent Strategy, often active on social media (Twitter @SaferWilliams) in its defence. He may have been disappointed that there was not a more robust defence of the Prevent Strategy at the meeting. (See his comment at the end of the Labour Against Prevent statement below).
The flip-chart recorded suggestions made at the meeting will be written up into a report to inform the Council's approach.
It will be interesting to see how Labour Party policy develops in terms of Prevent. Andy Burnham, shadow Home Secretar, was very critical and Diane Abbott has now been given his post.
A Labour Against Prevent group LINK has been formed. I do not know how representative it is, or how much support they have, but this is what they have to say:
-->
Cllr Michael Pavey, at the time the lead Cabinet member for Stronger Communities, (I wonder who will replace him? Will the Labour Group decide or will s/he be appointed by Cllr Butt?) in his breezy way said that he would be very disappointed if Prevent made any Brent students feel they could not express themselves. There were murmers of dissent from the audience. He accepted that Prevent was not ideal but claimed, Sinatra fashion, that Brent could do it its way. Prevent was a statutory responsibility and the Counci had to comply.
Similarly in his introductory remarks Cllr Butt said that didn't like Prevent but he wanted to engage with the community and have a frank discussion about it. He also cited the statutory duty.
Interestingly, and I hope to get further information on this, a Muslim solicitor challenged Butt and Pavey saying that while it was a duty for local authorities to prevent recruitment into extremism it was not statutory that to do so they had to follow the Prevent Strategy.
A passionate speech by Humera Khan of the An-Nisa Society challenged the basis of the Prevent Strategy, its stereotyping of the Muslim community as potential terrorists, its impact on pupils' confidence in expressing their views and the failure of the Council to respond to her organisation's request for a dialogue on the issue. An-Nisa, who have been active in Brent for 30 years, run a Sunday School in Wembley that has been attended by hundreds of young people.
Most questions and contributions from the floor were critical of the Prevent Strategy whilst also clearly opposed to young people getting involved in extremist activities (although 'extremist', 'terrorist', 'radicalisation' were never clearly defined). Cllr Liz Dixon recognised the problems with Prevent but asked what would replace it.
In my contribution I asked how the community organisations that Brent engaged with over the strategy had been chosen, remarking that it would be a temptation to unconsciously choose those that were easiest because of existing political, religious or friendship links - ignoring those hard to reach. When Monitoring Prevent in Brent LINK had asked which organisations the Council worked with they had been told the Council were not allowed to give that information. I remarked that I was shocked to discover from members sitting at my table that the Brent Youth Parliament had not been consulted - surely given the concerns abnout young people they should have been first in line?
Cllr Pavey responded by saying that he was frustrated by the restriction on revealing who the Council engaged with and feared that fed suspicion. He said if they were allowed to reveal the information he was sure people would be reassured. He accepted the need to consult with young people through the Brent Youth Parliament - but now of course he is not in the role.
The second half of the meeting were group discussions which were reported back to the whole meeting. Most centred around enabling the different communities of Brent to speak to each other and learn from each other, engage in mutual festivals and cultural events as a way of breaking down barriers. To do this the Council should provide neutral affordable public spaces and facilities - a problem when cuts have meant that Brent Council has closed several such spaces and others such as Granville and Carlton Centres and Preston Community Library Hub are under threat of closure. The young people at my table were particularly concerned about what happened in schools regarding breaking down barriers and wanted higher quality religious education as well as opportunities to meet, discuss and socialise across schools.
Chris Williams, the head of Community Safety in Brent (having previously worked for the Local Government Association and National Policing Improvement Agency), is a passionate advocate of the Prevent Strategy, often active on social media (Twitter @SaferWilliams) in its defence. He may have been disappointed that there was not a more robust defence of the Prevent Strategy at the meeting. (See his comment at the end of the Labour Against Prevent statement below).
The flip-chart recorded suggestions made at the meeting will be written up into a report to inform the Council's approach.
It will be interesting to see how Labour Party policy develops in terms of Prevent. Andy Burnham, shadow Home Secretar, was very critical and Diane Abbott has now been given his post.
A Labour Against Prevent group LINK has been formed. I do not know how representative it is, or how much support they have, but this is what they have to say:
We are a group of Labour Party members and supporters who recognise the racist and destructive intent of the PREVENT duties, as laid out under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, and who seek to oppose and repeal them through Labour Party channels, connections, and communities.
We recognise that these duties were brought in by a Labour government under Tony Blair in response to the 2005 London bombings, with the wider intent to undermine opposition to the Iraq war and British foreign policy in the Middle East through the racist portrayal of Arabs and Muslims as inherently violent and drawn to ‘extremism,’ ‘radicalisation’ and ‘terrorism.’ The PREVENT duties are intrinsically Islamophobic as they explicitly target Muslims and those of perceived Muslim backgrounds as imminent threats to security, and falsely conflate expressions of Islam with an increased tendency towards extreme ideologies and violence. We believe that the discriminatory and repressive foundations of PREVENT present a fundamental threat to our civil liberties and, as such, we call for the full repeal of the PREVENT legislation.
We recognise that British foreign policy is a root cause of the threat of violence to Britain. We further acknowledge that violence from individuals and groups on the fascist far Right pose a severe threat to the peace and stability of Britain. The PREVENT legislation does not reflect this and, thus, we conclude that its aim is not to combat ‘terrorism,’ but rather to stifle dissent through the creation of a surveillance state by blurring the line between welfare provision and national security. Furthermore, we recognise that the continued propagation of the controversial and widely criticised PREVENT duties, brought into statutory law by the Conservative government in September 2015, is used to feed into the wider government Islamophobic narrative that seeks to deflect responsibility for the harsh austerity measures through blaming Muslims, refugees, and immigrants for the social problems caused by failing neoliberalism, economic recession and ideological cuts to welfare services.
PREVENT claims to offset the risk of terrorism by challenging its apparent roots in ‘extremist’ ideology, however this ‘conveyor belt theory’ has no empirical support and, as such, has been widely discredited. We acknowledge that there is no evidence that PREVENT actually can or has prevented acts of ‘terrorism.’ As such, we maintain that the best strategy to tackle such threats is to recognise the role of British foreign and domestic policies that target British Muslims and Islamic countries in causing disillusionment and disagreement with the British state, and to work proactively at both national and grassroots level to ensure the safeguarding and social inclusion of those disillusioned and isolated by such policies.
We recognise that the role of Labour in the Iraq war is an indelible stain on our party’s history. Furthermore, the lack of sincere apology or remorse from those responsible, the damning conclusions of the Chilcot report, and Labour’s continued neo-colonialist and oppressive policies, including the lack of any formal commitment to tackle the oppressive PREVENT legislation, and indeed the vocal support for it from many prominent Labour politicians, continue to isolate and anger our BAME members and supporters. For too long, we have taken BAME votes for granted and ploughed ahead with such policies in the knowledge that BAME members sympathetic to the Labour Party will continue to vote for us. This is not good enough. We must work for these communities, as we work for all others. We must recognise the wrongdoings of Labour, apologise and work to rectify them and to support our members in the face of state sponsored racism. We therefore call on all Labour members and representatives to join us in our fight to for anti-racism and equality, to oppose and undermine this legislation at every opportunity, and to ultimately force the reppeal of the PREVENT legislation.
What is Prevent?
• ‘PREVENT’ refers to Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act of 2015 that contains a duty on specified authorities – including local authorities, government departments, and ‘education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health sectors’ – to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.’
• PREVENT is a key component of the Government’s 2011 Counter-Terrorism Strategy, known as CONTEST. It builds on the previous PREVENT strategy brought in by Tony Blair’s Labour Government after the London bombings in 2005. It is a dangerous form of intelligence gathering directed at individuals who are, by definition, not suspected of involvement in criminal activity.
• The PREVENT strategy has been widely criticised for its McCarthyist tendencies to cast all Muslims and those of perceived Muslim background as a suspect community, and particularly for its use of ambiguous and politically charged language – notably British ‘values,’ ‘radicalisation,’ and ‘extremism’ – that are routinely and intentionally weaponised by the state for its own political ends.
• The government can provide no legal definitions for such terms that do not contravene basic freedoms of speech and thought. As such, their definitions remain vague and open to abuse, enabling the government to control the language and debate surrounding Islamic ‘extremism,’ and thus to adapt its definition to suit its political agenda.
• Training ranges from e-learning, private or in-house trainers, to a government DVD and script based training programme known as WRAP (Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent).
• The success of PREVENT is difficult to measure as it seeks to tackle the cause of ‘terrorism’ before the act occurs. However, it is widely accepted that there is no evidence to demonstrate any link between religious or ‘extreme’ ideology and acts of terrorism.
Our Aims:
• To pass motions at our local Constituency Labour Parties to put the fight back against the PREVENT laws on the national Labour Party agenda with the ultimate aim of gaining a commitment from the Labour Party to repeal the racist PREVENT agenda in its manifesto for the next general election.
• To lobby our MPs and councils to support our cause through advocacy, protests, policy motions, and public statements of support. MPs such as Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham have already indicated their adversity to PREVENT, we demand a full and public commitment from all Labour MPs to oppose, undermine, and repeal these laws entirely.
• To work with Labour Party members, Trades Unions, and local communities through meetings, conferences, workshops, lobbying, trainings, and protests to demand full transparency and accountability in the implementation of the PREVENT policy in the different local institutions and sectors, and to combat the implementation of PREVENT through disengagement and boycott of the duties.
Chris Williams Have you thought about learning about Prevent? How it doesn't use the conveyor belt theory? How it's a safeguarding process, designed to protect people who are vulnerable to being radicalised because (in many cases) they have mental illness or learning difficulties? How it works with this vulnerable to ALL forms of radicalisation including far-right (by far the majority in some parts of the country)? Or that hundreds of vulnerable people have been protected from travelling to join ISIS in Syria - and therefore saving lives?
Let me know if you need any info
As xenophobia rises celebrate Cable Street's resistance tomorrow. They shall not pass!
From Cable Street 80
March to a rally @ St George’s Gardens, Cable Street. Speakers before and after the march include: Max Levitas (Cable Street veteran), Jeremy Corbyn MP, Rushanara Ali MP, Frances O’Grady (General Secretary, TUC), Unmesh Desai (GLA member, City and East London)
Speakers confirmed to date: Max Levitas (Cable Street veteran), Jeremy Corbyn MP, Rushanara Ali MP, Frances O’Grady (General Secretary, TUC), John Biggs (Mayor of Tower Hamlets), Unmesh Desai (GLA member, City and East London), Michael Rosen, Gerry Gable (Searchlight Research Associates), Weyman Bennett (Unite Against Fascism), Manus O’Riordan (Ireland IBMT), Glyn Robbins (United East End), Julia Bard (Jewish Socialists’ Group), Roger Mackenzie (UNISON) Alex Kenny (East London NUT), Shahriar Bin Ali (Bangladesh Workers Council), Amelia Womack (Green Party), Matt Wrack (FBU), Mick Cash (RMT), Sarah Sackman (Jewish Labour Movement), Tony Donaghey (Connolly Association), Mary Davis (Marx memorial Library), Leon Silver (East London Central Synagogue), Richard Humm (Cable Street Group) Moshfiqur Noor (TH Labour Party TU officer, Julie Begum (Swadhinata Trust), Jean Geldart (Hope not Hate); Sardar Aziz, (Council of Mosques), Nasir Uddin (East End Together); Liz Payne (Communist Party); Susan Matthews (UNITE)
Chairs: (Altab Ali Park) David Rosenberg, JSG; (St George’s Gardens) Megan Dobney, SERTUC
Plus marching bands including the Great Yiddish Parade and Udichi
Bring family, friends, work colleagues, neighbours! Bring Banners!
IMPORTANT TRANSPORT UPDATE: There are lots of engineering works this weekend that particularly affect travel to East London so if you are coming from further away please check the TFL site for alternative routes, set out a bit earlier, and also use rail replacement buses.
Friday, 7 October 2016
Should Brent follow Camden in proposing 100% Council Tax exemption for poorest residents?
Camden Council is currently consulting on changes in its Council Tax Reduction Scheme and its preferred option would mean that those people of working age with the lowest income would pay no Council Tax.
At present in Brent, apart from pensioners, everyone pays something towards Council Tax. A 20% payment, one of the highest in London, is expected unless the person concerned falls into a 'protected' group if:
A person on their partner or their dependant children are entitled to Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, War Disablement Pension, War Widow(ers) Pension, Guaranteed Income Payment, Disabled Earnings Disregard, Disability Premium, Enhanced Disability Premium or the Council Tax Disabled person reductionWhen the Brent scheme was consulted on in 2013 Zacchaeus 2000 put in a powerful submission arguing for a 100% reduction for the most vulnerable. LINK
In February this year Cllr Butt told me at the Civic Centre consultation that there was not time to review the borough's Council Tax Support Scheme for 2016-17 despite the proposed rise of 3.99% in Council Tax. As a further increase of 3.99% is likely in 2017-18 (and beyond) we should expect Brent Coucil to take a leaf out of Camden's book and review its scheme without delay.
In Camden it has been argued that money will be saved by not having to chase up the poorest residents for unpaid Council Tax, releasing funds to pursue non-payment by those able to pay.
Writing about the Camden proposals Sian Berry, Green GLA Assembly member and former Camden Green councillor, said:
As Camden Green Party has argued, for several years, Camden Council is considering cutting council tax for the borough’s poorest people.These are the options offered by Camden Council in its consultation:
Since 2013 the council has removed the previous 100 per cent exemption for people on benefits – including disabled people and families with low incomes and children.
It now charges people with the lowest incomes at least 8.5 per cent of the normal rate, something it’s very hard to pay when you have no way of making the money required.
I have spoken out about this, called for the exemption to be 100 per cent, and have regularly criticised the council charging additional legal costs for enforcement against people who fall behind.
The fact is that this is revenue from people who would pay if they could, but simply don’t have the income.
They are more than likely to be subject to benefit sanctions and the bedroom tax already, and it has been inhumane for the past three years to be driving our poorest people into impossible debts.
I urge all Camden residents to respond to this consultation and say you are in favour of the 100 per cent exemption being restored.
Proposed changes to Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2017-18
Overview
We offer a discount on council tax to eligible people in Camden as part of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS). The maximum discount available to working age people is currently 91.5%, which means that all working age people have to pay a minimum of 8.5%. We are proposing to increase the maximum amount of discount for working age people to 100%, meaning those with the lowest income would not have to make a contribution to Council Tax until their income increases.Pensioners are already entitled to a maximum of 100% support.
There are five options set out below impacting on working age households only:
- No change
Maximum CTRS discount available remains at 91.5% with no changes to eligibility or the applicable amount.
- Maximum council tax discount available increases to 100%
Maximum CTRS discount available increases to 100% with no changes to eligibility.
- Decreasing the discount to less than 91.5%
This would increase the amount of Council Tax payable by all working age claimants.
- Offer further discounts to specific groups
The scheme could provide
protection to specified groups, such as families or disabled claimants,
whilst keeping a deduction for all other claimants.
- Design a different scheme
Develop a new scheme altogether,
with discounts based on a different calculation than the current scheme.
Any scheme would be subject to a full consultation and would not be
implemented until April 2018.
Camden’s preferred option is option 2.
We currently collect about £1.03 million from customers on the
maximum discount compared to £120 million for the whole borough. As well
as relieving the burden of council tax on our poorest residents, this
proposal will enable us to focus more resources on pursuing other debts
from those that are seeking to avoid paying.
Kilburn Labour Party calls for reinstatement of Jackie Walker
The Kilburn branch of the Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party has entered the debate over the suspension of Jackie Walker by passing the following resolution yesterday evening:
This Branch/CLP notes that Jackie Walker has been suspended from Labour Party membership following remarks she made at a Party training session at conference.See more on Jackie Walker HERE
We also note; The Chakrabati report advised against specific training sessions in anti-racism;
The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) was given the task of running the training session, despite it being known that its views are contested by many Jewish members of the LP;
That contrary to Data Protection – without any notice to participants – the training session was secretly filmed by a JLM member and released to the media.
That, in the view of this Branch/CLP none of the remarks made by Jackie Walker at the training session constituted anti-Semitism;
That Jackie Walker is a Black Jewish anti-racist campaigner.
That Jackie Walker’s suspension by the Party is contrary to the recommendations in the Chakrabati report and the requirements of natural justice.
We therefore call on the Party to reinstate Jackie Walker to full membership of the Party
Cable Street Commemoration Sunday: lessons from the past for today.
As the swirl of racism and xenophobia intensifies it is time to make a stand by honouring those who made a stand in the past...
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Pavey resigns from Brent Cabinet over differences with Council Leader Muhammed Butt
 |
| Butt & Pavey (left and right) in happier times |
Former Brent Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Michael Pavey, has resigned from the Brent Cabinet over differences with Council Leader, Cllr Muhamemd Butt, over how best to serve residents at a time of 'brutal Tory cuts'. Pavey contested the Council leadership unsuccessfully in May and was demoted to Lead Member for Stronger Communities.
This is Cllr Pavey's letter to fellow members of the Labour Group:
Dear all,Differences may well have arisen as the Coucil prepares its budget for 2017-18 and submits a 4 year Action Plan as a consequence of agreeing to a freeze in the Revenue Support Grant.
I am writing to confirm that following much consideration I have tendered my resignation from the Cabinet.
I think it is clear that the Leader and myself have developed differing views regarding how Brent Council can best serve its residents at a time of brutal Tory cuts.
I look forward to working with you all as a backbencher for Barnhill, campaigning hard for another barnstorming Labour victory in 2018 and continuing my national work to protect Sure Start Children's Centres.
With best wishes,
Mikey
Cllr. Michael Pavey
Labour Councillor for Barnhill
Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Brent Council
It will be interesting to see if opposition to Cllr Butt's approach coalesces around Pavey.
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
SNP, Plaid and the Green Party join forces to resist Tories' ‘toxic politics as May makes Conference Speech
Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley, the co-leaders of the Green Party - and their counterparts in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales - have joined forces with Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland and Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru to call for progressive parties to work together to resist the ‘Tories' toxic politics’.
The leaders released the statement ahead of Theresa May’s first major conference speech as Conservative Party leader:
The countries of the United Kingdom face a spiralling political and economic crisis. At the top of the Conservative Party, the narrow vote in favour of leaving the EU has now been interpreted as the pretext for a drastic cutting of ties with Europe, which would have dire economic results - and as an excuse for the most toxic rhetoric on immigration we have seen from any government in living memory.Caroline Lucas said:
This is a profoundly moral question which gets to the heart of what sort of country we think we live in. We will not tolerate the contribution of people from overseas to our NHS being called into question, or a new version of the divisive rhetoric of 'British jobs for British workers'.
Neither will we allow the people of these islands, no matter how they voted on June 23rd, to be presented as a reactionary, xenophobic mass whose only concern is somehow taking the UK back to a lost imperial age. At a time of increasing violence and tension, we will call out the actions of politicians who threaten to enflame those same things.
This is not a time for parties to play games, or meekly respect the tired convention whereby they do not break cover during each other's conferences. It is an occasion for us to restate the importance of working together to resist the Tories' toxic politics, and make the case for a better future for our people and communities. We will do this by continuing to work and campaign with the fierce sense of urgency this political moment demands.
Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland
Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Leanne Wood, Leader of Plaid Cymru
Steven Agnew, Leader of the Green Party of Northern Ireland
Patrick Harvie, Co-convener of the Scottish Green Party
Alice Hooker-Stroud, Leader of the Wales Green Party
Now more than ever it is vital that we present a real opposition to the Conservatives. This conference has seen them attempt to inflame tensions in our communities and set out a vision for a ‘hard brexit’ that will do untold damage to the places we represent. By uniting we have the best chance of facing them down and protecting the people who elected us
Save the Granville and Carlton Centres - they bind our communities together
This guest post is by Leslie Barson. It is ironic that at Brent Council's Time to Talk event on Extremism earlier this week, a strong theme from workshops was the need for neutral, accessible, affordable spaces where different communities could mix and get to know each other. Like Stonebridge Adventure Playgound, demolished by the Council, these are examples of existing spaces that do precisely that job being threatend by Brent Council's actions.
Please watch the short film above and sign the petition HERE
Many of you will have heard about the 'consultation' that ended recently concerning the South Kilburn Master plan and the plans to include The Granville Plus Centre and The Catrlton Centre. The plan is to tear both buildings down and replace with them with flats, businesses and community spaces.
The plan to tear the heart out of South Kilburn by getting rid of these iconic buildings is scandalous. These two loved buildings that carry the memories and history of the area. You may remember going to youth club there, having a special birthday party there, a Christening or even the funeral of your loved ones. You may have learnt a trade in Carlton or gone to school there. Your children may have gone to nursery there, or your young people attended the Youth Service activities in Granville.
We are told the buildings are 'under utilised'. If this is so it is because of Brent Council's policies over the last few years. I know it the case of Granville: the building was full to the brim in 2013 with events every weekday and weekends. There was a problem with neighbours and noise. The money was found by the council to deal with the problem by upgrading the windows and installing sound insulation.
However, suddenly this money was taken back by the council and the work did not go ahead. Instead the Granville was told to no longer hold functions emptying the building. The Brent Youth Service was scrapped 31 March this year with the loss of classes and activities to over 800 young people a year in Granville.
The Granville Community Kitchen with the local community decided to do something to remedy this. As a community with the help of John Lyons Charity we held a 2 day a week summer scheme and had over 85 children and young people attend over the 5 weeks; This shows the tremendous need in the area for free local services for children and young people. We all know the need for community space is there so if these buildings are under used its due to policy not need.
Both these buildings are also in need of renovating. There is no denying that. This again is used as a reason to tear them down. But actually they are run down again due to council policy, but Granville has attracted £1.8 m of GLA money in May this year. And the South Kilburn Trust are adding £2m to that to renovate Granville. So there is no need to argue that the buildings need renovating,. We agree and the money can be found!
These buildings were both built around 1908 to serve the people of South Kilburn, The Carlton Centre as a primary school and the Granville Plus centre as a mission hall. They are still serving the people of South Kilburn:
We need that continuity in the area.
We need our rich history and heritage buildings more than ever with such massive changes happening in South Kilburn.
We need a place that is distinctly South Kilburn.
We need community memories and community history that bind us.
We need Carlton and Granville renovated for the people of South Kilburn to use for generations to come.
Eroding Trust: Discussion of Open Society report on Prevent Wednesday October 19th
The report, entitled “Eroding Trust: The UK’s Prevent Counter-Extremism strategy in health and education” seeks to contribute to the debate on Prevent, at a time when the government is preparing to update the CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy of which it is a part.
Based on legal analysis, case studies of individuals directly affected
by the Prevent strategy in health and education, as well as interviews
with health and education professionals, current and former government
officials, religious leaders, and community advocates, this report
presents the most comprehensive account to date of how Prevent is being
implemented in these areas.
The launch will take place on Wednesday 19th October in Committee Room 10 at 6pm. I would be delighted if you could attend.
RSVP to Priya Dev – devp@parliament.uk
The launch will take place on Wednesday 19th October in Committee Room 10 at 6pm. I would be delighted if you could attend.
RSVP to Priya Dev – devp@parliament.uk
Eroding Trust: Discussion of Open Society report on Prevent Wednesday October 19th
The report, entitled “Eroding Trust: The UK’s Prevent Counter-Extremism strategy in health and education” seeks to contribute to the debate on Prevent, at a time when the government is preparing to update the CONTEST counter-terrorism strategy of which it is a part.
Based on legal analysis, case studies of individuals directly affected
by the Prevent strategy in health and education, as well as interviews
with health and education professionals, current and former government
officials, religious leaders, and community advocates, this report
presents the most comprehensive account to date of how Prevent is being
implemented in these areas.
The launch will take place on Wednesday 19th October in Committee Room 10 at 6pm. I would be delighted if you could attend.
RSVP to Priya Dev – devp@parliament.uk
The launch will take place on Wednesday 19th October in Committee Room 10 at 6pm. I would be delighted if you could attend.
RSVP to Priya Dev – devp@parliament.uk
Chance to care for the Welsh Harp, including canoeing for litter!
Billy Coburn, Thames21 Development Officer, writes:
The next Welsh Harp event is going to be taking place on Sunday 23rd October starting at the usual time of 10am. Please see the attached poster and here is a link to details for the event, http://www.thames21.org.uk/event/welsh-harp-nature-conservation-day-4/ People seem to like the format of:
10-12: Complete and activity;
12-12:45: Have some lunch;
12:45-2pm: Finish the task at hand;
So we are going to keep that format.
We will form another glade as part of the woodland management plan, cut some of the wild meadow or remove some of the blackthorn which is trying to find a home in the meadow grass and needs to be removed. I will send another email the week leading up to the 23rd to confirm after my site visit.
 |
| The footpath clearing group |
At the last event we cut back the vegetation around Birchen Grove leading up to the education centre. Thames21 led education sessions AM and PM for the whole week after the last event leading to approximately 300 children using the education centre that week. They could use the path rather than the road as access because of you. We also undertook a number of other smaller tasks. Great work everyone!
Sunday November 20th Canoe clean up on the Welsh Harp.
For the November volunteering event, we are hopefully going to be completing something a little different. As you may know, many canoe and sailing clubs use the Welsh Harp. A lot of litter gets stuck in the environmentally important reed beds and we are going to be canoeing to those locations and removing rubbish from the boats. It does not matter if you have canoed before so if you would like the chance to paddle for free, do some good for the environment and see the beauty of the Welsh Harp from a different perspective, please do give me an email to register your interest. Full details will be released when we have them. We will also have some land based activities as well to cater for everyone if you do not wish to canoe on the day.
'Nothing About Us, Without Us' - Statement on Brent's Time to Talk 'Extremism' discussion
This is the statement that Monitoring Prevent in Brent distributed at Monday's Brent Council discussion on Extremism:
“Nothing about us, without us”
Tonight (3 October 2016) Brent Council is holding the second of its Time to Talk series of events.
The Council believes ‘it is time to talk’. But for two years now, An-Nisa Society and other local organisations have been trying to raise our concerns about the Prevent Strategy and, in particular, the Public Sector Duty, which makes public sector employees liable to prosecution if they don’t report signs of perceived ‘extremism’ or ‘radicalisation’. Almost all of those referred are Muslim, often children as young as 10. Frustrated by months of silence from the Council, we held a public meeting on 10 December 2015.
With the help of Cllr Harbi Farah, we finally met the Leader of Brent Council, Mohammed Butt. Promises made by Councillor Butt to continue the conversation and to take some positive actions have not been followed up. As a result, we released a public statement on Prevent. (http://monitoringprevent.blogspot.co.uk/ ).
Serious questions need to be asked about the purpose of Time to Talk meetings. At the first one in July - a slick, well orchestrated ‘information session’ - we were left feeling that rather than a ‘time to talk’ it was in fact a time to be ‘told’ and ‘to listen’. The purpose of the workshop in the afternoon was unclear: it was really a theoretical tick box exercise. There were more officers and councillors at the meeting than ‘community’ and there was no opportunity to really scrutinise and question.
We view with extreme caution the meeting on ‘Extremism’. The speakers are once again highly qualified individuals who appear to have very little relationship to Brent. The programme offers little or no opportunity for local organisations to raise their concerns freely – the council has requested sending in questions in advance via email before we even hear the speakers.
So, what is presented as ‘community engagement’ and ‘community consultation’ appears to be a public relations exercise by Brent Council designed to validate and implement policies that impact on all our communities without any input from those most affected.
We call on Brent Council to engage transparently with individuals and organisations in Brent affected by government policy on ‘Extremism.’
Statement by Monitoring Prevent in Brent
Members include: An-Nisa Society, Brent Against Racism Campaign, Brent Stop the War, Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Email: MonitoringPrevent@gmail.com Facebook: Monitoring Prevent in Brent
LINKS:
• An-Nisa Responds to Prevent, the PSD and outlines our anti-Prevent campaign http://bit.ly/2cXE6ek
• Brent Council meeting on 'extremism' leaves community voices off the platform http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/…/brent-council-meetin…
• Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) & Prevent: A Muslim response by An-Nisa Society, 2009 http://bit.ly/2cLQIXA
• Anti-extremism drive puts British values at risk, says Greater Manchester chief constable Sir Peter Fahy who says government strategy could alienate Muslims and damage free speech and religious freedom, The Guardian, 2015 http://bit.ly/2amvIqD
• Andy Burnham calls for 'toxic' Prevent strategy to be scrapped - Shadow home secretary says policy is today’s equivalent of internment in Northern Ireland, Guardian, 2016 http://bit.ly/1UprOqA
• Edinburgh College drops Prevent from its staff training, 2016 – SACC http://bit.ly/2dLG1lj
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Letters, The Guardian http://bit.ly/2d7ZJGx
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Joint letter by academics and practitioners, The Guardian Letters, September 2016 http://bit.ly/2dd8WyJ
• Alienation and extremism, 2016, Prevent has merely institutionalised the process, which creates alienation and separation said speaker Imran Khan at a Wadham College Human Rights Forum roundtable discussion. http://bit.ly/2dDwuMm
Tonight (3 October 2016) Brent Council is holding the second of its Time to Talk series of events.
The Council believes ‘it is time to talk’. But for two years now, An-Nisa Society and other local organisations have been trying to raise our concerns about the Prevent Strategy and, in particular, the Public Sector Duty, which makes public sector employees liable to prosecution if they don’t report signs of perceived ‘extremism’ or ‘radicalisation’. Almost all of those referred are Muslim, often children as young as 10. Frustrated by months of silence from the Council, we held a public meeting on 10 December 2015.
With the help of Cllr Harbi Farah, we finally met the Leader of Brent Council, Mohammed Butt. Promises made by Councillor Butt to continue the conversation and to take some positive actions have not been followed up. As a result, we released a public statement on Prevent. (http://monitoringprevent.blogspot.co.uk/ ).
Serious questions need to be asked about the purpose of Time to Talk meetings. At the first one in July - a slick, well orchestrated ‘information session’ - we were left feeling that rather than a ‘time to talk’ it was in fact a time to be ‘told’ and ‘to listen’. The purpose of the workshop in the afternoon was unclear: it was really a theoretical tick box exercise. There were more officers and councillors at the meeting than ‘community’ and there was no opportunity to really scrutinise and question.
We view with extreme caution the meeting on ‘Extremism’. The speakers are once again highly qualified individuals who appear to have very little relationship to Brent. The programme offers little or no opportunity for local organisations to raise their concerns freely – the council has requested sending in questions in advance via email before we even hear the speakers.
So, what is presented as ‘community engagement’ and ‘community consultation’ appears to be a public relations exercise by Brent Council designed to validate and implement policies that impact on all our communities without any input from those most affected.
We call on Brent Council to engage transparently with individuals and organisations in Brent affected by government policy on ‘Extremism.’
Statement by Monitoring Prevent in Brent
Members include: An-Nisa Society, Brent Against Racism Campaign, Brent Stop the War, Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Email: MonitoringPrevent@gmail.com Facebook: Monitoring Prevent in Brent
LINKS:
• An-Nisa Responds to Prevent, the PSD and outlines our anti-Prevent campaign http://bit.ly/2cXE6ek
• Brent Council meeting on 'extremism' leaves community voices off the platform http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/…/brent-council-meetin…
• Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) & Prevent: A Muslim response by An-Nisa Society, 2009 http://bit.ly/2cLQIXA
• Anti-extremism drive puts British values at risk, says Greater Manchester chief constable Sir Peter Fahy who says government strategy could alienate Muslims and damage free speech and religious freedom, The Guardian, 2015 http://bit.ly/2amvIqD
• Andy Burnham calls for 'toxic' Prevent strategy to be scrapped - Shadow home secretary says policy is today’s equivalent of internment in Northern Ireland, Guardian, 2016 http://bit.ly/1UprOqA
• Edinburgh College drops Prevent from its staff training, 2016 – SACC http://bit.ly/2dLG1lj
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Letters, The Guardian http://bit.ly/2d7ZJGx
• Anti-radicalisation strategy lacks evidence base in science, Joint letter by academics and practitioners, The Guardian Letters, September 2016 http://bit.ly/2dd8WyJ
• Alienation and extremism, 2016, Prevent has merely institutionalised the process, which creates alienation and separation said speaker Imran Khan at a Wadham College Human Rights Forum roundtable discussion. http://bit.ly/2dDwuMm
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
'Appalling' Brent STP engagement meeting short on detail and understanding
From the official video LINK
The following item is published with the permission of Eric Leach who publishes an occasional Newsletter researched, written and edited by a group of concerned residents in Ealing, West London who want to preserve our NHS.
This is his account account of the recent Brent 'engagement' event on theSTP (Sustainability and Transformation Plan) LINK LINK
Appalling STP Public Meeting in Brent on 26 September 2016
I attended this STP public
meeting which was organised by Brent Council and Brent Clinical Commissioning
Group (CCG). Two of the five North West London ‘Footprint’ bosses spoke at the
meeting. They were Carolyn Downs, Chief Executive of Brent Council and Local
Authority STP lead in NW London, and ex-advertising executive Rob Larkman who
is Chief Officer for Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon CCGs.
The STP aspirations were
summarized as closing the ‘gaps’ in health and wellbeing, care and quality, and
finance and efficiency. Ways to close these gaps will be prevention, self-help,
more home care and less hospital care. Also care for those with long term
conditions, and for old and mentally ill people would be improved.
What was sadly missing in the
presentations was detail on:
+ The Brent STP
+ How the Brent STP relates to
the NW London STP
+ Five years of cost cutting
+ Loss of 500+ beds
+ Changes to access to GPs
+ How integrating healthcare and
social care will be implemented
+ Seven day working
+ Care staffing levels
+ Any mention of Accountable Care
Partnerships (ACPs) – the future delivery vehicle for all care services and
cost cutting
+ Evidence to support the STP.
No-one will ever argue with
efforts to improve healthcare and social care. However it’s quite clear that
many who spoke in the audience had serious doubts as to whether the money,
staff and facilities would be available to make improvements.
Carolyn Downs seemed surprisingly
ignorant about the national STP dimension. She stated that just two STPs out of
44 nationally had been published. In fact seven regional STPs have been
published. It was news to me that when the initial STP submission was made by
NW London each of the eight CCGs/Local Authorities submitted their own STPs.
Given that Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils failed to sign up to
the NWL STP, one could only wonder at the time what these local STPs actually
contained.
In the Q&A the issue of ACPs
was raised twice. Rob Larkman gave hopeless answers to the questions. In his
answers he failed to explain the nature of ACPs and refused to identify their
supreme importance for care service delivery in the future.When asked about
capitated budgets for ACPs he just waffled. One wonders whether he was
genuinely ignorant about the ACP details or he was being deliberately
economical with the truth.
Doctor Kong, a GP from Harlesden,
was on the panel. She is Chair of Brent CCG. She repeatedly gave her spirited
opinion that healthcare and social care would become integrated because
everyone was so committed to make it happen. An ex-Brent Councillor in the audience
said that in the 1980s we were all committed to make healthcare and social care
work together. But commitment was not enough to bring about improvements then
and she doubted it would be in the future. She also said that getting people to
do what they were supposed to do has always been a problem. She asked how the
performance of the new services would be monitored. This question was bizarrely
(not) answered by a diatribe on the STP community engagement strategy!
Questions were asked about social
care costings, delivering out of hospital services and improved provisions for
respite for carers - but no clear answers emerged. This meeting was described
as ‘community engagement’. How such a label could be attached to this event is
baffling – given that the draft Brent STP was delivered to NHSE on or before 30
June 2016.
This occasional
newsletter is researched, written and edited by a group of concerned residents
in Ealing, West London who want to preserve our NHS. We view the wholesale
engagement of private, for-profit healthcare service suppliers as unnecessary,
profligate and dangerous. Process improvement is what is needed in our NHS –
not revolution.
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