Lucas to speak at Occupy LSX tomorrow - "this is real politics in action"

The UK's only Green MP Caroline Lucas will speak out in support of the "real politics" of protest at the 'We are the 99%' rally taking place outside St Paul's Cathedral on Saturday 5 November.

The MP for Brighton Pavilion, who pressed David Cameron to support a 'Robin Hood Tax' on financial trading during Prime Minister's Questions earlier this week, will join with protesters to show support for the Occupy movement against economic injustice.

Saturday's rally, taking place from 2pm, will be followed by a march on Parliament from St Paul's.

Caroline Lucas, one of the few MPs to have visited the Occupy LSX encampment, said:

"As the public becomes more aware of the injustice and unsustainability of our economic system, more and more people are taking to the streets for a different kind of society - one which puts the interests of the many before those of a powerful minority.

"That the leaders of the mainstream political parties have completely failed to engage with what is happening down at St Paul's and at protests across the country shows just how painfully out of touch they are with the public mood for change.

"This is real politics in action - and the voices of those ordinary and extraordinary people who want a fairer, greener system to replace the stocks-and-shares house of sand that sustains corporate capitalism must now be heard.

"The global financial crisis and billion-pound bailouts have exposed the plain truth that the entire economic system is rigged against the hard working majority. As a first step towards mending the damage wreaked on our society by reckless financial gambling, the Government must back a Robin Hood Tax at the G20 Summit in Cannes - with the revenue ear-marked to address sustainable development and the growing climate crisis."

Greens ahead of Lib Dems in London Mayor Poll

These are the latest figures in the London24 on-line poll on the London Mayoral election:

London Mayor poll

Who would you be voting for if the London mayoral election was taking place today?

Boris Johnson 36 %

Ken Livingstone 31 %

Brian Paddick 5 %

Jenny Jones 21 %

Someone else 5 %

Would not vote 3 %

Equalities Commission gets involved in Brent libraries appeal

In a significant new development in the Brent Libraries Appeal,  I understand that the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has now got involved. The Appeal decision is likely on Thursday/Friday of next week,

The Commission have attached themselves to the Appeal on issues relating to the Council's Equalities Act duties and will be sending their own QC to assist Brent SOS Libraries legal representatives.

This could pave the way for investigation of other matters relating to the council cuts where campaigners have questioned whether the council has fully carried out their responsibilities under the Act.

Library Campaigners Make Their Case to Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary

Brent Library campaigners spoke out about the imnpact of library closures when they presented letters to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP. Video from YourNewsUKTV.

Campaigners are calling for a public inquiry into the closure of six out of 12 libraries and claim that Brent Council is no longer meeting its statutory obligation on library provision.

Many characters in search of a library - March on Saturday

Preston Library campaigners are staging a protest march on Saturday to draw attention to the distance residents will have to travel to their nearest library now that Preston has been closed.

The march will begin at South Kenton station at 1.30pm and go to the 'Wall of Shame' at the boarded up library to arrive around 1.50pm. It will then proceed to Kingsbury Library. 

The campaign says:

We’re going to walk to our "nearest library" - Kingsbury.  Join us and show the politicians just how close it really is. Everyone is invited - come dressed as your favourite book. there will be water stations and helpers along the way. See how far you get!

Show Jeremy Hunt why Brent’s 21st Century library service is miles out. Kenton, Preston and Barn Hill ward councillors have been invited – let’s hope they join us and show where they stand/walk!

Campaigners have been infuriated by the chutzpah of Brent Council's statement in the current magazine that every resident lives within 1.5 miles of a library.  It is a measurement that only seems to apply to bats, birds and Brent councillors.

Petition lauched on £1000 councillor ACF expenses

Following revelations in the Brent and Kilburn Times that Brent councillors who chair  Area Consultative Forums ( held 4 times a year) receive more than £4,700 a year for doing the job, a petition has been launched on Brent's e-petition website. It calls for the payments to be reduced to £100 per session. The recent forums had low attendance following the council's decision to stop sending out postal reminders to residents as a cost-saving and environmental measure.

The petition can be signed HERE

It says:

We the undersigned petition the council to reduce the allowance given to chairs of Brent's Area Committee Forums to no more than £100.

At a time when the people of Brent are:
- Having to accept reduction in services such as street cleaning
- Having to accept losing half their libraries
- Having to (accept) a fall in real terms wages because employers either give below inflation pay rises, or no pay rises at all

It is not fair that chairs of area committees continue to receive large sums of money for chairing these forums. Some reports have claimed that chair people receive £1000 per session.

One would think that these individuals would be happy to carry out this important public service for free. Indeed I'm sure that a lot of residents would be happy to do so for no more than their bus fare.

Upcoming Brent Executive Decisions

Somewhat surprisingly, given the need for proper scrutiny of Executive decisions, the Call In and Scrutiny Overview Committee due to be held this evening has been cancelled.

The Executive meets again on November 14th and the most controversial item is likely to be consideration of options for the redevelopment of the Willesden Green Library Centre site. No details of proposals are available as yet but I will try to publish them as soon as possible. There has been only internal council  consultation on this so far. Redevelopment would mean the closure of the library for at least two years and thus will add to the impact of the recent closures of  six of the borough's 12 libraries.

There may be organised protests by dog walkers against the Dog Control Orders due to be approved that night. Dog walkers will be limited to a maximum of six dogs per person. Dogs will be excluded from playgrounds, multi-use games areas, tennis and netball courts and bowling greens. Other areas will be specified where dogs must be kept on a lead. (See my earlier post LINK)

The Executive will be asked to approve the awarding of a Design and Build Contract to rebuild the Girls' and Boys Crest Academies and a joint procurement of council Human Resources through the Oracle system led by Lewisham and Lambeth.  This aims to rationalise back office support systems within London's local councils.

The December 12th Executive will be presented with the Quarter 2 2011/12 - Performance and Finance review which may have repercussions for spending for the remainder of this financial year. The same meeting will consider alterations in fees and charges for council services,  The most controversial decision at the January 16th 2011 meeting will be over the future of children's centre childcare provision.

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR A FAIRER TAX SYSTEM

A message from Caroline Lucas MP

Everyone understands the relationship between public spending and tax. The taxes we all pay are spent on the public services we all benefit from. But do enough people understand the relationship between public spending cuts and tax avoidance, tax evasion and unpaid tax?

It's pretty straightforward. People and companies that fail to pay the full amount of tax that is expected of them are starving our public services of funds. If we want to fight spending cuts, we must tackle that failure to pay the right amount of tax.

That's why, earlier this year, I tabled the Tax and Financial Transparency Bill in Parliament, which is due to have its second reading in the Commons on 25 November. The main aim of the Bill is to require banks, companies and trusts that operate in the UK to publish details of how much tax they pay in all the jurisdictions where they operate.

That means requiring them to reveal what use they make of offshore tax havens. Full transparency will enable the tax authorities (and the public) to make sure that these companies are paying the right amount of tax, and make it easier to close loopholes and crack down on tax avoidance. Who could argue with that?

Well, just because it's fair and it makes sense, doesn't mean it won't need a huge amount of campaigning momentum and political will to challenge the vested interests that do so well out of tax dodging. To help channel that momentum, I've set up an e-petition on the Government's website  that echoes the demands in the Bill.

Everyone who's opposed to cuts in public services, and who thinks the same rules should apply to everyone when it comes to paying tax, should sign it. It's another way to push tax justice up the agenda in Parliament - e-petitions that gather more than 100,000 signatures have to be considered for debate in the Commons.

A recent example was the e-petition to release documents relating to the Hillsborough disaster, which successfully secured a debate, and prompted the Government to agree to petitioners' demands.

Even with enough signatures, e-petitions are not binding for the Government, but as Hillsborough shows, they can achieve a lot by helping to build pressure for change. Please do sign the petition and keep circulating the link. With a coordinated effort, we can reduce tax avoidance and reduce the terrible harm it does to our vital public services.

Caroline Lucas MP

SIGN THE PETITION HERE