PCS union protests to Home Office civil servant boss over racist van camapign

From the Public and  Commercial Services Union  website LINK

A controversial Home Office immigration campaign is "political, deeply divisive and likely to stir up racial hatred", PCS has told the department's most senior civil servant.

 

The 'Go home' billboard messages being driven around six London boroughs have been met with criticism within the coalition government.

And some users on Twitter are reporting sightings using the hashtag #racistvan and deliberately wasting the Home Office's time with bogus reports.

We wrote to the department's permanent secretary Mark Sedwill on Thursday to say we were "appalled" that the Home Office had sanctioned the initiative.

PCS group secretary Mike Jones said in the letter: "This kind of campaign will only serve to cause more racial tension within our communities."

It's "deeply divisive", he added, and will create "tension and mistrust towards anyone who looks and sounds foreign".

"This is just a political advertising stunt that differs little from the Conservative Party election campaign messages.

"It is exactly the thing right wing racist and fascist organisations such as the BNP, EDL, EVF and others feed off" and use to "stir up racial tension and hatred in these very same London boroughs", Mike said.

We pointed out that, with a reported 500,000 backlog in asylum cases, the Home Office needs more permanent staff to deal with casework, not political stunts.

Summer Exhibition at Wembley's Coming Soon Club

The Coming Soon Club is on the corner of Wembley High Road and Wembley Hill Road, close to Wembley Stadium Station and a short walk south from Wembley Central station. Main bus routes 18, 83, 182.

Muhammed Butt debates 'racist vans' on Radio 4

Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt last night debated the issue of the Home Office 'racist vans' which are touring six London boroughs with the message 'Go Home or Face Arrest'.

The debate, on Radio 4's The World Tonight, begins at 24.25 LINK

Spare a tenner for crucial challenge to government on allotments sell-off

I donated this morning to the Farm Terrace Allotments Fighting Fund. Here's why in the Campaign's own words:

Farm Terrace Allotment site Watford has existed since 1896. It stands in the centre of the hugely urbanized town of Watford. An oasis in an Urban Jungle. However we are in the middle of a bitter war with our council and central government who want to build housing on our site. This is becoming an epidemic, as more and more councils see selling off precious allotment sites as a way of generating cash. Since 2007 there have been 132 separate applications to close down allotments under section 8 of the 1925 Allotments Act. Out of these 132 applications 97% were approved (128 cases) and only 4 cases refused. Plot holders feel powerless to protest about these closures because the government have such power – until now.

Our case shows that the Secretary of State has not applied his policy lawfully and we are going to take legal action to prove it! If we win, not only will we save farm terrace but we will strike a blow for the protection of allotments all over England as it will make it much harder for them to be developed on! As far as we are aware no decision to close an allotment site has been legally challenged before and if won would be referred to in future allotment closure applications.

Leading counsel who specialises in public law has advised that the Secretary of State’s decision is unlawful! Following this advice we have decided to challenge his disturbing decision in court but to do this we desperately need your help.

We need to raise money quickly to prove that we can fund our case. The British Government knows this and as they have shown this by agreeing to the change of use of the land even though we met all the criteria to keep it as an allotment. They didn’t take us seriously then so let’s make them take notice of us now!

Please donate as much as you can, we believe that if all our supporters gave only £10.00 each we could reach our goal very quickly. We need to do this very soon or our window of opportunity to bring it to Judicial Review will close.

If we do not raise enough money to go ahead, or if we raise more money than we need, all donations will be divided between various charities and other environmental and allotment campaigns - which have yet to be decided, unless you indicate that you would prefer your donation to be returned to you when you donate. If you do ask for this, we will be in touch to return your donation should we not use it in pursuing this legal challenge.

The allotment movement came out of a belief that everyone should have the possibility to grow their own produce near to their homes. Historically allotments are intrinsically part of the British landscape and British tradition. We believe in democratic decisions, and allotments are still needed now, more than ever. If all allotment holders keep quiet and do not stand up and be counted alongside us it is our very real fear that allotments will, in the very near future, be assigned to the history books.

Please help Save Farm Terrace. Please help save ALL allotments.

DONATE HERE

Promogroup may not participate further in 'racist van' campaign

Promogroup, the advertising agency behind the Home Office's 'racist vans' publicity stunt appear to have been thrown by the angry reaction to the campaign 

Green Party member David Walker told me this afternoon:

I just called the company.  They are passing my details on to the Home Office.  They said the campaign is close to finishing and they would reconsider carefully if they were asked to extend it or do it again.  I’ve asked for my comments to be noted on their file and I’ve left my name and number with them.

He added that the person he spoke to clearly understood his references to the EDL, mosque attacks etc.

I also spoke to the agency who said that the campaign was almost over. It had started on Monday and would finish soon. The person I spoke to would not give me a quote and said I should take up the issue with the Home Office. 

However, a few minutes later he rang back having read the postings about the van on Wembley Matters. He said  this was 'all very well but "direct action when the vans are seen in the area or we find where they are garaged" sounds a bit threatening'. I did a verbal shrug. He then struggled to say again that the campaign was finishing 'in Brent' and when I tried to pin him down said the last van would be on Saturday - the campaign had been going since Monday.  He went on to say that he wasn't  closely involved, but the agency  had received a 'variety' of calls  including some from immigrants asking for help to go home.

He didn't comment when I asked how many were asking for cabs.
 

Navin Shah: Home Office 'Propaganda' vans will cause harm and raise tension

The Labour London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow  condemned the 'racist van' campaign by the Home Office in Brent and five other London boroughs.

He said: 

I know that immigration in the UK needs to be tackled, but I am shocked to see plans to drive vans around Brent and five other boroughs in London. This will have a detrimental impact on the hugely diverse and harmonious community in Brent. The problem of illegal immigration has to be tackled properly and a campaign like this will only divide and discriminate communities.

We have worked very hard to have a borough which is an outstanding example of a multi-cultural community and this discriminatory propaganda by the Home Office will cause serious harm and raise tension in the community.

Summer Blues for Copland staff and students

Copland Community School's summer term ended on a rather depressing note yesterday despite the news that the school may get money for a rebuild. We are no longer surprised when money suddenly becomes available when a school converts to academy status- all part of Michael Gove's agenda of carrot and stick (bribery and bullying).

A whistle blower commenting on the rebuild money on the Kilburn Times website:

Excellent news for students, parents and staff that a new school is to be built. However, builders can only build a school in the bricks and mortar sense. Anyone present at the final staff assembly today, when up to 60 staff left, would be aware that the pair of wrecking balls who have just taken over management of Copland will have to develop skills of a rather less agricultural nature if they are ever to hope to build a school in the sense of a community of shared interests working in an atmosphere of trust and support towards a shared educational end. Significantly, the new head and his assistant absented themselves from today's goodbyes.

Earlier I had been sent a message that put Cllr Michael Pavey's report of a 'refreshing and uplifting meeting with parents at Copland tonight. They want change for their kids: better teaching and better results' into context. 

Of course any group of parents would want the latter, and why not. As the message said:

Must be new regime fans then because everyone else wants worse teaching and increasingly terrible results, of course. Obviously everyone wants the same thing: the question is whether alienating the entire staff indiscriminately, acting on the tittle-tattle and prejudices of the  outgoing failed management, shedding 40 odd teachers and not replacing them, etc etc is the way to achieve this. Reality is, eg, Art was being dropped completely and leaving staff not replaced. When it was pointed out by staff that Art  got good results the decision was changed and they said they'd recruit new staff. Job was advertised, only one candidate turned up, completely unsuitable, post is unfilled. Shambles. Many similar examples. Good staff are being driven out. Most so demoralised that any alternative is preferable to coming back in September.

Michael Wilshaw, head of Ofsted said: 'If I hear staff morale is bad, I know I'm doing something right.' These over-literal clones/clowns seem to have taken this to mean:  'Complete demoralisation of staff is an absolute prerequisite of doing anything right.' It's obviously an attractive notion as achieving demoralisation of staff is a lot easier than achieving any positive good.

The source said that the meeting with parents was badly organised and union members leafleting the meeting had to show parents in and guide them through the security system. Teachers were not represented and a stand-in for one of the most active and vocal parents, who was on holiday,  was not allowed to speak as she was a teacher and 'this would not be appropriate'.

On the rebuild my informant commented:

There are Harlesden residents who are now grandmothers who were promised a new school by Sir Alan Davies when they were in Year 7. I suspect a Good News smokescreen: Lions, Ashes, Tour de France, Royal Sprog, Copland Rebuild.

More to the point was that I heard today of another young Head of Department who has decided to leave.

 It clearly won't be a relaxing holiday for many Copland staff and students.

Jenny Jones condemns Welsh Harp development decision

Today's Wembley and WillesdenObserver

Jenny Jones, Green London Assembly Member, who made a submission opposing Barratt's West Hendon development, criticised the Barnet Planning Committee's approval of the West Hendon development:

This is a short-sighted decision that will damage the integrity of the Welsh Harp SSSI. We should be protecting this space for the enjoyment of future generations and for the sake of the other species that live there.