Greens celebrate election of three MEPs in Euro poll

I was relieved this morning this morning to find that Jean Lambert had been re-elected as a London Green MEP.  In the face of UKIP's gains and signs that the other parties are moving right in an effort to match their anti-immigrant policies, it is important the Jean's principled anti-racist voice has a platform.

In spite of the national swing to UKIP, the Green Party has been able to overturn the odds and now has triple the number of MEPs that the Lib Dems do. The wins, powered by 1.2 million people voting Green on May 22, come on the back of extremely positive local elections results which saw the Greens become the official opposition on Solihull, Liverpool, Lewisham, Norwich and Islington Councils.

Jean Lambert, who has been Green MEP for London since 1999, said:

I am delighted and honoured that Londoners of all backgrounds have supported the Greens in this European election and voted again for a strong Green voice in the European Parliament. Greens will continue to put forward positive policies to tackle the growing inequalities between rich and poor, whether in London or beyond, and to continue the push to a low carbon economy, which combats climate change while creating new jobs.

I was delighted to see Molly Scott Cato elected as the new MEP for the South West and reacting to her win she said:

It is fantastic that the South West now has a Green voice in Europe. I would like to thank everyone who voted Green on Thursday and I am looking forward to representing the South West in Brussels.

Keith Taylor was also returned again as Green MEP for the South East region. He tweeted:

So very proud to be re-elected as an MEP. Will stand up for my constituents, wherever they come from, every single day.

Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, put the wins in context:

The growth of our number of seats in the European Parliament reflects growing support for Green Party policies and values around the country. Increasing numbers of voters are inspired by our message of positive change for the common good. They support, as do a majority of the public, our views on many issues, from renationalising the railways and reining in banks, from banning fracking to making the minimum wage a living wage.

Clean up tasks for the new Labour Brent Executive

As the new Labour group prepares to meet to decide the size, portfolios and membership of the new Executive, just a reminder of the issues that need to be addressed.

First there is the matter of the Human Resources management at the Council and associated issues of interim contracts and salaries paid into private companies.

The Green Party has called for an independent investigation of:

1. Corporate Management Team officers being paid through their private companies rather than normal pay roll
2. The contractual arrangements for CMT officers and interim appointments
3. Previous employment and business connections between senior offices appointed by Brent Council on an interim basis
4. The working culture of the Human Resources department 
5. Brent Council's Whistle Blowing Policy to ensure that it adequately protects whistle-blowers from harassment and retribution

To which a reader has added:
6. Instances of council policies, procedures, standing orders, scheme of delegation etc being circumvented.

Secondly, there is the important issue of the appointment of Chief Executive.  Christine Gilbert's acting role was extended by the Brent Executive  until after the local elections on the recommendation of Fiona Ledden, Head of Legal and Procurement. The report stated:

The recruitment process for a new permanent  Chief Executive should be delayed because the current recruitment process for  three other CEs in London boroughs would limit the quality of candidates, to allow the restructuring of council senior management to go ahead smoothly, and  to ensure continuity and reputation management over the move to the Civic Centre and the 2014 local elections. 

At the time Paul Lorber, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition, opposed the extension and raised the important issue of how the permanent appointment would be made.  Given the new overwhelmingly Labour composition of the council and the revelations about previous connections between members of the Corporate Management Team at Ofsted and Tower Hamlets, as well as personal relationship connections, a transparent recruitment process is essential.

Such a process would exclude from the recruitment process any officer with such connections and include opposition councillors as well as Labour backbenchers.

Thirdly, there is the task of ending all interim arrangements so that a permanent team with fully compliant contracts and paid through the council payroll are in place for the next four years. 

June 3rd Meeting - Continuing the housing struggle in Brent

A message from Brent Housing Action and Housing4All

Brent Housing Action and Housing4All are co-hosting a NorthWest London Radical Housing Network meeting on Tuesday June 3rd.

The meeting will start at 7pm at Brent Trades Hall Club (aka Apollo Club), 375 High Road, Willesden NW10 2JR. Nearest tube is Willesden Green or Dollis Hill ( both Jubilee Line). The Apollo Club is a two minute walk from Willesden Bus garage.

On Tuesday 3rd June, activists from Brent Housing Action and Housing4All (formerly the Counihan-Sanchez Housing Campaign) would like to open their regular bi-monthly meeting to all those concerned with housing and related welfare issues in NW London. This is to build upon the links made during the Inequality Bus Tour of 26/4/14, to bring in new activists looking to form groups that have contacted the Radical Housing Network since that weekend and to compare ideas of how we should continue the struggle against the triple whammy of market-rent "affordable" housing, regeneration/gentrification projects and welfare state reforms.

Ideally each housing group will give a brief outline of their campaign( 5 minutes approximately).
We'd like to hear what groups would find the meeting useful for so that we can build an agenda - please respond with any brief ideas nic.lane2@googlemail.com .

The agenda - so far - could also include the following:

How can NW London best support its various Housing Action Groups? (Anti-eviction teams/ duplication of Intel etc.):
MIPIM - the international land sales/housing conference- comes to Earls Court in October: joint protests?
Interaction with European/National/London Housing Networks?
Future Priorities

Invited groups include:

Housing4All (co-host)
Brent Housing Action (co-host)
Radical Housing Network (co-host)
Jubilee Sports Centre Campaign
Barnet Housing Action
Our West Hendon
Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group
Unite Community
Stable Way Residents Association
Save Earls Court
Gibbs Green
Sutton Estate
Grenfell Action Group
Advice4Renters

How the Greens performed in the Brent local elections

The Green Party stood one candidate in every Brent ward except for Willesden Green, which was where we put in most of our campaigning, where we stood two candidates. We left the third slot free so as to make space for Alex Colas the independent Make Willesden Green candidate.  In the event many voters voted two Green plus MWG . MWG were the single choice of some voters and shared with parties other than the Green Party  in other cases.

The combined percentage vote of the three candidates in Willesden Green was 21%: Make Willesden Green 9%, Sharara Ali 6% and Martin Francis 6%.

The Greens beat both Tory and Lib Dem candidates in Harlesden, Kensal Green and Kilburn. We beat all the Lib Dems in Dudden Hill, Fryent, Kenton, Northwick Park, Preston, Queen's Park, Queensbury and Welsh Harp. We beat all the Tories in Mapesbury and Willesden Green.

Greens were ahead of two out of the three Lib Dem candidates in Barnhill, Brondesbury  Park and Willesden Green and two out of three Tories in Queen's Park.

Our highest percentage votes were in Brondesbury Park, Kensal Green, Mapesbury, Queen's Park and Willesden Green.

Brent Green Party has limited financial and human resources compared with the other parties and therefore had to concentrate on a few wards. However, it is clear that there are many potential Green voters in the borough if only we can reach them through leafleting and personal contact. Our aim must be to substantially increase our active membership and network of supporters while at the same time maintaining and improving our campaigning record.

The Euro election results later today should give us further indications of our potential support.

Looking forward to the General Election in 2015 the 'Vote for Policies' website  LINK shows Greens ahead of the other parties in Brent Central. People vote purely on policies without knowing which party they emanate from until completion:

Green Party 25.95%
Labour 23.07%
Liberal Democrats: 17.47%
Conservative 14.77%
UKIP 10.51%
BNP 8.23%

The figures for Brent North also put the Greens ahead LINK

Green Party 24.01%
Labour 22.74%
Liberal Democrats 16.13%
Conservative 15.12%
UKIP 12.48%
BNP 9.52%

Meanwhile, for any individual their political party  affiliation is a matter of 'best fit'  rather than 'I agree with every item in the manifesto'. I hope that some Wembley Matters readers will take note of this election result and come and join us.

More than ever, we are the alternative.

Ecosocialist Conference June 7th, London

A space for thinking and discussion after the local and European elections:

Saturday June 7th 11am-6pm

Venue:
SOAS, Vernon Square Campus, Penton Rise, Kings Cross, London WC1X 9EW
(not the main campus at Russell Square)

Speakers:

Natalie Bennett, Ewa Jasiewicz, John McDonnell, Daniel Tanuro, John Stewart, Jonathan Neale, Eva Barker, Tatiana Jarzabek, Estelle Cooch, Graciela Romero, Gareth Dale, Alan Thornett, Amy Gilligan, John Cowsill, Fiona Brookes, Brian Ashley, Sean Thompson, Clara Paillard, Ozlem Onaran, Derek Wall

Book HERE

Workshops on:

Fracking; Zero Growth; Food and Land Grabs; Transport; Ruling Class Strategies for Climate Change; Energy Justice; What Revolution Do We Want?; Climate Jobs, Marx’s Ecology.

Creche provided on reservation – Further details will be posted as speakers and other arrangements are finalised.
  
Hosted by Socialist Resistance and Revolutionary Socialism in the 21^st Century

Barry Gardiner issues warning over scrutiny responsibilies following Labour landslide

As the dust settles after the election battle is is clear that Brent Labour's campaigning efforts, weeks of  hard work door-knocking and door-stepping have paid off,  along with the London trend.  Those of us who hoped that the electorate would give them a bloody nose over library closures, council tax summonses, dodgy consultations and collusion in Coalition cuts, will be disappointed.

The situation regarding the Corporate Manageent Team, which has been the subject of much comment on this blog will need to be dealt with swiftly.

The sweeping away of Liberal Democrats is the main story here in Brent but across the capital I think the refusal of Londoners to jump on the UKIP bandwago, however much it is talked up by the BBC, is extremely posiitve.

Meanwhile Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North, has echoed some of the comments I made yesterday about the dangers of huge majoritty Labour won in Brent: (Kilburn Times website LINK)

I’m thrilled, of course I’m thrilled but we need to be very careful.

It is a huge responsibility because a majority this big for any party means that we have to look within ourselves for the sort of scrutiny that we need of the policies that we ourselves are proposing.

All of these people got elected because they managed to persuade voters they wanted to represent them in the civic centre on the council. They must remember their job is to represent the people to the bureaucratic (sic) of the council and not to represent the council bureaucrats to the people. 

We are here to be a critical voice to say where things are wrong and to set policy to change Brent for the better.

 I think such scrutiny will be helped by giving backbench Labour councillors freedom from the whip (elected Green councillors are not whipped as a matter of party policy) and revisiting decision making and scrutiny arrangements to enhance accountability.

Lib Dems wiped out in Brent

The latest results tweeted by Brent Council give the following composition of the Council
@Brent_Council: 2010 election Lab 41, LD 15, Con 7, Other 0
2014 election Lab 56, Con 6, LD 1, Other 0

The only Lib Dem is new comer Helen Carr in Mapesbury who was 16 ahead of Calum Maloney for Labour. Scott Bartle the Mapesbury Green candidate won 776 votes. UKIP beat Greens in Preston but we beat them in Dudden Hill.

The result  raises the issue of scrutiny of  the new council's decisions with the lack of a credible opposition in what essentially will be a 'one party'  council.  The role of the local press will be particularly important at a time when it is under economic pressures with resulting editorial cutbacks.

In a small way the Green Party and this blog will need to play a part.

Independent performs well as Labour vote strengthens in early Brent results

The first results of the Brent Council elections only began to emerge as dawn broke over Wembley Stadium.  The first result in Kensal Green surprised many with a Labour win but the Greens beating the Lib Dems and Tories.  The Labour vote was generally strong but Brondesbury Park bucked the trend returing three Conservative councillors where only one had existed before. The one iscolourful Carol Shaw who is recognised as being extremely strong on casework.

In the eagerly awaited Willesden Green contest Labour won all three seats but Alex Colas, the Independent Make Willesden Green candidate gained 846 votes, more than the Greens, Lib Dems and Tories.  The Greens beat all the Tories and two of the Lib Dems.

The Lib Dem vote appeared to be crumbling but some of their stronger wards had yet to declare at the time of writing.