Cllr Muhammed Butt gets a 2 year term taking him through to 2016

How does Brent Council resemble a pint of Guinness?

Despite a long and sometimes heated discussion nothing much seems to have emerged from the Labour Group discussion on Monday evening.

A compromise was reached on  the issue of annual elections to the leadership and cabinet. Muhammed Butt wanted elections every 4 years and others wanted to keep automatic annual elections.

It was agreed that leader and cabinet would be elected every two years and other posts would remain annual with an automatic trigger.

That makes Cllr Butt and his Cabiner safe until 2016

Protest Against MIPIM: Housing for People Not For Profit

Andy Donald, Brent's Director of Regeneration and Major projects, has been a delegate to MIPIM at its Cannes meetings where he shared his thinking about development and regeneration - we can see the results of that thinking in Brent today. LINK

This year MIPIM  is coming to London.

The description under this videa reads:

The world’s largest property fair, known as MIPIM, is coming to London for the first time in its 25-year history. Hundreds of property developers, financiers and politicians will be welcomed by the Mayor of London when they converge on Olympia to do deals that allow them to profit from our land and our neighbourhoods.

This is creating unaffordable, insecure housing and contributing to the corporate takeover of our community space and public services. It means big profits for the richest 1% whilst destroying our communities and keeping millions in poverty.

We don't need more luxury housing, office blocks and shopping centres. We don't want our neighbourhoods to be gentrified and entire communities evicted. We want quality genuinely affordable housing and public services for all.

Join affected communities, the Radical Housing Network, the European Action Coalition for the
Right to Housing and the City, trade unions, tenants groups and many others to say ‘Our communities are not for sale!’

London Mayor Boris Johnson will be giving an opening address welcoming the property developers and financiers who have come to profit from our communities.

Green Party Assembly Member for London, Darren Johnson, will be attending the demonstration at 9am.

#BlockBoris

Wednesday 15 October, 9am

Meet outside Kensington Olympia tube, Olympia Way, W14 0NE

‘And the Brent Staff Achievement Award 2014 goes to ….ROSEMARIE CLARKE!’

-->

Leader of Council, CEO and Head of HR  celebrate popular public verdict.     

 Guest Blog by  ‘E.Tribunal’

Nice idea? Here’s how to achieve it. Every year London Borough of Brent asks for nominations from the public for staff members who have ‘gone the extra mile’ and deserve recognition for outstanding achievement. The nomination form is here  http://brent.gov.uk/your-council/staff-awards-2014/nomination-form/

I’ve just filled one in as follows:  

NAME:   ROSEMARIE CLARK       

DEPT:  HR        ADDRESS EMPLOYEE IS BASED AT:  CIVIC CENTRE                                                                    

REASONS FOR NOMINATION:  ROSEMARIE HAS BEEN AN EXAMPLE TO HER COLLEAGUES AND TO THE PEOPLE OF BRENT IN HER BRAVE FIGHT TO ACHIEVE JUSTICE IN THE FACE OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION , VICTIMISATION AND WORKPLACE BULLYING (I don’t have copyright on any of these words so please help yourself). 

I then filled in my name, address and email address. Given the climate of intimidation which exists, some people may find that part problematic. However, everyone has friends and relations who will have heard of Rosemarie’s experiences (or will be happy to learn of them now) and that knowledge will qualify them to vote and will validate their votes in turn.    WM readers will need no reminding that knowledge is power and modern technology presents us with infinite ways of both spreading the knowledge of Brent employees’ achievements and, at the same time, spreading the means by which people can vote on that knowledge.

 One other point: some may wonder whether Rosemarie Clarke, who is actually no longer a Brent employee,  qualifies for nomination; it would hardly reflect well on Brent Council, though, if this were to be raised as an objection given that the recent Watford Employment Tribunal’s verdict made clear that the responsibility for Rosemarie’s constructive dismissal was entirely that of Cara Davani, Christine Gilbert  and the rest of their friends on Brent Council, precisely the people who will most loudly be celebrating the presentation of these awards. Attempting to block nominations would only draw more attention to the Employment Tribunal’s findings.  Spread the word!

CLOSING DATE FOR NOMINATIONS IS  OCTOBER 17: DON’T DELAY, VOTE TODAY

Biomass Energy: The Issues - Film and discussion at Brent Civic Centre

Duncan Law will be showing a film and giving a talk about biomass at Brent Friends of the Earth's (Brent FoE) monthly meeting. It take place at Brent Civic Centre in Wembley on Tuesday October 14^th at 7.30pm. 

Duncan Law, from Biofuel Watch and Transition Town Brixton, will be presenting a short film and giving a talk about the issues around the use of biomass as an energy source.

“Friends of the Earth believes that bio-energy has a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but only if it is done in a way that protects wildlife and people's livelihoods, and guarantees emissions cuts. Duncan will be explaining more about this important issue, and the questions it throws up regarding land use and protection of the environment,” said Pam Laurance, a coordinator of Brent Friends of the Earth.

Everyone is welcome to attend this free event, and would also be welcome to stay for the rest of the regular monthly group meeting.

The talk and film will start at at 7.30pm till approximately 8:30pm.  Ask at the Civic Centre reception desk for directions to the 3rd Floor Drum, Boardrooms 7&8. Brent Civic Centre is in Engineers Way, Wembley HA9 0FJ, nearest tube Wembley Park. For more information see http://www.brentfoe.com or email info@brentfoe.com.

For further information:

1. Brent FoE has a website at www.brentfoe.com, is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/brentfoe and on Twitter @brentfoe.
2. For more about biomass see LINK

After the Tricycle: Can Arts Organisations say 'No' to Embassy Funding?

TUESDAY OCTOBER 7TH - 7PM 17-25 NEW INN YARD EC2A 3EA

Amnesty has sent the following invitation which will be of interest to readers involved in the debate over the Tricycle Theatre's refusal of Israeli Government funding (via the Embassy) and the subsequent events.

Do artists and arts organisations have the right to say ‘no’ when governments with negative human rights records try to co-opt culture in the service of their public relations strategies? 

Please join the discussion – After the Tricycle: Can arts organisations say ‘no’ to embassy funding?

In August 2014, during the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the Tricycle Theatre asked the UK Jewish Film Festival to forego Israeli embassy funding. The festival refused, walked away from the Tricycle, and briefed the press that the theatre was boycotting a Jewish festival. The theatre came under sustained attack: campaigns to de-fund the theatre, denunciations by liberal newspaper columnists, even intervention by the Secretary of State for Culture himself.

Do we have to accept that the kind of backlash the Tricycle experienced is inevitable as far as funding by a powerful state is concerned, and make sure we never follow where this theatre led?
Panel chair: Kamila Shamsie, novelist.

Speakers: April De Angelis and Tanika Gupta playwrights, Antony Lerman writer & commentator, and Ofer Neiman of the Israeli group Boycott from Within.

Panel discussion. Free entry, but reservation is recommended.
There will be a drinks reception afterwards.
When: Tuesday 7th October, 19:00 – 21:00. Doors open 18:30
Where: Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London. EC2A 3EA.

Brent People's Assembly Meeting Monday at the Prince of Wales

There is a meeting tomorrow (Monday) to discuss the setting of a People's Assembly Against Austerity in Brent.

I support the People's Assembly nationally but wrote to the organisers of this meeting pointing out that Brent Fightback, with much the same agenda, already existed locally.

This is their response:

I recognise the invaluable role Brent Fightback has played in the fight against cuts locally but setting up a Brent Peoples Assembly is not in conflict with the good work of Brent Fightback. The Peoples Assembly is a growing national umbrella organisation which has placed the fight against cuts, fight for jobs, improved services, for the NHS  and education as aspects of the overall fight against austerity and the PA is uniting its members by making demands which are set out in the Peoples Charter.

At a recent meeting of the national organisation Richard Lynch fedback that the PA in London is developing local branches in Camden, Barnet etc. and national TUs and local unions are affiliating to the organisation. It is possible that there are local Brent people who may be interested in setting up a Brent PA and the meeting on Monday is providing an opportunity to find out whether there is scope to develop this organisation locally. If there is we must then discuss how Brent Fightback and a local PA join up. A first step could be for Brent Fightback to affiliate to the PA.

I believe that in the past Fightback has been affiliated to the PAA  althought that may have lapsed.  We have certainbly attended their marches and conferences as well as a West London PAA event. I would be the first to admit that we need to attract a broader group of people, users of services as well as trade unionists, and  the younger people who are active in other campaigns such as Brent Against Racism Campaign and Brent Housing Action.

On the other hand it would not be good to duplicate activities and just provide the 'usual suspects' with an additional meeting. Burn out is  a real issue for Brent activists.

I will be going along to the meeting with an open mind:

6.30pm on Monday 6 October at the Prince of Wales Pub, 101 Willesden Lane, London NW6 7SD (a short walk from the junction of Kilburn High Road and Willesden Lane).

Shahrar Ali: Brent's appeal on race judgment compounds their fairness failure

Brent Green Party's Shahrar Ali slammed Brent Council's institutionalised denial of racism and repeated the party's call for an independent investigation into human resources and other matters at Brent Council in a letter to the Kilburn Times this week:

Please note that the Kilburn Times erroneously transposed quotes in the throd and fourth paragraphs. The correct version is:


One could be forgiven for concluding that the problem was institutionalised. In the words of the Judge, “No employer will admit to it [unlawful discrimination] and, indeed, discrimination is often operating at an unconscious level.” 


Ali said 'One could be forgiven for concluding that the problem was institutionalised' - not Judge Henry.

Brent Officers recommend Queensbury affordable housing offer but oppose development on heritage grounds

Locals demonstrating against a high rise block in a Conservation Area replacing the Queensbury

Brent Council officers are recommending acceptance of the revised affordable housaing offer by the developers of the Queensbury site in Willesden Green but also recommend that the Council continues to oppose the proposals on other grounds at the Public Inquiry. LINK

The Report, which goes before the Planning Commitee on October 15th rejects claims that consultation on the proposals was inadequate.

The revised affordable housing is now 22.6% compared with the Core Strategy's target of 50%:

Having considered s report from BNP Paribas on ther viability of the offer, Brent Officers claim that 'on balance' it is acceptable.

They admit this would narrow the grounds for Council opposition to the developer's appeal but believe that issues of design and heritage, especially, are still sufficient to go ahead and oppose. They have appointed a Design and Heritage expert witness.