What will McDonnell say about Brent Council cuts on Sunday?

From the current Kilburn Times

On Sunday at 1pm  John McDonnell MP, the anti-austerity Shadow Chancellor, will hold a street meeting at the Jubilee Clock in Harlesden with Labour councillors and activists before they go off to canvas for the Labour candidate in the Kensal Green by-election. (Kensal Green ward covers a large part of Harlesden)

On Monday at 7pm Brent's Labour Cabinet will be setting in motion consultation on the latest round of cuts and increased charges and fees as they implement the Conservative's austerity agenda.

Rather than challenging the cuts agenda they will be operating a bidding war where supporters of different services compete with each other for survival - rather than unity against the Tories attack on local government this will be divisive. According to Michael Pavey's comment it could be those with the loudest voice who will win out : 'If the public is up in arms about any one of these issues we will talk it through and if necessary we will change it.' On the surface this sounds reasonable but leaves those who are most vulnerable and lack a voice at a disadvantage.

There appears to be little appetite for a change of policy in the Labour Group. There are only one or two who have lined up with the recently formed Brent Momentum  LINK while others have joined the anti-Corbyn Labour International. Brent Momentum is urging its members to attend Sunday's event and canvas for the Labour candidate but the effect will be to elect a 55th Labour councillor (out of a total council of 63) who will vote for cuts. If he wins they will hail this as a victory for Corbyn's Labour - all rather contradictory.

This is why the election of Jafar Hassan as a single Green councillor pledged to oppose cuts and hold the dominant Labour group to account would be a much better outcome in Kensal Green.

Sudbury Primary School staff call for formal ballot on strike action

Statement from teaching and non-teaching unions at Sudbury Primary School

On Wednesday a packed meeting of staff from Sudbury Primary in Brent, expressed anger that, after their overwhelming vote of no confidence in their Headteacher LINK  the governors had not acted. They voted to call on their unions to move to a formal ballot for strike action. The vote was 43 in favour and 2 against.

The meeting also agreed that parents should be properly and fully informed. It was agreed that an open meeting should be called by the unions to which all parents, staff and governors would be invited to enable full discussion to take place.

UPDATED; What on earth is happening in King Eddie's park?

Local residents have contacted me to ask if I know what is happening in King Edward VII Park in Wembley where the sports field remains a churned up soggy mess surrouneed by fencing.

One resident wrote:

The main field of King Edwards Park is STILL fenced off (nearly 4 months now, despite a notice saying some disruption for up to 5 weeks) The West side of the park smells really bad….(drainage still an issue??)  Lots of the regular users  the joggers, walkers, dog owners, have stopped using it, and its getting quite ‘creepy’ walking in itdue to the big pile of sand, and the fence you can’t really see  whats around the corner…..especially on these dark afternoons and mornings…

Also there has been a particularly unsavoury character hanging around the ‘bunker building’  who shouts and spits at passers by.

I’ve tried Brent Council, Parks dept.  the local councillor but no response…so I was just wondering if you had any suggestions? 

The short reply is that poor drainage is being replaced but why the delay is a mystery. Weather may be blamed but actually it has been unusually mild or perhaps a spring has been discovered under what used to be a meadow. Whatever the answer what is not in doubt is that this is costing a considerable sum of money.

An FoI request got this response from the Council:

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The total cost is approximately £300k of which £93k is grant funding from the Mayor of London (via The Football Foundation) sports facilities fund and Sport England ‘s Protecting playing fields fund.

Which leaves £207,000 from Council funds.

UPDATE

Since publication Cllr Sam Stopp (Wembley Central) has written to the appropriate Brent Council Officer as below:

I have previously made enquiries (although not directed to you) about the situation in King Eddie's Park, Wembley Central. Several residents have brought to me concerns about developments in the park and I am asking that the Council clarifies matters.

Residents have raised a number of concerns, including the unexplained fencing off of the main field in the park, as well as a foul smell in the west side of the park (associated with drainage issues).

Please could we have some information about what on earth is going on? Ward councillors have not been informed and residents deserve to know. It was not that long ago that we saved the park from being built on - I had hoped its importance to the community would be better recognised as a result.

BRENT’S INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (Don’t mention a ’C’ word unless you’re asking for a cheese sandwich)

Guest blog by Peter Murry
 

As a disabled Brent resident, I was invited  to the International Day For People With Disabilities event held in Brent Civic Centre on 3^rd December 2015. Attending this event was my second visit to the Civic Centre since its opening in June 2013.

The event gave certain Brent Councillors, (Cllrs Butt, Hirani & Pavey), an opportunity to grandstand Brent Council’s achievements for People with Disabilities. Perhaps because many in the audience may not have understood some of the speeches, or were attending as paid carers for other audience members, the councillors were able to express their concerns for People with Disabilities without anyone asking any awkward questions, like:

·       How will the London Borough of Brent implement central government austerity policies without harming People With Disabilities or other vulnerable Brent residents?

Or

·       Will Brent Council make any effective attempt to resist these central government austerity policies or even visibly protest against them, in view of the fact that these policies are now forcing even more severe cuts than those that Brent has already carried out?

We heard a lot about ongoing improvements to Brent Civic Centre, which was apparently still the ‘greenest public sector building in Europe’. It is indeed an impressive edifice, but I suspect, most Brent residents use it even less frequently than I have; still it’s nice to think about the council workers having such a wonderful warm spacious atrium to sit and eat their lunches in, instead of being outside on cold, wet, winter streets.

The various stalls from a variety of organisations at the PwD event were quite useful although the display table shared by Unison and the GMB, didn’t seem to have many anti-cuts leaflets on it.

The Choir and Dance group, both featuring performers with disabilities, were good and it’s nice for a diabetic like me to get a few sweet biscuits  once in a while; however once I’d had my free cheese sandwich lunch, I’d had enough, so I never found out if the elephant in the Civic Centre trumpeted and stomped on Councillor Pavey during his closing address

Brent councillors join criticism of Stop the War Coalition and Lucas steps back from involvement

Brent Labour councillors Neil Nerva, Bernard Collier and Sam Stopp have signed an Open Letter to Jeremy Corbyn launched today by a new organisation called Labour Internationalists.

The letter LINK urges Corbyn to pull out of the  Stop the War Coalition dinner he is due to attend on Friday and states;

We believe that StWC stands apart from the Labour movement’s values of Internationalism, anti-fascism and solidarity. The vast majority of Labour MPs who heard Hilary Benn’s powerful speech in parliament last week (regardless of how they voted), supported his broad argument that fascism must be defeated, and that the UK must be prepared to join coalitions to do this.

and concludes:

We urge you to distance yourself from this organisation. We believe that Labour Party unity, and electoral credibility in the face of a Conservative government that is pursuing a right wing domestic agenda, would be advanced if  you pulled out of this event.

Meanwhile it was announced today that Caroline Lucas, Green MP, had stepped back from her involvement with Stop the War Coalition a few weeks ago.

The spokesperson said:

Caroline stepped back from the Stop the War Coalition a few weeks ago. Her busy parliamentary and constituency schedule means that she doesn’t have time to fully engage with the role of a Patron and, in light of some recent StWC positions that she didn’t support, she felt standing down was the responsible thing to do. Like the Stop the War Coalition, Caroline is opposed to British bombing in Syria because it will neither keep Britain safe nor help bring about a lasting peace in Syria.

Caroline was specifically troubled by some Stop the War Coalition statements after the Paris atrocities. Though the pieces were subsequently taken down she felt unable to associate herself with them. 

She was also concerned that some Syrian voices were not given an opportunity to speak at a recent meeting organised by the StWC in Parliament.

StWC has played an important role in building the anti-war movement in Britain, and Caroline will continue to work in support of peace.

That view is not necessarily the view of the Green Party as a whole. Policy is made at its twice yearly conference rather than by its MP or leader.

Many Green Party members support the StWC through attending its demonstrations and meetings, although this is not uncritical support.

Shahrar Ali, Green Party Deputy Leader,spoke at the Stop thr War 'Don't Bomb Syria' demonstration at the end of November. LINK

Whatever criticisms we can make, Stop the War Coalition remains the single strongest anti-war organisation in the country and I don't doubt governments, both Labour and Tory, would have engaged in more military adventures if it had not been for StWC's ability to mobilise large numbers in opposition.

Stop the War, as its name states, is a Coalition, and contains people of many different parties, religions and philosophies and is a vital part of a movement that challenges increasing aggression and militarism. It has come under attack from media and right-wingers as a means of undermining its fundamental challenge to the flimsy basis of  Cameron's.

At such a time they deserve our support.

Lucas differs from Labour Internationalists in her anti-bombing position. She said in a recent Huffington Post article:

I listened carefully to the Prime Minister make his case for why the UK should join the bombing campaign against Isis. The debate in the House of Commons was thorough, and the horror and revulsion at recent atrocities in Syria, Paris, Beirut and elsewhere is shared by MPs from across the political divide. 

Yet I have still to see any evidence to suggest that UK bombing Isis targets in Syria is likely to increase our security here in Britain or help bring about a lasting peace in the region in question - to the contrary, the evidence appears to suggest it would make matters worse.

Nerva, Collier and Stopp appear to be supporting military intervention, if not the bombing operation itself.

Is the Prevent Strategy protecting our liberty or threatening it? Have your say on Thursday

Prevent is the government strategy aimed at preventing young people becoming 'extremists'. It requires workers in education, health and social services to report them if they show signs of extremism. It hs been criticised for targeting the whole Muslim community and having the effect of closing down free expression in schools and colleges. Children as young as three years old have been reported for 'extremist' views.

There are fears that the strategy will be counter-productive, create suspicion and division and undermine the trusting relationship between teachers, parents and students.


The meeting will include speakers from education, the local community and anti-racist campaigns. Shahrar Ali will be speaking from the Green Party.

It is at London Interfaith Centre, 125 Salusbury Road, Queens Park, NW6 6RG. Queens Park or Brondesbury Park station or bus 206. 7pm-9pm December 10th

"Extreme weather is the 'new normal' " says Pentland Centre chair from Paris

Commenting from COP21 on the floods in Cumbria, Lancaster University Professor Gail Whiteman says:

“Liz Truss’ comment about how the flood defences in Cumbria were only breached because of extreme weather conditions is rather short sighted. Thanks to climate change, extreme weather is the new normal.  And that is hugely problematic.  The Cumbria floods are a personal reality check here in Paris, everyone is talking about it and Al Gore specifically mentioned the floods in Cumbria and Chennai in his speech. Mr Gore was speaking to over 600 executives at the Council Member meeting of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

“Unless serious commitments are made here in Paris, extreme weather will increase with global warming and thus climate adaptation measures, like flood defences, need to constantly be updated. What may be appear to be sufficient to withstand a 1/100 year event can become quickly out of date as the incidence of extreme weather ramps up and becomes more unpredictable.”

Professor Whiteman is the Chair of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University.

 

Green Party challenges government on DEFR cuts in wake of Storm Desmond

The inadequate level of funding of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been called into question by the Green Party after intense flooding in the North West of England.

Green Party leader, Natalie Bennett also says that the damage caused by Storm Desmond is a stark reminder that the effects of climate change are not only restricted to “far-off places.

Bennett said:

I offer the Green Party's sympathy and best wishes to the many hundreds of people forced to take emergency shelter over the weekend and the many thousands more who have seen their homes and businesses damaged. I also offer our thanks to the rescue teams who've been working tirelessly to help those at risk.

Any individual event is of course weather, not climate change, but we know that scientists say that climate change will mean more frequent and higher level occurrences of extreme weather. The extraordinary Storm Desmond is a reminder that climate change is not something that will affect the distant future in far-off places, but an already existing reality that is impacting on all of our lives.

Bennett added:

Storm Desmond also brings into serious question government plans to cut funding for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as its failure to announce exactly what it will spend on repairing flood defences, which should be a clear priority. LINK

Cumbria County Council should be reconsidering the call from fossil fuel divestment campaigns to take the £108 million it had invested in 2013/14 in fossil fuels into investments that tackle climate change, rather than exacerbate it.