If you think Kilburn needs a true opposition voice on Brent Council - Peter Murry is your man

Pete Murry protesting at plans to build on green space at B&Q Cricklewood

Regular readers will know about the apparent problem that Kilburn's Labour councillors and residents have had with the Labour ruling group on Brent Council.  This has meant that Cllr John Duffy was sidelined for challenging the Council to raise Council Tax last year to help fund vital services including Stonebridge Adventure Playground. In addition he has acted as a one man Scrutiny Committee on the Veolia waste contract and the out-sourcing of litter enforcement LINK.

Residents of the South Kilburn Estate, undergoing regeneration with a substantial degree of gentrification, have been fighting the Council on the issue of the HS2 vent to be situated next to St Mary's Primary School on the Estate LINK Again they have received an unsympathetic response from the Council. Cllr Duffy had his own difficulties in trying to involve residents in discussions with the Council. LINK

The Green Party is opposed to HS2 in its totality and in a recent posting on their blog LINK has set out their Kilburn by-election candidate's platform:

Peter Murry will be standing in this Council by-election caused by the death of a Labour councillor.

PETER MURRY has been a Brent resident for over twenty years and during many of these he worked in Kilburn as a lecturer at the College of North West London. He worked for the College in Harlesden, Kilburn and South Kilburn, where he taught on Access and Information Technology courses.

He was an active Trade Unionist in the Universities & Colleges Union (UCU) and is currently the Green Party’s London Trade Union Liaison Officer.

He took early retirement from the College in 2006 for ill health reasons, partly because he suffers from arthritis, which has meant that he has been disabled for almost a decade. This has given him first hand experienced of the problems that disabled people are forced to cope with, especially those faced by people with impaired mobility in using public transport and gaining access to some buildings.

He is also an artist and member of Brent Artists’ Resource.

The key points that he is campaigning on are

• ·       A cleaner greener Kilburn
• ·       No more council cuts
• ·       Defend trade union rights
• ·       Campaign against climate change

He thinks that the environment and quality of life in London in general, and Brent in particular, need many improvements. More housing at prices that people with average and low incomes can really afford is urgently needed and Brent council should be working to provide this. Its “regeneration” schemes, such as the one on the South Kilburn estate, should produce homes for people not business opportunities for property profiteers. 

It should also take whatever steps it can to drastically reduce the air pollution that causes huge health problems in Kilburn.

As an Eco-socialist, Pete believes that ecological damage and the free market economic policies of British governments are the basic causes of problems such as these. These are not problems caused by local government, or the people of Kilburn, but they have to deal with the consequences.

Attacks on Trade Union rights, such as those currently planned by the government, just make workers into scapegoats for government mistakes.

Climate change needs to be stopped and the quality of life needs to be improved; even local councils can do their bit, instead of just making life worse by cutting services.

Brent Council needs an opposition voice. This is a task that the Green Party can do for the people of Kilburn.

POLLING TAKES PLACE ON MAY 5TH ALONGSIDE THE MAYORAL AND GLA ELECTION

'Trade unions are not just for white men' - Grunwick film and panel at TUC on Friday

Friday April 15th at Trade Union Congress 23-28 Great Russell Street WC1B 3LS 7pm

The TUC Race Relations Committee in association with the SERTUC Film Club presents a screening of ‘The Great Grunwick Strike 1976-1978: A History’, followed by a panel discussion on the lessons that can be learnt from the dispute.

This documentary film takes a look at the Grunwick dispute which erupted at a photo processing plant in Willesden, London, in the summer of 1976 and lasted two years. A predominately East African and South Asian female workforce went on strike over appalling working conditions and the issue of trade union recognition.  The dispute is remembered as one of the most significant in the history of the British labour movement.

The following panel debate will be chaired by Kamaljeet Jandu and participants will include Chris Thomson (Filmmaker), Dr Sundari Anitha (Striking Women) and Sujata Aurora (Grunwick 40).

ORDER YOUR FREE TICKET HERE

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The Grunwick 40 campaign is raising funds to install a huge mural close to the factory site in Willesden as a permanent public reminder of the unity that the Grunwick strike represented.

Support their appeal by donating or asking your union branch to donate via www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40, or via www.paypal.me/grunwick40, or send a cheque payable to Brent Trades Council c/o 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR.

Message from Grunwick 40

We need your donations to commemorate the heroes of the Grunwick Strike

40 years ago a group of Asian women asked for the right to join a union and were sacked by their employer. Their bosses thought that Asian women were passive and obedient and wouldn't fight back.
But that group of workers gained the support of thousands and went on to wage one of the longest and most important disputes in post-war British history.

They changed the idea that trade unions were only for white men. They shattered stereotypes. And at a time of enormous racial prejudice they brought people together in unity and solidarity.
40 years on we want to celebrate them.

We have ambitious plans to install a big mural close to the original factory site in Willesden, as well as stage an historical exhibition and a conference. But we need money to make it happen.
Please give whatever you can afford.

We have some exclusive rewards for people who donate including badges, posters, DVDs and rare artwork from the 1970s so please consider making a personal donation or asking your union branch to make one. Every £ helps to ensure that the legacy of the brave Grunwick strikers is not lost.

Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/grunwick40 to donate.

Peter Murry says end 'politics as usual' in Brent - Vote Green in Kilburn on May 5th

Peter Murry, Green Party activist,  trade unionist and climate campaignerwill be the Green candidate in the Kilburn By-election. Polling is on May 5th in Kilburn ward in addition to the Mayoral and GLA election. He is calling for ending politcis as usual, a cleaner Kilburn and an end to Council cuts

Click on images to enlarge

Brent Council: Wembley Twin Towers 'a catalyst for further growth and investment'

This is what Brent Council Public Relations told Property Week about the 'Twin Towers' for Wembley High Road/Park Lane which Planning Committee approved on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for London Borough of Brent said: “Wembley is our biggest growth area for which we have great ambitions. We are already seeing a large amount of development and investment around the stadium but this approval sets the scene and could be the catalyst for further growth and investment on the high street.

“I am pleased to see a development come forward, which will provide affordable housing, community space, retail uses and a new public square for local people to use as well as generate over £5m to go towards local community facilities. The buildings, although tall, are appropriate in this area given that it is one of our key growth areas.”

You have been warned!

Six candidates will fight Kilburn by-election

The full list of candidates for the Kilburn Council by-elelction has been published. Voting takes place on May 5th alomgside the Mayoral and GlA elections. The count will take place on Friday May 6th at Alexandria Palace where the GLA count takes place.

CANDIDATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Tilly Boulter Lib Dem
Elcena Jeffers Independent
Peter Murry Green
Janice North UKIP
Barbara Pitruzzella Labour
Calvin Robinson Conservative

Ask London Mayoral candidates to pledge support for voting reform

From Unlock Democracy

It is a fortnight since we launched the Stand Up for Democracy campaign. Thousands of emails have been sent asking the next Mayor of London to fix our city’s broken democracy. Will you join them?

Together we set out to find out where they stand on on voting reform, and on empowering the London Assembly. Both Labour’s Sadiq Khan and the Green Party’s Siȃn Berry have come out in support of the campaign.

Ask the #LondonMayor2016 candidates

We need your help. We want to get all the candidates to tell us what they will do to bring about voting reform both locally and nationally. We want to know that they are prepared to give the London Assembly the teeth it desperately needs to keep the Mayor accountable.

We’ve got two of the main parties to pledge stand up for democracy, now let’s get the rest of the 10 candidates for London Mayor to do the same. Help us put the pressure on the candidates. The more of us asking, the harder it is for them to ignore.

Please ask them to Stand Up for Democracy in London. Show them that Londoners Stand Up Democracy.

STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY

Is this the beginning of the end of Brent Council's Human Resources scandal?

Brent Council has announced the appointment of a new Director of Human Resources. This is the post currently held on an interim basis by Mildred Phillips, who took over when Cara Davani left the Council. Presumably Phillips will now revert to her previous deputy role.

David Veale is expected to take up the post in July. He is currently the Assistant Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development in Ealing, a post he has held for 4 years.

Mildred Phillips was notable by her absence at the recent Scrutiny Committee where Michael Pavey  protested that the report on progress on his HR Review, that she had written, had not been submitted to him for approval prior to publication.

Pavey remarked at Scrutiny that the report felt like 'a ceremonial closing of the Pavey Review' he went on to say, 'as the actions are ticked off, I have a lingering concern that we will lose the imperative which launched this [review] process in the first place.

It will be David Veale's job to ensure that imperative is not lost and that the battle for racial equality and an end to bullying and harassment becomes a top priority in practical terms for Brent Council.

Veales has had experience of a dysfunctional HR department at Ealing where this was said about the department LINK:

In 2006 an Audit Commission report painted a gloomy picture of the HR function at Ealing Council. The troubled department was failing to provide a good HR service to the organisation and bringing little added value.

The team was feeling demotivated, overworked and unproductive following an intense period of restructuring. With so much on their plates, team members had lost sight of the big picture. A series of rapid changes in leadership, with five HR directors in almost as many years, had also lowered morale. The structure of the senior HR team meant that the five key senior leaders, each responsible for a vital HR function, worked in isolation.

To improve the service, the senior HR team needed to be re-energised and prepared for further change. Recognising this, Hilary Jeanes, the interim HR director at the time, appointed Paul Fairhurst and some of his colleagues from the Institute for Employment Studies to conduct a bespoke strengths-focused coaching scheme for the HR leadership team. The aim was to support the senior leaders through this difficult time, rebuild their confidence and help develop them as managers and inspirational leaders.

A six month coaching programme was instigated with some sessions off-site, away from the frontline:

David Veale working Ealing HR consultancy at the time said in his evaluation of the programme:

The programme gave me a clear understanding of my strengths and the activities I enjoy doing at work, as well as those I find more challenging. It helped me step back from difficult situations and view them more objectively. I feel much more confident, and as a team we are less stressed, less reactive and more focused on outcomes.

 The case study concluded:

Lessons learned:

• Ignoring weaknesses turns them into problems. Focus on your strengths, and make sure you know the strengths of those around you.
• Overworked, exhausted staff need thinking space, but a re-energised team can have the determination to tackle bigger challenges ahead with enthusiasm.
• Change is a constant, but preparing people for it, rather than inflicting it upon them, is well worth the investment. 

It is to be hoped that these lessons and others learned in the interim will contribute to a change of culture at Brent HR.

Meanwhile the 'Guinness' model of Brent Council management (white on top and black below) has been changed to some extent by the appointment of BAME candidates. Althea Loderick succeeds Stephen Hughes as Strategic Director of Resources and Amar Dave takes over from Lorraine Langham as Director for Regeneration and Environment.

Government Inspector to examine Brent's planning policy proposals

This will  be of interest to residents concerned about recent planning decisions and the various regeneration projects in Brent.

A government official is to examine one of Brent Council's important planning policy documents and will be holding a round of public hearing sessions at Brent Civic Centre this May in order to listen to representations on it.

If approved after the Inspector's examination, the 'Development Management Policies' document will officially become part of the council's Local Plan, which sets out rules and guidelines for development in the borough.

The document itself sets out detailed policies which will be used to determine planning applications, including policies restricting the amount of town centre takeaway and betting shops as well policies to protect local pubs from development.

The public examination hearing sessions will be held on:

• Tuesday 3 May, Brent Civic Centre, The Drum, 3rd floor, Board Room 2
• Wednesday 4 May, Brent Civic Centre, The Drum 3rd floor, Board Room 2
• Thursday 5 May - Brent Civic Centre, 1st floor, Training Room 4

Read more about the examination and the Development Management Policies.