There's something rotten in the state of Labour when they expel well-known activist and former councillor Graham Durham

 

Graham Durham with Jeremy Corbyn

As a Green Party member you may think that what is going on in the Labour Party should not concern me - let them stew in their own juice... etc.

But when our main Opposition party is being rent asunder by what appears to be an old fashioned purge, when natural justice is ignored and guilt by association deployed, and retrospectively at that,  then everyone must acknowledge the threat to democracy.

It is doubly concerning that these actions characteristic of despotic regimes are being carried out in a party  led by  a former lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer.

Recently Wembley Matters has carried stories about the suspension of Kilburn Labour Party member  Pete Firmin for allowing discussion of a motion calling for the restoration of the whip to Jeremy Corbyn LINK, and the threatened expulsion of Harrow Councillor Pam Fitzpatrick for writing an article for a magazine that was only banned by Labour a year later  LINK

Graham Durham is a long-time Labour and trade union activist, who served decades ago as a Brent Labour councillor. He is well-known in Brent and I have often seen him in action. I do not always agree with him or his tactics but few can doubt his sincere commitment to the Labour Party and the cause of socialism.

However he has now been freed from a period of limbo - the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head for a long timehas fallen - he has been informed of his expulsion. Once again it is applied retrospectively.

This is his own account on Facebook:

The Labour bureaucrats have advised me that I am expelled from the Party for, ‘calling for a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer.’ After 51 years I am sad and angry at the witch-hunt of socialists but at least their politics is clear

 

I have received today notice from the Government and Legal Unit expelling me from the Labour Party (of which I have been a member for 51 years).

 

The Labour bureaucrats state that my defence that the Zoom meeting of Labour In Exile occurred on 27 March 2021 and so I could not know they would proscribe this organisation on 20 July 2021 is irrelevant.

 

Moreover, they have studied a tape of that meeting and claim I said, ‘We should organise a conference to plan a leadership challenge to Starmer.’

 

I did and, although I am angry and upset at this witch-hunt, at least it was for a correct political call I made.

 On a previous occasion when the Labour Party suspended Durham in the midst of NEC elections, effectively excluding him from the ballot,   Brent Central CLP's GC approved a motion which said LINK:

Removing candidates in this way smacks of totalitarian regimes who deal with "opponents" in this way rather than letting the electorate decide.

Many will find the sifting of evidence from recordings of zoom meetings ominous and on a practical level wouldn't Labour Party staff be better deployed helping organise opposition and campaigns against this dreadful government?

It remains to be seen what the reaction from the local party and prominent figures in Brent Labour will be to this turn of events.

A day with the Camino Climate Justice walkers at the beginning of their 483 mile, 48 day walk to Glasgow COP

 

A welcome break in a glade at the Welsh Harp

Bringing the group together with a song

Lunch on Barn Hill

Arrival in Kenton

I joined the 'Camino to COP' walkers on the second of their 48 day climate justice pilgrimage to the COP26 in Glasgow today.

It included people from several faiths and no faith,  all committeed to do something to save our planet.

The walk started at West Hampstead and continued along Kilburn High Road towards Staples Corner, a salutary reminder of traffic and air pollution. There was much relief when we turned off to cross Cool Oak Bridge to arrive at the Welsh Harp.

At the Brent end of the Harp we walked suburban streets before entering Fryent Country park and walked through meadows and woodland to reach the top of Barn Hill.

As we walked we talked quietly, hearing about each other's lives and concerns about the climate. For many the two open spaces completely changed their image of 'Brent' and they expressed amazement that such beautiful places existed so close to urban London.  'It's as if we are in the countryside already,' one person remarked.

It was just 8 and a half of the 483 miles that the pilgrims are going to walk and it left me with a great deal of respect for their commitment and stamina.

Brent is of course no strangers to pilgrims having had Kilburn Priory as a stopping place and pilgrimages to St Mary's Church in Willesden until the Reformation. Today's pilgrims received a warm welcome and aroused much interest from St Gregory's College students who were just dispersing for home as we walked by.

Look out for climate emergency activities across Brent over the next few weeks ahead of COP26

 

 A Greek woman loses her home to wildfire on the Island of Evia (Photo:Bloomberg)

 

From Brent Friends of the Earth

 

Over the next few weeks Brent Friends of the Earth will stage a series of creative events to send the message to local residents and politicians that there is no time to waste if the threat of catastrophic climate change is to be tackled successfully. 

 

We know that climate change is already causing “freak” highly destructive weather events worldwide. That includes the flooding here in Brent.  In the longer term it threatens the very existence of humanity.

 

We have a climate emergency

 

November sees the UK hosting COP26, the UN climate change meeting. It needs to be the most important “COP” ever. 

 

Simon Erskine, from Brent Friends of the Earth, said: 

“What is really worrying is that the extreme weather events we have seen so far are just the start – and with continuing carbon dioxide emissions they are going to get worse. We are also experiencing the mass extinctions of wildlife, rising sea levels and the oceans becoming dangerously acidic.

It is easy to get disheartened but it is not yet too late to change. If we stop burning fossil fuels and change our agricultural practices we can stop the deterioration in our climate before it is too late. 

Unfortunately politicians tend to opt for business as usual, avoiding any change that might rock the boat. The only way that they will take the far-reaching actions necessary is to be convinced that that is the will of the voters.”

 

The group’s plans include running a stall in the Harlesden Plaza car park near Tesco on September 10^th from 5 to 7 pm.  They will be making bunting full of messages about the climate emergency and hope people will join in. This will be displayed locally.  

 

The group is inviting local MP Dawn Butler and Mayor Councillor Lia Colacicco to contribute triangles.

 

Other activities being planned by Brent FoE:

 

·      Campaigning for the Council to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill,

·      A Flood and Nature Walk demonstrating how vulnerable Brent is,

·      Screening of “2040” a film setting out the potential solutions to the climate emergency

·      A climate change poster competition for school children

·      Asking climate-related questions at the September 20^th Council meeting. 

Brent Cabinet response to Scrutiny call for an independent review into Council's Euro2020 role falls short

The Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee recommended an independent public review into Brent Council's role in the Euro2020 Final which saw scenes of public disorder. LINK

The Cabinet's response has now been published ahead of the September 13th Cabinet, two months after the recommendation was made. It appears to fall short of in terms of being both independent and public, and an internal  'assessment' rather  than a public review. It does does not appear to address the following request made by Cllr Mashari, Chair of Scrutiny:

Euro 2020 Finals at Wembley Stadium

Scrutiny Recommendation: To hold a public review into the Council’s actions taken before, during and after the Euro 2020 Final to establish the lessons learnt.

Executive Response:

The Wembley Safety Advisory Group (SAG) that is Chaired by the Council met on the 20th July to discuss the circumstances surrounding the Euro 2020 Final. All of the stakeholders attended, representing the following organisations:

· Brent Council
· Wembley National Stadium Ltd
· Wembley Park
· Sports Ground Safety Authority
· Metropolitan Police
· British Transport Police
· London Ambulance Service
· London Fire Brigade
· Transport for London
· Chiltern Railways
· SSE Arena

 

The discussion focused on how partners should respond. The key issue to come out of the discussion is that all partners agreed to participate in the independent review being led by Baroness Casey of Blackstock. It is expected that it will take 4 months for this to be completed. This will be one single overarching independent review commissioned by the FA that will bring in the actions of all partners. Officers met with Baroness Casey on 6th August and she has asked that Brent Council and the SAG fully commit to supporting the independent review and to helping oversee the implementation of any actions and priorities for change.

It is a really positive step that all partners intend to participate in this single review. The Council will participate fully and openly with the review and will respond to any recommendations that affect the Council’s role in the process moving forward. Baroness Casey specifically asked that the Council undertake its own assessment/review of all its activities around the Final so this can inform her process.

Cabinet Decision:

That Brent Council will:

 

i). Undertake an assessment of Council activities relating to its responsibilities around safety, licensing and enforcement at Wembley Stadium as part of the Euro 2020 Finals in order to support the overarching Review led by Baroness Casey;

ii). Fully support the Baroness Casey Review throughout;

iii). Consider fully any recommendations relevant to the Council’s duties that arise from the Review and;

iv). Oversee and implement any actions and priorities for change.

Implementation by: By July 2022

Cabinet Members: Cllrs Sheth and Knight
Lead Department: Regeneration and Environment
Lead Officer: Alan Lunt –Strategic Director for Regeneration and Environment

Keep Our NHS Public PROTECT THE NHS RALLY - SCRAP THE HEALTH AND CARE BILL Wednesday 8 September 7-9pm on Zoom

 

Keep Our NHS Public

PROTECT THE NHS RALLY - SCRAP THE HEALTH AND CARE BILL
Wednesday 8 September 7-9pm on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2nsSfhjFQrONVs-DIy9Czg

Exercise your legs on Monday and join the Kilburn to Harrow section of the Camino pilgrimage to Cop26 in Glasgow

 

Route map for CtoCOP - Day 2 - Kilburn To Harrow by Helen Locke on plotaroute.com

 From Camino to COP26 (NB this is a different walk to the one advertised in previous post)

We are delighted to welcome Day-Walkers. Whilst there may be the odd exception, our plan is to assemble at 9am each morning for any notices, updates and words – perhaps a song or a poem – before setting off at 9:30am.  We would love it if Day-Walkers could join us for that morning gathering so do try to be with us at or a little before 9am. Monday’s section will start at St Mary with All Souls Church, 134a Abbey Road, NW6 4SN and finish in Harrow.

 

 

This is a walk for everyone, although initiated by XRUK Faith Bridge. We will be walking from London and Bristol to Glasgow. Leaving London on Sunday 5th September, leaving Bristol on the 9th September and arriving in Glasgow on 30th October. 

 

The purpose of the walk is to build alliances and engage communities along the route –  faith communities and other local communities – and to spread the word about the urgency of the need for meaningful action to address the global climate and ecological emergency. This is an opportunity for connection and outreach and is expressly not a physically disruptive or civilly disobedient action. Those involved are asked to sign up to this principle. 

 

We are united by our faith; a faith that we can advocate and influence and be the change that we want for our world. We choose to walk to COP26 as a practice of that faith, an act of connection with the earth on which we walk and the people with whom we walk and the communities through which we pass; and we make our way in kinship with the peoples and creatures of the earth who are suffering and displaced by climate and ecological breakdown. We do so peacefully and lawfully, ready to engage and learn, because we care and we have hope.

'Listen to the Land' Nature Pilgrimage to Glasgow for COP26 starts tomorrow (Saturday) in London

 

From Listening to the Land Group

This Saturday (September 4, 2021), a group of ordinary people will start an extraordinary odyssey, walking 500 miles from Tower Hill Memorial Gardens in London to Glasgow along a pilgrimage route running almost the entire length of the UK in order to urge world leaders to protect nature—and they are calling on everyone concerned about the health and future of nature to join them as they traverse the UK. 

 

The group, called Listening to the Land, @listeningtothe.land, sets out to build the numbers, diversity and advocacy power of those speaking up for nature and to ensure those voices are heard at the UN Climate Conference COP26. The pilgrims will walk 10 miles each day for eight weeks, come rain or shine, connecting deeply with and listening to the land and communities they travel through.

 

 

Photo: Jackie Morris

 

The pilgrimage group’s first act of listening will be at an opening event from 10—10.30am on Saturday 4 September at Tower Hill Memorial Gardens when they will hear the written responses of urban, underserved and ethnic minority communities in Tower Hamlets to the threats of climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice and our uncertain future, gathered in the first of a series of ‘deep listening’ workshops that creative campaign Letters to the Earth will hold with communities along the route.  

 

The event will also feature the first ever reading/unveiling of a bespoke piece of writing from renowned illustrator and contributing author to Letters to the Earth, Writing to a Planet in Crisis Jackie Morris. In it, Morris writes: ‘It is the hardest thing these days to hold onto hope. But it must be done. We need to fight for [nature] with every talent you have, in whatever way you know best. There is no time to give credence to those who say ‘it’s too late’, ‘we are doomed’, ‘what difference can I make’. To do so is to continue to fail.’

 

At 10.30am the pilgrimage group will set off to walk the 3-mile Coronation Route, made by monarchs down the ages, from Tower Hill to The London Stone (Cannon Street), St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. On Sunday, they set out along an ancient pilgrimage route that weaves through many of Britain’s key historic centres of cultural, industrial, spiritual and political power, including Stratford, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Winchester and Carlisle before arriving in Glasgow for the start of the UN climate conference in November.

 

With their walk, in their conversations with communities, and the artworks those will shape, the group is setting out to inspire multitudes to slow down, connect with nature and articulate their love for the living world, and to feel empowered to speak up for nature  by making their voices heard.

 

The group will present the voices of the people and the land to delegates in Glasgow in three ways: through a co-created ‘Letter to the Earth’ - an artwork into which people will be invited to weave their dreams, fears and hopes for nature; through a performance based on all the magical and urgent things the pilgrims have heard from the land and its people, which they will present in Glasgow in an amphitheater made of pianos the Pianodrome; and the partners arts collective Still Moving will make the most powerful soundbites visible in light installations across Glasgow.

 

Members of the public are urged to get involved:

 

• Joining the walkers on any portion of the route, at their workshops, and follow and amplify their progress @listeningtothe.land
• Walk wherever you are and share your own sacred walk, or stroll in your backyard with us #WalkingTheLand2021
• Send us your hopes, wishes and fears for nature and help shape what we hope will become a Charter for the Land, at @Voicesofthe.land www.pilgrimagefornature.com and www.letterstotheearth.com
• Support us financially: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/listening-to-the-land-cop26-pilgrimage-for-nature

 

‘Our very lives rely on nature to give us food and shelter, now nature needs us to give back,’ says Listening to the Land co-founder Anna Lehmann, a global climate policy director with 20 years experience working with communities at the frontline of climate change. ‘The UK is uniquely positioned to lead on this: as this year’s COP host, and as a huge historic emitter with a substantial international land footprint, but most significantly, the UK has the chance to become an ‘indicator economy’ that might, in the adoption of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, show how to give nature a seat at the table and inspire other nations to follow.’

 

‘As the scientific community has just stated in the latest IPCC report: we know exactly what causes climate change and why we are losing nature, and we absolutely know that we still can prevent the worst, if we act now. Together we can build a better future for all. This knowledge, and the supporting echo of millions of voices from around the world, gives us the energy for this epic journey.’

 

‘This is a truly once-in-a-lifetime moment, when we stand at the precipice as a species and as a planet,’ says Jolie C. Booth, co-founder of Listening to the Land and director of incubating arts company, Kriya Arts. ‘But it’s so easy, as ordinary members of the public, to feel powerless, given how big and impossible the environmental emergency feels—particularly when all the decisions are being taken on our behalf and behind closed doors. With this project, we want to flip that: and to give as many people on the planet as we can a chance to feel energised, inspired and empowered and to have their voices on climate, biodiversity and nature heard.

 

‘While walking for eight weeks will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for those that take part, we launched @Walkingthe.land and #walkingtheland2021 for the millions of people who, because of circumstances or geography, would find it impossible to do something on this scale. Your voice is no less necessary and we hope that by the time we arrive in Glasgow tens of thousands of people will have uploaded a photograph of their own sacred walk and their own thoughts on nature. We want to include as many voices as possible in this beautiful, creative act of reverence for earth, and as we call on world leaders to walk the walk on climate.’

 

Listening to the Land is an independent civil society movement co-founded by Global Climate Policy Expert Anna Lehmann and theatre producer Jolie C Booth. It is funded by the Arts Council England, and Wildlife Works and is a co-production between Kriya Arts and No Planet B Initiative.

 

Stop Fire and Rehire Public Meeting (Online) September 7th - build to back Barry Gardiner's Private Members Bill

 

Registration link: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudO-hqzIuGdcaAcEzBKF1zqbqg1PXm2iG

Meeting ID: 833 3695 9433