Friday 1 November 2013

Willesden Green opts for Khan and Ahmed for Labour's Brent Central PPC

As predicted earlier today the nomination results for Brent Central became more mixed tonight when Willesden Green ward nominated Sabina Khan as Labour's female nominee and Imran Ahmed as the male candidate.

Sabina Khan has worked hard during the campaign turning up at many events and demonstrations. She was a strong support of the Bin Veolia in Brent Campaign.


Fracking is neither cheap nor safe


Given the current interest in the issue after the Brent Council statement on fracking I reproduce below a posting from the Brent Green Party blog:


Fracking: neither cheap nor safe
Frontline article by Ken Montague (reproduced with permission from http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=12389)

The growing resistance to fracking - the "hydraulic fracturing" of deep level shale rocks to extract natural gas - promises to reignite the climate movement after years of demoralisation following the failure of the UN climate talks in 2009.

A feature of the recent march and blockades at Cuadrilla Resources' drilling site near Balcombe in West Sussex was the diversity of the people involved, as well as the numbers. Local residents were central to the protests, as they have been at Fylde, near Blackpool, where two Cuadrilla fracking operations led to minor earthquakes.

Today there are 45 anti-fracking groups around the country preparing to take action when further licences are issued. Given that 64 percent of England sits above shale gas and oil deposits, and their commercial exploitation could mean thousands of fracking sites, the protests are likely to increase and erupt into a full-scale war of attrition against the Cameron government and its dash for gas.

What has made fracking such an explosive issue is the evidence after 20 years of drilling in the US that the process is inherently unsafe. This is due to the uncontrolled leakage of methane into the air and groundwater, and the possible risks to health of the chemical additives in the fracking fluid used to prize the rocks open. Methane is a neurotoxin, which can cause early-onset dementia. The mix of additives, which in America has found its way into drinking water, includes chemicals that are known to be toxic or carcinogenic.

The British government says that fracking will only be permitted under strict regulation. But this ignores the fact that we do not have the technology to ensure that the cement barriers encasing the drilling shafts can withstand the pressures involved or that gas can be prevented from escaping from the pipelines and processing units.

Studies in the US showed that in 45 percent of cases the barriers failed at some point in the process and 5 percent of rigs leaked from the start.

The other, broader, issue is the government's intention to make gas a "core part" of Britain's energy mix "well into and beyond" 2030. This flies in the face of the warnings by many authorities that, with the unabated burning of fossil fuels, the world is on course for an unthinkable temperature increase of 4 to 6 degrees above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.

A recent report by Lord Stern and the Carbon Tracker think-tank made it clear that, if we are to have any chance of avoiding catastrophic climate change, we have to switch to renewables now, and leave 80 percent of coal, gas and oil reserves "in the ground".

Last year the government's decision to cut investment in renewables and make Britain "even more attractive" for the oil and gas companies provoked an angry letter from its independent Committee on Climate Change stating categorically that gas-fired power generation "could not form the basis for government policy" if it was to meet its carbon reduction targets.

Of course there are apologists for fracking who argue that gas can be a "transitional" fuel because it emits only 50 percent of the CO2 emitted by coal. In a recent speech on climate change, US president Barack Obama even referred to it as "clean" energy. This overlooks the effect of the leakage of methane, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

For natural gas to be cleaner than coal, methane emissions would need to be kept below 2 percent of annual production, but recent studies by the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration at gas fields in California, Colorado and Utah found that leakages ranged between 2.3 percent and 17 percent of production.

As well as giving tax breaks to the fracking companies and cash sweeteners to local communities, the government tries to sell us fracking by saying it will offer unlimited cheap energy and create thousands of jobs.

The Committee on Climate Change, however, has shown that extracting gas is actually more costly than installing renewables and even Cuadrilla admits that the impact on fuel bills would be negligible.
Leaving aside Green MP Caroline Lucas's comment that "there are no jobs on a dead planet", there is clear evidence that renewables generate more jobs than fossil fuel industries. A study by the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute suggests that a million dollars invested in gas would create five jobs while the same amount invested in wind and solar power would create around 13 jobs. This is the kind of argument behind the growing campaign in Britain for a million climate jobs.
Fracking for gas is not safe, not clean, not cheap, and nor the best way to create jobs or to tackle climate change. Nonetheless, Lord John Browne, the government's chief adviser on the subject, says it's the way forward. He should know; he is chairman and 30 percent owner of Cuadrilla.

Ken Montague is the secretary of the Campaign against Climate Change Trade Union Group and Secretary of Brent Campaign Against Climate Change

Brent Green Party welcomes Brent Council's fracking move

Shahrar Ali, spokesperson for Brent Green Party, reacting to Brent Council's statement on fracking said:
Brent Green Party welcomes the  interest shown by Brent Council in the fracking issue and the statement by Council Leader Muhammed Butt that they will  investigate their powers to refuse applications for shale gas exploration in Brent.

Fracking continues the use of Fossil fuels and is therefore likely to worsen the harmful consequences of climate change. 
The current extraction techniques also present a demonstrable risk to public health through contamination of water courses and we must develop renewable energy alternatives, too. A politically responsible solution to the climate change impact requires nothing less.
Jenny Jones, Green Party  Assembly Member said:
Fracking is dirty and polluting, as well as unnecessary. The fracking companies admit that it won’t bring energy costs down but will disrupt communities through noise, dirt, extra road traffic and the threat of pollution. Well done to Brent Council for standing up for their residents.

Right-wing label Brent 'loony left' over fracking move

Brent Council's decision to investigate the possible banning of fracking in the borough has predictably got the right-wing press and bloggers foaming at the mouth, with the label 'loony left' being thrown around.

One comment on the Daily Telegraph website gives a flavour: LINK
 I would have thought it was worth flattening the London Borough of Brent if it meant the rest of the country had access to gas. Is there anything in Brent apart from lefties and illegal immigrants?
Other, more rational commentators, point to a flaw in Muhammed Butt's statement when he said:
While there may be advantages to fracking in some parts of the country it would be dangerous and reckless for companies to start drilling in Brent.
The dangers and recklessness apply to all areas and not just Brent and as Friends of the Earth said:
Shale gas is another climate changing fossil fuel that needs to be left in the ground – the real solutions to our energy needs are renewables and slashing energy waste.
It is to be hoped that Brent Council's courageous stand will lead to the Labour Party adopting an anti-fracking position nationally.


FoE hails Brent's 'fantastic news' on fracking



 Commenting on today's news that Brent Council is seeking to ban fracking in the London borough, Friends of the Earth’s Energy Campaigner Helen Rimmer said:
It’s fantastic news that Brent council is seeking to ban fracking in response to concerns of local residents.

Shale gas is another climate changing fossil fuel that needs to be left in the ground – the real solutions to our energy needs are renewables and slashing energy waste.

We expect other councils will follow Brent’s lead – huge swathes of the UK could be opened up for fracking when a new licencing round commences next year.
Earlier this year Brighton and Hove City council made a “declaration of intent" to keep the area free of fracking. 

Brent NHS Clinical Commissioning for 2014-15 (Draft)

NHS Brent Clinical Commissioning Group has published its Draft Intentions for 2014/15 which can be found in the document below:


Shining a light on Brent Central nomination struggle

Let your little light shine.... (Source Waltham Forest Guardian)
Dawn Butler and Zaffar van Kalwala were selected as female and male Brent Central Labour parliamentary candidates last night giving them the first two wards to nominate.

Labour insiders suggest that not too much should be read into this as Tokyngton and Stonebridge, along with Harlesden, are the pair's strongest wards and the six other wards may come up with a more mixed result.

Willesden Green will nominate tonight where Bernard Collier is also standing as a councillor. Harlesden and Kensal Green are on Monday; Dollis Hill Tuesday, Mapesbury Wednesday and Dudden Hill and Welsh Harp on Thursday.

Meanwhile Patrick Vernon went on a mini-offensive today posting backing from  the Unison London Region and Lord Herman Ousley. He also issued a statement on the Central Middlesex A&E closure.

Vernon claims that the failure to scrutinise and challenge the NHS over recent years meant that Central Middlesex A&E was easier to close than Ealing or Lewisham. LINK

A name I was not familiar with has also emerged. Dr Tony Breslin has his own public policy company LINK and has this to say about his suitability for the position of MP:
· A Labour Party member for 32 years, originally in Manor Ward, in what is now Brent Central
· A Harlesden resident throughout my childhood and youth, and during the early years of my
career, with a range of enduring local friendships and connections, and the kind of rich local
knowledge that derives from being “Made in Harlesden”
· A seasoned political campaigner on issues as diverse as eldercare, mental health, educational
reform and youth participation
· A confident media performer, with radio, TV and print experience, who is ready to handle the
spotlight that will fall on Brent Central as the election approaches
· A teacher by profession and an experienced charity leader who has influenced and helped to
develop policy nationally in fields as diverse as education, participation and community
cohesion
· Confident about re-winning this seat for Labour and willing and able to put in the hard work that will be required to do so
· Ready to play an effective role in Parliament as a champion for all of the people of Brent
Central
Some local Labour Party members, after the expenses scandal, are get to have a 'clean candidate' with no skeletons in the cupboard. They have not been impressed by revelations that Liaquat Ali  MBE ran into trouble, when a councillor in Waltham Forest,  with his 'house of lights' (photo above) for which he had not received planning permission. He was the cabinet member for communities at the time. He was ordered to reduce the size of the structure by council officers. LINK  Earlier, in 2008, the Daily Mail headlined his fine, from Waltham Forest Council, for the unauthorised  absence from school of his daughter who he took on Hajj.LINK

The Council said:
Waltham Forest Council does not condone removing young people unnecessarily from education during term time. This disrupts their learning and may lead to young people missing vital lessons.The Council will seek to punish those responsible regardless of status or position within the local community.
Liaquat Ali was a magistrate until 2007 when he stepped down to become Mayor.

Brent to investigate if it has powers to ban fracking

Following the campaign by Friends of the Earth and the recent demonstration by Brent FoE at Willesden Green station. along with my own modest suggestion that local authorities declare 'Fracking Free Zones' LINK along the lines of the 'Nuclear Free Zones' of the 70s and 80s, Brent Council today announced that they are the first London Council investigating whether it has powers to ban fracking in the borough.

Some may argue that this would be gesture politics as fracking is unlikely in the borough but I think as with the Nuclear Free Zones it would make a clear statement of principle that may well come in useful in the future as technology advances. As such it will be welcomed by Brent Green Party.

This is the Council Statement

Brent Council is to become the first local authority in London to investigate whether powers under the Localism or Planning Acts allow it to ban fracking in the borough.

Residents of the borough and Friends of the Earth have been campaigning for councillors from all parties to pledge to prevent any fracking from taking place within the borders of Brent. The council has now promised to look at utilising any legal avenues it has at its disposal to stop shale gas extraction. It is believed to be the first step of this kind by a council in the UK.

Campaigners and residents are concerned that fracking can lead to mild earthquakes, large quantities of methane gas being released and a poisoning of the water supply, while many organisations also worry that the industry, because of how new it is, is still not regulated or supervised closely enough.


Scores of councils, states and local authorities around the world have banned fracking in their areas but Brent would be the first council in the UK to do it.

Brent Council is also argues that the Big Energy Switch, where residents can sign up to bulk buying their electricity through their local authority which would save people money on their energy bills in the short term.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Muhammed Butt, said:-
While there may be advantages to fracking in some parts of the country it would be dangerous and reckless for companies to start drilling in Brent. I will do everything legally within my power to address the concerns of residents and keep Brent a frack-free zone.

Councils have significant and widespread powers which allow us to stand up for the rights of residents. I am determined to use these powers to help reassure people that fracking in Brent will always be a non-starter.

While fracking may not be planned for Brent yet, the rapid pace and scale of fracking technology means that we need to act now if we are to ensure we have the necessary examination of the powers we have to potentially prevent it from happening in the future.