We must release passion and creativity to produce an alternative vision for society after the Tory victory

As I left the Civic Centre in the early hours this morning, sickened by the thought of five years of Tory government that will dismember the welfare state, continue the ideological war on the poor, disabled and migrant, and overcome by the sheer ugliness of the Tory's vision for the country, I was arrested by the pure beauty of the song of a blackbird as it opened the dawn chorus in the shadow of Wembley Stadium.

Yes, life goes on and so must the struggle.

There is a beauty in struggle, solidarity and resistance that can send the heart soaring just as much as that blackbird's song.  I felt it when demonstrating with residents from the West Hendon estate, when we prevented fascist groups from marching in Cricklewood, when working with others to try and save the Stonebridge Adventure Playground and at national level when working with Green Party colleagues on a different vision for education.

Faced with the Conservative threat we must find new ways of working together across party lines and involving those who, as evidenced from many of the spoilt ballot papers I saw last night, reject all political parties as 'only in it for themselves'.

We have to show that we are 'in it for each other' and that means putting the movement before party.

The task for the anti-austerity movement is to to develop an alternative model of society and economy that will capture people's imagination and free their passion and creativity to build a different sort of society.

Life goes on. and so does the struggle.

Detailed General Election results for Brent

Jubilee, Metropolitan and Overground closures this weekend

The Metropolitan and Jubilee lines in Brent will be closed in this weekend due to points work at Neasden.  Additionally no Overground service on Sunday north of Queens Park and  west of Willesden Junction..

Six reasons to vote Green tomorrow - for a real alternative to the neoliberal parties

As decision day approaches here are six short videos that support the case for voting Green tomorrow.

The surprising wildlife of Wembley

One of the benefits of getting around the borough leafleting at election time is the accidental discoveries that take place in an area that is full of surprises.

In a corner of Wembley I bumped into Jay Patel who told me about the muntjac deer he sees from his garden close to the River Brent.

Jay says:

It highlights that it is important to look after the river and also not allow developers to build on the small conservation area. The deer come quite often individually however, I managed to see two together once. I see them most days, they graze there in the open space, eating the leaves on the trees and also the dandelions. 

The deer probably come along the 'green corridors' which provide a route from the home counties into London via rivers and railway lines.

The population is believed by some to have spread from Woburn Park in Bedfordshire LINK

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Photo: Jay Patel

Greens set to beat Lib Dems in London

• Latest polls put Green Party on 11% in London, 4 points ahead of Liberal Democrats
• Support for Green Party is surging just before election day
• Big swing from Labour and Liberal Democrats over to the Greens

With just four days to go until the general election, polls suggest the Green Party could be about to make history in London by beating the Liberal Democrats into third place.

Polling by IpsosMORI gives the Green Party 11% amongst those certain to vote in the capital with the Liberal Democrats trailing on 7%.

The poll demonstrates a huge rise in support for the Greens in London since 2010 and cements their position as the third biggest party in the capital following their strong performance in the 2012 Mayoral and London Assembly elections.

The surge is being driven by the movement of former Labour and Liberal Democrat voters over to the party. Of those respondents who said they would be voting Green in Thursday’s election, one in six had voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2010 and one in ten had voted for Labour.

Tom Chance, Co-Chair of the London Green Party and candidate for Lewisham West and Penge, said:

Of course this is exactly the news we want to be hearing just before the election but it reflects the feeling we’ve been getting on the ground throughout this campaign when our members have been out and about meeting voters. People are feeling let-down by politics in Britain and they’re hungry for an alternative to the austerity message being served-up on a daily basis by the “established” parties.

What is so exciting is that here in London we already have a great basis from which to deliver that change for voters. We finished third in the last Mayoral election. We have two assembly members, an MEP, and four councillors. This is giving us the base we need to build our influence and our presence.

Voters can go out to the polls on May 7^th knowing that by voting Green, they’re contributing to a rapidly growing movement in London. We really are on the verge of making history.

Support for the Green Party in London has surged in the past year. Membership of the party has more than trebled and now stands at over 11,000. The party recently announced that they will be standing candidates in every seat in the capital and that they have achieved a 50-50 gender split amongst their candidates.

Cricklewood Library meeting tonight (Tuesday)

Message from Friends of Cricklewood Library:

A new library is going to be open in Spring next year in Olive Road! It has taken around five years, but it's going to happen. There is a meeting at 7.30 tomorrow in Cricklewood Library for all interested residents and supporters of the library. The new library will be completely self-funding and run by the community.

A new developer has taken over the project and building of four storey mixed development will start soon. The developer will present the plans and explain the building process.

Friends of Cricklewood Library have been named tenants of the 2000ft2 library/community space which will occupy the majority of the ground floor, and they will talk about how the space will be used and all suggestions regarding use of the space are welcome.

In order to set up the library FOCL need to raise a substantial amount of money, and this will be the start of an ongoing fundraising appeal needed to make sure the library is a success.

Hampstead & Kilburn UKIP candidate attacks Islam and admires former EDL leader

Magnus Nielsen, the UKIP candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn, is up to his neck in controversy again this weekend.

The Camden New Journal LINK yesterday published extracts from an 'address to voters'in which Nielsen says:

Although, I am not 'a Prophet', I can see from the trends of the past 25 years show that Britain is slowly but inexorably falling under the domination of Islam - or, I should say, to the self-appointed 'community leaders' who represent Islam - with the silent and invisible certainty of carbon monoxide poisoning.

In a further comment on the EDL he says his repsonse...

....has been equivocal, largely on account of the poor tactics, lack of self-discipline and their failure of its organisers to exclude a publicity-seeking hooligan element from their ranks. However, I applaud the aims and intentions of its former leader, the young man calling himself 'Tommy Robinson', his personal courage in the face of repeated threats to his safety and the safety of his family, and his perseverance against the ill-informed, biased and distorted criticism that he continuously receives from the media. Whether I succeed or fail in my bid to win this seat, I also shall be ready to join with those who are organising ( by peaceful and law-abiding methods) to raise awareness of the menace that Islam poses to the future of our society.

As the CNJ points out Nielsen has been silent on these views at the many H&K hustings.  This means that they have not been open to public scrutiny and debate.

Yet another example of the UKIP mask slipping.