Campaigning 
in Kentish Town. There is a ward by-election due to the resignation of a Labour councillor. This is a hard fought one and a half. Since the May local elections, Camden has been run by the Liberal Democrats (with the Tories in coalition as the minor joiners) as no party had overall control on their own.
The LibDems came from miles behind to dethrone Labour who had reigned in Camden for decades. It was time for change.
But with a Labour seat now up for grabs – all the parties are fighting hard. The Liberal Democrats were out in force at the street stall I joined yesterday. Tories, Labour and a couple of Greens each had stalls near the tube station – ours was a bit further down the road. What gave me the giggles was the Tories. For reasons I will never understand – they send one or two of their entourage to plonk themselves in front of our stand. There was quite an aggressive Tory girl who plonked herself literally in front and touching the front of our stall for a very long time. I suppose the psychology is to either a) not let us hold sway over that particular couple of metres or b) to make photographs difficult as you wouldn’t want a Tory in a LibDem photo or c) to hear what we are saying. I don’t know for sure.
However, if that is the mentality and stupidity of politics (and it is not just Tories although they are the worst at this sort of tactic) – no wonder real people disengage. As for passers by – many were really interested in the issues around any potential closure of the local police station. The Met is reorganising its estate and some police stations will go in that change.
The by-election is on this coming Thursday.
Lynne Featherstone 
Lynne, the description of a Conservative campaigner as a “Tory Girl” and your regular descriptions of David Cameron as “Boy Dave” as what really turn people off from the political process, not street stall games which all parties, sadly, indulge in. The Kentish Town by-election should be interesting. For the first time in yonks, all parties are campaigning hard to win in a ward that Labour has taken for granted. My hunch is that you won’t win it – nor will Labour…
I assume you are the Justin Hinchcliffe who used to tell poor people to fish in the Thames for food? I think you’ll find those sorts of comments put off far more people than using such shock horror words as “boy” and “girl”!
As James says – “boy” and “girl” are not exactly insulting terms. If you want insults, try looking at the sort of personal attacks your colleague Peter Forrest heaps on people. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!
I don’t see why I have to defend comments – however silly – made when I was 14 (some 12 years ago!). Personal attacks of any description are out of order and I condemn those made by my colleagues on our political rivals. Could I be any fairer?
I guess you must have nothing to do with the Conservatives in Haringey then, as pretty much all I ever seem to read from them in the local papers or leaflets at election time are personal attacks on other people.
Lynne,I’m a Kentish Town resident and I’ve been really shocked that the Lib Dems are trotting out this Police Station closure business. They did it before the elections in May, then never mentioned it again until this by-election. It’s scaremongering of the worst sort. The police have repeatedly said that no KT police station closure is planned, only that they are going to review all of the police estate, starting with the oldest (which includes Kentish Town). Isn’t it more than a little irresponsible to turn a review of the London estate into secret closure plans? I did vote Lib Dem in May but not this time. I won’t vote for politicians who deliberately mislead the electorate.
Back last August after Borough Commander Mark Heath confirmed that there were plans to close Hampstead Police Station I submitted an FOI request.When this came back in October 2005 it confirmed that Hampstead and Kentish Town were up for closure as well as Kings Cross Police Office. Nothing has ever been stated by the police since then to contradict this – indeed it was confirmed by Len Duvall (Chair of the MPA) and Sir Ian Blair (Police Commissioner) as the direction of the strategy when i presented the Hampstead residents petition to the MPA.The campaign in Hampstead and now in Kentish Town confirmed that the issue is not the police station per se, but the location of police numbers and police officers. There has been no debate in Camden for or against central command centres. Residents have not been spoken to about such a radical change in the structure and nature of local policing.Len Duvall confirms in the CNJ this week: “”it is inevitable that some older style police stations will close.” Under the Estates Strategy Kentish Town and Hampstead remain within the planned closures. Until the debate is more transparent and attempts to enagage with the community happen – we will oppose such faceless plans.Ed FordhamCamden Liberal Democrats
Well I’m sorry Ed, but your selective quote from Len Duval’s letter fails to win me back. He said that the police station story “blatant scaremongering, as well as being disingenuous”. He also said “The MPA are committed to not closing any police station in any borough in London without full local consultation and until at least one fully satisfactory front office counter, providing a point of contact for local people, has been opened.Speculation over the future of individual police stations is unhelpful and misleading.”In my view it’s the Lib Dems who are trying to stop a transparent debate by spreading fear where it’s not due.
James, conscious that this is Lynne’s blog but happy to debate this.I have sent out over 60 copies of the MPA report that was withdrawn to local police activists who wanted them. They all seem pretty unhappy with the content and I have put a letter to the CNJ in response to Len’s letter (hopefully for this week).This isn’t some scaremongering – it’s genuine and sustained interest and campaigning for better policing. I’m on my safer neighbourhood panel, am helping with a youth panel, am active at the Camden wide Consultative Group for policing.The Borough Commander concedes we have a problem – the police estate department are working on plans that will elad to police closure – it wasn’t my timing that published it and then withdrew it during the by-election.Kentish Town and Hampstead are being considered for closure – the police don’t deny that, they just say they won’t close them before opening something else. I want the current stations invested in and i’m sceptical about central commends centres as operational basis for local policing.Ed
Justin lad, I remember you from Conservative Conference years ago. Didn’t Ted Heath tell you it was time to go to bed once at a reception when you started berating him over the European Union?!