Monthly Archives: Dec 2007

Hornsey & Wood Green hosts Lib Dem leadership finals

Posted on by

The race for Lib Dem leader will today reach its climax in Hornsey & Wood Green where the count is taking place. The Electoral Reform Services, which is based in Clarendon Road, N8 is the independent counting service for the election.

With 64,727 ballot papers sent out and a close contest, it is likely to be a nail-biting finish for all.

Local MP, Lynne Featherstone, who is attending the count as an official observer comments:

“With two such strong candidates, it really is a win-win situation.There has certainly been a lot of interest in the contest locally and my inbox has been inundated with members and supporters sharing their thoughts and aspirations for the future leader.

“I am absolutely certain the new leader will be a real national champion for liberal values and will continue the electoral success that has seen that greatest number of Lib Dem MP in a generation.”

Personalities or policies: what should politics be about?

Posted on by

It’s not really the done thing is it, saying “oh, politics should be about personalities”? Well – I’m certainly a fan of substance and policies in my politics (and that’s one reason why I’m not a fan of a certain Mr D Cameron!) but I think someone should speak up occasionally for the role of personality … which is what I do in my latest piece in Liberal Democrat News. You can read the full piece here.

Call for Christmas Stop and Shop amnesty

Posted on by

Liberal Democrats in Haringey have called for a temporary reprieve for residents using the Muswell Hill and Crouch End ‘Stop and Shop’ parking scheme, in order to give time for Haringey Council to amend confusing signage and to restore public confidence in the system.

In October 2007, the Department for Transport branded signs used to indicate restricted parking times as ‘unsatisfactory’ as they indicated that waiting is simultaneously both prohibited and permitted.

Lib Dems have criticised the inaction by Labour-run Haringey Council, who proposed to add stickers to pay-and-display machines to end confusion – a promise they have failed to carry out, leaving many visitors to the shopping centres of Muswell Hill and Crouch End being unwittingly ticketed or towed away.

Cllr Martin Newton, Lib Dem spokesperson for Transport and Highways comments:

“The Labour Council needs to stop this confusion now. They are well aware of the questions around the enforceability of their signage but have failed to act. Not only do they need to make it clear on the pay-and-display machines, they need to get the signage right in the first place and one has to question why Labour are so reluctant to put this right.

“In the run up to Christmas Haringey Council should, at the very least, offer an amnesty on enforcing outside the hours for pay-and-display to help both visitors and traders enjoy this festive season.”

Labour's bad Christmas tidings for Haringey taxpayer

Posted on by

Local Lib Dems have uncovered an alarming ‘black hole’ in Haringey Council’s finances, which would hit residents with significant cuts in services or rises in Council Tax next year.

The £6 million funding gap, estimated as a further £60 increase in Council Tax per household, was revealed at meetings of Haringey Council’s ‘watchdog’ Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday and Thursday last week.

Cllr Robert Gorrie, Lib Dem Finance spokesperson, says that the Labour Council’s £2 million efficiency savings, identified last year, have not been delivered and Haringey Council is currently overspending by £3million. The Council has also failed to remedy a £2 million shortfall in next year’s savings. Furthermore, and despite persistent requests from Cllr Gorrie, HaringeyCouncil has failed to show how they plan to make a further savings next year under the ‘achieving excellence’ programme except that this will only achieve £1million reduction in cost – leaving another £2 million funding gap.

Cllr Robert Gorrie, Lib Dem Finance Spokesperson, comments:

“How can Haringey residents have confidence in the people running their council when they can’t get the figures right? The Council’s failure to make efficiency savings this year is going to have a direct impact on Council Tax bills. It is Haringey’s residents that will bare the brunt of the inability of the Council to balance the books.”

Despite a proposed £3 million increase in Council Tax next April and rises in charges for leisure facilities, parking and the crematorium, Labour-run Haringey Council has thus far failed to balance the books.

Lib Dems also fear that the unfolding financial disaster at Ally Pally, where Labour bosses have allowed the development partner, Firoka, to pocket the Pally’s profits for months, is another blank cheque that will end up hitting residents’ pocket’s hard.

Cllr Neil Williams, Leader of the Lib Dem Opposition, adds:

“Over the past ten years Council Tax in Haringey has doubled and residents face another swingeing increase this year. It is pensioners that will have to pay for Labour’s blunders. It shows that Labour cannot be trusted with running an effective budget and high time that this unfair tax is scrapped.”

A reason to be positive about the environment, poverty and war

Posted on by

Something Picture of the sunthat brings good news on all three would be a pretty good Christmas present for us all, wouldn’t it?

Well – in my speech on international development to party conference in September, I briefly touched on the question of using solar power from Africa’s deserts:

Let’s us be both ambitious and optimistic, particularly for sub-Saharan Africa. An area of great poverty and so often little progress. It is an area of huge potential for solar power. We have seen what wealth the oil era has brought many formerly poor areas of the world. Let’s aim for the era of green energy to spread those benefits more widely – and support the development of green energy.

At the moment, the sun beats down on these areas, and nearly all of the sun’s rays go to waste electricity-generation wise. Yet they hold a huge potential as a source of electricity to those countries and neighbours. It could be a case of win-win-win.

First, really large scale solar electricity production is not just renewable – no fears about the sun running out any time soon! – but brings benefits in the battle against global warming and the climate chaos that follows.

Second, just as the oil boom brought prosperity to millions in newly oil producing countries, a similar boom in green electricity production could bring prosperity to large parts of Africa, a continent so often blighted by poverty.

Third, bringing greater prosperity to parts of Africa and the Middle East will help undercut some of the forces driving armed conflict there. Reducing armed conflict, cutting the number of deaths and injuries, having fewer people flee their homes, cutting the number of refuges seeking refuge in grimy refugee camps or unwelcoming other countries: it’s all very much to be welcomed.

The possibility of securing this triple win is in the news at the moment thanks to the Desertec proposal recently presented to the European Parliament. It would see solar power stations being built in or near the southern shore of the Mediterranean. Power cables could then transport the electricity under the sea into electricity hungry Europe.

Current estimates are that this power would cost double electricity from other sources. At that price differential – there’s a problem, but given how technology can march on and drive down prices over time, I’m quite cheered by it ‘only’ being double at the moment.

You can find more details on the particular Desertec proposal on their website. Lots of food for thought – and optimism! – there.

Kim Howells puts the Government's case on Iraqi interpreters

Posted on by

It Helicopter in Iraqcompletely buggered up my going to Pond Square carols on Thursday – which is one of my fav of the year events – but having been trying to get a meeting with Minister Kim Howells about the Iraqi interpreters issue for some time – then when only the day before I was told that a 5.30pm meeting was arranged, that took precedence.

I think it was the powers of persuasion of Chris Bryant (MP for Rhondda, Labour) rather than my that achieved this – but also Ed Vaizey Conservative MP and Dan Hardie – my local constituent who first brought the issue to me and who is at the forefront of this campaign.

The Minister would only see MPs and Ed was unable to come – so myself and Chris put the issues to him. I have abbreviated substantially and just give the essential gist below. The answers are those given in the meeting by Kim Howells – rather than my own view of what the answers should be!

Q. Why had the Government decided that only those Iraqis who had worked for more than 12 months for the British armed forces could qualify for the asylum or resettlement grants?
A. Difficult to draw the line – but must be drawn somewhere otherwise Britain would be open to thousands coming here; 12 months seemed to accommodate most of those at risk.

Q. But why not make a decision based on a risk assessment of an individual’s circumstances rather than impose an arbitrary cut-off date?
A. Too difficult a process in the situation.

Q. Why can’t people who worked for the British armed forces before 1 January 2005 qualify for asylum or resettlement grants?
A. It wasn’t dangerous before then.

Q. Why is the process of helping those who have worked for our armed forces so slow? Time is of the essence when people are in fear of their lives.
A. Because it takes time to do checks before a person is got out of the country, and when they are got out to a third party country there is another delay there whilst their status etc. is sorted.

Q. How long is it between contact by an Iraqi in danger and getting him/her out of the country
A. Three months.

At this point the Minister had to attend the Commons Chamber and the meeting terminated. Kim Howells seemed genuinely committed to trying to get those at risk to safety – but in erring on the side of caution so much it did seem to me that he was getting it wrong.

There would be people whose cases did not neatly fit the guidlines, and the whole process can be terribly slow. When people’s lives are at risk, it is better – far, far better – to err on the side of of saving someone’s life. We live in a world that at times seems obsessed with avoiding any risk – hence all the warnings that packets of nuts may contain nuts, that hot drinks might be hot, and on and on. And yet then when we have lives at risk in this case – suddenly erring on the side of safety doesn’t apply. A mad, mad world!

To be continued…

But in the meantime, there are two things you can do:

  1. There’s an EDM (a sort of Parliamentary petition) you can ask your MP to sign. It’s EDM 401 and you can read it here and see who has signed it.
  2. You can sign the petition at ourcampaign.org.uk/interpreters

(If you’d like some more background on the issue, you can read my recent article on the subject).

Park crime figures show why we need to keep Parks Police

Posted on by

I’ve written before about Labour’s plans to axe the Parks Police here in Haringey. Well – the latest figures for crime in our parks show exactly why they should be kept!

Also in sobering local news this week was the estimate that up to 50 people will die of fuel poverty this winter in Hornsey and Wood Green – another good reminder, if one were needed, of the need to publicise the Warm Front Scheme to people who could benefit from it. In the scheme’s own words:

If you need help paying for heating and insulation improvements in your privately owned or rented home, you, your partner or civil partner may be able to get money from the government’s Warm Front grants scheme if, for example, you’re receiving income or disability-related benefits.

On a happier note, this week I visited Royal Mail staff in Hornsey to thank them for their efforts with the Christmas post, whilst in international news – the news about new funding for the World Bank reinforces the point that changes in policy are needed too.

World Bank funding must herald change in policy

Posted on by

Commenting on the news that Britain is to provide the World Bank with more than £2bn over the next three years Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“I hope that this news will herald a real change in lending policy. The World Bank will no longer be America’s piggy bank where it can peddle harsh economic reforms that do little to help the world’s poor.

“Real progress is needed on removing bad conditions on loans that have little if nothing to do with development.”

Red tape and murder

Posted on by

That’s the title of the latest blog posting from Dan Hardie, the indefatigable blogger on the shameful way in which the British government is turning its back on those Iraqis who work as interpreters for our armed forces over there. As Dan writes:

This comes down to one simple principle: the Iraqis whom our Government should help first are those who are at risk of being murdered for having worked for the British. It is still not too late for the Government to implement this principle. It is administratively possible. It is morally imperative.

And from the Government’s viewpoint, it is now politically advisable: a continued policy of literally niggling people to death, putting bureaucratic obstacles in the way of men and women in fear of their lives for having worked for British troops, will attract nothing but contempt, from the press and the public.

There’s an Early Day Motion in Parliament on this topic; please do ask your MP to sign. It’s EDM 401 and you can read it here and see who has signed it. To contact your MP, just visit www.writetothem.com and pop in your postcode.

Special Christmas delivery for Hornsey postal staff

Posted on by

Local MP Lynne Featherstone paid a special early morning visit to Hornsey’s Royal Mail sorting depot to wish local staff a very merry Christmas and thank them ahead of the Christmas post rush.

Ms. Featherstone, who has been a campaigner for better postal services in her constituency, took a small present and card for postmen and women to show her appreciation for their hard work in making sure local residents get their cards and presents on time.

Commenting Ms. Featherstone MP says:

“Whilst for some, Christmas is a slow time of year with parties and festive frolics, for our local postal staff it is the busiest time of year. I am sure many will share my gratitude for the hard work they do in spreading the Christmas cheer – particular to families and friend that can’t be together.They really are an army of Santa’s helpers.

“As to all my constituents, I wish our postmen and women of Hornsey and Wood Green a very Merry Christmas and the best for the New Year.”