Author Archives: Lynne Featherstone

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About Lynne Featherstone

I'm a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.

Highgate – Liberal Democrats welcome action on Jacksons Lane funding

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Highgate Lib Dems have welcomed Haringey Council’s decision to take action over the pursuit of vital grant funding for the much loved Jackson’s Lane Centre. The development, which follows pressure from the Centre and local Lib Dem councillors to grant a long lease, means that grant funding can be pursued from the Government’s Community Asset Fund.

In an email to local Lib Dem councillor Bob Hare, Haringey Council has agreed in principle to the long lease that is needed to pursue the funding. This means a funding bid from the Centre can go ahead. The Community Asset fund, which is a lottery fund, offers up to £1 million for each of up to two venues per borough. It is aimed at community buildings owned by councils, and applications are intended to support refurbishment and upgrading.

Lib Dem councillors have been pointing out that the Highgate venue is an ideal applicant for funding, as it is in dire need of investment and it would not readily qualify under other schemes designed to help areas with high levels of deprivation.

Lib Dem Councillor Bob Hare comments:

“It is a relief that Haringey Council has taken action that will remove a barrier to this source of funding for the Centre. Haringey does owe the Centre more attention, given that the Labour Council has been allowed the structure of the building to become run down. Major investment is needed to give the centre the boost, and give Highgate residents the facility they deserve.

“Now this barrier has been removed, we all wish Jacksons Lane every success with their application for refurbishment funding.”

Boycotting the Saudis

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Hurrah for Vince! Vince Cable, our Acting Leader, is boycotting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia’s State visit. Quite right. Saudi’s record on human rights is abysmal – and whilst yes, we have to have business relations with Saudi – there is no need for them to be accorded the honour of a state visit.

Coming so soon on the back of the dropping of the Serious Fraud Office investigation into BAE and corruption at the behest of Saudi Arabia – this is not a very edifying part of our ethical dimension to foreign policy.

Haringey school funding: two pieces of unwelcome news

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As if it isn’t bad enough that our kids in Haringey are getting £736 less per head than kids in neighbouring boroughs for schooling, this week we found out that our schools are in financial crisis – with questioning from Lib Dem councillors bringing to light figures figures showing that 19 Haringey schools will end the year in debt totalling over £1.5m.

To add insult to injury – the Government is about to try and claw back 5% of any school’s surplus (so any that aren’t in debt will be hammered anyway for prudence). David Laws, Lib Dem Schools Spokesperson, was on to this like ton of bricks. And in usual copycat fashion – D Cameron went on it at Prime Minister’s Questions. I think he just goes through our LibDem releases and borrows everything!

The good news is that I think Brown will get cold feet and retract from this claw back – which he bloody well should – as schools will have already earmarked the funding for use.

How to protect your Sat Nav

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Got an email from the police who want to amplify the call to be careful about thefts from vehicle. Apparently at the moment Haringey is experiencing an increase in theft from vehicles and Sat Nav theft is still a huge problem, with people leaving their cradles visible.

Advice on sensible precautions to take is available from the Home Office’s website.

Be safe – not sorry – that’s my tag line!

Development Agency is 'Santa and Scrooge all rolled into one' say Liberal Democrats

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Festive lights in Stroud Green will not be shining this Christmas due to a blundermade by a Government Agency. The London Development Agency (LDA) decided that ‘proper processes were not followed’ by FinFuture, an organisation it funds, in its project to provide Christmas lights in Stroud Green Road because an advert was not placed in trade press for companies to bid for the contract. Thiscomes in the same week when the organisation was itself rapped for handing over millions of pounds to the Bernie Grant Centre without proper accountancy checks.

Cllr Wayne Hoban, Lib Dem Regeneration Spokesperson, comments:

“How can an organisation, which was criticised for not putting in place proper checks for a million pound arts centre project, criticise Stroud green residents for failing to place an advert for their Christmas lights? The LDA is clearly guilty of double standards in the way it distributes its funds. Regeneration schemes should be subject to the same accountancy checks regardless of the project size.”

Cllr Richard Wilson, who launched the campaign for Christmas lights on Stroud Green Road last December, adds:

“Everyone knows Finsbury Park is in urgent need of a face-lift and these Christmas lights would have helped improve the area. Why does the LDA have time to delve into small projects such as FinFuture’s plan for Christmas lights, but has no interest in where the big money goes?They are behaving like Santa and Scrooge all rolled into one.”

China must act over Darfur

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Commenting on reports that the Darfur peace talks are in crisis after a number of boycotts by rebel movements, Liberal Democrat Shadow International Development Secretary, Lynne Featherstone MP said:

“China is the only power who can put pressure on the Sudan Government to allow the urgent deployment of the UN/AU peacekeeping force in Darfur.

“The only way to persuade China to use its position as a world power for good is to refer to the Olympics. Stopping the genocide must be the only priority.”

Do I desire to be a WAG?

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Did a program for Sky that I had never done before – but that may be because I think it is only a few weeks old. It’s really the web news and what the movers are – judged by clicks – and the web discussion topic of the day.

The discussion topic is WAGS and whether they are good role models. The WAG on the panel (in a different studio) was lovely – but when I was asked if I would be telling my daughters to emulate WAGS I had to say no.

I don’t want my daughters to be known or rated because of who they married. I don’t want them to think that looks and shopping are the be all of life (although I expect this is more media than WAG) and I want them to know that you have to work hard to get where you want to get. Forget this instant fame business.

And as for role models – I chose Shirley Williams – but I’m not sure my daughters would agree with me!

The likely lads

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Ming’s departure came out of the blue. A week is meant to be a long time in politics – but for goodness sake – this was only a Monday afternoon. It was around 1pm when I meandered over to Nick Clegg and Vince Cable in Portcullis House to ask what was going on and why we were all being inundated with media calls. They knew nothing. But by 6.30pm Ming was gone.

I think he must have been sick of it all – the slings and arrows of criticism had been relentless since his first outing at PMQs – and with Brown wimping out of the election that never was, Ming clearly decided that he could not and would not be able to staunch the flow of negative coverage and wanted to stop the damage to the Party. So he nobly (as you would expect from someone of Ming’s integrity) fell on his sword.

And now the race is joined between two who would be king – Chris Huhne and Nick Clegg. So with two excellent candidates contesting the leadership – the LibDems are in a win / win position whichever succeeds and have an opportunity not only to showcase our wares – but also to fight and forge in the heat of battle – the way forward. And you know, it’s all very well these boys all wanting to be leader – but it is what you do with leadership that counts.

I’m the Chair of Chris Huhne’s campaign – so obviously I’m biased as to which candidate should win the day. And I am whispering in his ear. Stand up for things that we believe in. Dare to be radical. Don’t join in this swamp of political whoring currently favoured by Labour and Tories who are willing to be anything they think the people want them to be.The last think the country needs is another party offering the same old, same old.

We need a leader not a follower – a leader with the guts to take our Party to new heights and new territory as we challenge the status quo and the busted flush of British politics – the deadly duopoly that is undermining life in Britain today.

The rules of the game have got to change! If we don’t bring back substance to politics -then we are all doomed to ever-decreasing circles. The ghastly, rude, adversarial, rubbish, bully-boy politics that characterises our political conduct is not only distasteful – but is gradually denigrating our trade to the gutter.

And if we really want to rattle the cage of British politics, then we need someone brave, radical, clever, willing to be dangerous and different – someone who will really upset and challenge the vomit-worthy consensus now devouring any remaining difference between Labour and the Tories – a converging and unedifying coalition – where vote-catching, bargain basement offers are the name of the political game. And where beliefs and values don’t mean a thing. I don’t want us to join in that game. The last thing we Lib Dems need now is to join the “say anything to get votes” agenda, which has seen huge poll swings and insane volatility. We have to be the ones standing up to that consensus.

So – leadership is a tough old job, as Brown, Cameron and Campbell have all found. You need to be made of steel, thick of skin (thick enough but not impervious), and firm of spirit to take it on. Chris is tough enough, experienced enough and world-tested enough to take on and beat Brown – even on his old stomping ground of the economy. Chris is a real contrast to the Cameron-Blair style of operation, which is a bonus in my view. And he is saying the things I want to hear about radicalism, equality and fairness.

More than anything, I believe that Britain is fundamentally a liberal country. That’s why “illiberal” is a term of insult here. We need a liberal party to challenge the authoritarian consensus of the two main parties and the political establishment.

Chris is the man who can!

(c) Lynne Featherstone, 2007

Haringey school budgets come under new attack

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Haringey Schools that ended the last financial year in surplus face a ‘5% tax’ under new proposals being considered by the Labour government.

Local MP, Lynne Featherstone this week has strongly backed a Parliamentary motion calling on the government to drop this unfair levy that is likely to adversely affect a number of schools in her constituency.

Commenting, Lynne Featherstone MP says:

“This is quite literally a tax on the financial prudence of those few schools that managed to buck the local trend and put aside extra money in the last financial year.This cash claw-back could jeopardise major projects that schools have been diligently putting money aside for.

“Our local schools are already seriously disadvantaged because of the unfair per pupil funding system.Now, to add insult to injury, head teachers will have to give back five per cent of their reported surplus from last April – whether they have it or not.”

Councillor Gail Engert, Lib Dem Schools Spokesperson adds:

“I dread to think what cuts schools will have to make.More worryingly, there are schools actually in deficit this year, that will still have to pay this unfair levy because they were in surplus last year. If the Government doesn’t drop these plans, it will be Haringey pupils that will suffer.I will be requesting an urgent assessment of how much this will cost our schools.”

Jacqui Smith admits Liberal Democrats were right all along

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Yesterday, Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admitted to the Home Affairs Select Committee that there hasn’t been a terrorist case yet where there was a need for detention without charge beyond the current 28 days!

Yes – well that’s the point I and other Lib Dem colleagues have been making since the Labour proposal for 90 days (to come back again next session) reared its ugly head. Jacqui Smith’s admission is at least a step forward from the previous attempts to provide “examples” of when 90 days detention would have been useful – examples which fell apart when examined closely (see, for example, my previous blog posting about one of the debates in Parliament on detention without trial).

As I have said, time and time and time again – if the police can show me evidence that a further extension is necessary – then am not immutable. But the whole point is the balance between security and liberty – and if the police are simply wanting more time to make their life easier – then that is exactly when Parliament has to stand up on behalf of people and say no – because it isn’t a cost-free policy.

Longer detention without trial means some innocent people will be locked up for longer – and will also rack up more costs that we end up having to pay. So it should only be introduced if there is a good reason.