Category Archives: Blog

International Development Questions in Parliament

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International Development Questions – so I thought I asked an interesting question of our new Secretary of State. Sadly, it got a competent answer but not an interesting one. This is the exchange:

Lynne Featherstone (Hornsey and Wood Green) (LD): I welcome the Secretary of State to his role and wish him well. The stringent restrictions of movement that are imposed on the Palestinians continue to exacerbate the humanitarian position. They undermine all the aid and humanitarian work that is going on. What will the Secretary of State do to persuade Israel to remove those restrictions?

Mr. Alexander: When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last addressed the House, he made clear the three principles whereby we will move our work forward on the matter in the months ahead. He said that first, we would be unyielding in our support for finding a two-state solution; secondly, we should express a genuine willingness to work with all those who would renounce violence as a way forward; and thirdly, we need to continue to address the immediate humanitarian challenge while recognising the social and economic development needs of the Palestinians. It is right to place on record the fact that restraints on movement and access are a severe constraint on the capacity of the Palestinian economy to grow.

Although, of course, it is necessary to provide humanitarian assistance with immediate effect, there is no substitute in the longer term for a sustainable, developed Palestinian economy. For that to happen, we need the restrictions on movement and access to be removed.

I had been hoping for more. Because the simple mantra of a two-state solution etc (albeit I agree with it) doesn’t really answer the question I asked.

You see, right now when the Palestinians are having a hideous time in terms of movement, poverty, etc – I don’t think that the most constructive approach is to simply condemn Israel (albeit the wall position and the ongoing settlements are wrong) – but I want to find out what Israel wants, needs or could be persuaded by to remove those restrictions. Let’s try and see what Israel needs and what process would be acceptable. If there is nothing that will ever persuade Israel to lift restrictions through negotiation and agreement – then we would know where we are and can work out perhaps what next steps say the EU might need to take. (They are the biggest aid donor to Palestine and biggest trading partner of Israel). I have always felt that there is a way through this – and the people of both countries desperately need the international community to find this way through and hold both safe on that journey.

A Hoot

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My mate Mark Pack has got the Tories going some! Now – as a non-geek – I did have to phone him to ask what astro-turfing was. To elucidate. One Tory – Grant Shapps – stands accused of trying to fake a comment on YouTube which claimed to be from a Liberal Democrat, only was really from him. Tsk tsk!

Now, Iain Dale (who – even though he is a Tory! – I actually quite like and is usually worth reading) seems to have lost his reason and is defending the indefensible. Iain would have us believe that some evil people were using Grant’s easily guessable password. Grant’s meant to be an IT expert, but even I know you shouldn’t set your password to 1234, I mean really! – yet that’s what Iain claims he did – and then that someone guessed it – and then that someone set him up. And then – even better – the story also involves Grant (or his staff) having supposedly spotted a problem a few days ago – but then not changing the password when they did!

So no surprise – reading the comments on Iain’s blog – pretty much no one believes his story. Stop digging seems to be the advice to Grant.

Oh the joy of by-elections!

Planning and Darfur

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Start the day meeting all the lobby groups against the Planning White paper. The paper is a developers’ charter – and not only gets it wrong on many counts – but omits huge areas that do need tackling. For me – I want ordinary people, objectors – to have the same right of appeal as developers or applicants. It’s not fair that if you are refused permission you can appeal – but if it is granted and you are an objector – you cannot. Also – another bugbear – is that Her Majesty’s Inspector who doesn’t live in the local area and doesn’t have the same interests as local people – can overturn a decision made by the local Planning Authority. That could do with an overhaul too! (On which point … you can read more in my newspaper column on the topic from a little while back).

Then meeting with Foreign and Commonwealth officers to discuss all my many and various Parliamentary Questions on Darfur. I have raised Darfur in Parliament many times – and it was riveting to discuss the substantive issues with officers who really know the subject and working with those on the ground. Not going to discuss here as the material is something I want to think about how best to use.

Litvinenko update

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Well – after Haringey keep forgetting to update me when they promise to – I contacted them. Again! The ‘critical survey’ which measured the Pollonium 210 residue in the Muswell Hill home of the Litvinenkos and the consequent advice on any remediation needed arrived a week or so ago.

There was some time taken over a difference of opinion in terms of how something was calculated between the Health Protection Agency and Corillion – but that didn’t amount to much. There may be a few spots which are just above the safety level – but most of the house has now returned to the levels normally found in the atmosphere.

So – with regard to the hot spots – there was a ‘strategy’ meeting last week about what comes next and what arrangements need to be made for cleaning the house and as ever – who pays will need to be sorted. I am promised a phone call tomorrow.

What's a polyclinic?

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Main meeting of the day was with Richard Sumray, Chair of Haringey Primary Care Trust (PCT). For me the key question was around the proposals for Hornsey Hospital which has now become part of the wider Primary Health Care Strategy. This strategy proposes (and is part of the London-wide strategy as well) something like six polyclinics in Haringey.

Hey – what’s this poly thingamajig – I hear you say. Well – it’s a sort of community hospital without beds – i.e. it’s a super, duper, all singing all dancing health facility with clinics for various things like diabetes, services like chiropody, diagnostics and the kitchen sink. I say that – because the array of services proposed for Hornsey Hospital is yet to be consulted on and we hope (despite our experience – so hope against hope) that the services can accommodate what local people want not simply that which is prescribed by the PCT.

There is some confusion around consultation because there is a consultation by the Enfield Haringey Health Trust on the local Primary Care Strategy – which is really with health stakeholders etc and then there is also to be a consultation on Hornsey Hospital itself.

The polyclinics really come up in the Primary Care consultation – and this may contain the key issue which I believe is what loss will there be of our local GP practices as part of the move to polyclinics? The idea is to improve local health services in these new facilities and provide some of things we are used to going to the hospital for nearer to home.

But the polyclinics will need some rental income, I believe, from GP practises based in the polyclinics. Of course – if a local GP practise moves into a polyclinic – it may mean for the ordinary person who is ill, just needs the doctor and a prescription or not without further treatment, a longer journey. That in turn raises issues of travel, access, car usage, parking and public transport connections – all very difficult.

So – on the individuality of each polyclinic – including Hornsey Hospital – Richard promised me that there would be a separate consultation – a continuance of the public meetings twice a year that we all have had on Hornsey since it was closed. I would also wish to put pressure on the consultation to demand that no area of the borough should be denuded of a local GP practice – and that any practise or doctor who wants to move in to a polyclinic ought to consult with their patient list.

The polyclinics sound great – but we have to make sure that local people have a say in what is provided and a say in what happens to their local GP practices and that there is a net gain. Perhaps local people want out of hours services, doctors that will visit in the home (which might solve some of the access issues as you don’t feel like getting on a bus when you are sick), and so on and so on.

There is so much involved in all of these changes – I have to say to people get involved, respond to the consultations. I am happy to have a spanking new facility on the Hornsey Hospital site as has been promised to me and local people for years now – but it has to deliver a great slab of what local people want and not remove the very local doctors that people rely on.

Update: you can read my article subsequent article about polyclinics here.

Wightman Road Mosque

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First off on Sunday was speaking at Wightman Road Mosque – as part of an open community day – as they do each year. Wightman Road is an exemplar mosque – friendly, welcoming and open. This reaching out into the community is what we need to disperse fears and unwarranted suspicion of each other. Happily in Haringey – this sort of work that has gone on for years in our joyfully diverse borough by a whole range of groups.

Then a dash to the Priory Avenue backsite opening. Here the fight against developers who would have ruined the space in between back gardens with profit-making squashed houses has been won by local residents. After fighting off planning application after application – eventually the developer realised his best shot was to sell the land to the surrounding home owners. It was Benji Lesser who got everyone together to buy the land. They now own it between them – and we now have our equivalent to those wonderful communal gardens in Kensington where the kids can all play safely and make lifelong friends. This is real community.

And it will be a real beacon to all of those residents fighting developers who land grab behind houses – not for social or affordable housing which is desperately needed – but for profit on the luxury end of the market. Squashing stuff in is not the answer to our housing problems. Well done Benji and team – this is really stirring stories for residents!

Darfur: do you want to take action?

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Just thinking about my up and coming inaugural meeting of the Haringey Darfur Action Group on July 19th. This is a group I am setting up to campaign locally – and I know Darfur and the genocide there seem far away – but you would be surprised how effective local pressure can be. And the scale of the horrors in Darfur means we must do something more.

I have lots of ideas of action we can take so we don’t have to stand idly by and feel impotent in this catastrophe. Also – I have set up a Facebook Group for the Darfur group – so please join in.

Cumberland Road

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Catching up – last visit of the day on Friday was to see the old railway track turned nature reserve at the back of Cumberland Road in Wood Green.

Haringey Council – having paid it no attention for years – suddenly seems to have served notices by letter about ‘encroachment’ to various houses whose back gardens adjoin the linear wood.

I went via one resident’s house to see what this ‘encroachment’ was. What I found was that the council boundary fence which might once have delineated where gardens stopped and the wood started is in complete disrepair. Decades ago some of the back gardens have ‘encroached’ by a foot or two. Given that this happened so long ago and many of the houses have been purchased with this tiny extra space in use as part of the house, the council has taken a very heavy-handed and unproductive approach. Where the encroachments have been tiny – as with most – they should regularise the situation and take action against the significant ones – such as one garden that has seemingly doubled its size and does encroach well into the wooded space.

Another is a fence which runs right across the wood at right angles to the houses blocking the walk altogether. Apparently, I was told, one resident does some clearing work in the wood and got a grant for this fence. But if you can imagine a linear walk, through a fantastic nature reserve, which you walk along – and then you come to a fence completely blocking your passage. I need to find out why Haringey Council has allowed this to happen.

So it’s the usual mix of some real issues that need tackling, but Haringey failing for years to sort out things and then taking a crude and heavy handed blanket approach. Not helped by the Council attacking residents for the rubbish in the woods, whereas the truth is that the residents and the erstwhile Friends of the Green had actually been clearing and tidying the space – where the Council had done absolutely nothing over decades.

I think there is something not quite right going on. Anyway – since the residents called me in – Haringey Council seems to have realised that they have been unfair (at least that is what I am hoping is the case) and have invited residents in for a meeting on Monday night. So I have said to the residents to see what the Council say on Monday – and if it is not resolved – then I will try and help them.

Hornsey Carnival: judging the costumes

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It’s the Hornsey Carnival today – just a lovely thing to have on our doorsteps in Hornsey. The Carnival Queen, her deputy and the princesses all looked gorgeous and at last, amazingly, the sun shone. I did the judging for the Fancy Dress – and I have to say – they all really put in great effort.

First I put Hornsey Girls with their Carnival Costumes – which were amazing; second I put St Mary’s Infants and Juniors whose theme was jungle – and all the children had put an extraordinary amount of work into Papier Mache masks; and then joint third The Hornsey Tavern (Cleopatra and slaves – grown men dressed scantily, what can I say) and Hazel Perryman – who was just a fancy dress all of her own. A very, very close fourth were the kids from Action Aid.

And here are some photos from the day:

Lynne Featherstone at Hornsey Carnival, judging the costumes

Lynne Featherstone at Hornsey Carnival, judging the costumes

Lynne Featherstone at Hornsey Carnival, judging the costumes
Well done to the Carnival Team who make so much effort for charity every single year. They are always looking for new groups to join the parade and the charity fundraising – so anyone reading this from Hornsey & Wood Green – give it a go!