Category Archives: Blog

Haringey spurns opportunties offered by Sustainable Communities Act

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Typing still difficult, so here’s the text of the press release:

As the recession deepens Haringey Council has rejected an opportunity for millions of pounds of funding for local residents it emerged this week.

Local campaigners and Liberal Democrats expressed astonishment when they learned that Haringey’s Labour-run Council failed to organise applications for extra government money under the Sustainable Communities Act – instead opting for a “wait and see” approach.

Following enquiries from Councillor Nigel Scott, Alexandra ward, who proposed a unanimously supported motion to Council on the subject in January 2009, calling for an opt-in, Cllr Matt Cooke (Labour Cabinet Member for Community Cohesion and Involvement) sent an email indicating that Haringey Council will do nothing this year.

Councillor Nigel Scott comments:

“This new act gives real power to local communities yet Haringey Council admits they do not want to do anything to give this power and money to people in Haringey.

“Ninety five other councils are already doing this now, but Haringey has said, ‘no thanks, we’ll wait for next year’. This is unbelievable.

“The Labour councillors supported our motion in January but their warm words have failed to be followed up by any real action. Local residents will be very disappointed.”

Daniel Flanagan, a spokesman for Unlock Democracy, the organisation that campaigned for the Act said in a response to an e-mail from Cllr Scott,

“This is totally unacceptable and was not what was agreed at Council. There is no excuse for not opting in this year. There is no guarantee that there will be another round. The only way to be sure of getting something is to act now. The Council are letting down the residents of Haringey. If you do not opt-in, you are guaranteed to get nothing.”

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

“As the effects of the credit crunch start to hit our community, local initiatives certainly could do with this extra cash boost now – not in a few years time. The Sustainable Communities Act says, in effect, ‘Give us some good community based ideas and we will pay for them’, yet Haringey can’t be bothered even to ask”.

A new local website

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First up at surgery today was Vesna! Vesna is the new editor of Local London N10. She is mad keen on ‘community’ as am I – and there is no connection between the money side of the site (adverts etc) and her editorship. So she is free to say and do whatever she thinks best. Vesna is keen to get in touch with all the local groups and the traders of Muswell Hill area – so get in touch. There will be forums and discussions etc. Muswell Hill is pretty lively – so can’t imagine she will have much trouble filling her site and her blog. Read what she made of her surgery visit here!

A quick resume of some activities over last few days

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Went back to City Hall for a meeting of ex-GLA members of the London Assembly. Very nice to meet up with old faces. Boris wandered over to say hello. He gave a funny speech – which is his talent. Can’t have been that long after his now much publicised hissy fit where he stomped out of a Commons Select Committee ‘cos he didn’t like the questions about why London transport stopped the night we had snow. What a woos!

Off to OxPoly – as was – now Oxford Brookes University – as an alumni to take part in a panel on ‘successful women’. Unwittingly began my political career there – my first taste of politics was marching against Maggie Thatcher and my first campaign was to Save Art (hugely successful obviously – at least for a short while till I left and they got rid of it anyway). This was a blast from the past. The session itself was sold out and very well attended and hugely enjoyable -hopefully for the audience too.

The other alumni all had stellar careers in a variety of settings – and it was brilliantly facilitated by Peninah Thomson – a real high flier! What she did was, rather than have a sterile format with each of four of us giving a speech, to have questions with herself bringing in the audience right from the start. We all had drinks with the audience after – which was great too.

Several people there actually remembered my Save Art campaign – and even stranger, the Social Secretary from my era was there. He got such great bands to come to OxPoly. I saw David Bowie for example the year before he hit the big time – and there were only about 50 people there! Ahead of the curve…

Went to St Mary’s School in Hornsey – who put on one of the best ever ‘exhibitions’ that I have seen. The whole school got involved in creating ‘The London Experience’. From good size replicas of key London sites from Big Ben to the Globe, to the religions of London, to London Zoo and wartime London – completely brilliant. Wish I could show you the scope, scale and sheer brilliance of this mega project – but look at the photos here and here. I bet the information and learning that the children got from all of this will be embedded in their brains forever – far more than just being taught it. Congratulations to all at St Mary’s!

Turing to a less happy subject – two of my constituents have been held for years under control orders. Every time I write to the Home Office I am simply told they are a threat to national security. They have never known what evidence there is. It is kept secret. Their conditions are awful – let out three hours a day with a visit to report at police station in the middle.

But this doesn’t quite add up. If they are a threat of such great order that this has gone on for three years and everything has to be kept secret, then why are they let out at all? And Mr W spent two years in Belmarsh – but then his charges were dropped. He was then free for five months – but then put under control order where he has now been for a few years.

Finally – lap dancing. I went to an ‘evidence’ session hosted by Andy Slaughter and to which all MPs (like me) who have an interest in how to fight off lap dancing applications in unsuitable areas were invited. Also there were expert councillors who have had experience of fighting off such applications – with varying success etc. I will be writing more on this shortly – so watch this space.

Ten most popular blog postings (1st quarter, 2009)

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Here’s what you’ve been reading the most on my blog over the last three months:

10. Lap dancing in Crouch End – one of the big local issues coming up for decision

9. Heading up the party’s Technology Board – see number 1.

8. Sharon Shoesmith – see number 2.

7. Reading the Baby P Serious Case Review – see number 2.

6. Why the number of female MPs matters – see why I think so.

5. What should you do with your emails? – a fun way to demonstrate to Jacqui Smith what’s wrong with the government’s latest plans to keep tabs on what we’re all doing.

4. Not so equal pay at Cambridge University – not Cambridge University at its best.

3. Politicians and Twitter: why The Times is wrong – not The Times at its best.

2. Sharon Shoesmith in The Guardian – I’ve found this blog really useful during the Baby P tragedy, as it’s given me the chance to raise issues and expound on my views at the length the issue demands, but which the media rarely gives MPs.

1. Are you a techno wizard? – no surprise that news about the Liberal Democrats online (and other) work should attract the attention of an online audience!

MP expenses

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Typing still tricky – so will keep this short, but the basics are simple:

– No London MP needs a second home allowance. Millions of people manage to commute those sorts of distances – including many who work all sorts of hours and don’t get a second home.

– Outside London second home allowance or not should be decided by travel time to London.

– MPs shouldn’t be able to make a profit out of second home allowance. If they need one – and those who live a long way from London do – and use it to buy a property, then when it is sold the proceeds should go back to the taxpayer. Taxpayers paid for the property. Taxpayers get the profits back.

– End the nonsense of mixing up under “expenses” the costs of running an office with the personal expenses of being an MP. All MPs need an office and staff – that’s not “expenses” in the way people in other jobs mean when they talk about claiming back their expenses at the end of the month. Separate out the office and staff costs from expenses – and that will strengthen transparency.

– Make the office costs allowance reflect the big variations in property prices around the UK.

– Get on and change the rules soon. No need to wait until next year or after the general election.

– In the end – if that doesn’t happen and you want change, you’ve got to vote for it at the general election. However awful the rules are. However awfully you think some people have behaved. In a democracy, you and your ballot paper can change things.