Lib Dem candidate Gail Engert stormed to victory last night in a landslide win in the Muswell Hill ward by-election. The Muswell Hill resident scored a massive 70% of the votes, leaving Labour far behind on just 13%. In another night of disaster for Haringey Labour following their Stroud Green defeat in January, the Labour candidate recorded the lowest Labour share of the vote since the creation of the borough that the party has ruled for over thirty years.

Despite the Lib Dems winning the ward convincingly in 2002, Muswell Hill voters swung even more heavily behind the Lib Dems than in the 2002 local elections, with the party securing a further 7% swing from Labour.

The scale of the win places further huge doubts on Labour’s ability to hold the Hornsey and Wood Green Parliamentary seat, where the Lib Dems are now the majority party, with 16 councillors to Labour’s 14.

Newly elected Lib Dem councillor Gail Engert, comments:

“This was an amazing win, and I am grateful that the voters in Muswell Hill have given such a huge vote of confidence for the work of the Liberal Democrats in the area. I am looking forward to working with local people and all my colleagues on the many issues that have been raised during the past four weeks, not least the need to reopen the police station front counter, and making a success of the new bus route to Hampstead.”

Lib Dem Group leader and Highgate councillor Neil Williams adds:

“I want to congratulate Gail on such a brilliant win. With our two wins in Stroud Green and Muswell Hill, I am delighted that we have two such excellent new councillors in Laura Edge and Gail Engert.

“Last night’s result was a further warning to Labour that they can no longer expect to represent Haringey at any level. They are out of touch with the concerns of local people, and the voters are deserting them in ever increasing numbers.We will continue working hard to achieve further successes in future.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have called on the police to clamp down on aggressive and abusive youths in the Albert Road Recreation Ground, N22. The request comes following a number of complaints from local residents and the Friends of Albert Road Park that youths between the ages of 14 and 17 are hanging around the Park’s play area and threatening young children using the facility.

Lib Dem councillors Lynne Featherstone and Wayne Hoban have contacted the local police and asked them for assistance on the matter. They have been assured that a beat officer will visit and discuss the problem with staff and patrols will be increased to identify the youths causing the problems.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“Teenagers are prohibited from using the facility for the precise reason that younger children can feel intimidated by them. However what is of a deep concern to me is the aggressive nature of some these teens and I am pleased that the police are addressing it.”

Lib Dem councillor Wayne Hoban, who is involved with Friends of Albert Park added:

“We want to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy this wonderful park without abuse and intimidation and I am confident with the help of local police and park staff we can achieve that.”

Cllr Lynne Featherstone has continued her campaign to clean up Haringey’s railway stations by securing new bins from Haringey Council for three of the borough’s worst. This week the Council confirmed that they are to install litter bins at Hornsey, Harringay and Alexandra Palace stations.

This is the latest in a long line of successes for Cllr Featherstone who has been campaigning hard since early last year to improve the state of the borough’s stations. To date she has secured new fencing, embankment clearance and track clean ups – and now new bins.

Cllr Featherstone is pleased with the progress that has been made and believes that new bins will help prevent the stations falling into the state they had prior to her campaign.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“It’s an ongoing battle, but we are making progress on cleaning up the stations. It is vital work that will encourage more passengers. Everyone must take an interest, and I will continue to press the station authorities to work with the Council on making sure improvements are made.”

Liberal Democrat councillors are maintaining the pressure on Haringey Council over its failure to properly address the problem of residents living in managed blocks of flats being double charged for waste collection in Haringey. Many are charged for waste collection through their block management charges but also pay Council Tax – which should also cover waste collections, as it does for people living elsewhere.

The assurance comes from Lib Dem councillor Matt Davies who is unhappy with the response that Haringey Council has given to his question regarding waste collection. The Council say that the reason for double charging is that many managed blocks hire a waste container for all residents to store their rubbish. They argue that this should not come under the standard service that the Council provides.

However Cllr Davies, who represents Fortis Green ward, believes that the response does not justify why residents living in these properties should have to pay extra to receive the same service as other residents in the borough.

Cllr Davies comments:

“These residents have not received wheelie bins or green recycling boxes like every other resident in the borough. Services provided as standard by the Council to most residents are not being provided to all. These residents are paying as much Council Tax as everyone else, but when it comes to refuse collection they are only getting half the service of everyone else.

“Other residents are provided with waste containers inclusive of their Council Tax, so why is the container hire cost for these residents not also included in the Council’s waste contract?”

Cllr Featherstone, who has also been pressing the Council on this issue, added:

“It is simply not fair that some residents have to pay more than others for the same service. We will continue to press the Council on this issue until we reach a satisfactory conclusion.”

Lib Dem GLA member and local councillor Lynne Featherstone last week welcomed members of Haringey Youth Forum to City Hall to see Cllr Featherstone and the Greater London Authority in action.

Young people from six of Haringey’s schools attended Mayor’s Question Time, the monthly chance for GLA members such as Ms Featherstone to grill the Mayor on the work of the London-wide authority at its new headquarters.

Lynne Featherstone comments:

“It’s always a pleasure to welcome Haringey residents to the GLA, especially the voters of the future. We need to work hard to engage young people in London’s political process and these visits give us the chance to do just that.”

Residents in the unadopted road of Osier Crescent in Fortis Green ward have had double delight this week after private developers who own the road agreed to resurface it – and Haringey Council have agreed to adopt it following the completion of the work. This comes as welcome news to Lib Dem councillors who have been frustrated by Haringey Council, who until now have been unable to decide whether or not they were responsible for the road, which runs through a new housing development.

The original problem was raised by a number of Osier Crescent residents in response to the Lib Dems’ annual resident survey. When Lib Dem councillors Stephen Gilbert and Lynne Featherstone contacted Haringey Council last summer they was assured that the potholes would be repaired. However, in November when Ms Featherstone contacted Haringey to find out what progress had been made she was told that the road didn’t belong to them after all.

She requested that they contact the developer who owned the road and request that the repairs be carried out – which they did. Cllr Featherstone and her colleagues in Fortis Green are pleased that action has been taken and that Haringey has now decided to ‘adopt’ the road.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I am pleased that this issue has finally been resolved and the Council has decided to take responsibility for this road. There has been too much buck-passing on the issue.”

Fortis Green councillor Stephen Gilbert adds:

“I hope that Haringey has learnt from this mess and that in future problems that residents raise will be dealt with efficiently regardless of whether or not a road is the direct responsibility of the Council.”

Amidst the national controversy over the availability of NHS dentists, Lib Dem councillors in Haringey have expressed concern at the official figures which show that less than 40% of adults and just 50% of children are registered with an NHS dentist in the North Central London area. The figures were published following a Parliamentary Question from the Lib Dem Shadow Health Secretary Paul Burstow MP.

Although North Central London has seen 2% increase in the last 4 years, there are no signs that this figure will dramatically increase with NHS registration for children under 18 falling nationally. Liberal Democrats in Haringey fear that a visible health gap is opening up with many families unable to pay for private check-ups and treatment, leading to a serious decline in dental health.

Lib Dem Health Spokesperson and group leader, Cllr Neil Williams wants to see the Government addressing the problem of dentists leaving the NHS. He is concerned with the current situation and fears it may worsen with the next generation of dental surgeons, who have had to pay tuition fees for their education, even keener to move into the lucrative private sector as soon as they can.

Cllr Williams comments:

“The lack of NHS dentists means that many people who cannot afford private treatment go without and this is resulting in a health underclass. The Government must address the reason why so many dentists are leaving the NHS, so that the crisis that we are facing here in London and nationally can be averted.”

Liberal Democrat councillors will today call on Haringey Council to support their motion calling for the Government to scrap its plans to introduce top-up fees for universities. The Lib Dems say that the Government’s bill is short-sighted and will have a detrimental long-term affect on Haringey’s economy.

Liberal Democrats want to stop top-up fees, scrap tuition fees and bring in fair grants (for poorer students). They say that this can be funded by asking the highest earners to pay a small amount extra in tax.

Lib Dem leader Neil Williams has acknowledged that 73 Labour MPs stood by their manifesto commitment and joined the Liberal Democrats in the voting lobby to oppose the Bill in the recent both in Parliament. He hopes that Labour Councillors on Monday night will be similarly courageous in supporting the Lib Dem motion.

Lib Dem Leader Cllr Neil Williams comments:

“I think it is very disappointing that many Labour MPs, who have enjoyed the benefits of grants and free higher education, have become so detached from the electorate that they can vote for this policy. I hope that the Labour Council support our motion on Monday.”

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Wayne Hoban has expressed concern over proposals submitted by Vodafone to install a 12-metre high mobile phone mast on the public open land sited at the junction of Albert Road and Durnsford Road.

The application has been submitted only a few short months after local residents mounted a vigorous campaign opposing the installation of an O2 mobile phone mast on a nearby factory site in Albert Road. The campaign was ultimately unsuccessful because O2 did not require planning permission under current legislation.

Lib Dems say that many legitimate concerns remain over health risks associated with mobile phone masts. A report by the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones (The Stewart Report, 2000) found that it was not possible to state categorically that exposure to RF radiation is totally without risk, and that gaps in knowledge are sufficient to justify a precautionary approach to such installations. This application should therefore not proceed until local residents have been fully consulted and informed of all relevant technical details.

Cllr Wayne Hoban comments:

“Vodafone has approached local businesses seeking permission to install the mast on their premises, but all have refused to co-operate. This underlines just how controversial and unwanted these installations have become, particularly in residential areas. I have written to Vodafone asking them to reconsider their proposal.”

Liberal Democrat councillors in Crouch End have asked Haringey Council to investigate and resolve the pot-hole problem in Hillside Gardens, N6 and Crouch Hall Road, N8. The calls come following complaints from local residents including a complaint that the poor surfaces had caused damage to a resident’s car.

The complaints regarding Hillside Gardens have particularly concerned Lib Dems who were assured by the Council back in July that repairs had been carried out to the road after they asked them to take action. Now just over six months later, Hillside Gardens is littered with potholes once again.

Crouch End councillor Ron Aitken has asked the Council to outline its plans for resolving the problem.

Cllr Ron Aitken comments:

“Haringey Council must get to grips with pot-holes in the area. Road surfaces are often damaged in the winter, but Haringey fails to act quickly to repair them. Action is clearly required.”