In the Stroud Green by election, Lib Dem candidate and local resident Laura Edge has put together seven key pledges for the voters’ approval on 29th January. Laura Edge, the main challenger to Labour in the by-election, is writing to residents this week to ask them for their views on the key issues that need tackling in the area, which like much of Haringey has been poorly run by the borough’s unpopular Labour council.

Laura’s pledges, which cover a range of much needed environmental improvements in the area, as well as tackling crime and improving education, are as follows:

·TACKLING RUBBISH: Haringey’s controversial charges for collecting bulky rubbish should be axed.

·EDUCATION: Working to get more school places in the area.

·FIGHTING CRIME: Crouch End’s CCTV system should be put to full use helping the fight against crime.

·PARKING: The Stroud Green CPZ needs proper enforcement.

·FINSBURY PARK: It’s too often left in a poor state after events, and more money from them should go into the local community.

·CLEANING UP STATIONS: Continue to work with Lynne Featherstone to get Harringay & Hornsey stations improved.

·STROUD GREEN ROAD: Get action on flooding, litter and traffic jams.

Laura Edge comments:

“The Lib Dems have shown on the Council how things can be better in Haringey. Door-to-door recycling across the whole borough; action against graffiti, and safety measures along Parkland Walk are just some of the positive results that Haringey Lib Dem councillors have successfully campaigned for. These pledges are my top priorities for Stroud Green, and if elected, I will work with the strong team of Lib Dem councillors to ensure that they happen.”

Lib Dem candidate in the Stroud Green by-election, Laura Edge, has joined forces with Lib Dem councillors to call for action to improve road safety following a crash at a dangerous junction in the ward. On New Year’s Eve at about 20.30 a large saloon car with four occupants overshot the junction while travelling down Denton Road towards Weston Park, and careered into the gardens of 162 and 164 Weston Park.

By great fortune, a large hedge and wheelie bin absorbed most of the impact of the crash and there were no injuries. The occupants of the car, after unsuccessfully trying to reverse away, fled the scene. One resident was not so lucky as her car was virtually written off by the saloon car’s impact.

The Lib Dems point out that this is yet another in a series of crashes at this junction, with local residents reporting that there have been eight or nine instances of cars crashing into their properties after travelling too fast down the steep hill of Denton Road. The Lib Dems also say that the road is home to Weston Park Primary school, and action from the Council is sorely needed to improve road safety and reduce speeding at the junction.

Lib Dem candidate Laura Edge, who visited the scene yesterday and met local resident John Bramble with Crouch End councillor David Winskill [see picture] comments:

“This was a dreadful incident, and it was shocking to see the extent of the damage. For one of the houses affected, an entire hedge had been flattened and a garden wall was also destroyed. The Council must now come up with a plan to improve the safety of the junction, as so many accidents have occurred in the past.”

Crouch End Councillor David Winskill, who has written to the Council to demand action and an on-sitemeeting with officers, adds:

“It is high time Haringey tackled the safety issue at this junction, as it’s extremely fortunate that no one was hurt this time. The nearby primary school makes this all the more pressing, and along with Laura Edge I will be pursuing this vigorously.”

Lib Dem councillors and residents are celebrating after British Telecom (BT) decided to scrap plans to construct a telegraph pole in the middleof Priory Park, N8. The climb-down follows pressure from residents and localcouncillors who were keen to protect the attractive park from a potentialeyesore.

Crouch End councillor David Winskill was contacted by local residents alongwith his Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Lynne Featherstone. He immediatelycontacted Haringey Council about the issue while residents startedcampaigning. They are delighted that the hard work and commitment ofresidents in the area has paid off and warns any future plans for telegraphpoles in the park will be met with an equal amount of opposition.

Cllr Featherstone comments:

“I am glad that BT has decided to call off plansfor a telegraph pole in the Park. Opposition was so active that it wasimpossible to ignore and the local residents should be congratulated.”

Cllr Winskill (Crouch End) added:

“This is a great victory for residents intheir fight to maintain the parkland. We hope that this is the end of BT’splans, but if they decide to reinvestigate the issue they will be met withthe same strong and vocal opposition. I have told local residents to keeptheir eyes peeled over the festive period for tall thin Christmas Tress withwires being planted in the park!”

Liberal Democrat Councillors have reacted with disappointment that the Audit Commission’s latest Comprehensive Performance Assessment has given the borough a ‘weak’ rating for the second year in succession. The report published this week by the Audit Commission gives the Council the second lowest overall rating of the five categories and the overall score shows no improvement on that received back in the Autumn of 2002.

Although some services have scored better, Lib Dem Leader Ross Laird has questioned the level from which they have improved and whether the structures are in place to sustain the improvements once extra government money dries up.

Cllr Ross Laird (Muswell Hill) comments: “While the report notes some improvements in certain areas such as libraries, they are from a very low base, and the Council is still categorised as weak – something which local residents will recognise all too well.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch, Finance Spokesperson, adds:

“Other changes, such as in social services have come at a cost of £5.1 million overspend. What is important is that improvements are both sustainable and financially viable – and with a likely 15% increase in Council Tax and Labour at the helm, neither of these fundamentals are likely.”

Liberal Democrat councillors have slammed Labour-run Haringey Council for a decade of incompetence after it was revealed that Haringey had failed to collect over £75 million of Council Tax between 1993 and 2003.

The Government published the figures after a parliamentary question was asked by Lib Dem mayoral candidate, Simon Hughes, on the amount of Council Tax uncollected by London boroughs over the last ten years.

Haringey was third worst out of the 33 London boroughs in the list. Lib Dem Finance Spokesperson Jonathan Bloch is concerned by these figures and has demanded that more emphasis is put on tax collection rather than on wasting money on excessive public relations, spin doctors and glossy brochures.

Cllr Jonathan Bloch comments: “Haringey has found itself yet again at the wrong end of the league table. Its failure to deal adequately with the problem of uncollected Council Tax has had a huge negative impact on the Council’s budget over the last ten years.

“I hope that these figures once again serve as a reminder to the Council that spending millions on glossy self promoting publications and large PR budgets and projects such as ‘Better Haringey’ are secondary to collecting taxes efficiently in the borough – that would really make for a better Haringey.”

Haringey’s Labour-run council has been accused of behaving like Scrooge in deciding not to make the traditional seasonal grant of £30 to children leaving care this year. The plans were revealed after Liberal Democrat councillor Ron Aitken was asked to intervene.

The Lib Dem Social Services Spokesperson has demanded an explanation for the cutback that he says will hit a very vulnerable group hard at this time of year. The news came after Council Executive member for Social Services, Takki Sulaiman revealed that the Social Services budget is set to overspend by £5.1 million.

Approximately 250 children will leave care this year. The approximate saving to the Council’s Social Services budget is just £7,500.

Cllr Aitken comments:

“The Labour council’s overspend on social services appears to be at the expense of vulnerable children, who deserve a break at Christmas. I will be demanding an explanation from the Council as to why they have decided to play Scrooge on this issue.”

Residents in Wood Lane, Highgate are set to receive door-to-door recycling just like other streets in the area after the Council agreed to supply the street with a Pedestrian Controlled Vehicle (PCV) collection for their recyclable waste. The assurance comes after intervention from local Lib Dem councillors and Lynne Featherstone, following complaints from residents that they were not receiving a recycling collection.

The Council originally told concerned residents earlier this year that due to the narrowness of Wood Lane and the size of the recycling vehicles it was impossible to do a collection without blocking the road completely. However following the Lib Dem councillors’ intervention, the Council agreed that a collection will be possible using a much smaller vehicle such as a PCV.

Cllr Lynne Featherstone comments:

“Green boxes should be delivered to every home in Wood Lane by the end of December and it is great news that these problems have now been overcome.”

Cllr Melanie Simpson adds:

“Highgate residents are keen to recycle, and the Council should be more active in dealing with problems regarding collections. This is good news, but it should not require a campaign before the Council starts to look for solutions.”

After a long campaign from local residents and Lib Dem Lynne Featherstone, the Metropolitan Police has at last announced that it can find the funding to reopen the Muswell Hill police station front counter. The move follows a long battle by Ms Featherstone, the Lib Dems and local residents to reopen the station, which has been controversially closed to the public.

The move came in a discussion this morning between the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens, and Cllr Featherstone, who also sits on the Metropolitan Police Authority.Sir John assured Ms Featherstone that money could be quickly found for the front counter, which would allow it to reopen. Once the funds have been confirmed, he has agreed to reopen the front counter with Ms Featherstone, telling her “I’ll come and open it with you.”

Cllr Lynne Featherstone comments:

“This is a marvellous piece of news. It has been a long running campaign to persuade the police that local people need a police station in the community that they can call upon. I hope the station can be reopened as soon as possible, once the final funding details have been sorted out.

“People in Muswell Hill have waited a long time for some good news, and we were always undeterred, despite several setbacks in recent months. This is the best Christmas news the community could have wished for.”

Liberal Democrats have chosen local resident and campaigner Laura Edge as their prospective candidate for the Stroud Green by election, set to take place on 29th January.

The Lib Dems stand an excellent chance of capturing the seat following their breakthrough in nearby Crouch End last year. The party now holds more council seats that Labour in the west of the borough with the Greens and Tories having no seats at all anywhere in Haringey.

Laura Edge has lived in Stroud Green for two years, and has actively campaigned with Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone on local issues, such as the cleaning up of the local railway stations.25-year old Laura is about to start a new job at University College London in the Law Department. She has been a volunteer with BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), helping to repair public footpaths. She has also worked in an old person’s home and is currently a volunteer on a telephone advice line for a national charity.

She has been active in the Lib Dems since her teens, and Lib Dem campaigning very much runs in the family – Laura’s dad is a Lib Dem councillor in Farnham, Surrey.

Laura Edge comments:

“I am delighted to have been chosen as prospective candidate for the ward. Local residents are fed up with the Labour council, which never gets to grips with the problems of rubbish and dumping in Stroud Green. People are also extremely disillusioned with Labour over the war in Iraq. We are very much looking forward to the campaign.”

Note:

The council vacancy follows the dramatic resignation of Labour councillor Josie Irwin, who has attacked the “arrogance displayed by council officers” and the Labour-run council’s frequent failure to respond to even simple questions. She went on to say that she was “sick and tired after 13 years of having to nag and cajole council officers to get even the most basic of responses.”

The Liberal Democrats have criticised Haringey Council for refusing to reveal what drugs are being given to children in care. Councillor Ron Aitken, the party’s Social Services Spokesperson, wrote to the Department on 24 October 2003 asking how many children who are looked after by social services had been given Ritalin, SSRI antidepressants or tranquillisers, and for the names of the drugs which have been administered to local children.

The national press last week carried the news that up to 50,000 children and adolescents have been given SSRI antidepressants even though they are not licensed for use with children – GPs can prescribe them if they think it is appropriate. The mental health charity MIND has called for a review of medicine regulation following revelations that more children given these drugs were likely to attempt suicide.

Four antidepressants of the SSRI type have now been banned by the Medicines and Healthcare Control Agency for use on children and adolescents. They are Lustral, Cipramil, Cipralex and Faverin, two others were banned earlier this year- Seroxat and Efexor.

Cllr Ron Aitken comments:

“Haringey’s silence on this issue is all too typical. I am concerned that local children in care have been prescribed these drugs, especially if they have not also been given access to ‘talking treatments’ which are far more effective in the long term than medication. I would also want to be satisfied that antidepressants and tranquillisers are not being used simply to control challenging behaviour rather than addressing long-term issues.”