I’ve got half an hour before our weekly parliamentary party meeting – but I can’t settle down following the sheer exhilaration and excitement of winning the vote on our, Liberal Democrat opposition motion to give the Ghurkhas full rights to live in our country. When you see your tellers, the LibDem tellers come and stand on the right as you face Mr Speaker – you know the Government has suffered a defeat. And then you wait – and then the teller from the winning side reads out the vote – and you hear that you have defeated the Government by over 20 votes – and the House goes wild!
Equality Bill – Sky coverage
Sky’s got a report on the Bill, including my views, here.
New tennis courts come to Highgate
Started gorgeous Sunday at 6am – too much to do – too little time to do it. Highlight of the day was the opening of the new tennis courts at Highgate Tennis and Cricket Club.
After years of neglect to courts belonging to Highgate Wood School, the club – with the help of Cllr Lyn Weber – finally persuaded the school and Haringey Council that renovating the courts would be good for all. Now these sparkling courts will be used by the school, the tennis club etc and they will all play happily ever after.
Steve Reynolds, club leader, has been the driving force behind this ten year campaign. Many obstacles and barriers had to be overcome – but yesterday it was clearly all worth it – as Jo Durie helped open the courts and then went on to play an exhibition match.
The sun shone. Someone put a glass of wine in my hand. I sat and watched the tennis match – my favourite sport. I related my tennis history to the assembled ranks – ball boy at Queen’s, pass to Wimbledon and players’ box and lounge. Tennis was my passion – long gone – alas.
So well done to all those who made this possible.
MP helps local teachers take fight against SATS to Minister
MP Lynne Featherstone last week helped a local Head Teacher present the findings of a survey on school testing to the Schools’ Minister Jim Knight MP.
The survey of parents found that 90% of those who responded to the questionnaire at Coldfall Primary are opposed to SATS.
In the meeting in Parliament, Evelyn Davies, Head Teacher, and her colleagues gave a forceful presentation of the school’s experience of SATS testing and the negative effects they have on children and the curriculum.
The school urged the Government to give teachers, as the professionals, more power to assess and moderate children’s performance.
Commenting, Lynne Featherstone, Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey & Wood Green, said:
“This is democracy in action. The school had something important to say and I helped them say it directly to the right person. I was immensely impressed by the work of the school and by the quality of their presentation.
“With SATS, something is terribly wrong when you have primary school children being made ill from the stress of these tests.Whilst not fully representative – this survey is a good straw poll of what local parents think.
“With the testing regime currently under review, I think it was a good time for the Minister to hear what the real experts have to say. It is vitally important that politicians never become disconnected from the reality of what goes on in schools.”
Ms. Evelyn Davies, Head of Coldfall Primary School, adds:
“The heart of the matter is that education for young children should be about developing the skills, attitudes and knowledge to enable each child to become a whole rounded, social, emotionally intelligent and capable individual, able to make choices and develop their skills and talents.
“Children should love learning and develop learn to learn skills, they should not be judged or valued on their test performance at such a young age. Our aim at Coldfall is to ensure children’s learning is relevant, meaningful and motivational and enable life long learning.”
Local MP supports Hornsey girls' demand for end to world school crisis
After a five year long battle by local tennis enthusiasts and a local school, the newly refurbished Highgate Woods Tennis Courts were officially opened yesterday with the help of tennis star Jo Durie and local Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone and Lyn Weber.
The successful opening was the result of the long-running joint campaign between Highgate Woods School and the Highgate Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club committee, led by Tennis Secretary Steven Reynolds and Club Treasurer Nick Harvey.
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“What a glorious day to celebrate the grand opening of these beautifully renovated tennis court.
“It’s great to see that five years worth of energy and commitment by Steven Reynolds, Nick Harvey, the tennis club committee and Councillor Lyn Weber has come together in such a fantastic local asset where residents and Highgate Wood students can play happily ever after. Well done all!”
Tennis star and Liberal Democrats open tennis courts after five year long battle
After a five year long battle by local tennis enthusiasts and a local school, the newly refurbished Highgate Woods Tennis Courts were officially opened yesterday with the help of tennis star Jo Durie and local Liberal Democrats Lynne Featherstone and Lyn Weber.
The successful opening was the result of the long-running joint campaign between Highgate Woods School and the Highgate Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club committee, led by Tennis Secretary Steven Reynolds and Club Treasurer Nick Harvey.
Lynne Featherstone MP comments:
“What a glorious day to celebrate the grand opening of these beautifully renovated tennis court.
“It’s great to see that five years worth of energy and commitment by Steven Reynolds, Nick Harvey, the tennis club committee and Councillor Lyn Weber has come together in such a fantastic local asset where residents and Highgate Wood students can play happily ever after. Well done all!”
Threat to close school after sewage leak
Haringey Council has neglected children’s safety by failing to fix a raw sewage leak at Bounds Green School, just yards from a drinking fountain. Alarm was raised on Friday last week when a member of the school’s staff contacted local Liberal Democrat councillor John Oakes saying that Haringey Council had been aware of the leak for the last ten years but had done nothing to repair it.
Cllr Oakes, as Health and Safety Governor of Bounds Green School, has threatened to have the school closed if Haringey Council does not deal with leak by the end of today. He has told council officers that he will ask Area Health Officer, Eugenia Cronin, to close the school unless the raw sewage leak is dealt with.
Cllr Oakes is now calling for an urgent health-audit of all other Haringey schools.
Cllr John Oakes, Bounds Green, comments:
“This is a serious threat to the health and safety of hundreds of children. Labour-controlled Haringey Council can always find funds for headline grabbing expenditure but consistently fail to deal with the basic maintenance necessary to keep our children safe.”
Lynne Featherstone MP adds:
“I am truly shocked that Haringey Council has not recognised the seriousness of this situation. We cannot have our children going to school with raw sewage yards away from their drinking water. This needs to be fixed now, no excuses.”
Haringey Council agrees to Alexandra Park Library renovation
Following pressure from local residents and Liberal Democrats, Alexandra Park Library will receive a long overdue face-lift this summer it has been announced. The news has been welcomed by local Liberal Democrats but they have criticised Haringey Council for not carrying out repairs earlier.
The renovations will start in June and will take six weeks to complete. Works will include re-painting external walls and handrails, replacing light fittings and a new sign above the entrance to the library.
Cllr Susan Oatway, Alexandra ward, comments:
“Local residents will be happy that Haringey Council has finally recognised that Alexandra Park library is in desperate need of renovation.”
Lynne Featherstone MP, added:
“Our local libraries are fantastic resources, but to make sure that they are used widely they need to be accessible and welcoming. I’m glad that Haringey Council has realised it needs to invest in our libraries, and this would be a great time to look at other local libraries, like Wood Green for instance, that would certainly benefit from a bit of love and care.”
Haringey Council failing to notify residents of light bulb risk
Haringey Council should do more to inform local residents of the potentially harmful effects of breaking and disposing of some ‘green’ light bulbs, local Liberal Democrats have said.
Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs), the main type of energy-saving light bulb currently on the market, contain some harmful substances, such as mercury, which can escape if the light bulbs are broken and so the bulbs should not be put in residents’ waste or recycle bins. Liberal Democrats have raised questions but Haringey Council have only committed to putting a new page on their website to inform residents.
Cllr Martin Newton, who raised the question at the last Full Council (30th March 2009) and Overview and Scrutiny meetings (20th April 2009), comments:
“Whilst energy saving light bulbs help the environment by consuming less electricity, local residents must be alerted that they should not throw these away and be aware of the potential harm if they are broken.
“If these bulbs are broken, small amounts of mercury powder will be released and anyone using these bulbs needs to know how to handle them safely and what to do if they accidentally break one.
“However, Haringey Council seem to have not taken this seriously and have only committed to a new page on their website. This is not enough. They should be advertising how local residents should dispose of these light bulbs so they do not get into the waste stream and harm the environment.”
Protection of green spaces criticised
Haringey Council fails to have the necessary by-laws to protect the borough’s open spaces it has emerged. After incidents last week when Queens Wood in Highgate and the Parkland Walk were invaded by campers, local Liberal Democrats have unearthed that Haringey Council and the police do not have sufficient powers to move them on.
By-laws are used to protect open spaces such as Alexandra Park but no laws cover Parkland Walk or Queens Wood, which are both on the national list of Local Nature Reserves. Local Liberal Democrats have written to Haringey Council to ensure that firm steps are taken to introduce by-laws to protect Haringey’s green spaces.
Cllr David Winskill, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Leisure, comments:
“This is a shocking failure on behalf of Haringey Council to not have by-laws in place to protect our parks and nature reserves. I understand that some initial work is now being done by Haringey Council to rectify this but after so many years of this Labour administration, the lack of by-laws is almost beyond belief, and the work must be progressed urgently.”
Lynne Featherstone 