Do you belong to a suspicious group? It’s hard not to…

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I’ve blogged a few times about the absurd lengths to which the government’s “tough on crime” rhetoric takes it, but now Helen Duffett on Lib Dem Voice has done an excellent job rounding up some of the most recent stories:

So far-fetched have been recent grounds for arrest, or for flagging yourself up as a terrorist suspect, that people keep asking me if Lib Dem Voice is running a series of hoax posts. (We’ve had lingering near street ironworks, ordering vegetarian airline meals, handing in lost property, scaring ducks, putting your bin out on the wrong day, looking at things and – easily the most heinous, in my opinion – going equipped with balloons.)

I thought I was joking (albeit darkly) when I said on LibDig that people might one day be singled out for their taste in music, but even that now appears to have happened. Home Office Watch features the terrifying ordeal of a jazz musician arrested by anti-terror police who had taken his soundproofed studio, replete with wires, as a sign of bomb-making.

You can read Helen’s full piece here. The serious point of course is that there are all examples of how keen the state is to keep tabs on the innocent and suspecting on the flimsiest of grounds – rather than concentrating on going after the guilty and genuinely suspicious activity. Each time there is one of these silly stories – remember not just the innocent victims, but also that it’s police time and resources that could have been going on something more worthwhile.

The Jubilee Line goes missing

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From Archway Station – ooops, they’ve missed the “Jubilee Line” box off for London Bridge (where it does run), and have added a sliver of Jubilee Line colour to Elephant & Castle (where it doesn’t) – not a successful bit of sign-making!

Northern Line sign at Archway Station with error over London Bridge

Perhaps this is becoming a new hobby for me – picking up on tube station signs that don’t give the right information about which line a station is on – as readers may recall from the Finsbury Park sign in 2007!

Local MP stands up for autism at TreeHouse

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To mark the second-ever World Autism Awareness Day, Lynne Featherstone MP on Thursday proudly ‘stood up for autism’ in a visit to the local autism education charity TreeHouse in Muswell Hill.

The charity on Thursday covered the outside walls of their new National Centre, which includes a school for 68 children and young people with autism, with the outlines of students, teachers and the Liberal Democrat MP drawn on large sheets in an effort to increase local awareness of autism.

Lynne also got a virtual tour of TreeHouse’s new information and social networking website talkaboutautism.org.uk. The site includes expert information and advice about autism as well as a moderated online community where parents of children with autism can share experiences.

Lynne Featherstone commented:

“Every child with autism deserves to get the kind of support, care and attention that children who go to the TreeHouse School get.

“But sadly, less than one in ten children on the spectrum get that kind of specialised help, and with the number of children diagnosed increasing year on year, raising awareness of the condition is more important today than ever before. It is for this reason I recently supported the Autism Private Member’s Bill to force more action from the Government on this issue.

“And that’s why I am so proud to have a fantastic place like TreeHouse just around the corner, and that’s why today I am especially proud to be standing up for autism!”

Ian Wylie, TreeHouse Chief Executive, adds:

“One in a hundred school-aged children have autism in the UK and yet the services and support available to them and their families are often woefully inadequate.

“As the national charity for autism education, TreeHouse believes that the right education is key to transforming the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families. We are delighted to have the continued support of Lynne Featherstone MP.”

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.

The London Experience at St Mary's

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Following her visit earlier today to St Mary’s CE Junior School’s ‘The London Experience’, Lynne Featherstone MP comments:

“This is the most wonderful exhibition I’ve ever seen by a primary school.

“I was gobsmacked and awestruck by the scope of the project, by the brilliance of the artwork, the depth of the collection and all the information presented.

“This exhibition is completely brilliant and I bet all the children have learnt a massive amount, and that this experience will be embedded in their minds forever.

“Well done to all the children and teachers at St Mary’s”

You can see photos here and here.

Hornsey – Liberal Democrats welcome new crossing attendant after long delay

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Children using a pedestrian crossing on a busy road to school will be safer after a successful campaign by local residents, supported by Liberal Democrats, resulted in the appointment of a new crossing attendant.Local Liberal Democrats have welcomed Sharon Beale, the new crossing attendant for St. Mary’s School.

In October 2007, following repeated requests by the school, Haringey Council finally agreed that St. Mary’s schoolchildren needed an attendant to help them safely cross Hornsey High Street. However, there then followed an 18-minth delay which included a six-month wait for government checks to be completed.

Cllr Robert Gorrie, Hornsey ward, comments:

“I welcome Sharon with open arms and wish her all the best in her role. It is a vital job to help protect our children who have to cross busy roads to get to school.

“It is not good that children of St. Mary’s have had to wait eighteen months to get a safe walk to school. It is totally unacceptable that it took the Council and the government six-months to do basic checks that have held up this vital service further.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“It’s fantastic, perseverance has paid off and now children will be safer crossing Hornsey’s busy high street.”

Haringey Council backtracking over traffic plans

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Haringey Council promises to fast track extensions to Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) are in disarray after parking bosses told local residents they may have to wait up to two years for consultations to start.

Last year, in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the parking nightmare they created in Crouch End in 2007, the Council announced that streets near, but not initially included, in CPZs could petition Haringey Council to be included.

The fast track process was planned to take three to four months. However, in an answer to a question tabled at the Full Council meeting this week, Haringey Council admitted that it is taking much longer to implement extensions to CPZs – it took seven months to extend the Green Lanes CPZ and eight months to introduce an increase in the Wood Green Outer CPZ.

Local Liberal Democrats have criticised Haringey Council for misleading local residents by suggesting that it could expand CPZs in four months under the fast track scheme.

Cllr Lyn Weber, Crouch End, comments:

“It is clear that Labour-run Haringey Council has failed to deliver an effective fast track scheme. The fact that it has taken nearly twice as long as planned to implement the two extensions in Wood Green and Harringay proves that Haringey Council is not succeeding.

“Local residents have been led down the garden path. Promises of a fast track scheme that would solve the parking problems in Crouch End have not materialised. Council parking bosses need to be honest with residents and come up with an approach that works.”

Lynne Featherstone MP, adds:

“It is not fair to local residents to be told that if they want their roads included in CPZs that can be done within a few months but when they actually ask for it to happen they are told it will take up to two years.”

Haringey Council says no to money for local projects

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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”.