Changing the rules on the monarchy: 25 and counting

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Buckingham PalaceFollowing my taking up the cudgels on behalf of women in the line of succession to the throne – by calling for the current rules which discriminate in favour of men to be axed – I’ve put down an early day motion (EDM) in Parliament in order to supplement my referral of the matter to the Equalities Commission.

EDM number 710 has 25 signatories so far – including MPs from all the main parties. (Apologies to Conservative Brian Coleman, who seems to get terribly excited when I raise this issue – but yes, Brian, supporters include MPs from your own party. I’m sure in the spirit of honesty and consistency you’ll direct the same comments at them as you have at me…!)

You can lobby your own MP to sign the EDM very easily via www.writetothem.com – remember to give the number of the EDM in your message.

The story has also been picked up in the East Anglian Daily Times this week.

Ken Livingstones faces libel action

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Well – today’s Evening Standard has brought the news that Ken Livingstone is going to be sued for libel by Brenda Stern. She’s the whistleblower who highlighted a series of concerns over financial management during Ken’s reign and was sacked, raising the obvious question of whether she was sacked because she’d raised those concerns.

Mayor Livingstone has laid into her, saying, “we had to get rid of after complaints she was intimidatory to the staff working for her.”

But as the Evening Standard reports:

A complaint of bullying was made against her but in a letter seen by the Standard, LDA chief executive Manny Lewis says the allegation was investigated and was “not founded”.

Tsk tsk Ken. Not really much of a surprise that a libel action looks likely to be the outcome of this spat – but there’s also this very worrying footnote to today’s news:

The Mayor’s office hit back, threatening that if Ms Stern sued, the GLA would investigate “other matters” apart from her stint at the LDA, including her past life and previous employment.

What on earth is all that about Ken? Oh, and will it be London taxpayers’ money you’ll be spending on digging into the past lives of your staff?

What do I get up to in Parliament?

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Lynne Featherstone asking the Prime Minister a question in ParliamentIt’s a while since I’ve mentioned www.hearfromyourmp.com – one of the excellent services run by Tom Steinberg and co from www.mysociety.org. Its basic idea is to make it much easier for members of the public to find out what their MP has been doing – so whether you are a constituent of mine or not, I do encourage you to sign up in order to, as it says on the tin, hear from your MP at www.hearfromyourmp.com

One of the other sites that team runs is www.theyworkforyou.com – a now near essential way of getting information on what’s been going on in Parliament (and in many ways better than Parliament’s own site). One thing to mention in particular – you can sign up to be emailed with details of when I speak in Parliament, ask a question etc. It’s on this page.

Labour lets us down over plastic bags

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I’ve blogged before about some of the great things local communities, such as residents and businesses in Crouch End, are doing to help tackle over-use of plastic bags – with all the litter and environmental problems that flow from them.

So it’s really disappointing that this week Labour councillors in Haringey blocked moves to support more of these schemes in our borough. It’s like walking back into the worst excesses of the 1970s when a Labour councillor objects to schemes to reduce usage of plastic bags because … “unions weren’t consulted”! It’s not as if we’re talking about cuts some jobs in the council or anything – just about supporting residents and businesses with a sensible scheme to aid our environment. And how out of touch of Labour councillors to say such schemes won’t work – when right here in Crouch End we have a successful scheme that is working.

But you know what annoys me most about this? It’s a classic case of there being a problem, people getting together locally to come up with imaginative solutions and then the state (Haringey Council in this case) failing to do its bit to help. It’s that sort of narrow-minded conservatism which, in the end, damages the case for everyone who believes there’s a need for councils and government to help provide decent services for everyone.

UPDATE: The Ham & High has covered the story, with more from my colleague Cllr Bob Hare (Highgate).

Haringey Council backtracks on Muswell Hill Library funding

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A planned extension to a popular library has been scrapped following a u-turn by Haringey Council. The Labour-run council proposed to match money raised from the sale of land behind Muswell Hill Library in a £1.2 investment to improve facilities, but the library now will only receive minimum funding without additional investment from Haringey Council.

Lib Dems have expressed their disappointment that Haringey Council has, once again, failed library users in the area.

The reversal of the proposed funding was revealed at a meeting of Haringey Council’s Cabinet on 22nd January 2008 when Cllr Gail Engert (Lib Dem, Muswell Hill) questioned confused Labour members over the plan. The Council Leader, Cllr George Meehan told the meeting that Haringey Council had allocated the money needed – but had to be corrected by council officers who told him this was not the case.

Cllr Gail Engert comments:

“Muswell Hill Library has seen years of neglect by Haringey Labour and again the only commitment is another patch-up job. I am deeply disappointed that the library will not be extended after much consultation of residents and library users.

“The Labour Cabinet didn’t seem to know what was going on, with the Council Leader thinking they had agreed to fund the extension when he hadn’t.You have to question whether the Cabinet even understood the decision they were making on Muswell Hill Library.”

Cllr David Winskill, Lib Dem Leisure, Culture and Lifelong learning spokesperson, adds:

“It was amazing that, when questioned, Labour members didn’t seem to know what money the Council was giving to Muswell Hill library. It is very worrying that they are not investing in our libraries but it is also reflection of their lack of grip on the council’s finances and their disregard for taxpayers.”

Liberal Democrats back local police force fight for better pay

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Haringey police officers were joined by Liberal Democrat councillors on Wednesday as they marched through London in search of better pay.

Councillors Ron Aiken and Monica Whyte lent their support to over 200 officers from the borough who attended the 22,000 strong rally protesting against the Government’s rejection of a 2.5% pay award for all police.

The award was recommended on the advice of the Independent Police Arbitration Tribunal but was turned down by the Government because of the public sector pay squeeze.

Earlier in the week at a Full Council meeting, when challenged by Cllr Aitken the Labour administration failed to come out and support the officer’s call for better pay.

Cllr Ron Aitken, Liberal Democrat Policing Spokesperson adds:

“The police in Haringey do a fantastic job, working hard to keep our streets safe. It’s only right that their salaries reflect this. The Liberal Democrats are proud to back the police on this issue whereas the Labour run Council praise the police in one breath, but refuse to support them in another.”

Cllr Monica Whyte (Hornsey) adds:

“All over London the Police are being squeezed to breaking point. To not recognise their hard work by failing of offer a fair pay deal is outrageous.”

Our 2010 manifesto pledge will not be met admits Labour

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Red-faced members of Labour-led Haringey Council were forced to admit this week that their promise to deliver better housing for Haringey residents by 2010 will not be met.

Labour’s housing boss admitted at a meeting on the Full Council on Monday that Homes for Haringey, which reports directly to the Council, will not get a place on a funding scheme called ‘Decent Homes’ until April this year. This will be bad news for Haringey tenants who have been waiting years for much needed improvements to their properties.

Back in 2006, a key part of the Labour election campaign was promising residents that the improvements will be made by 2010. The latest delay means that this pledge will now not be met.

Questions still remain over why the Council failed to get a place on the central government run funding scheme. Earlier in the year, the Council said they would get the money after achieving a two star rating from the Audit Commission.

Cllr Carolyn Baker, Lib Dem Housing Spokesperson, said:

“Yet again, Labour has failed to deliver for the people of Haringey. Good quality council housing should be a top priority for any council. But it seems that Haringey Council has not pulled its finger out to get on the list for funding.

“Because of their failure to shout up for Haringey when the money was being distributed, residents will have to wait even longer for the improvements they badly need whilst they live in properties lacking in basic modern amenities.

“On top of this, tenants are facing huge increases in rent for properties that are in need of repair. This is not good enough, and someone needs to explain to residents how this has happened and what they are going to do about it.”

Good news in Highgate bus stand saga

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Transport for London’s Peter Hendy has agreed to a TfL making a site visit to discuss the vexed question of the location of Highgate Village’s main bus stand.

The solution I’m after is an extension of the vital 271 to East Finchley – so it connects better with other local services and East Finchley tube station. This would not only create more joined-up bus services, but would also allow the removal of the bus stand – greatly improving Pond Square. Better bus services and a better space for the community – it’d be a matter of win, win.

You can read more details of the story here and you can read the Hornsey Journal’s coverage of the story here.

Once again, it's the cover-up that gets you…

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It’s one of the greatest cliches of politics that, when it comes to scandal, it’s the cover-up which gets people rather than the original offence. It’s become a cliche because it is so often true – as we’ve seen again this week with Rosemary Emodi.

The scandal about one of Ken Livingstone’s advisers taking a free trip to a luxury resort in Nigeria has cost her (Rosemary Emodi) her job – but the trigger for going wasn’t the original story, it was her denying she had ever made the trip – and then the BBC presenting evidence that she had.

Denying you made a trip which will have involved air flights, many people seeing you, a large gap in your diary of events in the UK and so on is a very high-risk strategy. I guess as the other investigations and allegations continue to play out we will see whether there was anything more behind this high-risk approach, or whether it was just a very foolish decision in the heat of the moment.

Remembering the Holocaust

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Holocaust survivor Rudi Openheimer with Lynne Featherstone MPHolocaust Memorial event at Muswell Hill Synagogue with children from Gladesmore School meeting Rudi Openheimer – a Holocaust survivor. I’ve been to many events to listen to a survivor tell their tale over the years. And it never fails to bring home the awful, unbearable truths of man’s inhumanity.

This is a phenomenal tradition – the giving of living histories to our children. And the children listened and I have no doubt they understood in a way that they probably never understood before. For some of them, most, they had never been into a synagogue before.

In the introduction, which I thought very clever, those in the audience were asked to raise their hands if they were Jewish. About ten people raised their hands. They were then asked if they could have told these people were Jews if they had seen them walking down the street. They all shook their hands.

Then it was explained that in a European, civilised country just like England – a group of people (the Nazis) decided that this group would be killed. There was no hot-blooded fighting – only cold blooded systematic extermination.

That is when Rudi Openheimer took up the tale. Well done to Muswell Hill Synagogue and all who helped put this together. It is unforgettable. And on Sunday is Holocaust Memorial Day itself.