Strike a light

25 October, 2009 at 4:59 pm · Filed under Neighbourhood ·Tagged , , , , ,

Despite real fears about crime, the figures are getting better. Crime fell 14% in Islington last year, and the Lib Dem Council is funding a new team to support crime victims and work with residents to increase the number of anti-social behaviour cases going to court.

Meanwhile one Finsbury resident has been jailed for a year for a rather unusual crime. Andrew McKee from Hermit Street, EC1 was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment for ‘recklessly and negligently endangering an aircraft’ – despite never leaving the ground.

Back in July 2007, the Metropolitan Police helicopter was on an operation over Hermit Street, when a green laser light was shone directly into the cockpit, several times.

The police traced the laser back to Mr McKee and charged him under Article 73 of the Air Navigation Order 2005. MoD scientists and the helicopter pilot gave evidence that shining the laser into the cockpit did put the aircraft, its passengers (and of course all the people living below including Mr McKee and his family) at risk.

I don’t expect the Met Police have much call to apply the Air Navigation Order, airports apart, but it could have its uses.

Article 66 of the same Order, you will be glad to know, prohibits dropping animals from an aircraft in flight (‘whether or not attached to a parachute’); while article 50 requires one pilot to remain at the controls at all times while it is in flight. Makes sense to me.

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Westbourne Road licensing verdict

24 October, 2009 at 10:35 am · Filed under Campaigns, Consumer, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Sad to say, the campaign to fight yet another off-licence opening in Westbourne Road has been unsuccessful, after the appeal by Mr Kilic against Islington’s award of a licence failed this week.

Cllr James Kempton and I were among those who gave witness statements in support of the residents’ objections.

In my witness statement, I argued: “This is a residential area, with schools, churches, community centres, a children’s centre and an adventure playground nearby. It is not a suitable area for an increased number of alcohol sales outlets. I find it deeply ironic that as one Government policy has robbed this neighbourhood of its post office, another now allows the flooding of the area with off-licences. This is not an improvement.

“There is growing concern about the impact of alcohol on crime and anti-social behaviour and in making people, particularly young people, vulnerable to crime. The local council, sitting as the licensing authority, should balance the legitimate desire of local businesses to trade with the negative impact of certain trades on the community. In this case, I believe another off-licence in such an over-provided area would be one too far.”

And I was not alone. Residents, councillors, local churches and schools, and other local businesses all expressed their concerns, backed by a large petition.

But to no avail. The Licensing Act makes it almost impossible for councils to refuse licences, unless the police also object, and the court faced the same problem.

As David Trillo of the Ellington Street Residents’ Association (ESRA) puts it, “Everyone knows that the law pertaining to alcohol is counterproductive and until it is changed off licences will continue to be handed out like confetti.”

Meanwhile, the Council has taken action against another off licence, caught persistently making underage alcohol sales. Express Food and Wine in St Peter Street lost its licence after being caught on 4 separate occasions selling booze to under-18s. And that was after having their licence suspended for a month due to previous offences.

This week there have also been calls for a minimum price for alcohol, in response to what researchers call “an epidemic of alcohol-related health and social problems”. The idea is to stop the situation where off-licences undercut each other on booze to get people through the door. Which is exactly what Westbourne Road residents fear will now happen near them.

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Weak-willed Labour MPs veto 10:10 at Westminster

23 October, 2009 at 8:29 am · Filed under Campaigns, Going green, Liberal Democrats ·Tagged , , , ,

Lib Dem MPs have been leading the debate on fighting climate change by trying to get the Government to sign up to 10:10 this week. Having been at the 10:10 launch, I was delighted to see this motion tabled – and I’d certainly have voted for it if I was in Parliament.

10:10 is the initiative to get individuals and organisations to commit to start reducing carbon emissions right now, by reducing 10% by the end of 2010. Islington Council has signed up and so have many individuals (the Fox-Turnbull household is doing its bit by replacing our old boiler with a combination one).

With endorsement from so many campaigners, including the 38 Degrees pressure group, and with the Copenhagen summit coming soon, this would have been both popular and good, the right decision at the right time.

After all, we are the first generation to understand the full impact of climate change, and the last to be able to do something about it.

So did Labour embrace the opportunity? No they did not. Despite many individual Labour MPs and ministers pledging to back 10:10, when it came to the vote they rejected any commitment to specific action by the Government, voting through an amendment full of vague praise for existing schemes instead.

Warm words and photo ops from Labour politicians are a waste of time if when it comes to taking real action now on the environment they refuse.

It’s no surprise that Islington South MP Emily Thornberry was among those vetoing 10:10. She has already failed to vote against Heathrow expansion; and she helped kill off the Fuel Poverty Bill.

Signing up to the 10:10 initiative would have made the Government’s commitment to action clear ahead of the Copenhagen summit. But once again we will get words without action. It’s shameful that weak-willed Labour MPs let the Government whips defeat this vital move.

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QT and BNP

22 October, 2009 at 11:54 pm · Filed under Campaigns, Movies, media, music & culture ·Tagged , , , , ,

Tonight we had a good campaign session in Holloway; all sorts of people, from pensioners to young professionals are switching to the Lib Dems.

One woman, an NHS midwife, told us how hard life was, working long hours and coming home to high bills, with Government action like abolishing the 10p tax rate just making things worse. She won’t be voting Labour again.

Then there was the BNP voter. One of my colleagues (like the midwife, British born of Asian parents) got an earful. Just the one BNP voter, but one too many for our liking. I’m proud of my diverse campaign team, and it’s unacceptable when they get abuse, not for their policies, ideas or allegiance, but for who they are.

Most people don’t vote BNP. And most of those who do are doing it as a protest rather than a deliberate choice. Like a youth I canvassed during the Euro elections; “I probably won’t vote. Or I might vote BNP. Yeah, BNP. Or Green.”

The BNP is an evil organisation, led by nasty people, who exploit anxiety to grow prejudice. They sell fear in place of hope, despair in place of faith, hate in place of love. They are illiberal, unChristian and unBritish. Their core ideas are racism based on lies. And the best way to defeat them is to expose them.

I hope that tonight’s Question Time did just that. Certainly Nick Griffin got a deservedly rough ride, caught out by his own words, uniting the other parties against him. The protesters outside the BBC, however passionate their anti-fascism, are wrong. We cannot defeat the evil BNP by shouting them down or banning them; those are the tactics fascists themselves use. We defeat them by winning the argument, by showing the truth about the BNP, by building support from all communities for mainstream parties, by defending human rights, and by working to help British residents of all backgrounds feel socially and economically secure.

We live on a small planet where more of the world speaks the same language, uses the same technology, where we can travel round the world in a weekend; I live in a country whose people practically invented the idea of travelling the world for experience or gain, and where our best loved institutions from the NHS to Premier League football would collapse without migrant labour.

In Islington we are celebrating Black History Month – and encouraging people to register to vote.

Nick Griffin gets a platform because people elected him. As one commenter, Pete from Hertford, says on the BBC’s discussion board, “I sincerely hope that everyone who has turned up to protest outside TV Centre actually voted in the last European Election. If not, they’re just as complicit in handing the BNP a mandate”.

So tomorrow we’ll be out on the campaign trail again.

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Bandstand busking

21 October, 2009 at 8:07 am · Filed under Movies, media, music & culture, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , ,

Earlier this year, Clerkenwell Councillor George Allan & I were chatting to residents in Northampton Square, and the subject of the old bandstand came up. One of the families had very musical children who were saying they wished they could use the bandstand to perform.

Roll on a few months, and it’s become a reality. Bandstand Busking, a self-described ‘a sort of cooperative of music likers’ are organising a series of busking events in London bandstands, including Northampton Square. Their website is not wildly easy to use but certainly gives a flavour of previous events, plus some fetching photos of bandstands in all seasons.

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Equitable Life debate today

21 October, 2009 at 7:52 am · Filed under Campaigns, Consumer, Liberal Democrats ·Tagged , , ,

Liberal Democrat MPs will be using part of their Opposition Day today to debate the Government paying compensation to Equitable Life policyholders.

The Opposition Day motion is based on an Early Day Motion (EDM 1423) tabled by Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats, which so far has the signatures of 335 MPs from all parties, including more than 250 Labour and Conservative MPs.

The EDM reads:

That this House notes the Parliamentary Ombudsman has taken the unusual step of using powers under the 1967 Act to present Parliament with a further and final report on Equitable Life; also notes that the Public Administration Select Committee’s second report on Equitable Life, Justice denied? concluded that the Government response to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s report was inadequate as a remedy for injustice; recognises the vital role the Ombudsman plays in public life; reaffirms the duty of Parliament to support the office of the Ombudsman; believes the Government should accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman on compensating policyholders who have suffered loss; welcomes the formation of the All-Party Group on Justice for Equitable Life Policyholders; and notes with regret its necessary formation and the fact that over 30,000 people have already died waiting for a just resolution to this saga.

While Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has signed the EDM, Islington South & Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry has so far failed to do so.

While only MPs can sign the EDM, we can all show support by signing the national petition on the same subject.

Unlike Ms Thornberry, I fully support the case of Equitable Life policyholders for compensation. This injustice should have been righted long since.

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Islington’s most haunted?

20 October, 2009 at 1:06 pm · Filed under Local history, Neighbourhood ·Tagged , , ,

The Evening Standard has a piece about London’s most haunted places – and one of them is in Islington.

According to the Standard, Charterhouse Square, on the southern fringe of the borough, is haunted by ghostly screams from the site of a plague pit dating back to 1348, where some 50,000 victims were buried.

And it’s also claimed that the Charterhouse itself is haunted by the ghost of its former owner Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, “who strides down the main staircase, head tucked under his arm, as he returns to where he was arrested.”

They don’t mention the ghost of William Wallace, executed in nearby Smithfield. Nor all the ghosts that might haunt Poirot’s flat in ‘Whitehaven Mansions’ (real-life Florin Court).

I have to say that I’ve never had any ghostly experiences while delivering or doorknocking around Charterhouse Square. Not even while coming home late after a night out. What with the pubs, clubs and early morning meat market, it’s the living who have trouble sleeping….

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Biofuels: Islington joins the good guys

18 October, 2009 at 9:44 am · Filed under Campaigns ·Tagged , ,

I’ve blogged before about biofuels and the growing concern that growing food for fuel is the opposite of sustainability.

Unless we can curb demand for fuel, through energy efficiency and more sustainable transport, all that we risk doing is converting land away from food production to growing fuel; or if the fuel is made from food crops, pricing the latter out of the reach of poorer communities.

But not all biofuels are bad. Recycling used vegetable oil for fuel is a brilliant idea, and I’m pleased that Islington Council is joining in. Used kitchen oil from Islington restaurants will be used to fuel three of the borough’s waste trucks.

I hope they can convert them all over to use waste oil. It’s a win-win-win, saving money, saving waste, reducing carbon emissions. Talking of which, compared to the rotten eggs whiff from catalytic converters, the chip shop smell from cooking oil is quite endearing.

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Licensing battles: victory in Clerkenwell, fight continues in Westbourne Road

16 October, 2009 at 5:45 pm · Filed under Campaigns ·Tagged , , ,

Congratulations to George Allan and the Clerkenwell Lib Dem team for securing victory in their campaign.

They have been asking that the area is recognised as ’saturated’ with licensed premises. Clerkenwell ward has 135 licensed premises – that’s about one for every 35 households!

So no more licenses will now be issued: and existing licensed premises will have to be good neighbours or risk losing their license to a better operator.

This is one of the first examples of residents fighting back against the flood of licensed premises following Labour’s Licensing Act, but it may well not be the last.

I’ve just sent in my witness statement in a case supported by residents in the Westbourne Road and Ellington Street area. This is a residential neighbourhood, away from main roads, with schools, churches, a children’s centre and adventure playground. Not the obvious place for a boom in booze – yet that’s what’s happening.

The Ellington Street Residents Association (ESRA) have found there are already 27 off-licences within 500 metres of the shop where yet another off-licence wants to open up. Staggering distance, you might say.

The licensing law gives few grounds for councils to reject such applications, despite, in this case, so much local opposition. St Mary’s ward councillor James Kempton was particularly frustrated that the petition of over 450 signatures was effectively marginalised. Now the case is going to court, with a hearing later this month.

The heart of Westbourne Road’s little shopping parade used to be the local post office. But like so many in Islington, it was closed as part of the notorious ‘Network Renewal’ programme. I find it deeply ironic that as one Government policy has robbed this neighbourhood of its post office, another now allows the flooding of the area with off-licences.

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Glaswegian interpreter required…

14 October, 2009 at 1:38 pm · Filed under Language, Movies, media, music & culture ·Tagged ,

The idea is to help folk whose ‘business English’ isn’t up to managing the local accent. BBC Scotland has the details.

Richard is not thinking of applying, he assures me. At least I think that’s what he said….

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