Peter John Labour Councillor for South Camberwell

Southwark's Housing Commission

2011-11-24T14:54:00.004Z

Over the next 5 years Southwark will be investing £326 million in making every council home 'Warm, Dry and Safe' in line with the commitment which we made to the electorate in 2010. This equates to nearly £1100 for every resident of the borough - and includes the use of over £100 million generated from asset sales outside the council's current housing estate. We are able to do this as a local authority as we are a significant land holder in the borough. However, there will come a point where we do not have other land assets to sell in order to fund our housing improvements and in any event, we have to ask whether it is right for us to invest so much money in our housing stock which could also be spent on improving our libraries, leisure centres, roads, pavements and other general assets used by all residents of the borough.

At the same time as we face this financial challenge we also face an unprecedented demand for our council housing in Southwark, with nearly 20,000 people on our housing waiting lists. There is undoubtedly a demand for high quality affordable rented housing in Southwark - indeed right across London; the sort of housing which councils are supposed to provide.

To consider these two challenges we have decided to appoint a Housing Commission to report within a year on how we might best manage Southwark's housing stock over the next 25 - 30 years. The Commission will be wholly independent of the Council, run by The Smith Institute and be chaired by the leading housing barrister Jan Luba QC. Jan Luba has an impressive record and has previously successfully represented tenants in claims against the council.

It is important that the Commission should be independent from the Council. Firstly, it will give the Commission a credibility which it would simply not have if it was made up of local councillors who may be regarded as having an agenda or pre-determined outcome. Secondly, I believe that it gives the Commission the ability to really consider all of the options which might be available for financing our existing stock and meeting future demand. The Commission will receive evidence from anyone who has an interest in the future of Southwark's housing - no one will be prevented from making submissions to the Commission and actually people will be encouraged to do so. Once the Commission has reported there will no doubt be much debate and consideration of its recommendations.

I start from the position that I want Southwark to retain its housing stock, but it would be irresponsible of us not to look at the big long term questions - too many administrations in Southwark have done that in the past.

It's disappointing that the Commission has already been dismissed as a "pointless" waste of money by Southwark's Lib Dems. I think it and the issues it will consider are too important to be dismissed without any real thought on the part of all politicians in the borough.

The photo shows Jan Luba QC with myself, Cllr Ian Wingfield and Cllr Fiona Colley

CPZ Consultation

2011-11-17T07:56:00.002Z

The Council has been undertaking a consultation into whether residents want a Controlled Parking Zone ('CPZ') in a number of roads in South Camberwell including St Francis Road and East Dulwich Road. Residents in Oglander Road were not consulted, although a couple of roads nearby were included within the consultation.

The consultation has caused a lot of concern, not least from some of the residents of Oglander Road who fear the potential 'knock-on' effects of the CPZ if it is introduced in neighbouring roads. And it is fair to say that the consultation has generated quite a lot of misinformation.

Firstly, it is important to recognise that a consultation for a CPZ will not happen unless residents have made requests to the Council over a fairly lengthy period of time. There will be no consultation if residents have not asked for a CPZ in the area.

Secondly, when deciding where the consultation will take place officers use their professional judgement to determine its scope and area. This is something of an art, although supported by years of experience and specialist knowledge.

Thirdly, a CPZ will not be introduced unless the majority of residents in a road vote in favour of its' introduction. A CPZ will not be introduced or imposed by the Council against the will of residents.

Fourthly, CPZ's are not money-making ventures for the Council. They are not a back-door form of taxation, but are a self-funding scheme designed to provide residents with parking near their own homes.

The consultation has now ended, and I will keep you posted on the outcome. However, residents need have no fear that a CPZ will be introduced in their area without them having been informed or consulted.

Today's Unemployment Figures

2011-11-16T15:47:00.003Z

With unemployment hitting 2.62 million today, and over a million young people out of work it really does look like the Coalition Government's much-vaunted 'Plan A' is not working. There is a terrifying risk that we will have another 'Thatcher Generation' of young people coming into the employment market without any real hope of work and condemned to lengthy periods without a job. It is no coincidence that the last two quarters of the Labour Government saw the economy growing - it was deliberate policies of continued investment in public services and initiatives like the Future Jobs Fund and Working Neighbourhood Fund which were making a real difference to the real economy. You have to wonder why the present government has abandoned policies which were working in favour of a policy approach which failed in the 1930's and the 1980's and which will undoubtedly fail again.

Equally staggering is the failure of local Liberal Democrats in Southwark to even raise a murmur about the damage THEIR government is doing. On the 1st of November ten senior Lib Dems, including former Southwark Councillor Ruth Bright, wrote to the Guardian pointing out the fact that their party had actively campaigned during the 2010 election campaign against the economic policies the Government is now pursuing. They said in their letter:
"...out of responsibility to the country, Liberal Democrats must now tell the Conservatives that they will no longer support policies which are not working. That is necessary even if one is only concerned about deficit reduction. As the Compass Plan B states, it already "looks as if the government will miss the defecit reduction target and, as the economy slows, the deficit could increase."

Today's unemployment figures and the concern expressed by Mervyn King must only add to the weight of the letter's argument.

Not unreasonably (I thought) I wrote to the Leader of the Lib Dem Group in Southwark asking her if she agreed with the contents of her colleagues' letter, and if not, why not.

Today I got a reply, of sorts. Cllr Al-Samerai queries how I have got time to write letters to her and goes on to tell me that she is asking for the letter to be investigated by the Borough Solicitor as it may represent a waste of council resources. The irony of wasting council resources on a potentially costly investigation by a senior officer of the Council into the production of a letter is clearly lost on Cllr Al-Sameria. But that aside, she has not provided an answer to my query.

Doesn't it just reinforce the points I made in my previous blog entry - the Lib Dems in Southwark have absolutely no answers to the big issues facing this borough. They are pathetically obsessed by opposition for the sake of opposition. At a time when we have over 25% of our 16 - 24 year olds in the borough out of work, and that figure rising every month, the fact that they will not criticise Tory policies represents abject failure, not opposition.

Thankfully the people of Southwark have a Labour Council on their side, fighting to build our local economy in the face of the downturn, with politicians who do have answers to the big questions and who are also able to hold their political opponents to account.

Council Assembly on the Disturbances

2011-10-15T11:33:00.002+01:00

I have been reflecting on Wednesday's Council Assembly, which provided the first opportunity for all councillors to come together to discuss the cause, effect and possible solutions to the disturbances which took place across the borough on August 8th. In my speech I concentrated on the fact that the response of residents to the disturbances was what truly demonstrated the spirit of Southwark, rather than the disturbances themselves, although with youth unemployment running at over 25% there are some serious issues which need to be addressed. There were many thoughtful contributions from Labour members, who reflected on their own experiences on August 8th; the brave work of the Police, and the Council's response to what had occurred.

However, I believe that it was striking that the Lib Dem Group Leader used her three minutes of speaking time to rail against the injustice of the way in which the debate had been organised, and how Southwark Labour had prevented her from speaking! It demonstrated a lack of any vision or any possible solutions.

But it occurred to me that Lib Dems in Southwark lack a vision or strategy on all of the big issues.

They oppose our Housing Investment Programme and offer up a continuation of their works whilst in office as an alternative. But that was a programme without a timetable and without a budget - in fact it had a £400 million hole - and which would have meant more council homes in or borough would be non-decent than decent in 5 years time.

They criticise our approach to regeneration, but offer up nothing as an alternative other than passing more responsibility to the community for decision-making. But that is not a vision or a strategy; it is a cop out, and represents a return to the dither and delay which paralysed the council from 2002 - 2010.

They advocate the strengthening of Community Councils; but don't spell out what they want them to do with increased powers - other than to remove power from the Administration which does have a vision and a strategy to take Southwark forward.

They oppose Free Healthy School Meals as a policy and response to the fact that Southwark has the worst childhood obesity rates, and offer up the Community Games as the response to this vital health issue. But the Community Games ran throughout their period of office, and childhood obesity got worse, not better.

They shamelessly support everything that the Coalition Government has done from the tripling of tuition fees to the abolition of EMA to the ransacking of the NHS to the destruction of the benefits system and the massive reductions in housing benefit. The local Lib Dem MP even blamed the Council for Michael Gove's imposition of two free schools on Southwark.

Southwark Lib Dems represent the politics of opposition for the sake of opposition. They offer no genuine alternative strategies or vision. It is a bankrupt approach to the problems of our borough.

Why am I saying this at this time? Because Southwark is facing some of the biggest economic and social problems that it ever has. These serious and difficult times require serious and difficult choices to be made and serious politicians to take them. The politics of the playground; of pretending there is some easy answer; of deliberate distortion - offer no solutions.

Guy Fawkes Night

2011-09-29T15:35:00.002+01:00

Firstly, let's be absolutely clear - Southwark Council never 'banned' Guy Fawkes night or Fireworks Night because of political correctness. In an attempt to replace the many events and festivals which the Council supports each year, but which we have had to significantly cut back this year because of the Government's cuts of £34 million to our budget (with another £50 million more cuts to come) our events team had tried to create something which was more than 'Guy Fawkes' night, and brought some fresh thinking and ideas to an event to be staged in the south of the borough in Dulwich Park.

The name chosen for the event 'The Colour Thief' was a mistake, but I believe that the idea for the event was a good one.

However, Dulwich Lib Dem councillors - in particular James Barber and Robin Crookshank Hilton, thought that the name of the event could be exploited for some political gain and ran off to the newspapers with their story. The ensuing coverage made the event impossible to stage. So Cllrs Barber and Crookshank Hilton have ensured that Dulwich Park does not get an event this Autumn. This must have been their intention - so to that extent they have had a great political success.

Instead, the Council will stage a fireworks display in Southwark Park, and I am sure that it will be a great success. I hope that residents or children disappointed by the decision to cancel the Dulwich Park event will be able to participate in the event in Southwark Park - there is no reason why they should miss out.

The Council will consult residents in the south of the borough on an event to be held there next year. I hope that a little more maturity can be brought to the discussion of what that event should be than has been evident in the past few weeks from Dulwich Lib Dem councillors.

Free Healthy School Meals

2011-09-29T15:28:00.002+01:00

It was great that Harriet Harman mentioned our Southwark Labour policy to provide Free Healthy School Meals to all of the primary school children in the borough during her Labour Conference speech today.

At a time when young people are really being hit hard by this Coalition Government I am incredibly proud of the work we are doing and the choices which we have made in Southwark - not only Free Healthy School Meals, but also our Youth Fund, helping 16-18 year olds through their further education by topping-up the Government's EMA replacement; giving scholarships to some of our poorest but most able students in order to pay their tuition fees through University, and giving valuable work experience and internships to another 2000 pupils.

We cannot solve all of the problems we face in Southwark, but we can try and demonstrate that we have real faith in Southwark's young people and that we want to help them achieve their ambitions. By the policies we are pursuing and the action we are taking Southwark's students must know that in an era when the Government appears to have given up on them, Southwark's Labour Council never will.

Southwark Borough Conference 2011

2011-09-13T09:25:00.004+01:00

Southwark Labour's 5th Annual Borough Conference took place last Saturday - with guest speakers Harriet Harman, Ken Livingstone and Val Shawcross, and a number of 'Break Out' sessions looking at particular policy areas. The sessions on Young People, Crime, the 'Big Society' to the 'Good Society' and Libraries were all well attended and generated loads of great ideas which we will be trying to include in our policy development over the coming months.

I think that our Borough Conference remains fairly unique within the Labour Party - an opportunity for all members in the borough to come together to discuss issues of concern and develop policy for the future.

Many issues were raised from the floor, including that of evicting those convicted of involvement in the recent disturbances from council housing. But I think we were able to explain our approach and put it in the context of all of the other work which we are doing following those disturbances- including our innovative Youth Fund and Community Conversations - which put any worried minds at rest. There has been a lot of heat and not much light generated over the issue of post-disturbance evictions. Our fundamental approach in Southwark is that anyone convicted of involvement in the riots will have a face to face interview; their individual circumstances will be considered and all options for dealing with their case considered, including the possibility of bringing possession proceedings. However, the other options available include no further action; demoted tenancies; acceptable behaviour contracts and anti-social behaviour orders.

But a good day on Saturday looking ahead to the Mayoral and GLA elections, with real enthusiasm from our membership for what Southwark Labour is doing in power.

Disturbances in Southwark

2011-08-11T10:41:00.002+01:00

Monday night's disturbances and criminal behaviour in Southwark was truly unacceptable and sickening. There was no justification for what we saw, and indeed none of those involved in the rioting and looting appeared to putting forward any political justification for what they were doing. It was base criminality.

Over the past two days I have been speaking to residents and businesses who have been affected by the events of Monday night. Some of the most disturbing stories came from shop owners and managers on the Walworth Road. I was told about the mother who was sending her child through the broken small window of one shop to loot items from inside. Another told me how they found it galling that people were coming in to commiserate with the shop after Monday's looting having recognised that same person from CCTV images as having been one of the looters.

People who have been involved in the looting will be brought to justice where there is evidence against them. My colleague, Cllr Ian Wingfield has already announced that the Council will use all of the powers we have to evict those who are convicted of being involved in Monday's looting from any council house where they have a tenancy. This is what the vast majority of our community would wish and expect.

It is clear that there is something very wrong in our society where given the opportunity people fall into this level of criminality and lawlessness. In Southwark one of our key messages as an administration has been that we truly value our young people and want them to fulfil their potential and aspirations. But it seems that this message is not getting through to some - or if it is getting through is having no impact.

There are lots of reasons for what happened on Monday night in Southwark. It would be foolish of me to pretend that I have all of the answers at this point. But it is clear that those answers lie in our homes, our schools and our communities - and that those answers are not easy. It is certainly about restoring respect and clear boundaries.

In the coming weeks and months our community in Southwark needs to have a proper conversation- exploring what we can all do to fix some of the problems; to identify those boundaries, and to agree our collective code of behaviour - our expectations of each other in order to ensure that we have a society in which we can all properly co-exist in the future.

In the short-term we need to make sure that law and order continues to be maintained on our streets - and that we never get to a point where the police are again helpless bystanders to mass criminal conduct. And we need to ensure that the businesses who have been hurt and affected by Monday night and the loss of trade since are properly helped and compensated.

Some big tasks ahead, but I am confident that the people of Southwark are equal to the task.

South Camberwell News

2011-08-03T09:43:00.002+01:00

It's been ages since I posted so I thought I should bring South Camberwell residents up-to-date on two issues.

Firstly, the much unloved "Oriwu Spot" - a pub in Wanley Road on the Cleve Hall Estate, has been sold by the brewery which owned it and has now closed. The Oriwu Spot has long been a source of complaint from local residents about noise and anti-social behaviour, so there are unlikely to be many people who mourn its' passing. Veronica and I met with the new owners on Monday to discuss their plans for the site. Given the history and problems of the building as licensed premises they indicated that they are unlikely to re-open it as a pub. They are likely to draw up plans to redevelop the site as housing with a commitment to some local benefits for the community - through Section 106 contributions. They have committed to working with the community to develop an acceptable scheme. So, I think this is definitely good news for South Camberwell and the residents of the Cleve Hall Estate.

Secondly, after more than 4 years we are still waiting for a proper application to be submitted in respect of the redevelopment of Greendale playing fields. Greendale remains on a lease to Dulwich Hamlet Football Club until 2015 and there has been a lot of discussion about how it might be brought back into use as sports facilities and as a community asset. However, despite meetings, consultations and discussions no planning application has yet been submitted. I am now firmly of the view that DHFC should simply hand the lease back to Southwark Council so that we can develop our own plans for the site. It is amazing that we have such a wonderful green space in our area which simply cannot be used as much as it should be through lack of maintenance and care. Let me know if you agree that Greendale should be given back to the people of Southwark.

Kings Stairs Gardens and the Thames Tunnel

2011-06-22T14:21:00.002+01:00

Last night I attended another meeting of the Save Kings Stairs Garden Campaign. It remains a vigorous campaign, and no wonder when you hear that Thames Water have lodged a formal objection to the Council's proposal to give KSG SINC ('Site of Important Nature Conservancy') status! Why would Thames Water take such a step when it has no real impact on their plans for the Thames Tunnel super sewer? The community is rightly angry about Thames Water's approach.

I was able to tell the meeting that I was going to support a proposal by the Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council to establish a Commission to look at the fundamental concept of the tunnel and whether there are other more acceptable alternatives to the scheme which is currently being proposed.

Thames Water have recently acquired Chambers Wharf, just a few hundred yards from KSG, but this site also presents problems and the potential for great inconvenience to the residents and schools which surround it during the 7 years of constant drilling and associated works.

This is the text of my letter to Stephen Greenhalgh in Hammersmith & Fulham:

"Thank you for your email and enclosed letter received yesterday (21st June 2011).

Southwark has been extremely concerned by the approach adopted by Thames Water with regard to the Thames Tunnel and how it may affect us.

Two sites in Southwark have been identified by Thames Water for possible main shafts. One is a park, Kings Stairs Gardens, which is a valued riverside green space, whilst the other is a brownfield site on the river at Chambers Wharf surrounded by housing and three schools. Neither is suitable for 7 years of constant drilling and associated works and the Council supports the community campaigns opposing the use of these sites.

Southwark is absolutely committed to the aim of cleaning the Thames and preventing sewage leaks. However, we also do believe that it is time to ask the fundamental questions of whether this scheme, at this cost and at this time is necessary, value for money, and will achieve its' stated objectives.

7 years of misery for those who use Kings Stairs Gardens or who live adjacent to Chambers Wharf is not a prospect which we are prepared to contemplate without a thorough independent investigation and challenge of the scheme as currently presented.

In the circumstances Southwark will be pleased to support your proposed Commission under the chairmanship of Lord Selborne.

I look forward to the work of the Commission being taken forward and it proposing a scheme which will make the Thames cleaner and safer, but which minimises the disruption and cost to our communities"

Potters Field Park Trust

2011-06-21T12:09:00.002+01:00

About 5 years ago Council Assembly voted to transfer Potters Field Park to a Trust which would manage the park for 30 years. I was fundamentally unhappy about the proposal - Potters Field is a valued local green space next to Tower Bridge and is one of the jewels in the Council's crown of land ownership. It had also been hard fought for by people such as Lil Patrick who insisted that the LDDC give some green space to local residents in the 1980's.

I still remain unhappy about the Trust. When it was established we were promised that there would be "no more David Blaines" - a reference to the 40 days and 40 nights which David Blaine spent in a glass box suspended over the park and apparently an event which was not suitable for this "local" park. However, since the Trust has been in charge there has been a surge in its' commercial use - barely a week or a day seems to go past without some launch or event taking place in the Park. So much for protecting this green space for local residents!

But I am also unhappy that, save in a couple of cases, the Trustees, how they are appointed and to whom they are accountable remains fairly unclear. The Council appoints an officer and a councillor onto the Trust. At least they have democratic accountability to the people of Southwark. But others have a far less clear line or audit trail of appointment and accountability.

Why is this important? Well in a time of 'Big Society' and legislation apparently empowering communities to take ownership of public assets it is important to recognise that if assets are handed over "to the community" what provisions are there that that community group will be open in its dealings and accountable to the community it claims to represent? We should be very reluctant to give up the democratic accountability and legitimacy that a Council provides in respect of the ownership and management of any public asset in favour of its control by the unelected and the self-appointed.

Mobile Surgery - Bellenden & Oglander

2011-06-21T12:01:00.002+01:00

Veronica and I undertook our latest mobile surgery at the weekend -around Marsden, Muschamp, Oglander and Bellenden Roads. It was great to catch up with so many residents and discuss the issues that concerned them. From bulge classes at local primary schools to overgrown hedges, and from anti-social neighbours to problems with damp, residents were keen to share their problems and seek our help.

Our mobile surgeries are a great way of keeping in touch with the issues which people have, but which they might not bother to raise with us if we only had fixed surgeries. One of the really good bits of news was the way in which people have welcomed the introduction of the food waste recycling pilot, and the fortnightly residual waste collection. All but one of the residents I spoke to were fully supportive of the scheme and the changes to waste collection - and were even happier after I told them that we had seen an over 20% increase in the recycling rate in the pilot area - up to 53% from about 31%.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to talk to Veronica and me. I will be following up individual bits of casework over the next couple of days.

The Pumphouse Museum

2011-06-13T10:52:00.003+01:00

I am sorry that the Pumphouse Educational Trust have decided to close down. They have been working in Rotherhithe since 1989 and I know that their work has been valued by local schools and residents.

I am afraid that they are one of the victims of the Government's spending cuts. As I have said previously, you cannot take £34 million out of our budget this year and honestly believe that it will have no impact on the services we provide and the organisations which we support - especially with another £50 million of cuts to come over the next two years.

So for anyone who is angry at Southwark Council for the cuts to the Pumphouse's funding my advice is that they should really direct their ire towards central government.

For organisations like the Pumphouse we have tried to ease the cuts by encouraging applications to our Voluntary Sector Transition Fund, and also tried to encourage access to other sources of funding. Schools budgets have significantly increased this year - so it may have been that some solution would have been possible in collaboration with the museum's principal users.

Of course it is always open to organisations such as the Pumphouse not to try and battle on, so I respect the decision they have taken.

We are not alone in facing difficult choices about what museums and organisations we support. This extract from the BBC news website yesterday, which includes references to the Pumphouse, includes a quote from Mark Taylor, Director of the Museums Association:

"Mr Taylor said councils are facing painful choices, and it could be better to close some museums in order to preserve the best.

"I personally would prefer to see a slightly smaller number of museums kept open and active, rather than all the museums kind of set in aspic, with no budget at all to do anything.""

The full article is here

Badminton House - A Tough Decision

2011-06-09T10:31:00.003+01:00

Last week the Southwark Cabinet took the tough decision of placing Badminton House on the market for sale. Badminton House is a block of 11 flats and sits at the bottom of the East Dulwich Estate on Dog Kennel Hill, opposite East Dulwich Station. Any decision to actually sell the block will have to come back to Cabinet in due course.

Why were we faced with this decision? The answer is simple. Under the last administration the management of the contract for the regeneration of the estate was allowed to run out of control, so that a scheme which should have cost £25 million now will cost over £30 million. And that additional £5 million does not exist in any other budget to make up the shortfall.

It has always been a key element of the regeneration of the East Dulwich Estate that capital receipts would be generated from land and void sales on the estate itself. Some flats have already been sold on the open market. So in order to meet the £5 million funding gap we had to look at ways which will have a minimum impact on the Estate and the overall regeneration scheme. We could choose to save £1.5 million by not proceeding with environmental works on the Estate, but I have long believed that those works will be a key element of the regeneration - giving the Estate a truly 'as new' feel. We could increase the sale of individual voids across the estate - but this has its own difficulties.

Add into the equation the fact that Badminton House was not within the Durkan regeneration works programme for the estate and never has been, for reason which lie in the decision-making of the previous administration in Southwark - and that to undertake the regeneration of Badminton House would add another £1 million to the £5 million shortfall, and the problem becomes even more acute.

I do not want to have to sell council housing in Southwark and lose homes from our stock. But in this instance we are faced with a problem which we cannot ignore. Homes in Bermondsey and Peckham have already been lost in order to fund the regeneration of the East Dulwich Estate. It would be unfair to go back to those areas and demand more homes or land in order to fund the works. By the sale of Badminton House we can fill a significant part of the funding gap in the project, without fundamentally changing the nature of the Estate.

But this decision and the debate which has ensued just underlines the challenge which we face in Southwark. With 54,000 properties the Council has to be assured that we can maintain those properties in a proper state going forward. We have to know that our housing stock is capable of being self-financing, because without that assurance the problems of funding major works which we have experienced on East Dulwich Estate will arise on estates right across our borough.

We have developed a 5 year housing investment programme which does not mean the loss of any significant number of homes from our stock; we must now put together a business plan which looks to the ensuing 25 - 30 years.

Elephant & Castle Regeneration - Lib Dems latest Call-In

2011-06-03T13:42:00.003+01:00

On Wednesday evening Southwark's Overview & Scrutiny Committee considered the Lib Dem's latest call-in of our agreement to enter into discussions with St Modwen, the owners of the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre and Lend Lease, our redevelopment partners, for the regeneration of the shopping centre.

I have previously posted on this topic, and explained why this agreement was sensible. Firstly, it is better to work in co-operation with our partners than against them; secondly, the discussions may lead to an early redevelopment of the shopping centre; and thirdly, it is in everyone's interests that the shopping centre is redeveloped sooner rather than later.

I had thought that all three of these objectives would be welcomed by everyone. But it seems I was wrong. At Wednesday's meeting Southwark's Lib Dems moved that there should be no agreement for us to even discuss regeneration of the shopping centre with St Modwen and Lend Lease without there being an absolute commitment to demolish the shopping centre before any redevelopment work.

Let's just think about the logic of this position, and what it leads to.

St Modwen will not give an undertaking to demolish the shopping centre. Firstly, the shopping centre as it exists earns them money. They could simply choose to leave it as it is for the time being. Secondly, they believe that their proposals to strip the current centre back to it's concrete core and redevelop will lead to a new shopping centre - and having looked at some of the images they have produced that is hard to argue with. And thirdly, the works which they propose and which are being discussed with ourselves, Lend Lease and the community have the very real potential to meet our key objectives for the Elephant & Castle.

So if we adopted the Lib Dems approach it would not be delivered by St Modwen.

So who would deliver it?

Well the Regeneration Agreement provides that the Council will cooperate with Lend Lease in respect of a compulsory purchase of the shopping centre, but only at a time when Lend Lease ask for the CPO and only after they have exhausted attempts to redevelop with St Modwen. And when would this be likely to happen? The reality is that this would only arise at the end of the regeneration agreement period - 15 years from now. And even then there is no guarantee that Lend Lease would want to demolish the shopping centre if the economic climate for retail was not buoyant.

So the Lib Dems position is that it is wrong to even discuss redevelopment of the shopping centre with St Modwen and Lend Lease, and that we should hold out for a demolition which may not even be delivered in 15 years time, rather than try to bring about a major redevelopment of the shopping centre now.

Isn't the Lib Dems case really this - we don't want a redeveloped shopping centre and we don't want it now!

I am afraid that I cannot understand this position. It lacks ambition; it lacks vision; it opposes progress. But there again isn't that exactly what the Lib Dems did for the 8 years that they were in charge of the Elephant & Castle regeneration?

In 2014 I want to see real progress on the shopping centre; new homes on the Heygate; the development of the Oakmayne/Delancy site; and a new leisure centre for the Elephant & Castle. With the decisions which we have taken so far since last May we are well on the way to seeing these ambitions achieved.

Those who oppose the decision we took to work with St Modwen and Lend Lease on the regeneration of the shopping centre are opposed to the progress of the regeneration.

The Lib Dems have called-in and opposed every significant decision which we have taken on the Elephant & Castle since last May. Isn't it time for them to come clean and state clearly that they oppose the regeneration of this vital part of our borough? And if they don't oppose the regeneration can they please explain how their arguments and objections are consistent with progress being made.

Southwark Cathedral Funeral of Mayor Tayo Situ

2011-05-24T13:20:00.004+01:00

Yesterday 1200 people packed Southwark Cathedral for the funeral of our Mayor, Cllr Tayo Situ, who died two weeks ago. It was an inspirational service which celebrated Tayo's life. I was honoured to play a part, paying tribute to Tayo and carrying the Mayoral Chain behind his coffin.

This is the tribute I gave:

"It is a great privilege to have been asked by his family to pay tribute today to the life of my friend, the Mayor of Southwark, Cllr Tayo Situ.

Tayo has been taken from us far too early, but at a time when as our serving Mayor, he was able to show to so many more people in our borough, across the rest of London and indeed the World all of those qualities for which we knew him and for which he had earned our respect – warmth, humour, integrity, friendliness and devotion to those causes and things which he cared about so deeply – his family, his church, his community and his borough of Southwark.

I first met Tayo in 2002 – we were both elected to the Council in the local elections that year. Tayo had been active in the community of Peckham for a long time before then – in particular he had helped to lead his community’s response to the tragic death of Damilola Taylor in 2000.

As a councillor and Labour Group member it was always clear that his was a voice in Group meetings of quiet authority and I shall miss his thoughtful contributions to discussions and debates.

Tayo was always busy – he would inevitably be en route from one meeting to another – not only fulfilling his role of community champion for Southwark, but also as a leading figure within the Nigerian community in London.

In opposition Tayo played a leading role in Southwark’s Labour Group. For six years he was our lead spokesperson on Equalities issues. It was a role which he fulfilled perfectly, dealing with some issues which were very difficult for us as a borough in an utterly straightforward way. He was not an advocate for special treatment or excuses or privileges for any section of our community, but merely agued that where there was an injustice we should do all that we could to put that right.

In the 2006 local elections Tayo deployed “Team Situ”– with Michael and Johnson following in their father’s footsteps on the campaign trail. He had trained them well! I know he was so proud of Michael being elected last May as a councillor in Livesey ward – in fact he was so proud of all of his children Elizabeth, Michael, Johnson, Victoria, Victor and his devoted and beloved wife, Abike -

You have good reason to be proud of him too.

After our victory in the local elections last year Tayo and I sat down to discuss what role he could play in our first year as an administration. I suggested that he should be Mayor – he was such a great role model for our community. He was attracted to the idea, but wasn’t sure he wanted to do it this year. I persisted, he thought about it some more, and decided that as I had asked he would be honoured. I am so pleased that I persisted and that he agreed to be our Mayor.

During his mayoralty Tayo was determined that we should celebrate Southwark and in particular the achievements and successes of the vast majority of young people in our borough, who work hard to achieve their potential, who stay out of trouble and contribute in so many different ways to making our borough a better place to live.

Whenever and wherever I saw Tayo his face would light up and he would give the warmest of greetings – more often that not he would say ‘Ahhh My Leader’ – which I was able to pre-empt over the past year giving a little bow and an even warmer welcome to ‘Mr Mayor’.

The only time when that smile was absent was in December last year when he called me into the Mayor’s parlour to tell me that he would have to go into hospital as his specialist had found something which required investigation. There was no doubt that he feared what might be the consequence of that investigation. And I recall the dreadful night not so many weeks ago when he telephoned me to tell me that the Doctors had just given him a poor prognosis.

But throughout this period I know that he found strength from his faith, his family and his many friends. People from all walks of life were drawn to Tayo, whatever the circumstances they met him in. I think it must have been that innate sense that here was a good man. I recall the wooden cross lying on his hospital pillow which he said had been given to him by one of the nurses treating him.

Tayo was a man who had made some huge choices in his life. He had chosen his Christian faith. He had chosen to come to the United Kingdom to study, live and raise his family. He had chosen to become involved in public life and stand up for his community. But it was we as his colleagues on the Council he who had chosen him to be our Mayor over the past twelve months – without doubt it was the right choice for us to have made.

He was the best of Southwark. As a friend I will miss him, as a borough Southwark will miss him, and we are all much poorer for the passing of our “friendly Mayor”."

Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre

2011-05-19T10:54:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday at our Southwark Cabinet meeting we took the decision to enter into an agreement with St Modwen, the owners of the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, and Lend Lease, our partners in the Elephant & Castle redevelopment, with regard to the rebuilding of the shopping centre.

Under the Regeneration Agreement, which we signed last year with Lend Lease, provision was made for us to compulsorily purchase the shopping centre on behalf of Lend Lease if no agreement could be reached on the future of the centre with St Modwen. No specific time was provided for within the agreement and it was anticipated that given the current uncertainty in the retail market that the shopping centre regeneration was likely to be at the end of the 15 year programme.

Happily our prospective agreement with St Modwen and Lend Lease brings that regeneration forward, but it is the result of some very tough negotiations by all parties.

The original vision for the Elephant & Castle regeneration envisaged the demolition and rebuilding of the shopping centre - increasing the permeability of the whole area and punching through the railway arches to open up the new housing on the Heygate site to the shopping centre and the transport links there. Over the past twelve months both Lend Lease and St Modwen have explored options which do not involve wholesale demolition, but rather envisage stripping the centre back to its' core and building and extending around that core. At the same time access into and through the centre would be improved in all directions, and the links through the railway arches provided.

It took me a lot of persuading that anything other than demolition was the way forward, but having seen some of the thinking and plans put forward I can see that it is possible to create a new shopping centre for the Elephant & Castle and achieve the objective of making it a new and open gateway to the housing on the Heygate.

There is a lot more work to do on these plans, and the local community will be able to start their conversation with St Modwen and Lend Lease at the Forum which is due to be held on the 26th of May. But the momentum behind this project from the political leadership of this council is unstoppable -and we are determined to deliver on our commitment of regenerating the Elephant and Castle for the benefit of the local community, Southwark and London.

Councillor Allowance Savings top £100,000

2011-05-18T16:19:00.002+01:00

With the changes we are making to the structure of the Cabinet, the removal of one full Cabinet place and the introduction of four Deputy Cabinet members, Southwark's Labour Administration will have achieved savings of over £100,000 on the amount of money which we spend on councillor's allowances over the past 12 months. All of this money is contributing to the savings which we need to make so that we can carry on trying to provide high quality front-line services for Southwark's residents.

Within days of taking office last year we reversed Lib Dem/Tory increases and were able to make savings of over £70,000. This years changes will add another £30,000 to that sum.

Some have criticised our decision to introduce allowances of approximately £2,700 for the Deputy Cabinet members - but taken in the context of our overall savings I believe that we are demonstrating real efficiency.

We have already brought an end to the dither and delay of the previous administration - providing clear political leadership right across the borough. This is an administration which makes savings and delivers results for the people of Southwark.

A Tour of the Aylesbury with Grant Shapps

2011-05-18T16:09:00.002+01:00

This morning Grant Shapps, the Housing Minister, came down to the Aylesbury Estate to see how the Council is taking the project forward. The government undermined the project last November by removing £170 million of PFI credits, but since then we have taken stock and are approaching the project in a slightly different way.

The plans to build 4000 new homes on the existing Aylesbury site are ambitious, and depend on us being able to drive up land values in the early stages of the project. So it is at the early stages that the finances are most difficult. Whilst we were not expecting the Minister to provide any immediate financial help, he clearly demonstrated his interest in this major regeneration project.

We will be letting him know further details about how the finances work for the next phase of the scheme, as much will be affected by the Government's changes to housing benefit and grant subsidy for new homes. So the Minister indicated that he would like to look at the next phase as a 'case study'.

Delivering the Aylesbury regeneration will not be easy, but we have the political commitment and determination to make sure that it happens!

Cllr Tayo Situ, the Mayor of Southwark

2011-05-10T13:51:00.002+01:00

My friend and colleague, and our Mayor of Southwark Cllr Tayo Situ died yesterday after a brave fight against cancer. His death is a grievous blow to his family, all those who knew him and to our borough of Southwark.

Tayo was one of life's truly gentle men. His life was informed by his religion and his devotion to his family and community. Even before his election as a councillor for Peckham Ward in 2002 Tayo was a respected community leader, and an effective representative of the Nigerian community in London and the United Kingdom.

After our election victory last May I discussed with Tayo what role he might take on in the new administration, and persuaded him that it would be an honour for his Labour colleagues if he were to become the new Mayor and First Citizen of our borough. He agreed, and I know from every conversation which I had with him since last May that he regarded it as a great privilege to be the Mayor of Southwark, and undertook the role with genuine pride and dignity. He met people and took part in events which he thoroughly enjoyed - and which showed him to be a great representative for our community and borough.

Tayo was also delighted to have seen his son, Michael, elected as a councillor in Livesey Ward last year.

He will be greatly missed by us all.

The Lane By-Election

2011-05-06T12:15:00.003+01:00

A quick word on the result of The Lane by-election yesterday, which saw Rowenna Davis elected as a councillor with a majority of well over 2,000; the Lib Dems knocked into third place behind the Green Party; and a turnout of nearly 40%.

In short the result was stunning! This was the only local election taking place in London yesterday, and it saw a swing from the Lib Dems to Labour of 12.4%. In the best Peter Snow traditions our calculations suggest that if, just if, this swing were repeated across Southwark at the next local elections Labour would win 60 seats, and the Lib Dems would be reduced to just 3! Whilst I don't discount the possibility, even I have to admit that the prospect is pretty overwhelming!

Cllr Rowenna Davis will be a great asset for The Lane. She ran a superb and upbeat campaign, and I know that the many voters who met her were impressed by her. And Rowenna shares the commitment of our entire Labour Group to create a fairer future for all in Southwark - delivering free healthy school meals; improved housing; increased recycling and major regeneration projects which benefit the borough.

So well done to Rowenna and Southwark Labour!

Sir Simon Milton

2011-04-12T12:35:00.002+01:00

I was very sorry to learn this morning of the untimely death at 49 of London's Deputy Mayor Sir Simon Milton. Simon has been Boris Johnson's Deputy and Chief of Staff since 2008 and was one of the most influential politicians in London. It is fair to say that if Simon supported or opposed a project it is likely that Boris would be of a similar view. His death does really leave a vacuum at City Hall.

I last saw Simon three weeks ago at a lunch given by Boris Johnson. There was little indication then of the illness which overtook him.

I had found Simon very easy to work with since last May. It is important for Southwark that we have a good working relationship with City Hall, and I always found him to be open to our ideas and proposals on planning and other subjects. We will miss him.

Themed Council Assembly

2011-04-07T12:20:00.002+01:00

Last night we held our first Council Assembly which adopted the procedure proposed by the Democracy Commission. This included a themed debate on 'The Future of Southwark' - a debate designed to throw up ideas about how the Council engages with the community in future, particularly at this time as we are facing unprecedented cuts to our budget. As I have said many times before the Council simply will not be able to do all of the things which it has done in the past and in the same way, so there is a need for some really creative thinking and innovation.

It was an opportunity for backbench and opposition councillors to give their input, all of which was going to be considered by my colleague Fiona Colley in her capacity as Cabinet Member for Corporate Strategy, in charge of the Council's Business Plan.

Labour members were absolutely fizzing with ideas and suggestions during the debate, with some exceptional contributions from Cllrs Patrick Diamond, Michael Situ and Mark Williams. Bizarrely the Lib Dem group staged a half-hearted walkout at the start of the debate. I am not sure why, or why they thought that the Future of Southwark was not an important issue for discussion. I do have to say that their contributions to the debate were petty and banal, complaining about process and concentrating on some really parochial issues. There was a complete lack of invention and innovation in their contributions, which was disappointing, and I got the feeling by the end of the debate that they realised that they had made a fundamental mistake in their approach.

But it just underlined for me that Southwark Labour Group has a depth and strength of ideas and experience which is unmatched in our borough.

Camberwell Baths Re-Open!

2011-03-16T17:42:00.002Z

Last Saturday we celebrated the re-opening of Camberwell Baths. It is 120 years since they first opened their doors to the public, and until 2008 it was feared that those doors might close and never re-open. But with some great support from Lewis Robinson as the incoming executive member for Culture, Leisure and Sport; £1.4 million from the last Labour Government after a visit by the then-minister, Gerry Sutcliffe; continued campaigning by local councillors and Harriet Harman MP, and the tireless work of the Camberwell Baths Campaign and Helen and Chris Owen in particular, over £5 million was found to refurbish the Victorian baths.

Unlike the original opening we did not have the Lord Mayor of London as guest of honour, but echoing events of 1892 we did have synchronised swimming featuring Jo Brand! An unlikely synchronised swimmer I accept, but incredibly entertaining and helping to create a truly wonderful atmosphere.

Well done to everyone on some excellent work - and in particular the Southwark team of officers who have embraced and delivered this brilliant project on time and on budget!

Mobile Surgery

2011-03-14T13:22:00.002Z

Veronica and I were out on the Champion Hill Estate at the weekend for our latest mobile surgery. A water main burst on the estate before Christmas and a temporary water pipe system is still operating at the bottom of the estate. I will be pursuing this today as it seems an incredibly long time for any 'temporary' solution to a major problem.

I was struck at the number of properties where the residents complained about real damp problems. From what I saw this is not a question of simply improving ventilation, but some structural issues which need fundamental resolution. It is so dispiriting to see residents having to live with dark mould growing on bedroom and living room walls. Again Veronica and I will be looking to see what can be done - but these kinds of issues should be tackled by our administration's commitment to make every home warm, dry and safe.

Some of these same issues of damp were also found on the East Dulwich Estate yesterday - which was disappointing given the fact that we are coming to the end of major regeneration works there. So the work goes on!

Congratulations Cllr Mark Williams

2011-03-11T07:17:00.004Z

Mark Williams was elected as the new Councillor for Brunswick Park ward last night. On a turnout of 34.2% - very high for a council by-election, Labour polled 1,981 votes; LibDems 630; Green Party 231; Conservative 129 and Independent 70 votes. So Labour polled over 65% of the vote - up from 53% in the local elections last year. The Libs vote was down on last year to under 21% whilst the Tory vote collapsed to just over 4%.

This means that the vote for the coalition parties collapsed from 31.5% to 25% - a bad result. In 2006, when the Lib Dems last did any work and visited Camberwell, their vote was over 36%, and the coalition parties polled about 41%. I am no expert on political swing, but it's a great result for Mark and Labour! It is particularly gratifying given the nasty and negative campaign which the Lib Dems pursued in this campaign.

Labour fought the campaign on the issues facing Camberwell and Southwark, and we received a great endorsement of the work we are doing and the choices we are making as a new administration.

Thanks to the voters of Brunswick Park - I know that Cllr Mark Williams and the Southwark Labour team will not let you down.

Welcome Bishop Christopher!

2011-03-07T12:20:00.002Z

Yesterday I was delighted to be at Southwark Cathedral for the enthronement of Christopher Chessun as the tenth Bishop of Southwark. Bishop Christopher has been the Bishop of Woolwich for the past 6 years prior to his appointment to Southwark - so he knows our part of South London very well. I was also reminded that he has previously served as Mayor's Chaplain to Cllr Eliza Mann during her year of office.

It was an uplifting service and the choir sang brilliantly. It was good to see Bishop Tom Butler present to hand over the bishop's crosier to his successor.

There was applause from the congregation for four Bishops who had travelled from Zimbabwe for the service. They are having to deal with a great deal of abuse and repression in their own country from the authorities.

Special mention to my colleague and Southwark Mayor, Cllr Tayo Situ, who read the first lesson.

The photo shows Bishop Christopher blessing his new Diocese and the river!

Electoral Calculus

2011-03-04T13:26:00.002Z

Electoral Calculus is one of those websites that politicos like to look at. It takes opinion polls and election results and uses that information to predict the outcome of the next general election in parliamentary seats.

At the moment it is predicting that Labour have a 100% chance of winning Camberwell and Peckham, a 97.9% chance of winning Dulwich and West Norwood, and......wait for it....a 71% chance of winning Bermondsey and Old Southwark. That last result would be a very significant Labour gain. It gives the Lib Dems just a 22% chance of winning.

Now I accept that no opinion poll or prediction matters really - it is only the election result itself which counts. And there are always local factors which can affect any result.

But I have to say it certainly gives me a lift to see how Labour support is firming up in Southwark. And I dare say it must be sending a cold shiver down the spines of some other politicians and political parties.

You can follow Electoral Calculus here

Brunswick Park By-Election

2011-03-04T09:54:00.002Z

Next Thursday voters in Brunswick Park ward will be able to cast their votes in a council by-election. Mark Williams, a local resident in Vestry Road in Brunswick Park, is Labour's candidate. He has been doing a great job on the campaign trail and will be an excellent representative for the area if he is elected next week.

Brunswick Park is a ward of contrasts. There are some pockets of affluence in the south of the ward, and in the north of the ward some major estates which are still in need of 'Decent Homes' works. It is a ward which will really benefit from Labour's manifesto commitments to make every council home 'Warm. Dry and Safe' and to provide free healthy school meals to all of our primary school children.

The Lib Dems have run a purely negative campaign which has offended many of the voters I have spoken to. It's a shame that they have nothing positive to say to the people of Camberwell. But with the national picture looking so bad for them they are probably in a state of near meltdown. Some of the other minor parties have run much more positive campaigns.

Well done and good luck to Mark Williams for running a positive and honest campaign, and for being a candidate Labour can be proud of!

Day Centres and Lunch Clubs

2011-03-04T09:48:00.002Z

On Wednesday I sat down with representatives of most of the Day Centres and Lunch Clubs who will be affected by some of the decisions we took in last week's budget. The meeting was chaired by my colleague Cllr Dora Dixon-Fyle, the Cabinet Member for Adult Health and Social Care.

Although we were discussing some really difficult funding cuts I was pleased with the tone and substance of the meeting. There was a clear understanding from all of the groups about where the blame for these cuts really lies - i.e. with the Government; and a fantastic spirit and commitment to co-operation with the Council and amongst the groups themselves to find a way that they might continue to provide services in the future, but without the method and level of financial support which the Council currently provides.

We agreed to get together in about 6 weeks time to see what progress has been made, but in the meantime Council Assembly's decision to provide an additional £500,000 of funding to the groups means that some of the panic and urgency of those discussions has been eased.

Southwark Labour's Budget

2011-02-24T16:30:00.002Z

On Tuesday Southwark Labour's budget was approved at a meeting of councillors. I was pleased that despite some initial protests and screaming from Lib Dem councillors we were able to hold the meeting in public, so that the residents of our borough could see the arguments made and the democratic process take place. Sadly meetings in Lambeth and Islington have been disrupted by protesters and been forced to take place in private.

It has been a tough budget process - finding £34 million of cuts forced on us by the Tory / Lib Dem government, but at the same time adhering to our budget principles and trying to deliver on the manifesto which we were elected on just 9 months ago.

Every department was asked to deliver savings of 25% over the next three years, but after listening to public representations during the budget consultation process we invested further sums in adult social care and children's services meaning that those departments have only been required to find savings of about 20%. I have said time and again, but it is worth repeating, that you cannot take £34 million out of our council's budget without having some impact on front-line services. And there are services which will be impacted by the decisions which we took on Tuesday night.

At the moment the Council supports 12 Day Centres and Lunch Clubs in the borough. Our initial proposals took £1 million out of this budget and envisaged 3 of the centres becoming hubs to replace the others. But the speed with which we proposed to make these changes alarmed some of the groups and users so it was sensible that we put back £500,000 into the budget to help these groups develop a different working model in the months ahead.

We took some other tough decisions which will see a reduction in spending in children's services, but on the advice of expert officers I feel reassured that alternatives to the services which we provided can be found and that no child who needs the protection of our council will be affected.

There were some innovative proposals in the budget - a £1 million Voluntary Sector Transition Fund to help voluntary groups continue through this difficult financial climate; a £1 million Youth Fund - particularly aimed at helping those young people aged 16 - 18 who have seen their future prospects blighted by this Coalition Government as tuition fees have risen, educational maintenance allowance has been removed and youth unemployment soared to 22% in Southwark; and a £200,000 Social Care Innovation Fund - helping groups who want to change but need funding to achieve that change.

And we were able to deliver on our manifesto pledges to halve the price of Meals on Wheels and further roll out our plan to give every primary school child in the borough a free healthy school meal. This policy has been criticised by our increasingly desperate political opponents as being a plan to feed "rich kids"! Perhaps they are confusing Southwark with somewhere else - but in this borough anything which tackles childhood obesity and helps that vast majority of families who are truly struggling to get by has to be a good thing. So I make no apologies for delivering on this pledge.

We will continue to deliver sports to young people - and I am hopeful that we will soon be able to announce what we will be doing with Southwark Community Games in the near future. Our twelve libraries will stay open - although they will have to deliver savings which I hope we can find when we undertake a review through until the Autumn. The streets of our borough should remain clean and we will deliver the £250 increase for all of our employees earning under £21,000 - a commitment which many local authorities have walked away from.

So, whilst we have found the savings Government required it has not been easy. The cuts are too far and too fast and demonstrate a complete lack of understanding by the Lib Dems and Tories in central government of the important role which local government undertakes.

We will continue to help those groups who want to engage with us as we deliver change across Southwark. But we will be doing so in a very different financial climate after Tuesday.

What's the basis for your claims Simon?

2011-02-17T12:44:00.004Z

The Lib Dems sometimes appear to have only a nodding acquaintance with facts. Never let a good story get in the way of the truth must be the motto in Lib Dem HQ! In Southwark, as well as putting out horrendous literature in the Brunswick Park by-election and peddling a malicious lie about a Labour Councillor's council tax status, they twist reality in weird ways. Labour plans for a new library in Camberwell are presented by the Lib Dems as plans to build a new benefit office on Camberwell Green. I don't understand who benefits from this kind of distortion. Perhaps it's just a case of desperate times requiring desperate measures?

But I was horrified to hear Simon Hughes on The Politics Show at the weekend claiming that we as a Labour Council in Southwark were deliberately making political choices in our budget which were "blatantly unfair" and that we were deliberately making more council employees redundant than was necessary in order to make a point against the government.

This is utter nonsense. We have made choices in our budget which are informed by our values and budget principles - believe it or not Simon some of us still have those. We anticipate that we will have to make 150 people redundant this year on the basis of this year's budget. Although any job loss is a job loss too many, I think that's not as bad as it might have been when you consider that we are losing the equivalent of one sixth of our budget - and compares very favourably with Lib Dem run Newcastle which is laying off 2000 of its' staff.

Like his Lib Dem colleagues on the Council, Mr Hughes has made no contact with me about our budget choices or made any suggestions of his own. Throwing about loose allegations and accusations for the sake of a soundbite is irresponsible and bad politics. So, what is the basis for your claims Simon?

The Southwark Budget Consultation

2011-02-14T15:46:00.002Z

In my post below I have mentioned the 13 Deputations which we received at Cabinet last week. Some may argue differently, but I think that the budget process we have undertaken this year has made a difference to the choices which we will make, and to the groups affected by those choices. I have just received a note from one of the groups who came to speak to us which seems to support this. Here is an extract from that note:

"I do not envy your position as a council; the timescale given to implement cuts of this magnitude defies belief and flies in the face of good practice. It is clear that you are trying to give us all as much opportunity as possible to share our concerns / put a case for our own work; this is appreciated."

I am not sure that I need to add any more.

Southwark Lib Dems Dilemma II

2011-02-14T15:25:00.002Z

Last week 91 Lib Dem Council and Group Leaders wrote to The Times with a tough message about the Government cuts being forced on local government by their own national leaders. This extract from the letter echoes much of what I have been saying in Southwark for some time:

"These [government] cuts will have an undoubted impact on all frontline council services, including care services to the vulnerable.

Rather than assist the country’s recovery by making public-sector savings in a way that can protect local economies and the frontline, the cuts are so structured that they will do the opposite. The local government settlement will take a major hit in this coming financial year and further, smaller, cuts in subsequent years. This front-loading means councils do not have the lead-in time necessary to re-engineer services on a lower-cost base and ease staff cuts without forced, expensive redundancies. Inexplicably, local government is also being denied the opportunity to spread the cost of reorganisation and downsizing over several years — at no cost to central government — which just makes even bigger in-year cuts inevitable The Secretary of State’s role should be to facilitate necessary savings while promoting the advance of localism and the Big Society. Unfortunately, Eric Pickles has felt it better to shake a stick at councillors than work with us."

Now, remember, this is a letter from Lib Dems. I carefully scanned the signatories to the letter to see whether it was supported by Southwark's Lib Dems - who have said that they will speak out in support of our residents and protect them from the worst of the Government's proposals. But they had not signed the letter. So I wrote to the local Leader of the Lib Dems and asked her why not.

This is her reply:

"Dear Peter,

Thanks very much for your letter dated 10th February. I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to discuss with you the cuts in our borough and the poor choices which you and your cabinet are making at the moment.

I did not sign the letter about Eric Pickles as this is not the approach which I wished to take. I prefer not to be confrontational, but to try to make progress in a consensual way. As you know, Liberal Democrats from Southwark have been happy to join you in discussions with Government Ministers about how to get the best deal for Southwark.

I also strongly believe that the poor decisions which are being made in Southwark at the moment are not simply the fault of the Government. We all know that cuts have to be made in public spending as a result of the huge deficit left by the Labour Government. I am sure I don't need to remind you that 'there was no money left' as Liam Byrne described the legacy left by your party in Government.

So while we accept that savings need to be made, the Liberal Democrat group in Southwark believes that your supposedly open and transparent budget process has been a complete farce. I have listened to a large number of local groups in recent weeks who have described conflicting information, a lack of response from cabinet members, uncertainty, sudden decisions with no discussion and complete chaos and last minute announcements with no proper notice.

You appear to be intent on making cuts in the front line services which our hard working voluntary sector provides. You are choosing to cut services for early years and older people with little thought to how much more this will cost the council in the long run. You don't have the honesty to let communities know which of our libraries you are closing. You are choosing to put £4 million into contingency funds this year while withdrawing the far smaller tens of thousands upon which local groups depend for their very survival.

I suggest, therefore, that you worry less about producing press releases about whether I am signing letters to The Times. You need to concentrate on the very real choices which the council must make and actually listen to the people of this borough who are desperately asking to be heard.

Best wishes,

Anood

Councillor Anood Al-Samerai
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Riverside Ward
Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group"

For the sake of completeness this is my response to Cllr Al-Samerai's reply:

"Dear Anood,

Thank you for your reply. I am not sure that it evidences your stated desire of working in a consensual rather than confrontational manner, but consistency is not an obvious LibDem trait at present.

Furthermore, whilst you are critical of Labour's budget choices in Southwark you do not state what choices Southwark LibDems would make in the face of these unprecedented budget cuts. If you were even remotely serious about working in a consensual fashion you and your Group would have been making alternative proposals during the consultation period, rather than simply criticising our proposals developed in consultation with our residents.

It seems clear to me that Southwark LibDems are even more isolated than ever - both from the politics of your national colleagues and from the reality of the budget cuts we are facing. It is amazing that so many other LibDem councillors around the country recognise the damage which your Government's cuts will cause to front-line services and are prepared to say so, but you and your colleagues believe that there will be no impact in Southwark - despite the fact that we face the largest cash budget cut of any London borough. Your silence is a betrayal of those you claim to represent.

You and your group have a choice to make - participate constructively in the budget process and make the case for Southwark at all levels, or continue to indulge in juvenile politics which serves no one - least of all the most vulnerable residents of our borough.

Yours sincerely,

Peter

Cllr Peter John,
Leader of Southwark Council,
Labour Councillor for South Camberwell."

There are some really serious issues here. How can we take Southwark's Lib Dems criticisms of us seriously when (a) they have put forward no alternative budget proposals themselves during the consultation process and (b) even their own colleagues around the country argue that front-line services will be hit by these cuts.

It may be that Southwark's Lib Dems come along to our budget meeting on the 22nd of February, try to amend the budget and argue that we don't need to make the savings which we are proposing. But that will be too late to be serious. All alternative proposals have to be considered and their impact thought through. So turning up at the budget meeting with a shopping list of changes will not give us that opportunity.

Like all other residents and groups in Southwark the Lib Dems have had the opportunity of making proposals and suggesting alternatives during our lengthy consultation process. Last week we received 13 different deputations at our Cabinet meeting - all of whose proposals and arguments we will consider again tomorrow. There were none from the Lib Dem group.

So you have to ask yourself, if Southwark's Lib Dems cannot even be bothered to put forward even one single proposal for an alternative approach to the budget in our budget consultation, whose interests are they representing, and who are they standing up for?

Southwark Lib Dems' Dilemma

2011-01-15T08:54:00.003Z

I have been pondering what the result in the Oldham and Saddleworth by-election means for Southwark, and in particular for Southwark's LibDems. It seems clear that many of those who voted LibDem in Oldham in May 2010 switched their votes to Labour's candidate Debbie Abrahams in this by-election. And it seems equally cleat that many of those who voted Conservative in May 2010 moved their votes to the LibDems. There is no other logical explanation for the collapse of the Tory vote and the maintenance of the LibDems share of the vote.

So what does this mean in Southwark? At the moment I get the feeling that Simon Hughes and the Southwark LibDems are trying to carry on as if nothing has changed since last May. They are trying to oppose Government policy when it doesn't suit them, and then try to blame Labour's administration in Southwark for any difficult choices which we are obliged to make as a result of the Government's cuts.

But the difficulty for them is that things did change last May, and changed very significantly. Whether they like it or not the national LibDem Party chose to enter into a coalition with the Conservatives, and thereby indicated that the LibDem Party nationally preferred a right-wing solution to the dilemma posed by the election results to a left-wing or progressive solution. A formal coalition with the Conservatives was not an inevitable choice for the LibDems - they chose 5 years of what they hope to be guaranteed power with a right-wing party, rather than any more pragmatic solution. And no decision since May 2010 would seem to demonstrate that Nick Clegg's LibDems are not prepared to sign up whole-heartedly to the Conservative's approach.

At the end of the day national political parties are just that - national. They are led by a single Leader who sets the policy tone and framework and becomes the living embodiment of what the Party represents and offers to the electorate. Even the Green Party has recognised the need for a single identifiable Leader. And in national political parties other senior elected representatives "toe the party line" and demonstrate their support for what the Leader and senior figures say and do. Both the Conservatives and Labour know what happens when that does not occur! What the leadership of the Party does is important. Sometimes you can disagree with a particular policy approach, but it becomes impossible really to retain credibility as a Party member or supporter if you disagree with the national leadership's fundamental direction of travel.

So the point I'm making is that Southwark Lib Dems do have to recognise that their party's direction of travel is to the right. And that direction looks set firm. They also have to recognise that the Southwark Lib Dem party does not exist in isolation from their national party - after all Simon Hughes is the national Party Deputy Leader.

I have no doubt that many Lib Dem councillors, members and supporters in Southwark are extremely uncomfortable with this lurch to the right by their Party. And there will be many who recognise that if the electorate in Southwark behave as the electorate in Oldham have, Southwark's Lib Dems face real electoral difficulties.

Labour remains the only party of the left and centre-left, and all that we do in Southwark will be true to our core political beliefs and principles, representing the best in progressive politics. So I say to all Lib Dem councillors, members and supporters in Southwark - if you still wish to be part of the progressive politics of our country and our borough there will always be a place for you with Labour. It is your national party which has moved - not you or your beliefs. If you want to be a relevant part of the debate going forward don't think you have to put yourselves through the agony of pretending to defend Conservative policies - but join with Labour in fashioning a real alternative.

Southwark's Budget 2011

2011-01-13T13:10:00.002Z

Later today I will be meeting with Grant Shapps MP, the Local Government Minister, to make the case for additional funding for Southwark in the next financial year. Southwark is the hardest hit of all London local authorities in the amount of money it will lose from Government grant next year - £29.7 million; with a further £17.2 million being taken next year.

This level of cuts is unprecedented and will mean that we will have to make some very difficult choices here in Southwark. No department or service will be unscathed - it is simply impossible for us to make 11% less money pay for all the same services. After you add in inflation costs and other unavoidable cost pressures the cut is equivalent to nearly £60 million.

Our meeting with Mr Shapps will also be attended by all three Southwark MPs, Harriet Harman, Simon Hughes and Tessa Jowell, as well as Cllr Tim McNally from Southwark's opposition LibDem group. Our message will be the same - Southwark will not be able to preserve all of its front-line services over the next year without some further financial support from Government.

I have no great hope that Mr Shapps will offer us any further funding - but he must at least recognise that the problems facing a borough such as ours are many - and expensive to solve. With consistently increased funding during the lifetime of the last Labour Government we did make real progress in tackling some of the real problems which flow from having an inner-city borough with high levels of deprivation. I fear that some of this progress will be lost if Mr Shapps cannot provide some real cash this afternoon.

Tuition Fees and Educational Maintenance Allowance

2010-12-10T12:30:00.002Z

Last night's vote on tuition fees will be a blow to many families living in South Camberwell and Southwark. The prospect of incurring £30,000 or more of debt is not a good one, particularly when you take into account the fact that the average income in our borough is just £16,000.

I take the view that if we value education as a society we should be prepared to pay for it. Is it better for our country that we raise our educational attainment? Yes, of course it is. In an increasingly competitive world it is vital that the UK does not fall behind other economies in terms of having a highly skilled and educated workforce. I believe that the decision to triple tuition fees is a short-term fix which has no medium or long term merit. If just one young person is deterred from higher education as a result of this change, then I believe it is a retrograde step.

At the same time the abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance ('EMA') which has funded poorer 16-18 year olds in further education will also have a dire impact. At an event at Southwark college with Ed Miliband on Wednesday many students spoke about the fact that their decision to stay in further education had only been made possible because of the EMA. Without it they would have had to leave school as their parents would not have been able to support them.

So two changes of policy which will harm our education system, and will trample on the ambition of so many young people from our borough.

I find Simon Hughes position on these measures appalling. He pledged to protect his constituents by voting against any rise in tuition fees, but his abstention meant that the vote was won by the government. There are circumstances in which an abstention can be a matter of principle. There can be circumstances in which an abstention can be politically expedient. But in the case of Simon Hughes, an abstention was a betrayal of his constituents and a simple broken promise. Can we ever believe anything he ever says in the future?

Another Month!

2010-10-14T14:04:00.003+01:00

I've just realised that it is a month since I blogged! And it has been another incredibly busy month. The Labour Party elected a new Leader in Manchester. I had been backing David Miliband in the contest, but I am absolutely delighted with the impact which Ed Miliband has had since his election. A really good performance at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday has put the seal on an excellent start.

Last Thursday I spoke at a conference held at Tate Modern on 'Investing in Southwark'. It was a hugely successful event organised by the Council and New London Architecture and gave me an opportunity to express my support for regeneration and in particular tall buildings in the borough.

This week I attended the AGM of the Beormund Centre and at the same time spoke with some of those protesting against the proposed Thames Tunnel development at Kings Stairs Garden. As part of the 'super sewer' proposal Thames Water are currently proposing to excavate major shafts at the Alfred Salter playground at Druid Street and the park at Kings Stairs Gardens. I have already made clear that I am utterly opposed to these sites and believe that Thames Water should look at other possible sites either within or outside the borough. Whilst the tunnel is a positive and necessary improvement to our water treatment, this should not be at the expense of a children's playground or a green space which needs preserving and enhancing.

I am hoping that we will be able to organise a public meeting in the near future to discuss how we take our opposition to these sites forward.

Southwark Labour's 4th Annual Conference

2010-09-12T15:34:00.003+01:00

Yesterday saw another truly successful Southwark Labour Conference - a mixture of speeches, policy making and discussion, and a chance to catch up with friends old and new.

We had great contributions from Tessa Jowell, Harriet Harman, and two of my former Deputy Leaders Susan Elan Jones and Alison McGovern who are both now Labour MPs.

Two workshops discussed the challenge facing us as a Council with our housing stock and next year's budget led by Ian Wingfield and Richard Livingstone.

The packed day concluded with presentations from each of my Cabinet colleagues on their achievements to date and greatest challenge ahead. There was spontaneous applause for Barrie Hargrove when he spoke about his introduction of food waste recycling this year, 5 years ahead of the LibDem's scheduled start date, and the plans to make Burgess Park a truly outstanding park for Southwark's residents. Ian Wingfield gave a terrific and rousing speech to end this part of the day!

Labour's Leadership Election

2010-09-01T16:09:00.002+01:00

Ballot papers have been sent out today for Labour's Leadership election. This is an historic election, the first time since 1994 that Labour members will have voted for a new Leader. So it is important that we make the right choice and elect a leader who has the experience and judgement to lead the Labour Party and the country. After some very careful thought my own choice for Leader is David Miliband. I do think he has the edge over the other candidates in terms of his experience and appeal.

All of the other candidates have real merits and qualities. Ed Miliband was a great speaker at our Southwark Borough Conference last year and has the potential to be a great Party Leader. But my view is that his time has not yet arrived.

It does look like it will be a very close contest between David and Ed. I am not sure that they would personally see their campaigns as 'New' versus 'Old' Labour - it is a shame that some of their supporters have portrayed it in this way. Both Milibands are forward-thinking politicians who have served the Labour Party well, and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so in the future. There is no doubt that whatever their differences on strategy and tactics, they both want to see the return of a Labour Government.

But on balance my view is that David has the edge in terms of who is most likely to appeal not only to Labour supporters, but to the wider electorate, and to secure a Labour election victory - whenever that election comes!

IFS Slam Coalition Budget

2010-08-25T18:11:00.002+01:00

The Institute of Fiscal Studies criticism of the Coalition Government's budget is not good news. It comes on the same day as Anatole Kaletsky heavily criticised the Government's 'macho' attitude towards making spending cuts, which he fears will send us into a disastrous recession next year.

Now pundits and 'think tanks' can be wrong, but it really does seem that people are starting to wake up to the real damage that the Coalition's budget has already done and will do in the coming months and years. The reaction of "Deputy PM" Nick Clegg was typically vacuous - will there come a time when he engages his brain before speaking on any subject?

There is a choice for this Government to make - stop the posturing cuts now and take us back into recovery in a sensible and measured way, as proposed by the last Labour Government. The risks of and actual damage which will be done if the Coalition continues as it is currently doing are simply too great. It is time some Lib Dems with a conscience started to recognise this fact.

Maydew House

2010-08-10T21:24:00.002+01:00

Last night the Cabinet took the decision to permanently rehouse the residents of Maydew House in order that 'Decent Homes' works can be carried out. It was not an easy decision and the length of the meeting demonstrated the consideration which we had to give to the issues raised by residents of the block and other external experts employed by the Council.

At the end of the day two factors weighed heavily on our decision. Firstly, we could not contemplate any resident or visitor to the block coming into contact with asbestos fibres displaced during the duration of the works and secondly we could not risk leaving residents living on a building site for up to two years, including losing basic services for lengthy periods during those works. However much thought and consideration goes into the project management of works such as this there are inevitably things that go wrong, and with the added difficulties which already existed in this project those further problems would make life unbearable for anyone still resident in the block.

We would not have chosen to make this decision at this time, but the previous LibDem / Tory administration had thrown the future of the block into doubt and created a level of uncertainty which was unfair on the majority of residents and needed resolution sooner rather than later.

Absolutely no decision has been made about the longer term future of the block. We want to keep all of our housing stock if possible and last night's decision has no bearing on any wider strategy. So we could see no advantage in further postponing last night's decision, despite being urged by the local MP. The reality is that unlike the local MP, who appears to be in permanent opposition whilst in Government, an Administration has to make decisions on the basis of the facts as they are presented, and not as we would wish them to be.

I know some residents will have been upset and angered by our decision. But I hope that everyone understands that we made the decision for the right reasons of health, safety and the proper living conditions of all Maydew's residents.

Southwark's Democracy Commission

2010-08-09T13:03:00.002+01:00

Last week I gave evidence to Southwark's Democracy Commission about how we might improve Council Assembly in future and make it more accessible to the public. Too often our current meetings feel fairly bizarre affairs, with lots of political posturing and not much light thrown on some of the big local issues which affect us in Southwark. With some confidential information being unwisely thrown out during the course of debate by the opposition, our recent discussion of the Elephant and Castle regeneration must have seemed odd, to say the least!

Some of the questions which I posed to the Commission were (a) whether we always had to hold our meetings at Southwark Town Hall on Wednesday evenings? (b) Whether members' questions serve any valuable purpose at the present time? (c) How we make it easier for deputations and members of the public to attend and participate in our meetings? (d) Can meetings be webcast and is there the possibility for interactive questioning and participation?

We also discussed the possibility of returning some decision-making powers to Council Assembly. In opposition we were critical of the last Administration's decision to keep our borough's Housing Strategy as a Cabinet decision. It seems to me that responsibility for our housing policy should better lie with all members of the council. There may be other instances where this could be done.

The Lib Dems have a fairly long shopping-list of areas where they claim we can improve local democracy. Some of their points have a Year Zero feeling to them; it is almost as if they had not been in power for the past 8 years! It is worth remembering that the reason why Labour established the Democracy Commission was because the previous administration did everything they could to make Council Assembly a pointless meeting which they almost treated with disdain. I am confident that everyting that we do as a new administration will reverse that course.

Curlywurly

2010-08-02T16:31:00.002+01:00

A word about my cat, Curlywurly, who had to be put to sleep on Friday. He was only 15 months old, but he had been diagnosed with a horrible and rapid illness. He was a real 'Whiskas' cat, had a wonderful personality and brought a lot of joy in his short life. This photo was taken by my colleague Fiona when she was cat-sitting last year!

Southwark's Town Halls

2010-08-02T16:04:00.002+01:00

Southwark has three Town Hall buildings - one in Spa Road, Bermondsey; another on the Walworth Road and the third, Southwark Town Hall, on the Peckham Road. All of them require major capital investment in order to make them user-friendly public buildings. And when that capital of approximately £20 million has been found we need to find a real use and purpose for them, and a revenue stream for maintaining them.

Why is this important? Well, in short we are likely to be facing unprecedented cuts in funding from central government - £76 million over the next 4 years - and unless we look long and hard at everything that we are spending our money on we will be limiting our options for finding the savings which we need.

None of the buildings provide good modern office facilities for our council staff, and so the major capital investment cannot be avoided if we are to continue using them into the future. Nor can we just hand them over for public or community use without investment which is needed to make the buildings DDA compliant.

The argument for maintaining Spa Road has historically been to maintain a council 'presence' in the north of the borough. But with over 2000 council employees now working out of the council's offices at 160 Tooley Street I am not sure that this argument remains. There is certainly a "Council presence" in Bermondsey!

Walworth is a difficult building. The council chamber there is too small for Southwark's 63 member council, and it is not obvious what use we can give to it.

Southwark Town Hall houses our current Council Chamber, but I was interested (and alarmed) to hear that some of the feedback received by our Democracy Commission has already criticised the public gallery as being poor - preventing sight of many of the councillors participating in debate. If we are to meet the aspirations of opening up our local democracy to the public we need to make sure that at least they can witness our meetings! But the Town Hall represents an important presence in Camberwell, and would be sorely missed by the local community.

What is the answer to this financial and democratic conundrum? I'm not sure. But I think we are fast moving to a point where we can no longer ignore these issues or simply indulge a wish to maintain the three Town Halls just because they exist.

This is one of those issues and debates which we are bound to see more of in the next couple of years, as we are faced with increasingly difficult financial options. Let me know if you have any thoughts.

A Progress Report

2010-08-02T15:51:00.002+01:00

So we are now 75 days into Southwark's Labour Administration and it is worth taking stock of what we have achieved and what programmes we have started.

We have signed two major regeneration deals which had been progressing at a snails-pace under the last administration. At the Elephant and Castle we will see the major redevelopment of an area of Central London, and at Potters Field next to Tower Bridge we will see the completion of the regeneration of this part of our riverside.

We have cut Councillors allowances by over £70,000 - reversing the increases which the previous administration introduced over the past 4 years.

We have saved the green spaces at Nursery Row Park and Brayard's Green, which had been under threat from developers and the last administration.

And we have made it harder for the Council to employ external consultants - just last year Southwark spent over £12 million on consultants. We simply cannot afford to do that at a time when we are facing huge budget cuts from central government.

We are already looking at options to introduce our Free Healthy School Meals policy and in order to meet our pledge to make every council home warm, dry and safe. There is still a long way to go, but we are pushing ahead with our Labour programme to bring a fairer future for all in Southwark.

Southwark Trades Union Council

2010-07-19T20:49:00.003+01:00

This evening I spoke at a meeting of the Southwark Trades Union Council. It is safe to say that I had a frank exchange of views with some of those present at the meeting who appeared to have mistaken me for George Osborne! But I suppose that some may argue that being harangued and heckled by Ted Knight is a sign of political arrival.

With absolute justification many of those present at the meeting are worried about the budget cuts which are coming - and the impact they will have on their jobs, homes, health and aspirations. We have already seen the loss of the Building Schools for the Future budget in most local authorities, and there is worse to come.

Although there are strong arguments to be made against these budget cuts I have to be realistic about the decisions which I make as Council Leader. I don't have the luxury of dealing with imaginary and non- existent budgets and will have to deal with the reality of the sums passed to us by the Coalition Government. So I say to those who oppose any cuts and choose not to accept any reality whatever it may be - I will oppose and argue against any cuts unless and until they come, but I will do nothing which jeopardises the council's ability to provide the best services which it can to those who are most reliant upon those services.

A Deal on the Elephant and Castle

2010-07-12T09:41:00.003+01:00

Last Wednesday Southwark's Cabinet took the decision to enter into a Regeneration Agreement with Lend Lease to redevelop the Elephant and Castle - a £1.5 billion 15 year project which will transform this part of South London.

In November the previous administration had entered into a Heads of Terms with Lend Lease, but those failed to include any mention of affordable housing, the shopping centre or any leisure facilities. In the 8 weeks since we took office all of these issues have been addressed. We now have a minimum guarantee of at least 25% affordable housing on the site; the shopping centre will be the subject of a compulsory purchase order if no deal can be reached between Lend Lease and St Modwens (the shopping centre owner) and there will be a new leisure centre on the site of the current leisure centre.

In obtaining a guarantee on affordable housing we have had to lose some guaranteed profit which would have come to the Council in 15 years time. We thought this was the right choice to make, as it reflects our political priorities for the Elephant and Castle to be a truly mixed community.

Amazingly the Liberal Democrats have opposed the deal! Despite the fact that they failed to progress the deal during their 8 years in office - 8 years of dither and delay - they now appear to think that it would have been preferable to have no guarantee of affordable housing.

Labour pledged to move forward with the regeneration of the borough, and the Elephant and Castle is crucial to that objective. It is a deal I am proud of and I am confident it will be one of many regeneration projects which we see in Southwark over the next four years.

Busy Times!

2010-06-14T10:54:00.002+01:00

So the first month as Leader of the Council has been incredibly busy - nearly every day has meetings starting at 8 and running through to at least 8 in the evening!

But there is a lot to learn about projects which the Council is involved with; and innumerable people who want to speak to myself and the new Cabinet about the role which they might play in taking those projects forward.

Tomorrow we will have our first Cabinet meeting, and one of the first decisions which we will be taking is to agree our 'Vision for Southwark' over the next four years. This is more than just signing off our manifesto commitments, but will also provide us with a narrative about how we want to change Southwark and make the Council a more efficient body.

As well as fostering innovation and imagination, I want us to get to a point where everyone within the the council deals with council money as if it were their own; and with every member of the public as if they were a valued member of the family. If we all operate with these two thoughts in mind I have no doubt that we can deliver more efficient services for our residents.

And in South Camberwell the work goes on! We re-start our mobile surgery programme in a couple of weeks time, and just yesterday Veronica, Stephen and myself welcomed the new floral/plant dog to the top of Dog Kennel Hill! We're hoping that local people might be able to name the dog over the next few weeks. It is a very imaginative creation, and brightens up the planting at the top of the hill as people wait at the traffic lights.

Leader of the Council

2010-05-21T21:54:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday night I was privileged to have been elected as Leader of the Council. On the same night I appointed my Cabinet for the forthcoming year. We have many challenges ahead as we try to implement a positive programme of change for our borough against a background of threatened "savage cuts" to public services from the coalition government.

Some of the immediate challenges which we face include the terms on which we enter into any deal for the regeneration of the Elephant and Castle; making every council home warm, dry and safe, and finding funding so that we can implement our pledge to introduce free healthy school meals for all primary school children in the borough.

You can read more on the Southwark council website at southwark.gov.uk

Labour Win Southwark!

2010-05-11T12:19:00.003+01:00

Labour won the council elections which took place last Thursday! After 8 years of Lib Dem / Tory rule we picked up 7 seats to end the elections with 35 councillors; the Lib Dems went down to 25 and the Tories were left with just 3.
If you've been reading my blog over the past few months you will know how frustrated I have been with some of the Lib Dem's campaigning - and in particular their deliberate distortions of what we have been saying.
Well it looks as if Labour's very positive message won the day - and the negative campaign of the Lib Dems was rejected.
Why did we win so well? In the north and middle of the borough I believe that voters were passing a judgment on the council and choosing between the competing policies and pledges. Whilst Simon Hughes' vote went up in Bermondsey and Old Southwark, voters chose to vote Labour in the local elections in the same constituency.
In College Ward in the south of the borough it does seem as if the Tories were squeezed by the fact that the local elections were taking place on the same day as the general election.
In South Camberwell our 4 years of work and campaigning paid off and we won all 3 seats. I am delighted that Cllr Stephen Govier will now be joining Veronica and I on the Labour benches in the Town Hall!
And the victory means that I am now the Leader-elect of the Council! A slightly daunting and humbling prospect, but one which I am really looking forward to, and a role in which I intend to deliver on Labour's manifesto pledges and priorities.
A big thank you to all the residents of South Camberwell who voted Labour on May 6th. We will not let you down!

Why do the Lib Dems Lie?

2010-04-29T12:11:00.003+01:00

Today an advert appears in Southwark News promoting Simon Hughes and his colleagues. In the small print of the advert allegations are made about Labour wanting to move services to Brixton Town Hall and Labour's plans to introduce an Arms Length Management Organisation ('ALMO') to manage Southwark's housing stock.

Both of these allegations are lies. On the first the Lib Dems have chosen to deliberately twist a perfectly reasonable proposal to try and cut waste and back-office costs across two boroughs. As I have said before, the Lib Dems have no positive proposals about how they are going to try and deal with the difficult financial times ahead, but they are happy to attack anyone who has!

On the second, I have no idea where the allegation comes from! It is simply made up. Purely and simply - a lie, an untruth.

Not even Simon Hughes beleives it. On 7th April 2010 in a Parliamentary debate on housing he said this:

"There are currently four parties on the council: there are councillors from the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservatives, along with one Green councillor. All those parties in Southwark have always supported the view that the council should retain control of its housing stock and not divest itself of that stock."

That remains the case today. As the Lib Dems well know.

So why does Mr Hughes deliberately try to mislead voters now. It is pathetic politics and he should be ashamed of himself for being party to it.

UPDATE
Peckham Rye candidates report that Lib Dems in that ward are telling Labour voters that there are no Labour candidates standing in the elections - so they have to vote Lib Dem! You make your minds up - does it sound like new 'breaking the mould' politics to you?!

"Bigotgate"

2010-04-29T11:54:00.002+01:00

I doubt that there is any politician - or even political activist - who hasn't walked away from a door they have just canvassed or a voter that they have tried to persuade and made a wry or dubious comment to a colleague about the voters' true voting intentions or views. And I doubt that there are many people who can honestly say that they have never said anything out of earshot about a friend, family member, colleague or acquaintance which they would not want to say to that person's face!

So just think how horrific it must be if those private words were repeated back to the other person. How would you feel? Horrifed? Embarrassed? And if the words you used were excessive - the horror and embarrassment must be so much greater. And what would you think of the person who had gone back and repeated your words?

So it must have been great fun for the media yesterday to report to Gillian Duffy what Gordon Brown had said about her. I don't suppose for a moment they thought about the hurt they might cause to her - no doubt they were just interested in landing the Prime Minister in a whole load of trouble.

Of course in a perfect world nobody says anything about anybody else behind their back which is disrepectful or hurtful. But we do not live in a perfect world. We live in a world where human beings act in a human way and make mistakes.

So I just think that this is a story about human nature - which has hurt and embarrassed everyone involved.

But does it make me think that Gordon Brown has got the big decisions about the economy wrong over the past 2 years? Or that his knowledge and experience are not the best on offer for the future of our economy as we emerge from this recession? No, not at all. At the end of the day it is the decisions on the big issues which matter. And Gordon Brown has got those right.

East Dulwich Estate Hustings Meeting

2010-04-27T13:09:00.003+01:00

The East Dulwich Estate Tenants and Residents Association organises a local election Hustings Meeting every four years and invites all parties to send a speaker. Last night I was joined by Oliver Wooler, one of the Tory candiates for South Camberwell, and Jenny Jones, a Green Party candidate, for a good debate on some of the issues and challenges facing us.

It was clear from the questions put to us that people on the East Dulwich Estate are really dissatisfied with the housing management service in Southwark. Labour has already pledged to reintroduce a Strategic Director of Housing and have a clear management structure re-imposed on this failing department.

But I thought it was really telling that despite numerous e-mails to their Group Leader, the Lib Dems chose to send no one to represent them at the Hustings. It just shows how little they care about South Camberwell ward and Camberwell in general.

A Reality Check!

2010-04-21T11:36:00.004+01:00

Before anyone gets too carried away with the idea of Saintly Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems providing the answers to all of our political ills, it is worth just remembering a few facts about the Lib Dems record here in Southwark. After all, they have been "breaking the mould" by running things here since 2002!

1. We now have the worst run council in inner-London. That's not just my verdict, it is the verdict of the Audit Commission.
http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk/infobyarea/region/area/localorganisations/organisation/pages/default.aspx?region=51&area=437&orgId=1677
(Southwark is rated as 'adequate' - all other Inner London boroughs judged to be performing 'well' ore 'excellently')
2. We have the 3rd worst council tax collection rate in the country - over £7 million goes uncollected each year. In the rest of the country they would collect at least another £5 million!
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/12641872.xls
3. Our recycling rate is the 6th worst in the country. See the story below!
http://www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/wastats/archive/mwb200809a.xls
4. Our adult social care service has fallen from an excellent rating to being one of the 8 worst in the country - again, not just my view, but the view of the independent CQC watchdog.
http://www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/southwark_APA_report_2009.pdf
5. Our housing service has been red flagged by the Audit Commission - they don't think the council is capable of bringing our council housing up to an acceptable standard with the plans currently in place. This is a truly damning indictment for the second largest landlord in the country - with 18,000 unfit homes.
http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk/infobyarea/region/area/areaassessment/pages/localpriority.aspx?region=51&area=437&priority=4065
6. We have the highest levels of childhood obesity in England.
http://www.sepho.nhs.uk/NOOe-atlas/childPCTsingle/atlas.html?indicator=i9&date=2008/09

And after 8 years in charge the Lib Dem Council Leader says Southwark should be treated like a country in the developing world! [South London Press - 16th April 2010]

This is not "a new politics". It is a real demonstration that the Lib Dems in charge of Southwark have made things worse and not better.

So don't get drawn in by any media hype or imagine that Mr Clegg and his party offer some politial utopia. We have seen them in charge in Southwark for 8 years - and the reality is terrible!

Southwark Labour's Manifesto

2010-04-19T16:17:00.003+01:00

If you haven't already received a hard copy of Southwark Labour's manifesto, you can read it online here

I am really proud of our positive commitments and pledges for the next four years.

Labour's Pledge to Double Recycling

2010-04-19T15:51:00.002+01:00

In the local election campaign here in Southwark Labour has pledged to double recycling. The last full year figures showed recycling had reached 21% in Southwark - so our pledge means that we will take it to 42%.

The national average last year was nearly 38%, up from 22.5% four years before. That's an increase of 15.5%. In contrast Southwark has only increased its' recycling rate by less than 10% in the same period. So not only are we far behind the national average, we are not keeping pace with the national rate of improvement.

We can do far more to make recycling easier, by offering food recycling; by recycling tetra-pak; and just by increasing the range of items which can be doorstep recycled. As a flat-dweller I know that it has been difficult to recycle in Southwark - even when you want to.

In contrast to Labour's clear pledge, the ruling Lib Dems are pledging to make the borugh's recycling rate more than ten times the rate achieved under Labour. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm guessing that it's a pledge to increase recycling to between 30% and 40%. In 2006 the Libs promised to increase recycling to 30%, but they have fallen way short. They appear to be apologists for the contractors Veolia, and once again do not demonstrate any leadership or passion on this subject.

They need to understand that in order to make things happen you need to show political leadership, even if that involves making tough decisions. But I know that in Southwark recycling is a clear priority, and a Labour Council will deliver on its' pledge.

The Road Ahead

2010-04-13T13:56:00.001+01:00

I've just been catching up with last night's Labour election broadcast - it's well worth a look here

Campaigning with Harriet

2010-04-13T13:38:00.002+01:00

Friday evening saw Veronica, Stephen and I campaigning with Harriet Harman and others at Denmark Hill station. We got a very positive response, and it was clear that people were really pleased to see Harriet. There were quite a few "double takes"! With national responsibilities during this campaign, it is great that Harriet is able to spend as much time as she is campaigning across Camberwell and Peckham. She has been campaigning in every ward, and has a programme of street stalls ahead.

In the pic with Harriet and myself is local activist Hilary Evans.

What's your plan Lib Dems?

2010-04-13T13:24:00.002+01:00

Two weeks ago Southwark Labour launched its' manifesto for the local election campaign. You can read it here. I think we've got a full programme for the next 4 years, with many good ideas for sorting out some of the big problems for Southwark. I was particularly pleased to see that Labour's national manifesto published yesterday included a commitment to provide free healthy school meals - echoing our own local pledge to introduce free healthy school meals for all of our primary school pupils.

But I have been baffled by the absence of any manifesto or ideas from the Lib Dems who run the Council. Three weeks before they are asking people to support them in the local elections I have yet to see a leaflet which says what they will do, rather than what Labour won't do! After 8 years in power you would have thought that they would want to take pride in any achievements and set out their agenda for the next 4 years. But try though I might I can find nothing, anywhere!

Perhaps it is because we have the worst run council in London (that's official - don't just take my word for it!), the third worst council tax collection in the country, the sixth worst recycling record in England and a housing department which has been condemned by the Audit Commission that the Lib Dems are avoiding talking about their record. But to have no ideas for the future is just pathetic. I have to say it is consistent with everything which senior officers have told me over the past two years - that the Council's political executive have provided absolutely no leadership.

It is great to have good 'pavement politicians', people who will stand up for your street, but you also need people in charge of the Council who have a strategy and a vision for where our borough should be. Labour has such a strategy and vision, and at the moment we seem to be the only party which does. We don't just want power for the sake of it, or to share out the special responsibility allowances. We want power so that we can make Southwark a better place to live, and create a future which is fair for all in our borough.

Camberwell & Peckham Fundraiser

2010-03-26T11:54:00.003Z

With Labour only 2 points behind the Conservatives in the latest opinion polls and a good budget from Alistair Darling on Wednesday, it was great to look forward to the coming elections and raise some money at the Sun and Doves last night.

Harriet Harman was on great form, and the guest speaker Peter Mandelson, reminded us why it is so important for the country to re-elect a Labour Government. On every major financial decision in the past 18 months Gordon Brown and Labour have been right, and George Osborne has been wrong. From saving Northern Rock and the other major banks to nvesting in public services, the effects of this recession have not been as painful as those in the 1980's and 1990's. Although there are tough times ahead I know who I'd prefer to carry on making the right decisions.

I was also pleased to launch our Southwark Labour manifesto - and our 7 key pledges for our borough. With the Lib Dems in Southwark refusing to debate their record and local issues and instead spending all their time calling for the election of a Tory government, I am confident that our local campaign and pledges will win widespread support.

Cll Ade Lasaki joins Southwark Labour

2010-03-24T11:07:00.003Z

South Bermondsey councillor Adedokun Lasaki yesterday quit the Lib Dems and joined Southwark Labour. Coming just 6 weeks ahead of the local elections this represents a real boost for us as Ade particularly cited his anger at the current administration's housing policies as a reason for his leaving the Lib Dems. He shared our incredulity at the fact that the Libs handed over control of one of our major departments to the Tories in 2006, and has become increasingly concerned at the fact that the Tory policies which have been pursued have made matters worse for many tenants and leaseholders right across Southwark.

Only yesterday evening I was talking to a council tenant in Coplestone Road who has experienced difficulties getting repairs done to her home, so all councillors know the reality of the frustration which Ade feels.

Ade Lasaki has been a councillor in South Bermondsey since 2006, and involved in the tenants movement in Southwark for 25 years, so he is a man of genuine experience and knowledge, and his decision to join Southwark Labour is all the more significant.

The current council leadership's ardour for the Tories continues, and tonight the Leader of the Lib Dems and the Leader of the Tories on the council will be proposing a motion which calls for the election of a Conservative Government. So whilst Nick Clegg might try and pretend he willwork with either of the major parties, there is no such pretence in Southwark where the true blue colours of the Lib Dem leadership are obvious.

But it is also this obsession with a right wing agenda which has driven Ade Lasaki away from the Lib Dems and drove Danny McCarthy away before him. No doubt many voters in Southwark will be having the same concerns that a vote for the Lib Dems is really a vote for the Tories.

The Hamlet resurfaced - well nearly!

2010-03-17T10:03:00.003Z

Modest fanfare - The Hamlet has been resurfaced!

Premature end of fanfare - part of The Hamlet has not been resurfaced!

I was staggered to learn yesterday that although the vast majority of The Hamlet had been resurfaced (after a particularly long-running campaign and over 40 years of deterioration) the section to the left of the entrance from Champion Hill had been ignored by the men with the asphalt last week! This means that those residents at numbers 1 to 8 of The Hamlet have still not seen the benefit of the decision taken by Camberwell Community Council at the end of last year to resurface the road.

After being alterted by local residents to this omission I have been in touch with the Council's roads team and am anxiously awaiting a response as to why this bit of road has been ignored! Hopefully it was just an oversight and this section of the road will be resurfaced this week!

The mystery of how Southwark Council operates continues!

UPDATE - 11 AM

This the text of a reply I have just received to my enquiry -

"Dear Councillor John,

From our pre works inspections we were concerned over the integrity of the existing carriageway which was badly spalled and coming loose in places. In a worst case scenario, if we were obliged to carry out a full depth reconstruction due to the poor condition of the sub strata then we might exceed our £80k budget, if all the roads in the Hamlet were to be treated

We therefore elected to proceed with caution and initially undertake the milling off / excavation and resurfacing of the section from the round about or round the circular route and back to Champion Hill. During the milling off / excavation the condition of the exposed sub strata proved to be in better condition than expected.

Once we had confirmation that the budget was sufficient for the remaining two side roads we instructed the contractor to programme the works, which we expect to be undertaken in April / May. We are intending to letter drop the residents informing them of the slight delay in completing the remaining work."

So it looks like the resurfacing celebrations can go ahead - but not for a few months yet!

Dulwich and West Norwood Fundraiser

2010-03-05T14:05:00.002Z

Southwark will still include three wards from Tessa Jowell's constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood after the next General Election, and last night I was pleased to attend a fundraising dinner for the constituency Labour Party, where Aliastair Campbell was the guest speaker.

Alastair is devoting a huge amount of time and energy to the re-election of the Labour Government, and he is a compelling speaker. And Tessa reminded us to ask those people who are currently wavering between Labour and Tory whether they really want George Osborne as the next Chancellor. There is no doubt that he is a weak link among many on the Tory side.

Lambeth Leader Steve Reed and I said a few words at the end of the evening, which had proved hugely successful, and raised a great sum for the election campaigns.

What is the election about....?

2010-03-01T13:40:00.002Z

All this weekend was spent in South Camberwell talking to residents about how they might vote on May 6th in local and national elections. Veronica, Stephen and I have been getting a good reaction from voters who seem to recognise the hard work we have been putting in - not only in the past few months, but since Veronica and I were first elected in 2002.

Local elections are about getting the right representatives for your local area - and in doing that there is a balance to achieve between making sure that you get the councillors who will do most for the area, and also ensuring that your political views are represented. But there is a third aspect which can sometimes get overlooked, and that is making sure that your vote makes a difference to the larger picture in the borough; that the councillors who represent you are going to make a difference to the strategic choices and direction which the council takes.

It has been very frustrating being in opposition since 2002, particularly as we have been powerless to change the structures which cause so many of the problems we experience day-to-day in our casework. For example, housing repairs on our council estates are incredibly frustrating. It seems that more often than not repairs are not completed adequately, and however loudly we protest the system for dealing with housing repairs fails to respond. So we need to change the system!

I suppose the point that I'm making is that it is incredibly frustrating working to improve peoples' lives when it has been impossible to change the structures which cause the problems which people experience.

The Lib Dems and Tories have been running Southwark since 2002. In that time I really do feel that there has been a lack of strategic or 'big picture' thinking. Yes, local politics is about my street or your street, but without a wider vision and ambition nothing can or will improve.

So I hope that voters have that third consideration in mind when they are deciding how to use their vote on May 6th.

The Debate on Free School Meals

2010-02-25T15:01:00.003Z

I have just been looking at a discussion about our free school meals policy on the East Dulwich Forum website. Some of the contributors attacked the policy as (a) wasteful expenditure at a time when we should be making cuts (b) unnecessary, as they should not be paying for children to be fed and (c) only put forward by Labour to win votes.

OK, so let's look at those three objections.

(a) Southwark Council has spent £180 million on consultants, temps and agency staff over the past 4 years - with spending in this area having risen by £2 million this past year alone. It spends more than any other London borough on communications and publicity - approximately £5 million each year. Each year the council has failed to collect £7 million in council tax. For me, this is wasteful and wasteful expenditure. Call me dangerously left-wing, but I would prefer to use £2.5 million of that money on providing a nutritious and healthy school meal to every primary school child. Yes, we will need to make cuts, and we will, but we also need to tackle some of the really important issues the borough faces - such as childhood obesity, child poverty and inequality. Of course, you are at liberty to say that these issues are nothing to do with you or your money and walk by on the other side of the road. But I think that the vast majority of people in Southwark will want to know that their council is doing all that it can to solve some of these issues. So your conclusion that free school meals is wasteful expenditure = my conclusion that it is an investment to improve life chances.

(b) Any universal benefit will always throw up those who say, why should we be paying for something that others can or should be paying for themselves. Why not target the benefit to those who really need it or use the money in a more focussed fashion? A reasonable point, if all targetted benefits were taken up by those who were entitled. But we know that this does not happen, and that in Southwark 1800 children each year do not take advantage of their entitlement to free school meals. These can sometimes be the children who turn up at lunchtime with their packed lunches full of the cheapest sweets, biscuits and crisps. To my mind a policy which seeks to meet the nutritional needs of those 1800 is well worth pursuing. Let's not visit the sins of the parent upon the child! We might criticise the parent for failing to provide a healthy lunch for their child, but that is no reason to condemn the child to eating that unhealthy lunch.

And if middle-class parents who pay their council tax also benefit from the policy whilst their children are at primary school, then so be it. What is the problem with that? You pay your tax - you get a visible benefit. You pay your tax - you get the NHS. Is that good or bad? What if you don't have children and are unlikely to ever benefit from the policy? Well, I hope that you will recognise that the policy is intended to tackle particular problems which will benefit us all - better educational attainment by improved concentration after lunch; and reduced expenditure on health issues arising from unhealthy eating in early years. The benefits of living in a community where society still matters!

(c) Is the policy put forward by Labour to win votes? Well, it would be a weird political party which advocated policies it hoped would lose it votes! Is it cheap populism? Well, I hope it's a popular policy, but I don't understand why that's a bad thing, particularly if it provides the benefits which we believe it will.

Southwark Labour want to put a clear choice before the voters of Southwark on May 6th, and it looks as if this policy will provide a clear choice for the electorate. It is opposed by all the other political parties!

At the end of the day local politics should be local, but it doesn't always have to be micro - just about my street. It also needs to be strategic for the borough, and with this policy we are tackling some of the bigs issues which in your daily life you may never see or experience, but which exist nonetheless. It's a big idea to tackle some big problems!

Here's What You Could Have Had .....

2010-02-24T09:53:00.004Z

Last night Southwark set a council tax budget which sees council tax frozen for next year. However, Labour's budget amendment which would have seen a 2% cut in council tax bills and the introduction of free healthy school meals for every primary school child in the borough was voted down by a coalition of Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Green councillors. It was particularly disappointing that Southwark's Green councillor opposed our free school meals policy.

Labour's alternative budget would have seen us introduce measures which would have begun to tackle some of our fundamental problems - childhood obesity and child poverty, as well as rolling back many of the cuts, closures and price hikes which have been introduced by the ruling coalition in the past 4 years.

It was fairly predictable that the Lib Dems would not want to debate the merits of our free school
meals policy, but I was surprised that they voted to end the debate after just 10 minutes. Are they afraid of debating policy? Well it certainly looks like they are!

So if you would have welcomed a few more pounds in your pocket and the introduction of some truly innovative policies to improve life chances in our borough, then you could have had it from Labour's budget amendment last night. But if you still want those outcomes you can have it if a Labour council is elected on May 6th.

Free Healthy School Meals for Primary School pupils

2010-02-18T14:30:00.003Z

Today I was delighted to launch our local election pledge that a Labour Council will provide every primary school pupil at a Southwark School with a free school meal. This is the text of an article I have written for Progress Online:-

"Southwark Labour's announcement that it will provide free healthy school meals for all primary school children across the borough was the first of a number of positive key pledges which we believe will deliver us control of the Council on May 6th.

It is a policy which an increasing number of Labour Groups and authorities are supporting - for many of us simply because it reflects the very best of progressive Labour politics. It is a policy which cuts across boundaries of class and income, and addresses the critical problems of childhood obesity and ill-health.

Some critics of the policy have said to me that it just benefits middle-class families. But in the present economic climate everyone is feeling the pinch, particularly those who live just above the current free school meals threshold. In Southwark we also believe that it is vitally it important that Labour continues to appeal to middle-class voters – those who helped elect and re-elect a Labour Government at three successive general elections and may currently be disaffected – and who will surely welcome a policy which will potentially save them £7 per week per child at a Southwark primary school.

But this is fundamentally a policy which will help poorer families, by removing the stigma and social barriers which continue to be attached to recipients of free school meals and by offering a healthy and nutritious midday meal to those 1,800 pupils who are already entitled to free school meals but do not take advantage of that entitlement. With a recent study by Leeds University showing that only 1% of packed lunches taken to school contain the nutritional content that a child needs, the rationale for ensuring that children eat a healthy meal at school could not be stronger.

Southwark’s Lib Dem/Tory administration has overseen the borough’s childhood obesity figures rise to shocking levels, so that we now have the worst rates in England. With council tax collection rates the worst in London; our recycling rate the 6th worst in the country; an adult social care service whose performance has plummeted to one of the eight worst in the country and no plan for how to finish Decent Homes works, it’s little wonder that Southwark’s political executive is even regarded as “dysfunctional” by senior council officers.

But however compelling your critical narrative of any administration may be, there still has to be a positive reason for a voter to support you. The Tories failure nationally to offer that positive alternative has left them looking fairly insubstantial - a triumph of spin over substance.

So Southwark Labour's support for a Free School Meals policy reflects that desire to offer our residents a positive alternative to the rudderless Lib Dems; a policy to enthuse our activists and supporters; a real reason to vote Labour."

You can read more at Progress Online

80 Days to Save Maydew House

2010-02-17T13:36:00.003Z

My colleague Val Shawcross has said that there are just 80 days left to save Maydew House, a tower block of 144 local authority flats in Rotherhithe which the LibDem/Tory Administration had decided to empty and sell off for private housing. On the 21st of January a public meeting was held at which residents were told that the Council intended to move them out of their homes from April onwards. The decision was due to be ratified by the Executive at their meeting last week - just 19days after the "public consultation" meeting!

Unsurprisingly residents and Southwark's Labour Group didn't think this was an entirely appropriate way to act, and in the face of a growing campaign the LibDems have now backed down, deciding to kick any formal decision on the future of Maydew House into the post-local election "long grass" of June. Local elections are due to take place in Southwark on May 6th!

Several lessons can be learned from this experience. Firstly, the LibDems are clearly happy to sell off our council housing stock to private developers. Theirs are not 'secret plans' - they are plans which they are implementing when they can get away with it.

Secondly, the level of consultation they consider appropriate is pathetic. To expect residents who have lived in a block for 20 or 30 years to get out of their homes in just over 2 months is inhuman and irresponsible.

Thirdly, no council housing in Southwark is safe from the LibDems. Their words are pledges to retain council housing; their actions are to get rid of it. So what estate, or block or house which is currently owned by the Council will not be sold off to private developers if the LibDems continue in power in Southwark after May 6th? The truth is that we cannot believe any pledge that they may make, and that nothing is safe.

So it is not just the case that we have 80 days to save Maydew House - we have 80 days to save our entire stock of social housing in Southwark.

Southwark's "Small is Beautiful" Scheme in Chaos

2010-02-05T14:23:00.003Z

Southwark has been operating the "Small is Beautiful" scheme which is designed to provide financial incentives to tenants of council properties who have more rooms and bedrooms than they need. Most typically this situation arises when families move away from home leaving older parents behind. These tenants will then move to smaller properties, freeing up their old properties for families living in over-crowded conditions.

Tenants moving from the larger properties receive a financial incentive of £750 for every bedroom that they give up, plus £750 to help pay for moving costs.

This week I found out that all payments under the scheme have been halted until at least April. This means that many older tenants I have spoken to simply cannot afford to move, and the problems further down the housing ladder continue.

This is a truly ludicrous situation. Overcrowding is one of the major problems facing many families in Southwark, so to bring a halt to this sensible scheme at this time makes absolutely no sense. If the scheme required more funding, it should have been found. With Southwark's council tax collection rate under the LibDems and Tories being the third worst in the country (with £7 million of council tax going uncollected each year), and money being lavished on £150 million new offices in Tooley Street, it is scandalous that basic services are suffering at this time.

Southwark Council Officer Accused of Spreading Scare Stories

2010-02-01T14:59:00.003Z

The Labour and Liberal Democrat Groups on the Council are each supported by a Political Assistant. Last week, the LibDems Assistant, Dan Falchikov, was identified by the Daily Mirror's Kevin Maguire as the man who had been sitting opposite him on a train journey boasting that he has planted a story in the Evening Standard about 'secret Labour plans' to close Kingston's A & E Department. The story was clearly false.

Two things for Southwark residents to mull over. Firstly, it is clear that any claim about "secret Labour plans for Southwark" (which will undoubtedly turn up) should be treated with the greatest degree of caution as it is likely that self-confessed exaggerater Mr Falchikov will have had a hand in their creation, and secondly, what is the 'manifesto' that he was claiming to have to write in front of Kevin Maguire? Surely he is not writing the LibDems manifesto for the forthcoming local elections? That cannot be a job for a paid council employee?

You can read more here and here

Cleaner Greener and Safer Applications

2010-01-18T13:10:00.003Z

The deadline for Cleaner, Greener and Safer applications for Camberwell has now passed, so I thought it would be useful to give an update of a couple of those that Veronica and I have submitted for South Camberwell:-

1. A speed reader sign on Champion Hill. This remains a road where vehicles frequently travel over the 20 mph speed limit, so we thought it would be helpful if a sign which flashed vehicles speeds if they exceeded the limit could be installed. It might even slow some of them down!

2. A community notice board at the junction of Bromar Road and Grove Hill Road. This is currently a fairly barren area of paving, and could do with some focus or brightening up. The idea comes from one of the residents of Grove Hill Road who I was speaking to recently.
3. A mini-roundabout at the junction of Malfort, Ivanhoe and Avondale Rise. Last year residents contacted us with their concerns about this becoming an accident black spot, so hopefully we can use some of the CGS funding to reduce speeds and accident risks here.
4. Planting in the beds at the top of Grove Lane. This is a repeat of the application I submitted years ago and which resulted in the installation of statues of a wolf and sheep. Whilst the statues are charming - it is not what we asked for! So some planting to generally improve the condition of the beds would be welcome.

I hope that some, if not all, of these applications will be successful. I will post updates when I have any further news!

Camberwell Planning Meeting

2010-01-14T11:13:00.002Z

Last night Camberwell Community Council met to consider a number of planning applications, two of which concerned South Camberwell. The longest application of the evening concerned an application by the Salvation Army to redevelop Springfield Lodge, at the tope of Grove Hill Road. Veronica and I have both been approached by residents who have concerns about this application, and so we were disqualified from sitting on the Planning Committee. However, we took advantage of our role as ward councillors to make representations to the Committee.

Whilst the redevelopment of the site is welcome, the particular design submitted was not, particularly as it would have an impact on the amount of sunlight, daylight and overshadowing received by neighbouring properties. It is regrettable when residents have to suffer any negative consequences from the redevelopment of any site, and I felt that it was an unacceptable loss of amenity for neighbouring properties in this case.

Despite our best efforts, and some forceful submissions, our colleagues on the Committee granted the application permission to proceed. This was a disappointing outcome, as I believe a reconsideration of the design by the Salvation Army could have overcome many of the current complaints. We will just have to hope that the impact will not be too negative.

The second application concerning South Camberwell was for the removal of a tree in Grove Park. This was fairly controversial as two years ago an unscrupulous developer removed a number of trees from a neighbouring plot in breach of a Tree Preservation Order. As a consequence of that act all applications concerning TPOs now come to Community Council. However, in this case the offending tree has been found to be the cause of some terrible subsidence, with cracks to a property increasing at the rate of 1.5mm a month.

Permission was given for the removal of the tree, so I now hope that the misery suffered by residents of the property in question soon comes to an end, and that the subsidence is 'fixed' as soon as possible.

Did you know...?

2009-11-20T13:52:00.002Z

That LibDem/Tory Southwark has the worst Council Tax collection rate in London, and the third worst in the country, with just 93% of council tax collected each year.

That means that each year £7 million of council tax is not collected - £7 million which could be spent on front-line services; which could have been used to keep the Livesey Children's Museum open and reversed the 50% increases in Meals on Wheels imposed last year.

Since 2006 Labour in Southwark has been arguing that the council should get rid of its council tax collection contractors, Liberata, but until a few weeks ago we were told that we were wrong and that things would improve. Sadly it seems we were not wrong and very belatedly the administration has realised the extent of the problem.

At the same time the LibDem/Tory administration has overseen a £150 million move to new offices in Tooley Street, spending £5 million on new office chairs and £35,000 on televisions.

I'm not sure that they have got their priorities right!

Southwark's Awful Recycling Rate

2009-11-20T13:34:00.003Z

Souhwark's recycling rate has fallen to the 6th lowest in the country - down two places on its' position last year - with just over 20% of our waste recycled. Compare this with Labour-run Greenwich where 42% of waste is recycled.

In 2006 the LibDems pledged to increase our borough's recycling rate to 30% by 2010. They will have failed massively to meet this target. The truth of the matter is that there are still corners of the borough where recycling is not available to households, or recycling centres are located far from residents' front doors.

Labour in Southwark is committed to making recycling easier - by more single bag recycling and by introducing recycling for tetrapak and food waste. This issue is too important for us to fail to meet achievable targets.

John Friary's Deselection

2009-11-20T13:17:00.003Z

On Tuesday night my Camberwell colleague John Friary was deselected by his ward party, after having served 15 years as a Camberwell councillor. John lives on Camberwell Green and has lived and breathed Camberwell politics and issues during his time on the council. He is a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Council and has an unrivalled knowledge of the way in which the council works. He is also one of the nicest people I know.

So his deselection was a shock. He is loyal and hard-working, a real campaigner and a champion for Camberwell and all those who live there.

I hope that John's deselection last Tuesday will not bring an end to his involvement in Camberwell and his determination to make it a better place to live.

"Labour is the same as the BNP" - Transcript of what was said!

2009-11-05T15:20:00.003Z

This is a transcript of what was said last night which has been prepared by Council officers:

"Wednesday November 4 2009

Extract from debate – Councillors Columba Blango and Adele Morris

Item 5 – Members’ Question Time: Question 16

Councillor Blango
Thank you very much for your answer, which I think is very appropriate and up to the point. On to the point; does it not go to show that, in private, the government’s agenda is not very different from that of the BNP? And; and, when it comes to multi-cultural and multi-racial boroughs like Southwark, is it not a double standard they are playing?

Mayor
Councillor Morris...

Councillor Blango
Yes, thank you.

Councillor Morris
Well, you know... I – I – yes, I’m inclined to agree with the – sorry, I – please forgive–

Mayor
Quiet – can the executive member give a reply, please.

Councillor Morris
Thank you Mr Mayor, and I’d like to thank Councillor Blango for his supplementary question. And, I would – I’d be inclined to agree with him, that it – I think it does show a misunderstanding – [am I not allowed to agree, am I not allowed to agree, Councillor Stanton?] It shows a complete lack of understanding of the way that real communities work, and in particular about the way myths are spread and the kind of hatred that that creates in boroughs like this, and absolutely I agree with him.

Mayor
Thank you Councillor Morris. (315)"

[My emphasis has been added]
I would repeat everything I have said in my entry below - this is crass and stupid politics from Cllrs Morris and Blango.

I have now written to the LibDem Leader Nick Clegg asking if he too agrees with these ludicrous comments and will await his reply with interest.

"Labour is the same as the BNP" - Outrageous Slur at Council Assembly

2009-11-05T12:40:00.004Z

Cllr Columba Blango has always been semi-detached from reality, but in an extraordinary outburst last night he equated the aims and policy of Labour and the Labour Government on council housing with those of the BNP. What is more extraordinary is that his colleague Cllr Adele Morris, Executive Member for Citisenship, Equalities and Communities (responding to his question) agreed with him completely and even the Leader of the Council nodded his agreement!

Have the LibDems in Southwark taken leave of their senses? Do they know what the BNP policy is on council housing? I've looked it up on their website and can tell you that BNP policy is to make all benefits and social housing only available to British citizens and make the length of residency in an area the key criterion for council house allocation.

It is the sort of inward-looking and racist policy which you would expect from the BNP. But it is not the Government's policy and it is not Labour policy, which bases allocation of council housing on need. We are not an inward looking Party but recognise the challenges which we face in an ever inter-dependent world.

So for Cllrs Blango and Morris to equate Labour with the BNP was wrong, stupid and fundamentally insulting to every Labour member who places equality and the fight against racism as central to their core beliefs. For such an insult to come from Southwark's Executive member with responsibility for this area of work raises a serious question over her fitness to hold that post.

The BNP has always faced united opposition from the main political parties, so it is incredibly disappointing that the LibDems in Southwark have chosen to take this line. I am sure it will only give succour to the BNP. Maybe that is what they intended? I have no explanation for this insulting comparison.

I invited Cllr Stanton to distance himself from the remarks last night, but he would not do so. There was no apology or any contrition from the LibDems.

As soon as I have the transcript of the comments I will be writing to Nick Clegg asking if he agrees with his colleagues in Southwark. I hope he at least has the common sense to distance himself from remarks which were genuinely insulting.

Labour's Team for South Camberwell

2009-10-12T10:40:00.002+01:00

On Saturday Labour members in South Camberwell met to choose our team for the local elections on May 6th next year. I am delighted that the ward selected Veronica, myself and Stephen Govier to be the candidates.

Veronica and I have been councillors in South Camberwell since 2002, and we hope that Stephen will join us as part of our campaigning team on the council. Stephen is the Chair of the East Dulwich Estate Regeneration Project Team and has been incredibly active on the Estate getting the best deal possible for its residents.

We were all out carrying out one of our mobile surgeries on Saturday afternoon along Coplestone Road, Hayes Grove, Oxenford and Everthorpe. We met many residents and picked up a huge amount of casework. A lot of residents were baffled about why new lighting installed in their streets had not yet been turned on, and why old lamp posts had been left.

Our mobile surgeries remain unique in Southwark, and are a good example of Labour councillors working hard throughout their 4 year term, and not just at election times! It is vital that we do not allow the Tories to run Southwark again after next May, and only a majority Labour Group can do that. So Veronica and I know how important it is that South Camberwell elects Labour councillors!

Council Tax Collection - the worst in London

2009-10-09T10:55:00.003+01:00

Southwark has the worst Council Tax collection rate in London and the third worst in the country. This fact means that 7p in every £1 or £7 million of Council Tax goes uncollected every year. This is a truly appalling figure and is one of the reasons why I get angry when the LibDems and Tories who run Southwark start scaremongering about cuts from Whitehall. If they did their job properly we would have an extra £7 million a year to spend on front-line services - we could help people deal with the worst effects of poverty; we could improve our recycling and push forward with new green technologies; we could help our older residents and roll back some of the spiteful cuts made by the administration over the past 7 years.

We are in this sorry position because the LibDems and Tories have persisted with Liberata as the council's contractor, 2 years after we asked them to re-tender and find a better alternative. They arrogantly refused our proposal then and have been far too slow to respond to the deteriorating performance of Liberata since.

So the consequence is that we are now bound into a further 2 years of a contract with a company that knows it will lose that contract - with little or no incentive for them to improve. I just hope that our collection rates do not fall even lower in that period.

The LibDems are always anxious to try and blame anyone but themselves for things that happen in Southwark, but this is one result that is down to them. It is just a pity that all of the residents of the borough have to pay so highly for their incompetence.

Labour Party Conference 2009

2009-10-07T19:16:00.003+01:00

Last week I was in Brighton for the Labour Party Conference. It certainly did not feel like a conference of a party which was lost and on the way out of government, but was alive with ideas and optimism. It was absolutely right to emphasise the fact that the Tories had no response to the economic crisis last year, and that the Government's response is recognised internationally as having been the right thing to do. I am sure that the electorate will weigh this up in due course, but it is a message which it is difficult to get past the media which has already collectively called the election for David Cameron. I thought the Sun's decision to back Cameron after Gordon Brown's speech was wholly unconvincing. I overheard the interview between the BBC and the Sun's Trevor Kavanagh - who appeared to be fairly lamely following his boss's orders. At the end of the day the decision of the Sun to back the Tories reflects the business interests of one businessman, Rupert Murdoch, and we should not attach too much weight to it.

I was also pleased that Gordon Brown set out a positive agenda for us to campaign on for the General Election. The aspiration of a National Care Service to complement our National Health Service seems to me to be a talismanic policy which should energise Labour voters and supporters. Our whole agenda of equality and opportunity represents so much which is the best of Britain.

Three days into the Tories "Austerity Conference" I think that there going to be a real choice for the electorate to make, and a real fight for Britain's future ahead.

Grove Park - Clarification!

2009-10-07T19:13:00.002+01:00

A reader of the blog has commented on my post below and asked what "improvements" mean. Hopefully improvements in the context of the pavement in Grove Park means doing something about their extremely uneven condition and making them safer for pedestrians. Having visited Grove Park on numerous occasions and spoken with residents I know that this is a concern which is often expressed.

It Just Gets Better!

2009-09-18T17:08:00.002+01:00

No sooner have I finished celebrating the good news about The Hamlet than I discover that Grove Park, another road which has suffered with a terrible carriageway and pavements, will get some major work done this year. Money has already been allocated for the carriageway works in this year's main Council budget, and now we have been able to allocate some further funding for at least some of the pavement to be improved this year from our Camberwell budget.

Veronica has been badgering officers for ages about Grove Park - so a big "well done" to her for getting such a great result.

This really does show that even though it might take time, councillors can make a real difference in their wards!

The Hamlet Will be Resurfaced!

2009-09-18T12:43:00.002+01:00

Ring the bells and sound the trumpets! The Hamlet - untouched by new tarmac for over 40 years - is to be resurfaced!

After a prolonged campaign Veronica and I got our colleagues agreement to spend £80,000 on resurfacing the road. It has been a long haul, as it has been an issue raised throughout the 7 1/2 year period that I have been a councillor. But our persistence has paid off!

Working with the residents of The Hamlet we have got press coverage of the issue and it has been raised in Council Assembly a number of times.

The campaigning meant that in the last couple of months The Hamlet found itself on a list of roads in Camberwell which might be suitable for work - although officers did not give it a high priority. However, as other roads fell off the list The Hamlet rose to the top! And in a final selection we won for The Hamlet and South Camberwell! This is great news and I know that the residents are delighted.

This Weekend

2009-09-18T12:31:00.003+01:00

Residents in South Camberwell might get fed up of seeing Veronica, myself and our colleagues this weekend, as we undertake our latest Mobile Surgery and have an Action Weekend in the ward at the same time!

For those we will be visiting on our mobile surgery you are welcome and encouraged to raise any issue that is concerning you concerning your area and council services.

But around other parts of the ward we will be asking residents questions about recycling and how we can make it easier. In Southwark we recycle just over 20% of our rubbish, but we need to see a major improvement and increase in that figure.

Some parts of the borough have single bag recycling - all your recycling material goes into one clear bag and is collected weekly. Would you like to see this in your street and for your home? Some people with single bag recycling on estates would like to see a collection point for the bags, rather than having to keep the bag until it is collected. So we will be asking about that as well.

Hopefully we will get a clear view of what residents of South Camberwell want and how we can improve our borough's low recycling rate.

Southwark Labour Conference 2009

2009-09-15T12:23:00.007+01:00

Saturday saw the 3rd Annual Southwark Labour Conference, which we held in Bermondsey at the Beormund Centre. It was a terrific day with speeches from Harriet Harman MP, Ed Milliband MP, Cllr Steve Reed and Val Shawcross AM.

We also held two working group sessions which discussed policies for the local elections which will be taking place on the 6th of May next year.

The day was really well attended,and it was terrific that so many members wanted to contribute to the debate about ideas for making Southwark a better place to live.
Ed Milliband, the Environment Secretary, spoke about the need for us to make the case for wind farms - over 70% of the population think they are a good idea, but 'NIMBY'ism takes over when a planning application is submitted. Even on the Isle of Wight, where the Vesta Wind Turbine factory has recently closed, the Tory Council and Tory MP opposed the erection of wind turbines! So people have to be consistent in how they want us to generate power in future.

In Southwark the administration cannot portray itself as 'green' yet sell off our metropolitan open land and green spaces. We do have to preserve what little green space we have in our borough!
Harriet Harman has been a great supporter of our borough conferences - and I hope that we will be able to welcome her back next year when we celebrate the first 100 days of a Labour Council back in Southwark!

Springfield Lodge

2009-09-09T12:36:00.003+01:00

The Salvation Army has proposals to rebuild Springfield Lodge on Grove Hill Road and last week held an Open Evening for local residents to look at the plans and make comments on the pending planning application.

There are undoubtedly some problems with the current plans - the size of the building will be substantially increased in order to house only one additional resident (35 instead of 34), and neighbouring properties will be overlooked and suffer a loss of daylight. These are all problems which I am sure can be resolved before the planning application is formally considered.

It was significant that all of the residents of the neighbouring properties who attended the Open Evening were extremely supportive of the work of Springfield Lodge which resettles young men aged between 16 and 21. It has been operating for over 20 years. So I hoep that the Salvation Army will take on board the comments of its neighbours so that Springfield Lodge can continue its vital work in 21st Century premises.

Malfort Road Traffic Calming

2009-09-09T12:29:00.002+01:00

A new traffic calming table has been installed at the top of Malfort Road at the junction with Grove Hill Road. It looks like some "finishing-off" work still needs to be done, but with the installation of speed humps on the road it can be hoped that residents will see a decrease in traffic speeds by car drivers.

Although Veronica and I have continued to argue for a 'Home Zone' in this area, local campaigns which we have been involved with have already seen the diversion of the P13 onto its' new Pytchley Road route away from Malfort Road and the introduction of these new traffic calming measures. Small steps, but hopefully a big improvement in making this a safer and quieter road for residents.

John Denham's Response

2009-07-10T12:16:00.004+01:00

On Monday my colleague Cllr Ian Wingfield and I wrote to John Denham MP, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, asking him to order a public inquiry into the fatal fire at Lakanal House a week ago.
Today we received his reply in which he assured us that he has not ruled out a full public inquiry into the fire. In his letter John Denham wrote that he is “keeping an open mind about the need for a public inquiry and can assure you I have not ruled this out as an option”.
The minister’s remarks follow similar calls for a public inquiry from Camberwell and Peckham MP Harriet Harman and the Fire Brigades Union and a unanimous motion from Southwark’s Council Assembly calling for a public inquiry on Wednesday.

The Secretary of State also wrote that he has issued national guidance on a new dedicated web page on the CLG website, including advice for residents, tenants and landlords, and details of local authorities’ and registered social landlords’ duties under the law.
So an encouraging response to our request.
The photo shows me laying flowers on behalf of the Labour Group at Lakanal on Wednesday.

Ondine Road House Conversions

2009-07-10T12:03:00.003+01:00

Last night when I was talking to residents in Ondine Road, several raised with me their concerns that a number of properties in the road were being converted into three flats. At a Camberwell Community Council Planning meeting about 18 months ago I spoke against such a development and fortunately the planning committee threw out the application on the basis that the proposed room sizes were too small.

Unfortunately the applicants appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and were granted planning permission there. This has set a precedent in the road, and there are now a number of such developments taking place. Residents are rightly concerned that a road of single family houses is being turned into a road of flats and the essential character of the area is being changed.

There is always a tension between the need to make more homes in London and the need to preserve the character of an area. There also comes a point where a road reaches 'saturation point' and the area and amenities cannot take any more people or their cars! Therefore, the fact that a precedent has been set in Ondine Road does not mean that every other application will always succeed. The impact of any proposed development on the character and amenity of an area will always have to be considered.

But this development in Ondine Road does highlight one of the frustrations of being a local councillor. For good reasons an application was refused by elected councillors who know and understand an area well. For unknown reasons an unelected official in Bristol granted the application on appeal. Surely there must be grounds for saying that developments up to a certain level should have no right of appeal - so that there remains proper and accountable local control over the planning process.

Lakanal and Marie Curie Residents Meetings

2009-07-07T11:50:00.004+01:00

Last night I popped into meetings for residents of Lakanal and Marie Curie following Friday's fire. Marie Curie is identical in design and structure to Lakanal, so the residents of that building are naturally anxious to know whether their block is safe.

The Lakanal meeting was packed and very emotional. People are clearly still traumatised about the events of Friday, and with no idea when they may be able to return to their homes or reclaim their possessions tempers were running fairly high. It was disappointing that the meeting was being held in a hall which was not big enough for the numbers who attended, and it was difficult to hear some of the questions and answers at times. There are many questions that need to be answered and I felt that many of the residents needed an urgent face-to-face interview with council officers, rather than trying to make themselves heard in a public meeting.

One of the questions which troubles me is whether we should be housing young families and older people above a certain level in tower blocks. The fact that three of the Lakanal victims were children raises a question over how easy it is to organise a family's escape from a fire.

I walked with Harriet Harman to the Marie Curie residents meeting which had been moved to the Town Hall. Reports from the meeting suggest that the fire service is still at something of a loss to explain why the fire spread as it did through Lakanal. The advice being given to residents of Marie Curie was to stay in their flats in the event of a fire and move to the balcony for rescue. But this is exactly the same advice that was being given to residents of Lakanal on Friday.

So some very serious and very worrying questions remain. I hope that the fire service and Council act with real urgency to address those questions - in hours and days rather than in weeks and months.

Fire at Lakanal House

2009-07-06T11:29:00.002+01:00

Friday night's fire at Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate has left us all shocked and deeply saddened. It is hard to comprehend that six people lost their lives in this fire in the heart of Camberwell, just behind the Town Hall.

I had visited the block on a number of occasions and recall it well. There was a security entrance system on each side of the landings and the communal areas had a fairly claustrophobic feeling. But this is not uncommon in many blocks of a similar age in the borough - so I can't imagine that it contributed in any way to the tragedy.

There are clearly lessons which need to be learned from these awful events, and I hope that there will be some things that can be done sooner rather than later. For example, fire drills in our council blocks might offer some reassurance to residents and give them vital information about what they should do in a fire. Can we introduce sprinkler systems to our blocks which only have limited emergency exits? Should we install US style fire escapes on buildings?

Council Assembly will be meeting on Wednesday evening where I imagine that many of these issues will be raised. I know that many people on the estate and living in similar blocks are very worried at the present time, so we must act to reassure them as quickly as we can.

Save the South London Line!

2009-06-29T14:24:00.003+01:00

It is so long again since I last posted on the blog! But despite this I thought I should write an update on the campaign to Save the South London Line, which had a brilliant launch last Friday morning at Denmark Hill Station.

The South London Line runs between London Bridge and Victoria twice an hour, and is one of the oldest commuter services in London. Local historian John Beasley has told me the date the service started on more than one occasion but I am afraid I have forgotten! Either 1865 or 1885 sticks in my memory.

If you have ever used the service you will know how useful it is, particularly for any users who are travelling to either Guys or Kings College Hospitals. Whenever I use the service, and at whatever time of day, the train is full. A couple of years ago we fought successfully to prevent the service being stopped, and had hoped that Transport for London would leave the SLL alone.

Then again last year a proposal came to cut the SLL but to replace it with a Victoria to Bellingham service. This would have meant four trains an hour would pass along the line, but passengers would need to change at Peckham Rye. Not ideal, but better than no service at all. The next twist was the decision to drop the Victoria to Bellingham service, meaning the end of any recognisable service between Victoria and London Bridge.

The campaign has cross-party and cross-community support, but special praise must go to Val Shawcross, GLA member for Lambeth and Southwark who has co-ordinated much of the campaign.

The campaign launch was attended by Harriet Harman, Tessa Jowell, Martin Linton, other GLA members and councillors and an array of local residents from along the Victoria to London Bridge line. You can get more information about the campaign at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5610272863&ref=ts

Jack Jones

2009-04-23T13:33:00.004+01:00

I was very sorry to learn of the death of Jack Jones, the former TGWU leader once regarded as 'more powerful than the Prime Minister' of the day. Jack remained a stalwart member of the Labour Party right up to his death, and will be particularly remembered in South Camberwell where he lived in Ruskin Park House for many years.

I met Jack on a number of occasions since becoming a councillor in the ward in 2002, and throughtout that time he was always courteous, friendly and supportive of all that we did. He always made an effort to attend our Christmas social gatherings. He was always such a gentleman that it was hard to realise that this was the same man who was treated with such discourtesy by the press during the 1960's and 1970's - although that probably says a lot more about our press than it does about Jack.

Jack had a wonderful life and career, from his days fighting with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, right through his Union heyday, to his leadership of the National Association of Pensioners.

He was made a Freeman of Southwark in 2004, and I was delighted that he was able to attend that ceremony and speak there.

The photo is of Jack from 2006, which I took for use in a local election leaflet we produced then. He really will be missed by his many friends and admirers.

44 Grove Park and Crossthwaite Avenue

2009-04-07T13:37:00.002+01:00

Last night I chaired a meeting of Grove Park residents with a number of senior council officers to dicuss what might be done to improve the appearance of 44 Grove Park. Although in a conservation area the house is blighted by breeze blocks at its front, and an owner who appears to have no interest in how his property might impact on other people.

The discussion was useful and wide-ranging, and I think that we explored a number of future possibilities as to how the council might help. The best route would be for the council to exercise its powers and acquire the hoouse under a compulsory purchase order, but in these difficult economic times I am not sure that those resources will be available. So my role is to lobby for funds to follow this route! The residents of Grove Park should be congratulated on keeping this issue so high up the council's agenda, and also for putting up with an eyesore for far too long.

Afterwards I attended the Camberwell Community Council and was delighted to learn that £325,000 of business support grant is going to be invested in Crossthwaite Avenue, the parade of shops which Veronica and myself have been campaigning for throughout our time on the council. This money could make a real differece and revive this shopping area which is such a lifeline for so many residents. There are currently three empty shops in the parade, and it is hoped that this money might go some way to enticing new occupants into those shops.

So altogether a good news night for South Camberwell!

Safer Neighbourhood Police Meeting

2009-02-24T15:49:00.003Z

South Camberwell's Safer Neighbourhood Police Team meets with local residents tonight at its regular panel meeting at Sainsburys on Dog Kennel Hill. I have been a big fan of Safer Neighbourhood Teams - the South Camberwell team certainly has a great deal of knowledge of what goes on in the area, and we have seen really encouraging reductions in crime figures as a result.

The team is led by Sgt Pete Smith and tonight's meeting will agree local priorities for the coming month. Once they have been agreed the SNT will prioritise those issues and report back at the following meeting. If you have time, come along to Sainsburys at 7pm and find out more.

The LibDem/Tory 'Do Nothing' Budget

2009-02-24T15:23:00.004Z

Last night Council Assembly set the budget and council tax for the forthcoming year. Despite the LibDems cries of "wolf" last year; claiming that the Government was making huge budget cuts to the borough; they were able to propose a budget which will freeze council tax for 2009/10.

Sadly the good news ends there, as the LibDems and Tories who run Southwark are pressing ahead with their cuts to adult social care services, a cut to the budget for the voluntary sector, swingeing price hikes and some crazy spending on apparently gold-plated bikes! Curiously, Cllr Adele Morris, who is in charge of grants to the voluntary sector argued that although she was cutting the grants budget, it wasn't really a cut. So if someone asks you when a cut is not a cut, tell them to go and speak to Cllr Morris!

There will be price hikes for many residents on estates, with the cost of parking permits for visitors being increased by 208% (you did read that correctly, it is 208%!) and the Executive is pressing ahead with spending £50,000 on bikes for community wardens. Good news you may think, until you hear that £50,000 only buys Southwark 50 bikes! Not good value surely?! And an utterly bizarre decision to spend over £500,000 from the revenue budget on the Canada Water Library, which will not even open during this financial year. Presumably the LibDems and Tories will come back next year asking for money to fit out their offices on Mars!

All this and 180 job losses for Council employees. As my colleague Cllr Aubyn Graham pointed out in debate last night, it would be surprising if a disproportionate number of those job losses were not from BME members of staff.

Labour proposed an alternative budget which would have reversed some of the most damaging cuts for vulnerable residents of the borough, together with a £5 million Economic Stimulus Package. Over the past 12 months the LibDems and Tories have salted away over £9 million of extra Government money into reserve funds. So we argued that we should use just £5 million of that to help residents and businesses in Southwark through the current economic difficulties. Sadly, this was rejected in a weirdly dogmatic way by the other parties. Their answer to the present recession is to do nothing. Doesn't it remind you of the worst of Mrs Thatcher's government in the arly 1980's?

Perhaps the most surprising vote was the decision by the LibDems and Tories to vote down our proposal for the Council to investigate entering the mortgage market in some form in order to help home-buyers through the recession. Until 1985 many councils and the GLC gave mortgages to residents, and there is an argument that we should be using our 'AAA' credit rating to help some of our residents now. Councils of every political colour are looking at the options to become mortgage lenders or partners with mortgage lenders. But Southwark's LibDems and Tories simply said it couldn't be done and voted against our proposal. Their completely incoherent argument against the proposal led me to the conclusion that it was arrogance rather than careful consideration which was driving their voting decisions last night.

The award for most curious speech of the night went to Cllr Caroline Pidgeon, who holds a number of offices and candidacies across the capital. In her most sombre and portentous tones she read a quote talking of the needs of Councils at this time of recession - concluding that they were not her words, but those of a Tory Councillor. As she was supposed to be making an anti-Labour point and as most listeners thought she was going to reveal that the quote came from either Gordon Brown or Tony Blair, I am not sure that she had thought through the full impact of her remarks!

So while I welcome a Council Tax freeze, I don't welcome the decision of the LibDems and Tories to spend the money they do collect in such a wasteful way.

Basingdon Way

2009-01-19T12:59:00.003Z

There are plans to renew the green space in the middle of Basingdon Way on the Denmark Hill Estate. With proposals which include an art work visible from space (I think I've got that right!) and new play and seating areas, the plans could make a real difference to this underused piece of ground.

They are due to be discussed at the next meeting of the local Tenants and Residents Association which will take place on the 2nd of February at 7pm in the Tenants Hall at the bottom of Blanchedown, so please go along and find out more or contribute your own thoughts to how the plans should be taken forward!

It is so long...

2009-01-19T12:52:00.002Z

Since I posted anything on this blog! Christmas and new year have come and gone, and the world has continued its' incredible economic decline. But in Southwark it is business as usual, with the ruling Executive spending millions on new office chairs and council publicity whilst claiming it has got no money for front-line services.

As I have said before - it is all a matter of priorities, and if you think that £5 million for council publicity and £2 million on new office chairs are the most important things to spend council tax income on, then that is a choice you can make. But I am not sure that it will impress those people who used to rely on Age Concern Southwark for their social care assistance, and now find that the contract has been axed. I know that we will hear a lot from the LibDem/Tory Executive over the next few weeks blaming the Government for everything from its budget cuts to the weather! But don't forget about where their spending priorities appear to be.

East Dulwich Estate and Ruskin Park House

2008-11-11T14:56:00.004Z

On Sunday I spent time on the East Dulwich Estate carrying out a mobile surgery. Although the regeneration is having a visible impact on the Estate and improving many homes, there are still a number of residents who are bing left to live in appalling conditions until the regeneration reaches them. I spoke to a resident who has had no light in her bathroom for two months because of water leaks from above, and who has not got an effective heating system in her flat. Add on top of this a boiler which barely works and you can understand her real misery at the Council's failure to sort her repairs issues out. With so many void flats on the Estate I wonder whether it would not be simpler to move her and her son to a renovated flat. At the moment I am not sure that her home is fit for human habitation.

Last night Veronica and I met with a number of residents from Ruskin Park House who remain concerned about the works which are due to take place on their Estate over the next few years. Two real issues emerged which I hope will be explored further. Firstly, I am not sure that the company which manages RPH have fully explored all of the funding options for the works, which may be of real assistance to some of the residents of the Estate. If those options have been explored residents need to be given full details. Secondly, the issue of residents views concerning sub-letting on the Estate also needs to be explored. During the present economic difficulties everyone needs to be mindful of the financial problems many of their neighbours may be facing and strictly controlled sub-letting may provide a short-term workable answer.

I have no strong views on the issues facing RPH, but with Veronica I am anxious that residents know that every option is being explored on their behalf. It was a very constructive meeting and I was pleased to play a small part in it. In the longer term RPH residents may have to recognise that the problems arising from the management of a fairly large Estate may benefit from greater professional assistance.