Gun Crime in South London, The "Hollowing out of Camberwell" and Hibs in last 8 of the Scottish Cup

As I said earlier I attended the Public Meeting in Peckham on Monday evening.

There was a massive turnout with people unable to get in so, upon request, a number of us older ones left top let some more young people in. For that reason I did not hear all of the meeting but did hear some really interesting comments from local people talking about the importance of parents in keeping their kids away from seriopus criminal activity and inparticular the important of a male role model for young black boys. This si not a new theory but an interesting one coming directly from the black community itself.

The Met Police will pump extra armed police into South London as a short term reassurrance but we all know that something more fundamental needs to happen in the longer term. I hope that in the short term the police really put the heat of these young armed criminals and bring them to justice through any means necessary!!!

On Tuesday I sat through a frustrating Executive as they agreed a budget again ignoring Camberwell at every turn and then of course starving the Leisure centre from funding but directing millions into Dulwich and Rotherhithe!! I wonder why and if things would have been different if the Lib Dems had taken Brunswick Park!!

It is clearly entirely down to political vindictiveness for which the Lib Dems are famous and the pathetic attempt to justify it as a "business decision" was laughable!!

The pre Election picture of Ming, Hughes and the Lib Dem throngs outside of the Camberwell Leisure Centre promising that they would save it have been shown as lies with the Lib Dem Leadership at the highest level complicite in it!! They really will say anything to anyone to get a vote wont they!!!!
They must really regret this picture!!!!

One of the delegation used the expression "hollowing out" to discribe Council policy towards Camberwell and I can only think that the rationale behind it is that the Lib Dems think that the more they starve camberwell of resources the more residents will want to vote Lib Dem????

There was also lots of whining about the Government funding of Local Government unbeleievably from the Tories and Lib Dems, both of whom would cut public spending by tens of billions of pounds and would cut the basic rate of income tax!!

And what would be the current state of the welfare state if the tories had remained in power after 1997?? I think that we all know the answer!



On a brighter note Hibs take on Queen of the South away in the Quarter Finals of the Cup a week tomorrow and if we win as expecetd and avoid Celtic in the Semis could be at Hampden again?