If it is in Private Eye it must be true?? What is the point of Council Assembly and Labour Group Away Day!

Private Eye had an interesting piece in Rotten Boroughs, the second time that they have covered the subject. I purposefully did not comment on the first one as it is a dangerous game mocking a political party when one of there own gets on the wrong side of Inspector Knacker of the Yard as none of know what our members are always getting up to! However this week's piece is taking a different tack and one which is a bit more interesting! here is it reproduced below without comment:
"Prominent Lib Dems in the London Borough of Southwark, including Simon Hughes MP and deputy group leader Cllr Caroline Pidgeon, now prospective parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, were taken aback when local Lib Dem activist and Ministry of Defence press officer Karl Lindon was charged with a string of paedo-porn offences. He is now serving a three-year jail sentence.
Yet Southwark Lib Dems, for whom Lindon's company, Beyond Ego, had previously hosted websites, including Hughes's and Pidgeon's already knew that Lindon was involved in UnabashedHosting, a cheesy web company set up by Lindon and his partner Martin Hoscik, "aimed specifically at members of the adult entertainment sector such as strip and pole dancing clubs, model agencies, models & retailers of adult toys, clothing, magazines and audio/visual merchandise".
Unabashed, its website boasted, it "[had] a less restrictive policy governing the nature of images than many family and general audience hosts. Any images which are legal under UK law are permissable [sic] with the exception that we do not provide hosting for 'hardcore' material.
When Southwark Labour councillors Fiona Colley and Susan Elan Jones, who were fighting plans for a proposed lap dancing club in the area, raised Lib Dem links to Unabashed last year, they were attacked by Lindon, who with enormous brass neck threatened to sue for libel, and by Lib Dem blogger and council candidate Andy Mayer, who described Jones's "cheap remarks about one of our ward organisers [Lindon] who has a website business" as "shamefull". Nine month later Lindon is in jail and Mayer has wisely gone quiet on the subject of what is and isn't shameful."

Southwark News had an excellent Editorial called "What is the point of the Council Assembly" so I have sent this letter in:

Dear Editor,Your editorial headline really said it all last week and it is certainly a questions exercising the Labour Group and a growing number of community groups.The blame for this stripping down of the Council Assembly lies fair and square with this Tory/Lib Dem Coalition!They argue that the new Executive arrangements were implemented by a Labour Government which is true but they were always intended to operate in a more open and transparent governance which has been completely turned on it's head within Southwark since 2002.The Lib Dems and Tories spent the first 4 years removed virtually all decisionm making powers from the Council Assembly apart from setting the Council Tax and agreeing a budget(only as they enshrined in law!) Thus making the Assembly Meetings an opportunity for Deputations, and members asking questions of the Executive and debating motions.At last month's Annual Constitutional Council the tories and lib dems forced through changes virtually banning Deputations from Full Council and drastically reducing the time for questions and motions as well as allowing motions to be entirely re written by amendment making a total mockery of the process!So what is the point and why does it matter? It matters because this bunch in control are far and away the least liberal and the least democratic is Southwark' history and major decisions are being taken with no regard to any contrary views in an arrogant cabal which even some Executive members are not privy to!Your Editorial was absolutely right and raised some serious issues about local democracy as practiced by the tories and their right wing lib dem friends, the sooner we get rid of them the better for everyone!!John Friary Camberwell Green Ward





The Labour Group had a very productive Away Day yesterday in Rotherhithe, apart from the fact that we were in the direct path of the Tour De France! It was a good chance to look back and forward and we had a really interesting session with Chris and Kevin from Southwark News with lots of pointed questions to them both! Very useful and positive day!



Hibs played their first pre-season match at the end of their Austrian Training Camp week losing 3-2 against Voklabruck but new players like Kerr, O'Brien, Gathuessi, Joneleit, Donaldson and keeper Ma-Kalamba playing in a Hibs shirt for the first time. Benjalloun and new German striker Joneleit were on target for Hibs and John Collins reckoned it a good work out for all of the new players. Rumours persist of Murphy going to England which will be a loss as he was one of our best players last season! Collins is staunch in his denial but I dont know if he will be able to keep him?
Rumours are that Hibs may have another pre season friendly on Saturday July 21st against Real Sociodad with new manager Chris Coleman bringing them to the UK for a tour. Hibs play Bolton Wanderers at home on Wednesday 25th July and then Middlesborough on Saturday 28th so the three games should really get the team in good shape for the start of the season and Hearts away as the first match!!!




I have applied to join the 26,000 members of the Scotland Supporters club at long last so hopefully get my welcome pack soon?

Planning refusal for new Elmington/D'Eynesford Tenants Hall, Pest control comes back in House, Death of Keib Thomas and Nephew Joe graduates!

I went along to the Planning Committe on Tuesday trying to pursuade the members to go against the Officers recommendations and give planning permission for the new Tenants Hall on the site of the Benhill Road Nature Garden (pictured)
The application was unanimously refused and I left feeling very frustarated, not at the planning commitee members, who gave us a very full and fair hearing, but at the delay in geting to Committee and the lack of any progress made between Housing and Planning Officers to reach a compromise. We will be meeting up soon to discuss the two options available to us, either do some mnore work with planning and resubmit or look for an alternative location, both difficult and time consuming and therefore likely to cause considerable delay!! Anyway we have no option so we will continue to work for this badly needed community facility in the are




Southwark News reported the bringing back of Pest Control within the Council which is good news and a briefing given at a recent East Camberwell Housing Forum suggests significant improvements probalably after a difficult transition period. When I saw a picture of Kim next to a large rat I thought that he had recruited a new member to his party but all in all good news I think!!



I hope to see some of the Tour de France in London this wekend, perhaps when I go to the Southwark park Show but I also have some campaigning and a Labour Group Away Day to fit in so it may be tight!

Southwark News printed my letter in tribute to Sheila Carmen who died last week and also reported the death of another old friend Keib Thomas. I last spoke to him very recently and he was still as motivated as he first was when I first met him as a new Councillor 13 years ago.Keib was a very dedicated and focussed individual on community safety and community cohesion issues and was equally comfortable working at both a strategic level and on the estates with young people. His death is a real loss for Southwark and my thoughts are with his wife Tinku and family.

Finally congratulations to my youngest nephew Joe who graduated this week and below are some pics of his day with his mum, brothers and girlfriend! Well Done Joe!!!!

The Sad Death of Sheila Carmen, terrorism threat returns, Salmon bores the Queen and pictures of Harriets Party.

Today I attended a packed reception to commemorate the life of Sheila Carmen who died last week after a short illness. Sheila ran the Brandon 3 Pensioners Hall for many years and I worked closely with her ever since becoming a Camberwell Green Councillor. Sheila was a straight talker and never held back on what she thought but was a very caring and considerate person who always looked after the needs of the elderly on the Estate and will be sadly missed. I spoke to her husband Tom who told me they were married for 52 years and there must have been over 100 cards and over 50 wreaths there today. Tom also recieved a plaque of condolence from Arsenal signed by Arsene Wenger.
I wrote to Southwark News thanking them on a really fitting tribute to Sheila in last week's edition.

I have now found myself rapped up in Facebook which looks pretty amazing as it forms a spiders web of contacts and links and my web is forming quite nicely. I was pleased to find myself now an official friend of Andy Mayer as well as many of my Labour Group colleagues, yet another virtual world for me to get obsessed over!!!!!

The UK had a stark reminder of the continuing threat from terrorists and I suppose it was to be expected that there would be an attack just after Tony Blair standing down. It was obviously a shock for Scotland to be targetted for the first time and my nephew may find some trouble getting back from Belfast for his graduation in Glasgow tomorrow!

The third Scottish Parliamentary Session opened on Saturday with the poor old Queen having to sit through the independance drivel from Alex Salmon and some of the pictures show how unimpressed she was by it!!!

Cleo sent through some pictures of Harriet's Celebratory Party last week which we all rushed to very late after the Council Assembly. It was a good opportunity for the local party to congratulate her.

The Under -20 World cup has started in Canada and Scotland have unfortunately come a cropper in the first game, losing 3-1 to Japan with Fletcher, McNeill and Campbell all starting, in fact Campbell scored the Scots only goal in the game.Nigeria and Costa Rica await!!!

Other Hibs news is that the 10,000th Season Ticket was sold last week so it looks like another season of full houses at Eatser Road!!

Council Assembly turning into a farse!, Celebrating with Harriet and Gordon Brown names his new cabinet.

Another fun night in the Town Hall with the Constitutional changes really biting , deputations banned from the Town Hall and Motion overturned with "delete all" amendments which have now finally turned Council Assembly into a complete of time!!! Over the past 5 years the Lib Dems and Tories have gradually taken away more and more decision making powers leaving in, be enlarge, as a debating chamber, and now they are restricting debate so I really dont understand the point anymore? Apart from the Budget setting and council tax I dont really know what elese is achieved apart from being an ego trip for toy town politicians in a toy town Council Assembly!!! The meeeting was too tedious to go into but I note that Lib Dem apologist Blogger says that we had a bad night from his "objective voice of the people" position but I am sure that politically speaking he did enjoy the sight of the Tories and Lib Dems finally merge into one ill-defined mass!!!! The Tories took the lead all night with seal like clapping from the Lib Dems and sheep like voting from their back benches, even if more and more of them looked uncomfortable again. The Lib Dem lurch to the right is complete in the Town Hall and wqhilst i am sure that right wingers like Andy Meyer and his Lib Dem chums on the Council are happy with it I wonder if Bermondsey voters feel quite as content??
Cllr, Baichoo was again awol and I note that his Lib Dem website has been taken off air so we have come to the conclusion that he is now being held against his will in a Lib Dem bunker somewhere in Rotherhithe so he cant break their whip any more !!!
The Lib Dem Tory Coalition is now complete with an indistinguishable line between where oone group starts and the other ends, great news for Kim and the Tories but what are the Lib Dems doing?????
Best part of the night last night was Susan Elan Jones speech and her comments about Caroline "Caroline-for-London" Pidgeon. I replayed it in my head a number of times afterwards and laughed out loud each time!!!!

There was sad news today in the Southwark news of the sad death of Sheila Carmen, who ran the Senior Citizens Hall on the Brandon 3 . I worked very closely with Sheila and she always told it like it was but would also be very caring especially to her constituents around Grimsell Path. Well done Southwark news on an excellent piece on Sheila! She will be sadly missed and I shall be attending her funeral on Monday. Rest in Peace Sheila.








With the Council Assembly finished by 10pm we made our way down to Harriet's Celebration Party at her home and hopefully can put a few pictures on the Blog when Cleo sends them on! God to see old friends like Angela Eagle there and of course the Guest of Honour Neil Kinnock! It was a good to celebrate with the local party as i know that she made a point during her victory speech thanking the 700+ members of the Camberwell and Peckham Constiuency Labour Party for their hard work and support over the years and clearly Harriet and Jack enjoyed the evening!





The new Cabinet is taking shape and Harriet has been given the Leader of the House job which i am sure she will relish!! I really like the look of the new Cabinet with a healthy mix of experience and new blood so am looking forward to seeing it get down to it!!!
I think that the Labour Party, the Government and the Counctry feel invigourated by the change and good times are ahead especially for us in the opinion polls and the ballot box!! David Cameron and Ming are very very quiet!!!! I wonder why?????
The complet list is below:

NEW CABINET

Prime minister: Gordon Brown

Chancellor: Alistair Darling

Foreign Secretary: David Miliband

Home Secretary: Jacqui Smith

Health: Alan Johnson

Schools and children: Ed Balls

Innovation, universities and skills: John Denham

Justice: Jack Straw

Commons leader: Harriet Harman

Defence and Scotland: Des Browne

Int Development: Douglas Alexander

Work and Pensions: Peter Hain

Northern Ireland: Shaun Woodward

Chief secretary to the Treasury: Andy Burnham

Cabinet office minister: Ed Miliband

Culture: James Purnell

Olympics: Tessa Jowell

Transport: Ruth Kelly

Lords leader: Baroness Ashton

Attorney General: Baroness Scotland

Environment: Hilary Benn

Chief Whip: Geoff Hoon

Business and enterprise: John Hutton

Housing minister (attending Cabinet when needed): Yvette Cooper

Communities: Hazel Blears

Children and youth justice: Beverley Hughes

Africa, Asia and UN: Lord Malloch Brown

Gordon Brown is Prime Minister !!!! Hibs continue to buy players!

Today Tony Blair attended PMQ's, final photo with the fmaily at Number 10 and then went straight to see the queen and resign and then Gordon took ove the reigns straight away!!
HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED
1200 - 1230: Final PMQs
1300: Blair says farewell to staff at No 10
1312: Blair arrives at Palace, where he tenders resignation in private audience with Queen
1330: Brown departs Treasury with wife Sarah
1340: Blair leaves Palace
1351: Brown arrives at Palace where Queen asks him to form a government
1448: Brown leaves Palace
1455: Brown enters No 10 for first time as prime minister









Above is Gordon and wife Sarah entering Number 10 and below is a quick summary of his life so far:
Born: 20 February 1951
Educated: Kirkcaldy High School, Edinburgh University
Family: Married, two sons (daughter died shortly after birth)
1972: Rector, Edinburgh University
1975: Temporary lecturer
1976: Politics lecturer, Glasgow College of Technology
1980: Television journalist, STV current affairs
1983: Labour MP, Dunfermline East
1985: Opposition front bench trade and industry spokesman
1987: Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury
1989: Shadow trade and industry spokesman
1992: Shadow chancellor
1997: Chancellor

Hibs have bought 21 year old Belgian Chelsea goalkeeper Yves Makabu-Kalamby as I predicted some time ago after he impressed during trials and hopefully he will at least be a partial problem to our goalkeeping deficincies of late

One that I did not predict was 20 year old German defender Torben Joneleit who we have on a one year loan from AS Monaco, John Collins's old club.

This makes five new players in total with ten already going out the door the other way!!

Harriet wins Deputy leadership contest and Hibs buy Irish Winger from Newcastle!

It was great to see my local MP, Harriet Harman MP QC, win the Deputy Leadership against all of the pollsters predictions as the announcement was made at a special Labour Party Conference in Manchester yesterday.





I noticed both Alison McGovern and Barrie Hargrove being interviewed on BBC news last night , I bet that they has a good time celebrating last night!
Harriet is exactly the right person to be Deputy Leader and I would like to see her as Deputy prime Minister but it looks like that role wont exist in it's present form in the Brown Government.






I am sure that she will form a very good working relationship with Prime Minister Brown as they have worked well togther in the past. It is good to see the opinion polls moving in our favour as well and I feel very confident about upcoming Elections in Europe, Parliament and of course Council in 2010!
The results were as follows:
1.Harman: 50.4%
2. Johnson: 49.6%
The final result comes after eliminated contestants' next preferences reallocated

I cant wait until the British electorate have the choice between the 2 above as I cant believe that there can possibily be any other result than a historic fourth term for Labour!!!

Hibs have signed Irish winger Alan O'Brien, 22, (above) on a three year contract and are apparently after another Newcastle 22 year old player, Kris Gate(below). It is good to see some new players arrive as John Collins has just released Sam Morrow to Derry City, the 10th player to go so far and rumoured not to be the last!!!

Southwark Schools for the Future and practising my french with a delegation from Clichy! Gordon Brown seeks a new consensus and Fans boycott Hearts

I attended a really useful and interesting session on Southwark Schools for the Future, detailing an incredible investment of around £300M in Southwark Sercondary Schools by this Labour Government, with a total rebuild of every school by 2014, £12M of that being in improved ICT resources.
It really does re enforce how well Southwark has done through the last 10 years with massive investment in Council and other social housing through the decent Homes programme, NHS investment of around £90 Billion per year, three times more than under the Tories who were in the process of winding down the NHS! and major regeneration investment in Peckham, Canada Water, Bermondsey Spa, and of course the Elephant and Castel! Sometimes makes me wonder how we can end up with a Liberal Democrat/Tory Alliance running the Council?????
The 2 Secondaries in Camberwell are both in Camberwell Green and both are slightly problematic. AMR will become St. Michaels and All Angels Academy and I have attended a very positive community ecvent and met further with the new Head. The Southwark News Front Page is about objections from parents to the proposed relaocation of Highshore School to the AMR site. This is a tricky one for me as I do not represent the school at the moment but will in the future so am taking advice about how to proceed and perhaps contact the Highshore Head.
St. Michaels and All Angels will be redeveloped over 3 phases with phase one due for completion in 2010.

Sacred Heart RC School redevelopment will involve the school decanting entirely to the new build at Walworth for 2 years whilst the new school is build and it looks like there will be a new 6th form but the eternaly thorny issue of admissions policy remains!! All in all exciting and busy times ahead and along with the Decent Homes programme Chris, Dora and I have a busy few years ahead but years in which we should see significant transformation of the area, entirely due to Labour Government financing and not in any way due to this Tory/Lib Dem Administration unfortunately!!! I sometimes think that it will be done despite them instead of with them!!!








I met with a large delegation from our new twin town of Clichy -La-Garonne, a suburb of Paris, and spent the day at the Imperial War Museum and on a London Tour. It wa a good chance to practice my O level french and I really enjoyed the day. The Group Leader, General Jacques Trohel, was a lovely man and I also spent some time talking to Jacky Laurent who was a Fire Brigade Chief. I ended up giving a somewhat stilted guided tour in French of Central London as the translator was in the other Mini Bus!!! When we passed the Tower of London I did manage to mention William Wallace!! None of the delegation spoke english so it really was a good experience for me! As they say 2In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king!!"




I am fully in support of Prime Minister in waiting seeking a more consensual Government and offering posts to other parties. In fact in 1997 Tony Blair did keep people such as John Gummer, Baroness Linda Chalker and David Mellor in advisory capacities for some time after their party had been kicked out of office so it is not all that new. Typical of the Lib Dems to get all self rightous about it when they of course actively seek hung parlaiments so that they can hold all the other parties to ransom!!! Not much sign of their "political" purity in Southwark is there????





News out today that Hearts plan to charge away fans 30% more for their tickets than the home fans, a quite outrageous abuse and quite rightly Hibs fans are going to boycott the game and hopefully other teams will do likewise to hit this greedy bunch where it hurts, in their pockets!! Hope we give them a hammering too!!!

The team are off to Austria soon and have a match against Lask Linz to round of the week before returning to face Middlesborough and Blackburn Rovers at home.

Meanwhile the BBC had the follwoing report, something I flagged up last month in the Blog!:


"Austrian striker Arno Kozelsky has moved closer to joining Hibernian as the Edinburgh club confirmed Gareth Evans as reserve team coach.
Kozelsky, who plays for Austrian second division outfit DSV Leoben, expects signing talks after impressing in a recent trial with Hibs.
"If the talks go well, I won't need to think too long," said the 25-year-old.
"Joining Hibs is a step any player would take. I could hardly believe the welcome I got when I went over there""

New toilet in Camberwell Green arrives, the Camberwell College of Art Show opens and sister completed Moonwalk! ...and anothe Hibs Rebel moves on!!

On Sunday morning I recieved an email from Dora who could hardly contain her excitment at the arival of the new £50,000, 10 ton toilet on Camberwell Green. I rushed out to have a look and capture the moment for posterity on film!! It should be up and running within the next month. I can hardly wait!!!!! it is a top of the range model so hopefully will keep working and it actually looks quite stylish too!! Do you think that I need to
get out more??



By the way I exercised my second vote in the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party with my GMB vote, again voting for Harriet at number 1 with Hilary Benn again at Number 2


This morning at 8am I attended the opening of the Camberwell College of Art End of Year show and had some positive discusssions with the Acting Principal and some of the staff about having more public art around Camberwell and the idea that I especially like is making Camberwell Green into a Sculpture Park!! Dont know how to progress this but will investigate the possibilities as it could be a real focal point in the centre of the borough!!
My sister, Berrnadette, sent me a text at around 6am on Sunday to tell me that the Edinburgh Moonwalk 2007 was over and see had succesfully completed it along with around 10,000 others raising large amounts of money for Breast Cancer Research in the process!!. Below are a few pics that she sent me and she said that it was a great experience even with the rain!!









Bernadette at the end of the Moonwalk and still smiling.... ish!!








At Easter Road Thomas Suwumni left the club and in a n interview with the Hungarian Press admitted to being one of the rebels, below are some of his quotes which make interesting reading and show the scale of the rebellion:"Three players - including me - have already left Hibernian and six more team members are going to do the same soon."
"They're talking about a youth-making project at the club, but it's not the reason why I had to go."
"Some footballers criticised the coach and then had a conversation with him about the situation."
"I still don't want to go back to Hungary - I want to play football abroad."

Rumours are that Bristol City are about to sign Ivan Sproule for £250,000 which is a fair return on the £5000 it cost Hibs to get him. Whilst the fans will be disappointed as he certainly was entertaining I was never convinced that he delivered enough and for all his fancy tricks he did not score many goals(hat trick against Rangers at Ibrox withstanding!!) and his final ball was all too often poor! A real entertainer that will be missed by the fans but I suspect not too much by the players!

Oldham defender and Captain, Will Haining, is being looked at by John Collins. Haining is 24 and from Glasgow and would apparently like to return to Scotland so this is a distinct possibility!

The new Hibs Training Centre is progressing well and the future for Hibs really is through youth development which is already been so successful in recent years! Where are the Celtic and Rangers Training Centres??
Other news is that Hibs kick off the new Clydesdale Bank Premier League season with an away match at Hearts!!! Nice easy start then!!!!!