Cabinet starts working, Community Safety Priorities and Millwall at Wembley!!!

It was a long hard week last week taking over control of Southwark Council and taking on my role as Cabinet Member for Community Safety with lots of Briefings on my Portfolio as well as the pressing matter of the Elephant & Castle Regeneration!! In terms of community safety my priorities are developing a coherent Violent Crime Strategy, upgrading and extending CCTV coverage around the borough where it is needed, taking action on dangerous dogs and adopting a zero tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour on the streets and on the Estates!
We will upgrade the CCTV Monitoring Centre to make it digital and then extend our network and we should have this all up and running over the next few months! There is also possiblity of linking in with other existing systems to increase the coverage further and so delivering quiickly on a key Labour Manifesto Pledge!!
We also need to focus our ever more limited resources in areas where it is needed therefore reorganising the Community Wardens to Town Centred Teams seems sensible to me!
I am keen to see significant progress on all of these fronts over the next 3 months and want to take a cross departmental approach to Youth Crime looking at Education, Youth provision as well as regeneration and the environment to tackle the causes of crime at source. I do support the use of ASBO's and ABC's to deal with offenders and think that they have been and remain a useful tool in tackling Youth Crime. I am also keen to develop better victim support in all areas of crime including domestic violence!
I do think that we need to work on closing the gap between the publics perception of crime and the reality so that people feel more safe and that may include more CCTV, more visible police presence and even better street and Estate lighting.

I went to a couple of Election Celebration Parties at the weekend, one for DAWN arranged by new Councillor Sunil Chopra of a fantastic hot day in Dulwich!!
The second was for South Camberwell at Councillor Veronica Ward's and a good time was had by all!!

Another busy week ahead including a Tour of the Borough with the Cabinet on Friday!
Saturday and off to Wembley again to see if Millwall can do it this time and beat Swindon to get a richly deserved place in the Championship!
The pic is from last year when they had it snatched away from them by Scunthorpe in virtually the last minute!! COME ON THE LIONS!!!!

Labour take over at Southwark Town Hall, Community Safety Priorities and Millwall back at Wembley!!!

Well it has been quite a week with the Labour Group taking over the reigns of Southwark Council following the Mayor making and Constitutional Council on Wednesday!!


It was fantastic to see my good friend and Labour Group Colleague Tayo Situ become Mayor of Southwark with Lorraine Lauder as his Deputy, they will both be a credit to us and Southwark!!



The new Labour Cabinet took control and I became the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, a role that I have shadowed for the past 7 years!!!
The Labour Council Manifesto can be seen through the link below:
http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/uploads/089d69db-87f0-2284-d51c-883ead9cffae.pdf

I spent much of yesterday meeting Officers and we are already making good progress on a number of our community safety manifesto Commitments such as :

1. Improving, upgrading and extending our CCTV coverage around the borough in areas where it is most needed,

2. Developing a wide ranging Violent Crime Strategy to link up work across Departments in a coherent way,

3. Targeting drug dealing on Housing Estates and the associated Gang culture and crime that comes with it,

4. A Zero Tolerance approach to anti social behaviour in areas like dog fouling, noisy neighbours and improving the ASB Helpline

5. Continuing to support more 20mph speed limits in the borough

6. To protect Police numbers against cuts and to organise our community wardens where they are most needed.

I am getting used to working in Tooley Street on the 4th floor and meeting the staff who will help us!


My University Office is just across Tower Bridge so no more than 10 minutes apart!!

Good Southwark news article:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/36/new_leader_sets_out_his_vision

Great Result for Millwall in the week and another Wembley trip beckons a week on saturday!!
Richard, Fiona and I plan a repeat trip just hoping for a better result: COME ON YOU LIONS!!!!
Highlights of Play Off semi:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8691781.stm

Labour Win Southwark Council and Hibs get 4th SPL Spot and Europa Cup Place!!

Great images of a Fantastic night as Labour took back Southwark Council with a majority of 7:

LABOUR 35, LIB DEMS 25, CONSERVATIVES 3

Details at Southwark Council link below:

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/1000/election_results/1618/council_elections_2010

Election day was spent in East Walworth on a sunny day and a brilliant group of people fighting for every vote!!
It was a great if long and tiring day and we took all three seats as well as seats in South Camberwell, Chaucer, Newington and even College Ward!

Prior to the Election Gordon Brown came to Inspire at Walworth Road at a really inspiring Rally!!
Hibs get Europa Cup Spot after a great away 2-0 win at Dundee United after a very up and down Season!!

Next Season a new Stand and European Football and hopefully some beter defenders and goalkeepers!!

Dundee Unt. Game report below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/8666200.stm

That incredible 6-6 game against Motherwell:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8668079.stm

VOTE LABOUR ON THURSDAY MAY 6TH 2010 IN GENERAL AND SOUTHWARK COUNCIL ELECTIONS!!!

We now enter the final few days of the General and Southwark Council Elections Campaign!! After an unforeseen absence I am getting back into it Campaigning, leafleting and attending Hustings!
We have some very good material for the Campaign, our Introductory Leaflet, a fantastic Manifesto Leaflet and of course our Election Address!

The Camberwell Hustings were great and we all agreed we should do more of that in between Elections!!!

On Sunday i went to a Gordon Brown meeting at Inspire Crypt in Walworth Road. Fantastic speech and a great boost for Southwark Labour Party members!! More Pics and videos on Facebook!!

So we are now at the sharp end of the campaigns with no one really clear on the outcome of either so it is simply a case of working as hard as possible over the next few days and on Thursday to keep the Tories out of Westminster and the Lib Dems and Tories out of Southwark Town Hall!!! VOTE LABOUR ON THURSDAY MAY 6TH!!!

Election Fever builts in Westminster and Southwark Town Hall and Hibs scrap for Europa Cup spot!!!

And so we enter the final 2 weeks Campaigning to keep the Tories out of No.10 and the Lib Dem/Tory Coalition out of the Town Hall!!

Although the televised debates do appear to have had a strange effect on the Polls they are clearly the right way to go and are now part of the UK

Political scene!

It does look like this Election may have a very unique outcome with large protest voites against both Major parties bolstering the Lib Dem vote with of course Clegg's competent and confident performances on air!!

A Hung Parlaiment looks the most likely with Gordon Brown having the first go at making deals with the smaller parties to form an Administration!!

Locally we have the key wards which will dictate the outcome of the Election, with East Walworth, Chaucer, Livesey, South Camberwell , Peckham Rye and East Dulwich the Labour/Lib Dem Battlegrounds!!
Our pledge for Free School Meals is very popular on the doorstep so it will be a very tense and nervous last couple of weeks til polling Day!!
Our Manifesto can be read at the link below:
http://www.southwarklabour.co.uk/uploads/089d69db-87f0-2284-d51c-883ead9cffae.pdf

Hibs form continues to collapsing from 2nd to 5th in a matter of months and scrapping with Motherwell for 4th and the Europa Cup spot. Failling that we have to hope for the Arabs (Dundee Utd.) to beat Ross County to get the extra Europa Cup place should be end up in 5th spot!!

Death of mum and the General Election called!

I have been out of circulation for a few weeks due to the sudden death of my mother and I am still in Edinburgh with dad but returning to London at the weekend.
The Funeral Reception went well with lots of relatives from Ireland, England, Northern ireland and Scotland present.
Bernadette, Kevin and I took dad to Kelso in the Scottish Borders for a day out last week which he enjoyed.

Meanwhile the General Election has been called for May 6th, the same day as the Southwark council Elections.

Good first Party Election Broadcast:

http://www2.labour.org.uk/theroadahead

The Manifesto launch went well with a new animated version for circulation:

http://www.facebook.com/labourparty?ref=mf#!/video/video.php?v=598042498104&ref=mf

Hibs have had a miserable time over the last month and may not even hold on to fourth place, a disaster!!

Council Assembly signals end of Administration, The India Club, Scotland win in Dublin and Hibs lose at Tynecastle!!

We have the final Council Assembly of the current Administration tomorrow evening and hopefully the last one with a Tory/Lib Dem Coalition in power!!
In Brunswick Park Ward we have all our leaflet material and Nomination paperwork complete and are out helping our "twinned" ward in South Camberwell!
This is really the last week of Council Meetings then I am off to Edinburgh for Easter and then straight into the Election campaign!!
Met up with "Alderman" Ian Driver last night for a drink in the Princes Louise and then off to the India Club, my favorite curry house!!!
Saying farewell to my colleagues Susan Elan Jones and Andrew Pakes as they leave London to fight in their respective Parliamentary Contituencies with Alison McGovern having her farewell next week which i unfortunately will miss as I am in Scotland!! Good luck to them all and would be great to have all three of them in the House of Commons in May!!

Scotland at last performed as we all know they can with a fantastic victory over Ireland at Croke Park!! All in all a poor season but some very good signs and lots to work on for next year's World Cup!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8578777.stm

Hibs played very poorly again against Hearts going down 2-1 but from the highlights could have been much worse! The slump continues an we are struggling badly!! Sad highlights below:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8579049.stm

Campaigning in full swing, Housing in a mess, a Cinema for Camberwell and Hibs and Scotland throw away leads to draw!

It feels like the Election is already in full swing with lots of leafleting and Campaigning in Brunswick Park , our "twinned" ward of South Camberwell and of course our Target Wards!

Trying to keep engaged with Camberwell Green issues including the Gala Bingo Hall, St. Michaels and All Angels new build, Mid- Elmington redevelopment, the D'Eynesford Pit and the Grosvenor Terrace T&RA and plans to sell off their Tenants Hall.
I am also going to Brunswick Park T&RA Meetings, good to go to Sceaux Gardens AGM last week and see a lots of familiar faces from 8 years ago and get a very nice welcome back. Hope to go to Wilson's Road and Lettsom Meetings in the next month. Of course the D'Eynesford Estate is split betwen both wards so no continuity problems there!

Steve Lancashire has made a really good You Tube video on Housing repair problems and you can see it below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcNO9CYug9Y&feature=autofb
It will be great to have someone of Steve's ability back on the Council again!!
It is good to read that the Cinema for Camberwell campaigners met with the Gala Bingo Hall owners Medinbrand and the RCCG to discuss the future and the idea of a "Camberwell Village Hall" is developing which sounds promising but apparently there is the suggestion of a "moral veto" on uses which i think may be problematic and in any case any arrangements would have to be backed up by a Legal Agreement at Planning Committee to protect the range of uses before any Change of Use could be considered.
But at least the two sides are talking and that has to be a good thing so I will watch from afar with interest!!

There is still much concern at the new St. Micheals and All Angels plans for their new School. It would be a real pity if the plans go to committee without local residents support after all the efforts that have been made so I hope that the two sides can get some agreement ahead of Committee but again i wont be involved as it will be after May.

Hibs struggled against Ross County at home and face a difficult away game in Dingwall (about as far North as you can get!) on the 23rd March! A win will give us a Semi-Final game against Celtic at Hampden!!Details below: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/8563556.stm

Scotland were a bit unlucky to draw with England with Dan Parkes hitting the post twice with kicks but overall am playing well below par and finish off with against Ireland in Dublin which looks a very tricky match!

Highlights of Calcutta Cup game below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8563075.stm

As I would rather see Ireland win that France or England I wont be too upset if Scotland are put to the sword on Saturday!! The Friary name allows me to support both teams so I cant lose!!

Busy at Town Hall, Gala Bingo and Hibs and Arsenal win!!

It is another busy week at the Town Hall and around as the last meetings of the current Administration take place. I attended my last OSC last night and have my last Scrutiny A Meeting on Wednesday where hopefully we can agree the Housing Repairs Scrutiny Report!
Campaigning in Brunswick Park and around Southwark continues and builds up pace as we more closer to the Election deadline with a real feeling of confidence amongst Labour members about both the National and the Local Election Results a so all to fight for!!

As I expected I have had a mixed reaction to my comments on the Gala Bingo Hall and it's future and the reality is of course that this is not and will not become a debate on race or religion but one of Planning Policy and "Change of Use". This is the last of the 4 Cinemas of Camberwell and I think that the Council has a duty to preserve it for public, community and entertainment use which is what the current classification does. It will not reach Planning committee until after May so I will not be the Ward Councillor anyway but way make my views known as a local resident which it is my right to do. it would be very unfortunate and rather cynical if anyone attempts to suggest any sinister motivation behind this campaign as the Group established to have a Cinema in Camberwell was created before any news of the Church sale was made public!!
Hibs got back to winning ways and hopefully ended the slump with a 1-0 win over Kilmarnoock in the strangely quiet Easter Road with the demolition of the old East Stand underway:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8554625.stm

I was at the Emirates on Saturday to see Arsenal beat Burnley rather comfortably 3 -1 in the end but struggle with lots of the play and poor finishing but a really good day out and great to see Tsui and James again!


There is a brilliant mural at the Emirates with all the players past and present in a Group Photo, I picked out the Wenger Generation!!
Worth a look next time you are in the area or at a match!!

Gala Bingo Hall, BPK Campaigning very positive, Hibs need to beat Killie and going to watch Arsenal vs Burnley tomorrow!

There was a very well attended Camberwell Community Council in the week and a discussion on the Gala Bingo Hall.

This is the last of the 4 old Camberwell Cinemas that could be brought back to use and I am disappointed that Gala were not even prepared to talk to us but sell to an Evangelical Church RCCG who will now seek a Change of Use Permission at Planning.
This is the last chance to bring back into use an old cinema and really develop an entertainment cnetre for all but looks like the opportunity has gone although I think with 5 churches in the area and a change of use required there is a strong possibility of Planning Permission being refused as has happened in Crystal Palace where Gala again sold their building to the RCCG without any local consultation. I will watch with interest !!

Great to see the new Tiger Pub at Camberwell Green open with the original frontage back for all to see!! Hope it is a big success and plan to visit very very soon!!

Brunswick Park Campaigning going extremely well and reassuring to see the vote on the big estates as strong as ever!!

It is going to be a long hard 10 weeks til polling day but critical to do as much as we can to keep the Tories and the Lib Dems out of the House of Commons and the Town Hall!!!
Hibs take on Killie tomorrow and need to get back to winning ways!!

I am at the Emirates to see Arsenal take on Burnley and perhaps go top of the Premiership even for a day!

Interested to see ex-Hibs Stephen Fletcher line up for Burnley!!