Lambeth for a Cool Planet’s Walk for Clean Air

  

On 13 September we will be joining Lambeth for a Cool Planet’s Walk for Clean Air. Please come down to show your support and raise awareness of Lambeth’s disgraceful air quality.

Air pollution monitoring across Lambeth paints a dire picture of the quality of air we breathe. The borough has some of the worst air pollution in Europe. On Brixton Road annual EU limits for Nitrogen Dioxide had already been reached by mid-January 2015 and levels across Streatham are exceeding the EU safe limits by up to 100%.

This has many negative health effects. It affects lung development in children and can cause respiratory illnesses, especially for older people, those with asthma, and those living or working near busy roads. Over 100 deaths annually in Lambeth can be linked to air pollution.

We will be meeting at 2pm on the 13 September at the top of Rush Common (just below Holmewood Road, SW2) and walking down to Windrush Square to call on Lambeth Council to take steps to put an end to this silent killer. Please come and join us.

Green Party mayoral candidate hustings on their way to Lambeth

We are hosting a hustings event for the Green Party mayoral candidates on 20 July at the Herne Hill United Church (Red Post Hill, Herne Hill, SE24 9PW) from 7pm.

We want to maintain momentum in the 2016 London elections after our recent election successes. In London, our vote share tripled in the General Election with a 7.1% increase in Lambeth, and membership continues to surge across the city. We can have a huge impact in 2016 so it is essential that we pick the right candidate to lead the campaign. Please come and join us to hear what the candidates have to say. The hustings are open to Green Party members from all London parties.

Six candidates have put themselves forward:

• Jonathan Bartley, convenor of the Lambeth Green Party, is our work and pensions spokesperson and was the Green parliamentary candidate for Streatham in 2015.
• Sian Berry is a Green councillor for Camden and works as a road campaigner for Campaign for Better Transport. She was our parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Highgate in the 2005 General Election. 
• Tom Chance, our spokesperson for housing, is joint-coordinator of the London Green Party. He  was our parliamentary candidate for Lewisham West in 2015.
• Benali Hamdache is our equalities spokesperson and chair of LGBTIQ Greens.
• Rashid Nix, who was our parliamentary candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood in 2015.
• Caroline Russell, our spokesperson for local transport, is also an Islington councillor. She was our parliamentary candidate for Islington North in 2015.

2016 is a real opportunity for us to shake up London's politics, come and hear what the candidates have to say to see who you think can make the most of it.

Join us on 13 July to support Cressingham Gardens

On Monday 13 July we will be joining the residents of Cressingham Gardens to protest against the "disgusting" decision to demolish the estate against their wishes.

We will be meeting outside Lambeth Town Hall (Brixton Hill, SW2 1RW) at 5.30pm ahead of the Cabinet meeting which starts at 7.00pm. Cressingham Gardens residents are meeting outside the Rotunda (Tulse Hill, SW2 2QN) at 5.40pm and marching from the estate to the Town Hall.

Cressingham Gardens was highlighted during the General Election leaders interviews as an example of how Labour was out of touch and failing to listen to what ordinary people wanted.

This decision follows a long consultation process which began with Council Leader Lib Peck’s pledge, which has now been shown to be entirely false, that Labour would “not do anything to the estate that doesn’t command the confidence and support of its residents”.

The demolition of the estate will result in a net loss of affordable bedrooms and concerns have been raised around the use of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to fund the redevelopment. Through this procedure the SPV, rather than the Council, can ultimately decide the rent levels for any social housing.

Lambeth Green Party will continue to support residents and champion their Judicial Review proceedings against Lambeth Council. Please join us on Monday to show your support for the residents.