Lambeth Green Party - Official Response to Lambeth Air Quality Action Plan 2017 to 2022

It is estimated that nearly 9500 persons die prematurely every year due to high level of air pollution in London [1]. Deprived communities and notably the Black populations in Lambeth are also disproportionately impacted by illegal levels of air pollution [2]. In the light of these scientific reports, Lambeth Council should take a strong line and use all its powers to be a force for change.

The draft plan currently published for consultation is lacking in both ambition and scope. No plan is made to stop or even reduce the incineration of collected household waste, no commitment is made to develop cycling infrastructures, no concrete action to encourage modal shift is proposed, and no resolution is taken to use the policing powers given to local authorities to stamp out engine-idling.

Air pollution is a massive threat to our health that requires public action at all levels. While we recognise that our council alone cannot solve the issue, the council should fully acknowledge the shortcomings in our borough and start pulling its weight. The draft Air Quality Action Plan falls short on this account.

Lambeth Green Party was not consulted on the content of the draft prior to its publication by Lambeth Council. We have, however, responded to the consultation questionnaire as an organisation, with the full text of our response reproduced below.   

The Lambeth Council Air Quality Action Plan 2017 to 2022 can be found here.

The questionnaire allowing you to respond to the plan ends on November 15th and can be found here.

Green Party activist, Chris Holt, installs an air quality monitor outside a school in Streatham

Topic 1: Emissions from developments and buildings

Question 1: Looking at Topic 1: Emissions from developments and buildings on pages 17-19 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Tend to agree

Question 2: Looking at individual actions listed in 1: Emissions from developments and buildings on pages 17-19 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Whilst the intentions set out on the topic point in the right direction, educating and raising awareness among property developers alone cannot make a serious impact on the pollution levels created by building sites. The Council should take stronger leadership by using its planning prerogatives and legal powers to enforce the highest standards defined by the Great London Authority. At a time when the borough is already suffering from alarming levels of pollution, it is particularly disappointing that the Council is allowing developers to financially compensate the pollution they create, through s106 agreements.  

Topic 2: Public health and awareness raising

Question 3: Looking at Topic 2: Public health and awareness raising on pages 20-23 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Tend to disagree

Question 4: Looking at individual actions listed under Topic 2: Public health and awareness raising on pages 20-23 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: The list of proposals to improve awareness lacks two key aspects to make an efficient public health plan. Firstly it fails to involve the local GP surgeries. Medical professions are in regular contact with the most vulnerable people who are also the primary sufferers of air pollution. Nurses and doctors are best placed to implement effective measures and report health issues. Secondly, the plan is extremely limited in terms of monitoring actual air pollution levels in Lambeth. Residents have a right to know the level of air pollution they are exposed to. In particular, plans should be made to assess air quality scientifically around nurseries, schools and care homes as young people and the elderly are among those that suffer the greatest health consequences as a result of poor air quality.

Topic 3: Delivery servicing and freight

Question 5: Looking at Topic 3: Delivery servicing and freight on pages 23-24 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions:

Lambeth Green Party Response: Tend to agree

Question 6: Looking at individual actions listed under Topic 3: Delivery servicing and freight on pages 23-24 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: The Council’s plans to provide preferential scoring to bidders delivering goods and services with zero or low emission vehicles has the potential to make good use of the Council’s buying power to influence its wider stakeholder network. However, the Council will have to ensure that scoring systems are designed in such a way that the air quality credits of different bidders actually make a material difference to the final score of bidders and therefore the procurement decision.

Furthermore, the Council should review whether FORS Silver Accreditation delivers any real air quality benefits. As presented, the requirements for FORS silver accreditation do not seem to provide air quality benefits as it does not ask for the vehicle fleet of accredited companies to meet targets on engine standards (i.e. Euro 6), fuel use or air pollutant emissions.

Topic 4: Borough fleet actions

Question 7: Looking at Topic 4: Borough fleet actions on pages 24-25 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Tend to disagree

Question 8: Looking at individual actions listed under Topic 4: Borough fleet actions on pages 24-25 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: The Council should stop investing in diesel vehicles and favour low emission technologies. It is paradoxical to request the expansion of the ULEZ or to welcome the introduction of clean buses on the A23 routes while planning to continue to buy and use diesel engines. The Office for Low Emission Vehicle, part of the Department for Transport  provides grants to Councils to help them transition to cleaner vehicles.

The Council is also one of the major employers in the borough. As a public authority it should lead by example, and incorporate plans to incentivise modal shift among its employees. The use of cars to come to work should be discouraged.

Topic 5: Localised solutions

Question 9: Looking at Topic 5: Localised solutions on pages 25-26 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Strongly disagree

Question 10: Looking at individual actions listed under Topic 5: Localised solutions on pages 25-26 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Lambeth is home to the successful Brixton Energy, a social enterprise which installed solar panels on 3 estates of the borough (and counting). The council should build on this experience and encourage more initiatives aiming at developing the production and use of renewable energies in the borough. The fact that the terms “solar” or “renewable” don’t appear once in the plan document is staggering.

Brixton tube station, at the end of the Victoria line is crying for bike infrastructures, with the few bike racks there are constantly overcrowded. The aims to roll-out the London bike-hire scheme in the south of London in 6 years demonstrates a distinct lack of in ambition.

Topic 6: Transport & Highways

Question 11: Looking at Topic 6: Transport & Highways on pages 26-28 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with the proposed actions?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Strongly disagree

Question 12: Looking at individual actions listed under Topic 6: Transport & Highways on pages 26-28 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan what, if anything, would you say is missing, should be removed or should be amended, and why?

Lambeth Green Party Response: In 2015, Local Authorities received new powers to fine idling motorists. In combination with the actions of information and prevention, actions should be taken to use the fining powers in sensitive areas, such as around schools, to end idling for good.

Whilst promoting cycling use is necessary, it will remain inefficient if cycling is not made safer and more accessible. The plan makes no commitment to develop the much-need cycling infrastructure to encourage the modal shift.

One annual car free day is a token event unlikely to change transport habits and make any significant impact. We urge the Council to organise regular car free days across the borough. We disagree with the idea to devolve this responsibility to BIDs, when business are traditionally opposed to motor traffic reduction; other stakeholders such as cycling groups and resident forums need to be included for a better balance of opinion.

Lambeth Council should also make clear its opposition to the expansion of both Heathrow and City airports. An increase of traffic at any of those airport would affect negatively the air quality in our borough.

Three main priorities listed on page 15:

Question 13: Looking at our three main priorities listed on page 15 of the draft Air Quality Action Plan do you, generally speaking, agree or disagree with them?

Lambeth Green Party Response: Tend to disagree

Please tell us more if you wish:

The focus of the plan should be on areas over which the council has directly responsibility. The first priority of the plan should be to transform the Council as a leader by example, with a clean fleet of vehicles and a strong plan to avoid waste incineration.

Question 14: Is there anything else that you would like to add to the feedback you have given us so far:

Lambeth Green Party Response: No mention is made in the plan of Lambeth’s policy of waste incineration. Actions should be taken to improve the recycling and composting rates, to reduce the amount of waste sent to Belvedere incinerator in Bexley. Although this incineration takes place outside the borough, it clearly has an impact on air quality in Lambeth as well as in other boroughs.

We also worry about the governance of this plan. It contains no clear metrics to measure the impact that various activities will have. This makes it very difficult to assess the efficiency, effectiveness and adequacy of the plan efficiency. We will advise the steering committee to set clear and transparent targets that will consistently measure progress and impact of actions throughout execution.

Bruno putting up a pollution monitor outside Effra nursery on Barnwell Road.

[1] Understanding the Health Impacts of Air Pollution in London:

https://www.scribd.com/document/271641490/King-s-College-London-report-on-mortality-burden-of-NO2-and-PM2-5-in-London

[2] Analysing Air Pollution Exposure in London

https://www.scribd.com/doc/312760725/Analysing-Air-Pollution-Exposure-in-London?secret_password=UjnUA1OxDIURIebGARhZ

Streatham MP fails to respond to Crossrail 2 consultation

We have previously highlighted the inaction of MP Chuka Umunna with regard to bringing Crossrail 2 to Streatham, despite his election promises in 2010.  For full details click here.

The consultation report on Crossrail 2 has now been published, which includes all the various responses.  Several MPs responded, however, Chuka Umunna MP made no response to the consultation.

Lambeth Greens however ran a campaign to get people to respond to the consultation.  While it is clear that Streatham won't be getting Crossrail 2, we wanted people to call for improved transport links for Streatham. The result is that Streatham is the number one transport priority cited in the report.  You can read more here.

You can read the full report here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/crossrail/2/user_uploads/crossrail-2-consultation-report-2014--published-.pdf

Chuka Umunna's failure to act over bringing Crossrail 2 to Streatham

We have now received a response to our Freedom of Information request to Transport for London regarding Crossrail 2, asking about what dealings Streatham MP Chuka Umunna has had with TfL.  

Things to note:

• It contains the astonishing revelation that "At the time of your request there had been no meetings between TfL and Chuka Umunna MP".
• It states: "Crossrail Ltd have not met Chuka Umunna in his capacity as the local MP for Streatham, nor to discuss route and station proposals for Crossrail 2."
• It suggests the MP has not engaged at all with TfL over bringing Crossrail 2 to Streatham, until after the decision was made over the route,
• The only correspondence seems to have come after we invited Mr Umunna to a public meeting at the beginning of June 2014.  At the public meeting it was made clear that all the decisions had been made, there had been no lobbying on the issue, and Streatham would not be getting Crossrail 2.

Why is this relevant?  

• The Streatham MP has been accusing Transport for London of overlooking Streatham over Crossrail 2, when it appears he has in fact done next to nothing as the MP for Streatham to try and get Crossrail 2 to Streatham.
• Mr Umunna was elected on a pledge to work for improved transport links for Streatham, with a petition which noted: "The planned Crossrail 2 scheme, running from Chelsea to Hackney, would considerably relieve congestion on the Victoria line, creating the potential for an extension southwards to Streatham from Brixton."
• It would appear that Streatham is not getting Crossrail 2 due in no small part to a failure by the MP to ask for it. 

The full text of the Freedom of Information request is below...

TfL Ref: FOI-0463-1415 

Thank you for your clarification email which we received on 26 June 2014 asking for information about meetings between TfL and Chuka Umunna about Crossrail. 

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked: 

"Please can you let me have details of any questions or meetings between TfL and Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham (e.g. the questions he has submitted, how many meetings he has had, what they were about & what was agreed)?" 

At the time of your request there had been no meetings between TfL and Chuka Umunna MP.

The following correspondence, regarding the Crossrail 2 scheme, has been sent and received: 

Letter sent by TfL Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, in response to e-mail received on 10 June 2014 

19 June 2014
E-mail received by TfL Commissioner, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, regarding Crossrail 2 serving Streatham and transport links to Streatham 

10 June 2014
Stakeholder information e-mail regarding current Crossrail 2 consultation sent to a range of stakeholders, including MPs, by Michele Dix, Managing Director for TfL Planning. 

09 June 2014
Stakeholder information e-mail regarding Crossrail 2 sent to a range of stakeholders, including MPs, by Michele Dix, Managing Director for TfL Planning and Paul Plummer of Network Rail. 

14 May 2013
We also provided information to the Department for Transport (DfT) to assist them in responding to a letter they had received from Chuka Umunna MP in April 2014. As this correspondence was not between Mr Umunna and ourselves you should contact the DfT for further details. 

Further information on Crossrail 2 can be found at http://crossrail2.co.uk/ 

In addition, please see below for a description of the information we hold in relation to Mr Umunna’s meetings with Crossrail Ltd (CRL). 

Crossrail Ltd have had three meetings with Chuka Umunna since 2012. 

· On 24 November 2012, Chuka Umunna met with CRL CEO Andrew Wolstenholme. While there are no meeting notes, a follow up letter confirmed they discussed the Rolling Stock procurement, employment issues including direct employment, blacklisting allegations, compliance and apprenticeships & training. 

· On 11 July 2013, the Leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband, the then Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle, Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna and Lord Adonis visited Canary Wharf station, hosted by the Crossrail Chairman and Chief Executive. The nature of the visit was to view the progress made on the project and the visitors gave a media interview on industrial strategy policy, using Crossrail as a backdrop. There are no meeting notes as this was not a formal meeting, only a site visit. 

· On 24 June 2014, Crossrail’s Chairman met Chuka Umunna in his role as the shadow Business Secretary. The main purpose of the visit was to discuss progress on the Crossrail project, in particular the skills agenda and economic impacts on the UK economy and businesses. 

The meeting notes from the meeting on 24 June 2014 are as follows:
· A general project progress update was provided.
· An update on the extension to Reading was provided.
· An update on the rolling stock procurement was provided.
· An overview of the recent National Audit Office report was discussed.
· Chuka Umunna did mention Crossrail 2 (the route of which is a constituency issue for him in Streatham) but recognised that it was nothing to do with Crossrail Ltd and there was no detailed discussion.
· There was an explanation given as to the cost and final resting place of our tunnel boring machines.
· There was an extended discussion on skills, both in the context of the changing profile of the Crossrail workforce and the changing nature of railway technology.
· Chuka Umunna was interested in the demographic diversity of Crossrail’s apprentices and we undertook to send him the data we have.
· An update on industrial relations was provided. 

Crossrail Ltd have not met Chuka Umunna in his capacity as the local MP for Streatham, nor to discuss route and station proposals for Crossrail 2.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Eva Hextall
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

Having a pasty on Streatham High Road

With all that's going on today around the pasty tax, and with it being the Streatham Food Festival, I thought I would stop in for a pasty at the local Greggs on Streatham High Road. (Actually its a place the kids and I often frequent on a Saturday morning!)

There is a serious side though, and that is the ongoing threat to local shops on the high road, particularly with the impending Tesco mega store soon to arrive with Lambeth Council's blessing as part of the new Streatham hub development. It is going to be even harder for many local shops to compete. (For how a supermarket like this impacts a local community see this helpful briefing here ).

Gimmicks, like those being proposed by local MP Chuka Umunna aren't going to help either.

What will help are policies like those being proposed in our small business manifesto to support a renaissance of micro, small and medium-sized businesses and protect and re-develop the traditional “high street”. We have also produced a specific manifesto for the high street.

Building peace in Lambeth

It was great hear that Anna Nolan ( @annapannalondon ) has been awarded £5,000 toward the Little Big Peace event which started in Streatham last year.

She won the money after entering a nationwide competition.

For the uninitiated, Little Big Peace (@littlebigpeace) is a festival that takes place in September. It celebrates peacemaking, and coincides with the International Day of Peace.

What is refreshing about the event is that is it seeks to engage with the reality of everyday life and explore difficult questions about what peace might mean in local communities, rather than being something untenable or ethereal.

Peacemaking raises tough questions of course, but they are ones that need to be asked. Neither are there simple answers. Peacemaking is messy. I know this from painful experience having been involved with a number of peacemaking initiatives both abroad and in the UK, including working with peacemakers taken hostage in Iraq.

But unless we are prepared to ask difficult questions and explore alternatives we will make little, in any, progress, in making our communities more peaceful.

There are however many examples from elsewhere in the UK, and indeed around the world that we can draw upon for our own local communities. There are restorative justice initiatives, for example, in policing, the criminal justice system and in school discipline, which pursue a more peaceful - and indeed more satisfactory outcome for the actors involved. (see for example: http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/ for a range of resources) They tend to reduce reoffending, and mean that the community play a bigger part in ensuring just outcomes.

International examples too, show that in order to tackle violence, we need to identify and be honest about the root causes. This is something being hampered by politicians who continue to insist that the recent riots were "just criminality". The local community can play a part in challenging that, and insisting that such responses are inadequate.

And then of course, it is about the local community learning to build peace. Peace is not the absence of conflict, but as practitioners will tell you, an active process which needs to be learned. This means among other things opportunities for dialogue, training people in nonviolent communication, and forums and spaces where people can overcome fear of others who they might not otherwise come into contact with. It means also that we need to equip people - particularly younger people in our schools - with skills of mediation and conflict prevention.

There's lots of possibilities to make Lambeth more peaceful. But it needs the political will to do it, as well as those who are willing to think creatively about it and pursue it. The Little Big Peace event is exactly the kind of initiative that can encourage us all in that direction.

Streatham MP Chuka Umunna 'breaks election pledge' on EU referendum

The Labour rebels in last night's House of Commons vote on whether there should be a EU referendum have received less attention than the Conservative ones in the national press and media. But how Lambeth's three Labour MPs voted will be of interest to local people.

Among the small number of Labour rebels was Kate Hoey, MP for Vauxhall, who voted in favour of a referendum. Tessa Jowell, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood however voted with the Prime Minister and the majority of the Labour party, against a referendum.

Perhaps of greatest interest though is that Chuka Umunna, MP for Streatham, also toed his party's - and the Conservative - line, and voted against a referendum. This appears to contradict a pledge he made during the election campaign last year.

There didn't appear to be anything in his election literature about the issue one way or another. But like all candidates, it is likely that he was asked questions on the doorstep about it. And a promise was apparently made on the subject to Mark Wallace, a campaigner and blogger.

Through the medium of Twitter, in recent days Wallace has been asking Umunna publicly if he would honour what he said to him during the election - or at least clarify where he stands.

I asked Wallace what Umunna had actually said to him. He replied that Umunna had made a pledge to back an EU referendum face to face with him, on the doorstep. Umunna, he said, stated that he preferred an in/out referendum to settle the issue once and for all. In addition, Umunna had even promised to write to Gordon Brown on the matter.

This appears to contradict how Umunna voted last night.

In the end, in the absence of any written evidence, it may come down to one person's word against another's. But there are some big issues of concern here. The first is that Umunna has failed to make clear what his position is on a referendum. His constituents should know, and they should have been told long before last night's vote. It is not as if this is a minor issue.

The second is that even when asked publicly, he has failed to respond. There is an issue of accountability here. Umunna has voluntarily chosen to use social media to communicate with constituents and others. He has fallen silent on this issue. Why? Is it because he believes one thing, but has voted another for reasons of advancement within his own party? These are the kinds of questions that will now be asked.

Even at this point it would have been very quick and easy to make his position clear. He has not done so.

It should be noted too, that Umunna had the opportunity to express support for a progressive amendment to last night's House of Commons motion, tabled by Green MP Caroline Lucas. This backed a referendum on the basis of democracy and that it is right for people to be given a choice. He did not take that either.

You can read the full debate and the way all MPs voted in Hansard here

Knights Youth Centre facing cuts to vital programmes

Today the Government's Victim's Panel comes to Lambeth, following the recent riots and looting. This is being welcomed by Labour councillors.

The good work that this might do will be undermined however by the fact that central Government and these same councillors between them are pushing ahead with cutting youth services in Lambeth. This is already having a serious affect on youth centres around the borough, and will do so on young people and communities for years to come.

This includes Knight's Youth Centre in Clapham/ Streatham, which I remember from 40 years ago when I was growing up. As reported in the print edition of Tuesday's South London Press (not online at the moment) the Centre gets 200 children through the doors each week (mainly from the Clapham Park Estate) but is already having to cut staff and services. It is £85,000 short on the funding it needs for this year alone (about half its budget). A vital mentoring and apprenticeship programme looks as if it may have to close, which would be a tragedy, as this trains up children to be youth workers themselves.

The Centre is applying for a small amount of money from the NatWest community fund, and it will get the grant if enough people vote for it. You can do so here (You have until 23rd October to vote).

Responding to Tottenham - and now Lambeth

The trouble that began in Tottenham has now spread to Lambeth.

Some politicians and commentators have gone no further than expressions of outrage, suggesting simply that what has happened isn’t supported by the overwhelming majority of people in a community, and heaping the blame on a few ‘criminals’.

But this does nothing to explain the timing, let alone make any headway in getting to the root of the problems and issues involved.

Several observations can be made, and there are concrete actions that should be taken:

1. To locate those involved in the rioting and looting ‘outside’ our communities is to wash our hands and abdicate responsibility. No one exists in a vacuum. What is taking place affects all our lives. Those directly involved also have friends, families, and surrounding networks, whose attitudes, opinions and behaviour will have a direct influence and bearing on what is going on. This is not simply about the behaviour of a handful of people, but the feelings and actions of whole communities.

2. Central are the relationships of these communities with the police, both in the broadest sense, but also in the events which were the catalyst for the rioting and looting - the shooting of Mark Duggan and the subsequent protest.

3. The Broadwater Farm riots in 1985 were triggered by the death of Cynthia Jarrett, who suffered a stroke after police officers searched her home. As we saw over her death the truth is a vital part of the healing and restoration process. A full and urgent investigation is needed into the shooting of Mark Duggan.

4. We need an urgent independent review of the wider relationship between police and local communities, and in particular of stop and search powers. I travelled through Brixton every day at the time of the Brixton riots 30 years ago, when the 'Sus' law under which anybody could be stopped and searched if officers merely suspected they might be planning to carry out a crime, were used. The Scarman report which looked into the riots eventually led to their abolition. But the impact of current laws needs to be urgently examined.

5. It is notable that the trouble has not taken place in the leafy suburbs, or the richer areas of London. The wider economic climate, in particular large rates of youth unemployment must be taken into account. The situation is made all the more worse by cuts to youth services. In Lambeth there have been cuts of £11.85m to the council’s children and youth services budget, including a £250,000 reduction to the youth offending team budget alone. This makes the possibilities of addressing the underlying problems even more remote. We need swift action to restore vital youth services.

Bike-pedalled cinema on Streatham Common!

For the first time ever, Streatham Common will be hosting a bike-pedalled cinema to celebrate 10:10:10, the day of environmental action.

At 7:30pm on Sunday 10th October 2010 you're warmly invited to join Sustainable Streatham and the public to watch Belleville Rendez-vous – a charming Bafta-nominated film about a Tour de France cyclist kidnapped by the mafia to power a stationery bike machine. The animated film is rated 12 and lasts for 80 minutes.

The cost is what you can pay (suggested £3), and soft drinks and homemade cakes will be on sale. It will all be in a tent so no need to worry about the weather.

Bring your bike if you want to hop on and pedal to keep the film going!

Please come along. A great attendance will really help small local community environmental groups get better recognition in the Borough. It will also give the Council a good sharp reminder that the environment is just as important as budget cuts.

Call for Green and Black people to register to vote

Shane Collins, Green Party Parlimentary Candidate for Dulwich and West
Norwood presented Rev Al Sharpton with a Brixton pound at the Operation
Black Vote 'Register to Vote' meeting Thursday 21st Jan at Friends
Meeting House in Euston.

Shane said 'The Rev Sharpton comes from Harlem, the spiritual home of
Marcus Garvey and his message of keeping economic power in the community
is more relevant than ever today with the corporate takeover of much of
our lives. This message has been taken up by Transition Town as
exemplified by the Brixton Pound which i was proud to present to the Rev
Sharpton'.

'Voter registration amongst the black community is around only 45% in
younger age groups, similar to the black youth unemployment rate. There
is a connection. Black and green people have the power to change the
results in the local and general elections but only if registered and
voting.

'So remember Rosa Parks, honour Nelson Mandela, take heart from President
Obama and register to vote by contacting your Town Hall or
www.electoralcommission.org.uk. Remember racists register and racists
vote.' For elections on 6th May the deadline to register is 20th April.

Quote from Rev Sharpton speech

“How you define yourself is how you confine yourself. You have all this
technology, Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry’s. And you can’t get ten black
Britons to go and vote?

“At a time when we can elect Presidents, there is no excuse for us to be
sitting down and not doing anything, and avoid recognising that it’s a
new time.”

Tesco and Streatham's ice rink and leisure centre

Suddenly the room seemed warmer. A strange dark presence breathed and whispered into the room. And there they were. Two members of Tesco's senior management team in the flesh, blinking eerily into the light....

Yes this was the public meeting of the Tesco's "We've Already Got Planning Permission So Don't Try And Stop Us Store" proposals for Streatham: to build a new Tesco's shop and redevelop the leisure centre, ice rink and swimming pool, and build affordable housing to boot. Too good to be true? Actually yes. The plan itself has been on the cards for almost seven years and although Tesco's were given permission to build years ago, um, they haven't quite got round to it yet.

Not that we're particuarly fond of Tesco's but we are stuck in a no win situation.Tesco's already own the land. Years of zero investment have left the leisure centre and ice rink are on their knees. So this was the night where reps from Lambeth Green Party and about 50 other concerned residents and interested parties gathered in Streatham Business Centre to find out where the plans were at and what was going on. In short, not much. Not for the next 8 weeks anyway when we were promised faithfully by Lambeth Council and Tesco's that a new proposal was being 'looked at'.

Despite many questions from people about whether Tesco's were going to keep the ice rink open, and actually when is this all going to happen, to cut 2 hours and 15 minutes short a newmeeting is promised for just before Christmas.

Think Tesco's and the Council will sell us out? Mmm our jury is out too. In 8 weeks we'll see.

A Living Wage for Lambeth

Lambeth's Green Party councillor, Becca Thackray, has successfully passed a motion to commit the London Borough of Lambeth to paying a ‘Living Wage’ for all its employees.

However, a wrecking amendment put forward by Labour means that the Council can continue underpaying hundreds of staff who work for the Borough as contractors. These include cleaners, security/reception staff and labourers, many of whom are paid much less than regular Council staff.

The original motion stated that, "Lambeth Council reaffirms its support for the establishment of the London Living Wage, set at a level calculated by the Living Wage Unit to avoid the 'working poverty trap' in the capital, a situation affecting around 400,000 Londoners who are paid less than can reasonably fund the basic costs of living in London."

By watering the motion down, Labour have let down precisely those working people who they claim to represent. Their rhetoric about helping the people of Lambeth get through the recession will sound particularly hollow to those earning poverty wages on Labour-run Lambeth contracts.

In The News

New Labour's Climate Change figures do not seem to be scrupulously accurate (The Guardian)

Worries over plans for Granville Arcade (South London Press)

Streatham's Labour councillors can't tell the difference between their party and the Tories any more(thisislocallondon)

Green Party launch London campaign (Green Party)

Brixton Tesco wants to be even bigger (South London Press)

Green Light for Lambeth Recycling

But more needs to be done

View Full Details
Lambeth exceeded its recycling targets this year with nearly a quarter of all household waste being recycled or composted. In 2008, energy-saving lightbulbs will join the long list of items that Lambeth residents can get recycled.

Becca Thackray, green party councillor for the Herne Hill war said: ‘It’s great news that we passed our targets for 2006/7, but more needs to be done. A proper recycling regime keeps our Borough beautiful, reduces waste and saves money. Bexley managed to recycle 40% of their waste last year, and that’s the kind of level we should be looking to achieve.”

We've created a rather fine map of Lambeth's recycling facilities to help you with your own personal targets, which you can see above.

Lambeth Green Party Launch New Website

And We Need Your Help

The new Lambeth Green Party website is live, and it includes this blog. We want to make it the most useful tool possible for anyone who lives in the Borough.

Please get in touch if there's anything you think we should have on there.

In the long run, we want dedicated areas of the site for Brixton, Clapham, Kennington, Waterloo, Herne Hill, West Norwood, Crystal Palace and Streatham. Drop us a line if there's a great organic greengrocers, a useful recycling service, or an important community organisation you'd like us to link to.