'Walthamstow off the map'? was this week's headline in the Waltham Forest Guardian newspaper. The online story is
here.
The Boundary Commission has recently published its
revised proposals for parliamentary boundaries. Under these the constituency of Walthamstow would cease to exist. Four of its local authority wards - Wood Street, Chapel End, William Morris, and Higham Hill - would be part of a new Chingford constituency the other four - Hoe Street, High Street, Markhouse, and Lea Bridge - would be part of a new Leyton constituency. You can see a map showing this
here.
The Commission has to ensure the new boundaries reflect local
communities of interest and clearly defined areas and you may wish to respond to this proposal. If so you may find it helpful to quote the information below as well as explaining to them directly your own sense of the local
community in which you live and how important this is to how you are
represented in parliament and the laws it makes.
In this second stage of their work there will be NO public meetings and only written responses to these plans will be considered. Above all it is vital that
as many residents in Walthamstow speak up so this is our only chance to fight this proposal. It is crucial as many local residents as possible respond to the Commission before the deadline of Monday 10 December 2012:
or via their website here
or by letter to - The Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ.
__________________________________________
Points to
raise with the Boundary Commission
The Sense of
Place
This new proposal splits a
long established community that is referenced in the Domesday book and has a
well known and celebrated identity. Political engagement in the UK has been
declining for many years as citizens repeatedly highlight their sense of alienation
from the political process. So too, research consistently shows it is local
ties and a ‘sense of place’ that are crucial to constituent engagement in the
democratic process. In Walthamstow, this sense of place can be seen in
activities such as the E17 art trail, the E17 Film Festival, the Stow
Music Festival, as well as the multitude of local sports and community
organisations which proudly define themselves as Stow or Walthamstow based.
Indeed, the level of concern about these proposals being expressed is a
microcosm of the strong sense of place residents in Walthamstow feel about the
area.
The North
Circular
This proposal explicitly
contradicts the Boundary Commissions own concerns not to see the north circular
split up a community – as their report states ‘We are in no doubt that the
North Circular Road divides, rather than links, the communities on either side
of it’. However under this proposal residents living either side of the
North Circular would be expected to engage in the political process as mutual
Chingford Residents, whether they live near the William Morris Gallery or
Blackhorse Road station or near Epping Forest and Gilwell Park.
Leyton and
Walthamstow Town Centre
Further failing to reflect
the way in which local residents live in this area, the report states the name
Leyton, ‘describes the main population centre adequately’. This
overlooks the distinctive, larger and vibrant town centre of Walthamstow. The
status of Walthamstow as the dominant area of the borough is reflected in the
name Waltham Forest. However under these proposals residents who live near the
Coppermill lane and Walthamstow Marsh area would be expected to share civic
concerns with those living in Cathall and Leytonstone, despite no direct
transport links between these areas.
Public and
Civic Life Access
Whether our work to restore
our cinema, fight for school places or health care services it is clear
Walthamstow has distinctive needs which reflect the geography of the area as
well as the differing communities that live within the area. Indeed,
responding to these challenges residents in Walthamstow find it easier to
access services in Hackney or Redbridge – visiting South Woodford to go to the
cinema or indeed central London for women’s health services- further reflecting
the lack of ties and difficulties in reaching either Chingford or Leyton for
Walthamstow based citizens.
Process
Concerns
This proposal was not in
any previous plan the Boundary Commission produced for constituencies for the
North East London area. Indeed, all prior plans explicitly stated that a
constituency for Walthamstow should be created. It is therefore not reasonable
for the Commission to expect Walthamstow residents to have previously
participated in their consultation process, as they have had no prior warning
such a change was under consideration. Walthamstow residents should therefore
not be penalised by the lack of public meeting at which to express their view
on this matter by having their political representation diluted.
Alternative
proposals
Just as residents in
Walthamstow feel strongly about their own representation, so too we recognise
the identities of Chingford, Leyton and Ilford. We therefore encourage the
Boundary Commission to reject these proposals and instead reconfigure North
East London to reflect these local ties.
Wednesday 12th December, at 8.00 pm
The easiest way is to email
Remember Arthur Dent in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy? When he complained about his house being bulldozed to make way for a 'hyperspace bypass', he was told the plans had been on display - in an out of the way office in the basement of an obscure government building - and he could have complained then.
A Policy Forum: The
array of fringe meetings was bewildering.
The standard of speakers and the quality of debate were very high. All key think tanks, campaigns and interest
groups were present, and panels included academics, journalists and unions as
well as politicians. I tended to the
events where my interest was greatest, chiefly democracy and ethics, Europe,
transport, local government. Details of
all my activities are set out in the appendix.
In Walthamstow we have already run a number of community campaigns, including the missing millions voter registration, the end legal loan sharking campaign [now taken up nationally], the heat and eat project, the sexual health services provision campaign, and the riots response panel. If there are issues you feel strongly about this is the ideal way to learn how to link up with others who share your feelings and develop a campaign. Our CLP's work with M4C on Loan Sharking was singled out as an example of best practice by Labour Party General Secretary Iain McNicoll at the London Labour reception at Conference last week.
"For the first time this month we’ve restricted the LabourList MP of the Month contest to members of the PLP outside of the shadow cabinet, so there’s no win this month for the ever popular Andy Burnham.
'The misogynist abuse MPs receive is shocking – you should see the tweets I get'
