Brooke Road 'More in Common' & Play Street Sunday 4th September 3-5pm

A Brooke Road Labour party member writes: "The anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate are organising a More In Common Weekend on 3rd & 4th September. The idea of the campaign is to highlight how much people from so many backgrounds have much more in common, than things that divide us. The idea is to encourage communities to come together, and the beauty is that in Walthamstow we already do this! On Brooke Road we recently saw this with how we responded to our flood. As part of the More in Common campaign Brooke Road residents are involved with 2 Community Events.

Brooke Road Play Street Sunday 4th September 3-5pm 

For 2 hours every Sunday in the Summer traffic along our road to restricted to resident access only and everyone on Brooke Road, and their neighbours, are invited to come out and reclaim our street from traffic and enjoy each other’s company. Kids can play together and adults can chat/clean their cars. Wherever people have come from and whatever our backgrounds are, once a month the community can meet up and get to know each other.

For those of us who regularly enjoy Play Street, none of this will be a surprise and our event will continue as normal. However, if you want to wear a football/sports shirt or indeed do anything to celebrate your cultural Heritage, it’s, as always, very welcome.

Manual Instruction Centre Community Clean-Up Day 10am – 4pm

The Manual Instruction Centre is at last being reclaimed by our Community. To help this happen the Friends of the Manual Instruction Centre are organising a Community Clean-Up Day. We really need some volunteers to help out. Equipment and refreshments will be provided and all are welcome to come along (and enjoy Play Street from 3pm). Any questions please contact Twitter @E17_MIC / manualinstructioncentre@gmail.com

Welcome to Mini Holland Plant Beds - as part of the Manual Instruction Centre Clean-Up Day the new plant-beds in the traffic filter will need some planting." Email for more info

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Friday 26th August- helping to host the Olympic homecoming party for Lutalo Muhammad in Walthamstow Town Centre at the Night Feast. All Welcome. 
• Monday 29th August- sorting donations of men's clothes to go to the Calais Refugee Camps. Details below of how you can help.

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The Refugee Mens' Pantalonathon- Can You Help Pay for A Ticket for A Second Car?

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch so far to offer to help with donations for the refugees in Calais. Brilliantly, we have now received enough donations to require at least two vehicles to go to Calais and so I am appealing for donations of money to cover the cost of the transport of these items. You can donate men's clothes pr money for this onMonday 29th August at 23 Orford Road between 2-4pm. 

A reminder too, that The Refugee Kitchen volunteers in Walthamstow are also seeking to take 2000 flapjacks to Calais for refugees in the next week as well. They are asking for donations of such bakes with no nuts, cut small, packed with clingfilm or foil between layers and in Tupperware or a clingfilmed box or shoe box. These can be delivered to the Italian Deli on Hoe Street, The Hornbeam Centre at the Bakers Arms or Debbie Bliss's shop on Orford Road 27/28/29/30 August with the cut off 5pm on the 30th to make the Calais visit. 

Finally, you can also help the Side by Side Caravan project which is renovating caravans for refugees to live in and kitting them out by buying items for these caravans from Amazon. The link to be able to do this is here.

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Monday 22nd August - meeting with Waltham Forest Council to feedback on the management of social services cases. 
• Tuesday 23rd August- holding a residents only advice surgery 
• Thursday 25th August- working with campaigners on the case for reforming PFI and PF2 ahead of parliamentary debate on 5 September. 
• Monday 29th August- sorting out donations of men's clothes for the Calais refugee camps. Please see below for how you can help.

The Refugee Men's Pantalonathon - How, What and Where You Can Donate in E17

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch so far to offer to help with donations for the refugees in Calais and our next Walthamstow action day. We are focusing this time on helping collect clothes for men at the camp, ahead of the autumn. The Help Refugees Warehouse in Calais is desperately short of small and medium men's clothes and is also asking for unused underwear for refugee men or donations of money to purchase underwear for them. 

All this coming week 22-26th August you can drop off donations of these items or money towards them at my office at 23 Orford Road between 9.30am and 6pm. Thank you to the Higham Hill Hub who have also offered to collect items via the Homemade Cafe and Patisserie - 311 Higham Hill Rd from 10am to 5pm. Finally, you can also drop off donations via 123 Salop Road by prior appointment. Please email and we will put you in touch with Abigail to arrange delivery. Please do also share the details of where and what to donate these items with other local residents. 

The Refugee Kitchen volunteers in Walthamstow are also seeking to take 2000 flapjacks to Calais for refugees in the next week as well. They are asking for donations of such bakes with no nuts, cut small, packed with clingfilm or foil between layers and in Tupperware or a clingfilmed box or shoe box. These can be delivered to the Italian Deli on Hoe Street, The Hornbeam Centre at the Bakers Arms or Debbie Bliss's shop on Orford Road 27/28/29/30 August with the cut off 5pm on the 30th to make the Calais visit.

Walthamstow CLP Leadership Nomination Meeting - result

300+ eligible members casting their votes

Walthamstow CLP held an all member meeting last Thursday (August 11th) to decide a supporting nomination for the Labour Party leadership contest. It was at the Ghousia Community Centre in Grove Road, and was conducted in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Labour Party General Secretary, in the presence of two London Regional organisers.

More than 300 members attended, and all were checked for their eligibility to take part, in accordance with the guidelines; these had been updated following the court decision last Monday which extended the vote to members who joined between 13 January and 12 July this year (totalling roughly 2700 members) *

30 minutes were allowed for “Discussion of candidates’ qualities” after which the meeting moved to the ballot – a secret paper ballot.

The result of the ballot was the declaration of Jeremy Corbyn as nominee from Walthamstow CLP by 205 votes to 103.

*Although the Monday court decision was overturned at a higher court on Friday, under party guidelines the CLP nomination remains valid.

Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow - this week

• Friday 12th August to Sunday 21st August - I will be taking a short break. Please note my office will remain open and staffed to assist residents during this time.

Update - Walthamstow CLP Leadership Nomination Meeting - August 11th

Following the court decision on Monday new advice has been received from the Labour Party. As a result the meeting of Walthamstow Labour Party to decide on a supporting nomination for the leadership election is now open to all fully paid up members who joined on or before 12th July this year. Members who joined after 12 July remain ineligible.

Members who joined between 13 January and 12 July had all been previously ruled as ineligible to attend this meeting (see the original post about this meeting). A message has been sent today to all of them inviting them to take part alongside those previously invited. In the circumstances of course it is not possible to give seven days notice, and the meeting has to take place by August 15th. All eligible members have therefore been notified by email. If you believe you are eligible but believe you have not had notification please first of all  . .
. . . check your email spam/junk folder.
If you still cannot find a notification please email.

Registered Supporters - Please note: registering as a supporter during the period 18-20 July gave entitlement to vote in the leadership postal ballot which opens on 22 August, but not in this supporting nomination ballot by the CLP [Constituency Labour Party].

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Monday 8th August- helping to represent Walthamstow to the Village in Bloom Judging Panel  
• Tuesday 9th August - visiting the Calais refugee camps to see the Wilcumstowe Wagons and investigate progress in helping child refugees 
• Thursday 11th August - meeting with Walthamstow Labour party to discuss the Labour leadership contest 
• Friday 12th August to Sunday 21st August - on holiday. Please note my office will remain open and staffed to assist residents during this time. 

Conference services "book for LP Conference by TODAY 5 August"

The deadline for booking to attend Labour Party Annual Conference is Friday 5 August.

Apply for your pass

Labour Party Annual Conference is returning to Liverpool this year from 25-28 September, this week is your last chance to confirm your place.

Annual Conference is a unique opportunity for members to attend one of Europe's largest political events, and view policy making in action. It is a chance to meet elected representatives and connect with other members. Around 11,000 people attend Annual Conference for its wide variety of events. Alongside the key speeches and policy discussions, the Conference programme includes over 500 free fringe events to get involved in, and social receptions organised by charities, NGOs, think tanks, and businesses who all want your input.

Highlights of Conference include

• Leader's Speech - Wednesday 28 September
• Keynote speeches in the Main Hall
• Over 500 fringe events
• Vibrant and diverse exhibition
• Training events and seminars
• National Women's Conference — Saturday 24 September

Annual Conference will take place from Sunday 25 September to Wednesday 28 September 2016 in Liverpool. In addition, all female members of the Labour Party are invited to attend the National Women's Conference which will take place on Saturday 24 September, at the ACC Liverpool.

We offer members a range of passes for every budget - starting from just £29 - so there is no reason to miss out. You can choose to attend for the full week of conference, or just a day or two.

Balcony pass — this pass will allow you onto the balcony of Conference Hall where the speeches and debates take place, as well as access to the exhibition and venues where fringe events will be taking place.

Complex pass - this pass will allow you into the exhibition and venues where fringe events will be taking place but not Conference Hall.

Apply for your pass

Unfortunately we can't guarantee that applications received after  5 August 2016 will be processed in time.

If you have any queries, please contact Conference Services on 0345 092 3311 orconferenceservices@labour.org.uk.

We look forward to seeing you in Liverpool this September.

Angela Cartwright

Head of Conference Services

Walthamstow CLP Leadership Supporting Nomination Meeting - August 11th

This information has been updated here. The Walthamstow Labour Party leadership supporting nomination meeting takes place on Thursday August 11th starting at 8pm. Notice with full venue details has been sent to all eligible members, by email or post. Members in arrears have been separately notified. If you believe you're eligible but haven't had a notice first check your spam folder, and if not then email with full name and membership number.

There are two candidates standing in the Labour Leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn MP and Owen Smith MP. More information about the candidates can be found here.

The nominations meeting will be conducted according to the guidelines sent out by the Labour Party General Secretary.  Eligibility to attend and participate in the meeting is restricted to those:

• who were Labour party members on or before 12th January 2016.
• whose membership address is within the constituency of Walthamstow 
• whose membership fees are fully paid up
• Only eligible members may attend the meeting. Registered or affiliated supporters will not be admitted unless they are also eligible party members.  

Arrears - if your membership renewal falls due between July 29th and August 11th you may then be in arrears. You can pay off arrears online or at the door before the meeting, or bring proof that you have already paid off arrears.
Note that to vote in the postal membership ballot:

arrears need to be paid off by August 8th.

Registered Supporters and ineligible members - Total Walthamstow Labour Party membership includes nearly 1000 members who are not eligible, having joined the party after 12th January. Registering as a supporter during the period 18-20 July gave entitlement to vote in the leadership postal ballot which opens on 22 August, but not in this supporting nomination ballot by the CLP [Constituency Labour Party]

Where, this week, to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow

• Monday 1st August- holding a residents only advice surgery. To book an appointment please call 020 8521 1223. 
• Tuesday 2nd August - meeting with residents who wish to scrutinise the parliamentary expenditure for 2015/16 and proposed budget for 2016/17.
• Wednesday 3 August - meeting with Organiclea to discuss cooperative models of food production in Walthamstow 

*Please note my availability for meetings and events may change in the next two weeks as we are seeking to visit the Refugee Camp in Calais, to investigate reports that there may be moves to close this down, to trace progress in supporting child refugees and to see the Wilcumstowe Wagons in situ. Please follow my social media for updates on this visit and the outcomes as well as opportunities to support this work. @StellaCreasy