Fire Brigade Cuts Latest - news from Jennette Arnold

These are extracts from Jennette Arnold's latest newsletter. You can read the full article here.

"Our local firefighters play a crucial role in saving lives everyday across North East London. As well as fighting fires our local brigades play an important role in their communities in offering fire prevention advice and working with partners such as schools and hospitals to check that effective plans are in place to deal with emergencies.

"Last Wednesday Mayor Boris Johnson was challenged over cuts to London’s Fire Brigade and asked to look again at these reckless cuts. I understand that up to 30 fire stations are at risk due to the scale of these cuts demanded by Boris Johnson.

As Mayor of London, Boris Johnson is ultimately responsible that effective fire cover is provided for the capital. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) budget is a component part of Mayor Boris Johnson’s overall budget which will be examined by the Assembly in early 2013.

I am furious at the planned cuts to fire cover in my constituency. I understand the plans include closing Kingsland Fire Station in Hackney, along with two stations in Islington at Upper Street and Clerkenwell. Appliances will also be lost at Chingford and Leyton in Waltham Forest. . . 

"The final £65million target of cuts set by Mayor Boris Johnson can only be met if fire stations close. The scale of cuts is unacceptable and will impact on public safety. I will work with local residents to fight these reckless plans.

"At the last Mayor’s Question Time members of the Labour Group also challenged Mayor Boris Johnson on cuts to the Police and A&E Departments. The Metropolitan Police have already lost 1,444 Police Constables and 1,960 PCSOs in the past two years. With a £230m budget black hole this will increase. We will find out later this year about proposals to reduce the number of police stations across London possibly leaving just one 24hr station per borough.

"If this was not enough the NHS in London is also under attack. The capital is set to lose 7 of its 31 A&E departments, leaving the remaining 24 to cover an extra 120,000 residents each. I am furious at how the NHS is being dismantled before our eyes. This comes at a time when a recent review by the King’s Fund pointed towards growing concerns about trolley waits in A&E departments. This is clearly linked to the loss of 4,000 nurses since the coalition government took office.

". . .the safety of people across North East London is in jeopardy.

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Friday 19 October visiting Birmingham to run an #OBRUK workshop as part of the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections
• Saturday 20 October attending the TUC rally in central London and taking one lucky guest to the filming of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. See below for details. 
• Wednesday 24 October holding a Walthamstow School Community reception in Parliament – for governors, teachers, pupils and more with former education secretary Estelle Morris as special guest. For more details please contact sophie@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk 

• Thursday 25 October visiting Dover to run another #OBRUK workshop and attending the Walthamstow Labour Party General Committee Meeting 
• Friday 26 October supporting the Walthamstow Fashion Week at St Mary's Church 
• Saturday 27 October working with community groups and police representatives to try to prevent the damage the proposed EDL march will do to our community cohesion.

The Boundary Commission revised proposals - Statement from Walthamstow CLP

Walthamstow Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has issued the following statement on the revised proposals for constituency boundaries published on October 16th:

"Walthamstow Labour Party is extremely disappointed at the Boundary Commission's decision to divide the Walthamstow constituency between Leyton and Chingford.

"We find this decision extraordinary and wholly incompatible with the needs of both Walthamstow, Leyton and Chingford residents, not least because it contradicts the arguments made in the report itself about communities of interest. In particular the report acknowledges the north circular as a natural boundary and yet seeks to create a new constituency which is riven in two by it and another artificially separated from its main shopping and public areas. We also feel strongly that Walthamstow, which is in the Domesday book, deserves a voice in parliament which reflects its status as a coherent community and that Chingford and Leyton do too as distinctive localities. Without a reversal of this arbitrary decision there is a real risk the creation of new constituencies in neighbouring boroughs will fatally undermine Walthamstow's vibrant community spirit with disastrous consequences for democracy and civic society. 

"We will be pressing the Boundary Commission to look again at this decision and encouraging residents to make their feelings known through written submissions to the Commission in the next eight weeks to ensure Walthamstow retains its distinctive position not just as the heart of Waltham Forest but within Westminster too." 

Simon Redfern, Chair Walthamstow CLP

Further details can be found here: 
http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/static/

HAVE YOUR SAY:
There will be a public meeting in Walthamstow about this in the near future. Please bookmark and check this blog for further details.

The Boundary Commission process

The current parliamentary boundary review began in 2011, and is being carried out under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act which provides that:

·         The size of parliament shall be fixed at 600 members (compared with the current 650)

·         The electorate of every constituency shall be not more than 5% above or below a national Electoral Quota.  (There are three protected areas not subject to this rule.)

·         There shall be a review in every five-year fixed term parliament.

The national Electoral Quota has been calculated based on the registered parliamentary electorate in December 2010 and is 76,641. The acceptable range of electorates is therefore 72,810 to 80,473 (five per cent above or below the Electoral Quota).

The Commission produced Provisional Recommendations which were then subject to a consultation period. This first draft was published in September 2011 and consulted on. Today's second draft of Revised Recommendations represents the Commission's response to that public consultation. These are  subject to a further consultation period of eight weeks before being finalised.

The Commission must then report to parliament before October 2013. Parliament will then consider the reports and if they are accepted the new constituencies come into force at the next general election.

The Commission may if it thinks fit take into account:

Local authority boundaries

Existing constituency boundaries

Special geographical circumstances such as the size, shape and accessibility of a constituency

            Any local ties that may be broken by changes

The Commission has indicated it will if at all reasonably possible, use district and unitary wards as building blocks. In England, the Commission has decided that it will respect the boundaries of European electoral regions. The allocation of seats in Greater London is 68, compared with the current 73. There would therefore be 5 fewer.

The Boundary Commission summary of its proposals for the Greater London region can be viewed here.

They are consulting on the revised proposals for an eight‑week period, from 16 October 2012 to 10 December 2012, and they encourage everyone to use this final opportunity to contribute to the design of the new constituencies. 

How to have your say:

• Go to the Commission website
• or write direct to Boundary Commission for England, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ

• or email london@bcommengland.x.gsi.gov.uk. 

The Liberal Democrat Conference in September overwhelmingly backed Nick Clegg's  plan to block Conservative plans for Westminster boundary changes, following the failure to get reform of the House of Lords. If this position is adhered to then the proposals would fail to be passed by Parliament, and so would not become law.

Walthamstow..the final days (part 2, Boundary Commission version)

The Boundary Commission published its revised draft of proposed new boundaries for the Westminster parliamentary constituencies today. These effectively dismantle Walthamstow, dividing it between Chingford and Leyton. The image below shows the distribution: the upper part shows the wards of Higham Hill, William Morris, Chapel End, and Wood Street become part of a new Chingford Constituency, whilst Hoe Street, High Street, Markhouse and Lea Bridge become part of a new Leyton constituency (note the two maps show some of the same strip of land twice)

Where's Walthamstow?

You can view and download the original maps from the Boundary Commission website here:
Chingford
Leyton

Walthamstow..the final days

Scurrilous video on the Stoke Newington - Walthamstow Village nexus. Warning contains some mild language.

Walthamstow..the final days

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• On Saturday 13^th October I’ll be at the Apple Day at the Vestry House Museum
• On Monday 15th October I’ll be taking part in Home Office Questions.
• On Thursday 18th October I will be speaking at a UN Women's event in parliament on the work we're doing as part of #OBRUK to tackle violence against women 
• On Friday 19^th October I’ll be visiting Birmingham to hold another #OBRUK workshop.
• On Saturday 20^th October I’ll be attending the TUC rally for an alternative economic policy in central London and taking one lucky local resident on a trip to see Strictly Come Dancing being recorded. 

Conference Report from Walthamstow CLP Delegate

Our CLP delegate to this year's Labour Party Conference in Manchester was John Williams, and we're very glad to be able to include here this report of his time there:

DELEGATE’S REPORT TO WALTHAMSTOW CLP

                                                                   October 2012

Dear Comrade

I soon discovered that the laws of physics and politics converge at conference: you cannot be in two places at once.

I was mindful of keeping the balance of being your delegate on the conference floor, voting, attending a wide range of fringe meetings and joining in a great social event.  Over six days, conference was many things:

A Rally:  The centrepiece being the Leader’s Speech.  The confidence in Ed’s whole delivery electrified the room and he came across as a man driven by conviction: funny, passionate yet relaxed with his party.  Simply by being himself and speaking from the heart, the falsehoods of Cameron, Clegg and Osborne were exposed.  He developed One Nation further in a quite intimate Q&A the next day which demonstrated his new-found rapport.  His performance inspired confidence in us, but the conference has just as importantly, and very clearly, boosted his own confidence. 

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.

Policy Development: The plenary sessions allowed the shadow Cabinet to set out new policies, introduce their teams and listen to a range of contributions from the floor.  I am keeping this part of my report brief as you can read the speeches at http://www.labour.org.uk/news  Conference also debated contemporary motions including ours on the housing crisis.  This involved voting in a ballot to get it agreed for consideration, and then attending a long “compositing” meeting where the different views were hammered out to reach a compromise.  This was an extraordinary and secretive forum of raw politics, not always comfortable, but certainly memorable.  Another privilege for delegates was the Policy Seminars where everyone was able to speak to senior figures on the topics covered in the plenary sessions.  There was a danger of incoherence at times, but all views have been recorded and taken back.

A Great Social Event: From official receptions given by the astonishing range of groups making up the Labour movement, to parties thrown by interest groups, to informal gatherings and many private conversations, it was a huge family party.  It was so invigorating to spend a week in Labour Manchester with Labour people, meeting old friends and making new ones.  The accessibility of well-known figures to ordinary party members and to young politicians building their careers is a lasting memory.

A link with the local party: I have come away with new ideas, contacts, but most of all an enthusiasm that I hope we can all draw on in our work over the coming year.  I am happy to talk to anyone about the conference experience generally, details of debates and votes,  or specific events attended. 

Many thanks for choosing me as your delegate this year: an experience not to be missed if you are thinking about it yourself.

Yours fraternally

John Williams

General introductory session to Community Organising with Movement for Change and Kathryn Perera

Movement for Change are offering a general introductory session to Community Organising for London activists on 13th October (about 3 hours) It will be at 23 Orford Road Walthamstow London E17 9NL [see map]. It will look at the key principles of community organising and how they can be used to develop community campaigns in Walthamstow and other constituencies. 

We can accommodate a maximum of 20 attendees. The event is open to Labour Party members, activists, and supporters from across London; Walthamstow members and activists will get priority but it will get booked up. The speakers will include Kathryn Perera, CEO of M4C, and Kate Talbot. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided. To book contact 07957 242221.

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.