All Member meeting on the AV Referendum, Thursday 28th, 8pm

On Thursday we have an all member meeting at the Party Offices in Orford Road to debate the question in the referendum the following Thursday [May 5th] on whether to change the voting system for parliamentary elections. 

We're delighted to welcome two guest speakers to this meeting: from 'Labour No' we have councillor Terry Paul from Newham council, and from 'Labour Yes' we have Emily Georghiou who is Women's Officer of the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform. We also hope to have lots of contributions from the floor of the meeting too.

I am collecting some relevant documents / contributions from various people which you can view in the Walthamstow clp google docs folder. If you would like to contribute your thoughts ahead of the meeting just send them to me and I'll include them there. To help you spot them they all have 'AV' at the start of the title. 

This is a momentous decision and I hope this will be a very informative event. Hope to see you there!

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Saturday 23 April holding a drop in surgery in Selbourne Walk Shopping Centre in Walthamstow High Street between 12pm and 2pm. This is open to all local residents to attend but please be aware there can sometimes be queues! 
• Sunday 24 April attending the Chariot Festival organised by Bedford Road Hindu Temple
• Tuesday 26 April returning to parliament to participate in the debate on the finance bill and make the case for regulation of legal loan sharking
• Wednesday 27 April participating in debates on the future of higher education and the future of Sure Start services in parliament.
• Thursday 28 April going to a celebration of Workers Memorial Day at Waltham Forest Town Hall and then to the Walthamstow Constituency Labour Party General Committee meeting where there will be a debate on the merits of AV. If you would like to attend please get in touch. 

 

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Friday 15 April paying a visit to Haven House Hospice in South Woodford.
• Saturday 16 April attending the opening of the Mill aka the former St James Street Library. 
• Tuesday 19 April meeting with local film students to and representatives from the local voluntary sector to discuss public service cuts.
• Thursday 21 April dropping into the Salaam Peace Sporting Cup event at The Douglas Eyre Centre. 
• Saturday 23 April holding a drop in surgery in Selbourne Walk Shopping Centre in Walthamstow High Street between 12pm and 2pm. This is open to all local residents.
• Sunday 24 April attending the chariot Festival organised by Bedford Road Hindu Temple.

William Morris ward one of 2 NE London Areas for Lotto Funding

Jennette Arnold's newsletter tells us this week that The Big Lottery Fund have just set up the Big Local Trust Scheme to improve the lives of  local residents in areas that are often overlooked. The fund have identified the first  fifty areas they will be directing funds. Both Wick Ward in Hackney and William Morris Ward in Waltham Forest have been selected. If you are a local group in one of the targeted neighbourhoods you may be able to  access some of the funds . The Big Local Trust schemes will be promoted and advertised at a local level once they are set up. You can find out more about the scheme here.

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Friday 8 April judging the Speak Out Challenge at Frederick Bremer School
•  Monday 11 April holding an appointment-only surgery (to book an appointment call 020 8521 1223) and then hosting a workshop for local groups on the new immigration rules.
•  Wednesday 13 April organising a capacity building event for the Somali community
• Friday 15 April visiting to Haven House Hospice in Woodford Green. 

Don't just whine - refine! Cllr Mark Rusling

Hoe Street ward Councillor Mark Rusling, writing in Progress magazine, in the first in a series of pieces on how Labour councils are - contrary to what Eric Pickles may like to tell himself - changing to soften the blow from the appalling cuts from government:

Don't just whine - refine! | Columns | Progress

Where to find Stella Creasy MP for Walthamstow this week

• Saturday 2 April attending a Community Conversation Event at Chapel End Junior School between 2pm and 4pm. This event is open to all Chapel End residents only and please note London and Quadrant will be attending this meeting to discuss the Walthamstow Dog Track proposals.
• Tuesday 5 April attending the final session of the Education Bill Committee to continue scrutinising the government’s plans for education
• Friday 8 April visiting Kelmscott School and judging the ‘Speak Out’ Challenge in the evening at Frederick Bremer School

Marching with William Morris for the Alternative - 26th March

Walthamstow CLP is justly proud of its marching banner, which we paraded for the full march last Saturday, with more than 30 local members. 


The banner was created  in 1984, at the height of the Miners strike (depicted in the left hand panel), and the centenary of  William Morris founding the Socialist League in 1884 (the right hand panel), by artist Dave Bangs [who conveniently included his phone number on it if anyone wants to catch up with him!] Amongst the thousands of machine made banners displayed on the March there was nothing to match its hand-painted individuality, and it drew constant interest and admiration. 


You can see my facebook pictures here.

You can see Martin's pictures here

CLP the fundraiser dinner with Caroline Flint last Thursday

The CLP fundraiser dinner with Caroline Flint was last Thursday the 24th, and you can see my facebook pictures here.  The event was planned to be in the Mallinson Suite restaurant at Waltham Forest College, but as many people will know, the venue had to be changed at the very last minute, because of a picket line of the UCU in support of their dispute with the College. In a message on the event facebook page [full text here] CLP Chair Simon Redfern wrote:
" . . . I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who was able to join us at the Star of India to make a pretty difficult evening into a success. Particularly Caroline Flint who very gamely soldiered on throughout and gave a great speech too. . . . Our brilliant Labour colleague Shah Ahmed managed to fit us in at very very short notice.

. . . . . thank you to all that attended and apologies to those who turned back.  If I wasn't bald already I would probably have lost all my hair over that one!  Here's to the next event running a little more smoothly.

All the best, Simon Redfern [Chair, Walthamstow Labour Party]"

and Stella Creasy MP issued the following statement: 

Three months ago Walthamstow Labour Party decided to hold a fundraising dinner at Waltham Forest College to raise money for campaigning and to highlight that it is a college where two thirds of students receive the education maintenance allowance which is being cut by the Government. When it was confirmed yesterday afternoon on the day of the dinner itself that the UCU strike was taking place at the college and would continue into the evening, and that we could not arrange a meeting with those on strike, we organised an alternative venue for our dinner and so did not enter the college. I urge both the college and the union members to enter into meaningful negotiations as all seek to protect the future of further education. Furthermore I will continue to work with other MPs to press the Government to reinstate EMA or set out an alternative scheme to help ensure our young people in Walthamstow can go onto further and higher education without fear that poverty will make this a choice beyond their means.