Friday, December 31, 2021

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda 2022 Happy New Year

 


"Blwyddyn Newydd Dda" and "Happy New Year 2022". Boris "promised" a better Christmas than last year. Not for Gill and I since we were both stuck indoors with Covid.

Hopefully 2022 will be better.

Picture from my favourite walk of 2021,when I finally climbed "The Glyders" in North Wales.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Newham Property Licensing Consultation - ends 26 January 2022

 

(Housing matters in Newham. Especially the Private Rental Sector. Take part in this really important consultation and let us try and keep and even extend the existing safeguards in Newham). 

Renewal of private rented property licensing schemes in Newham

"I am pleased to write to you with news of our statutory consultation on the possible renewal of our private rented sector (PRS) property licensing schemes in Newham.  As a valued stakeholder for our borough, I wanted to contact you directly and invite you to share your views on our property licensing schemes.

 

Why licensing matters

 PRS licensing is hugely important to our borough and residents. Our licensing of more than 40,000 properties has proved a crucial tool for the Council to ensure safe, secure, and well-managed privately rented homes in Newham.

 

Since 2013, our property licensing schemes have assisted in the recovery of £2.5 million in unpaid Council Tax, led to Rent Repayment Orders in excess of  £350,000 from unlicensed landlords, and supported 1100 prosecutions, all of which has helped to drive out criminal landlords while improving housing services for our most vulnerable residents.  Since 2018, licensing has also helped the Council to invest in relationships with landlords and tenants, as we have dealt with more than 95,000 requests and contacts from landlords or tenants and carried out 15,300 inspections and audits.

 

Objectives of the consultation

 We want to consult as widely as possible to ensure we develop a comprehensive understanding of how our PRS schemes are affecting residents, businesses, and property owners in Newham. I would be grateful if you could share information regarding our Consultation across your network and encourage anyone affected or interested in PRS property licensing to respond.

I would also like to encourage you to take the time to read the consultation proposal documents located on the survey page on https://melresearch.co.uk/newhamprs and at https://melresearch.co.uk/media/upload/files/RPL-Consultation-Proposal-NovV21-091121.pdf covering the latest statistics for the different Newham wards and deprivation indices.

We would appreciate hearing from you directly and/or you can respond to the consultation via this link, or the QR code (located on the next page): www.newham.gov.uk/propertylicensingconsultation

Please note that you have until 26th January 2022 to give your views.

To view the Council’s press release regarding our property licensing consultation please follow the link:

https://www.newham.gov.uk/news/article/743/newham-council-opens-consultations-into-groundbreaking-property-licensing-scheme

Helen Masterson
Head of Private Sector Housing Standards
London Borough of Newham"

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Got over Covid ("Unvaccinated people are up to 60 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care")

My self-isolation according to the NHS Covid app finished 23.59 yesterday. I double checked with this Lateral Flow Test (LFT) this morning which was negative. Previous tests had been positive. It was all a little confusing since NHS Track & Trace told me that my self isolation should end 10 days after my first symptoms - which was Christmas Day but I was still testing positive then.

To complicate matters my wife Gill was also tested positive on Christmas Eve (she thanked me for this very special present to her this year). However, both our symptoms were/are relatively mild "colds" (even though I had forgotten how awful a mere "cold" can be). 

 We don't know which "variant" we had but it seems likely it was Omicron. It was a real shame that we were unable to go to Wales and see my Mum and family but much better to be safe than sorry. We were able to get our money back for the holiday apartment which was a plus. Hopefully we will be able to visit soon.

May I thank all the people who got in touch by social media to offer help if we needed anything. Luckily, we were able to get everything delivered.

Thankfully we are both triple jabbed and hopefully there will be no "long Covid" (I am representing two UNISON members at work who are suffering from this and it is an extremely unpleasant and chronic condition).

While I don't know what would have happened if we had not been fully vaccinated I note these recent reports "Unvaccinated up to 60 times more likely to end up in intensive care"


Monday, December 27, 2021

"Factional Magical-Leninism - The Festive Quiz 2013"

 

Facebook reminded me to day that 8 years ago I had posted on a Festive Christmas Quiz on the website "Facing Reality" which described itself as a "Satirical view from the left".  The site has stopped publishing since 2015 which is a shame since it exposed the "ultra left" extremists for what they are and the damage they continue to cause even today. Including the ultra left "junta" who have recently been trying to take over UNISON. 

Enjoy the Quiz below and answers here

!After six months of news, blog rants, screen-play scriptsmusicals, leaked  emails, leaked Socialist Worker articles, leaked letters, leaked Party Notesfairy stories,  angry polemics, thought provoking articles and journeys into trade union history, its time to end 2013 with our Traditional Festive Quiz.

Prizes, in the form of gift-links, will be awarded to those who answer correctly in the comments section or the facebook “discussion”. Answers will be revealed on this blog in the New Year. (Some people may not be happy with the answers. I don’t know everything for sure & apparently the internet sometimes contains errors) [EDIT : ANSWERS ARE HERE]

  1.  Which group had a faction fight at conference over whether all married members should be compelled to divorce, as marriage institutionalises women’s’ oppression?
  2.  Which group has a member who wrote a book subtitled “Quantulumcunque Concerning Materialist Esthetix” ? And what the hell does that mean?
  3.  Which group once said that it would ideally call for the banning of alcohol “but the workers wouldn’t understand it”?
  4.  Which group once handed out leaflets to Vietnam War Protesters explaining “Why We Are Not Marching”? 
  5. A third of the 15 strong leadership of which Leninist Party were formerly students at Sussex University?
  6. Whose stall did Simon Watney and Edward King of the lesbian & gay rights group Outrage kick over at Gay Pride in 1990? And why?
  7.  What was the key point about the end of World War Two according to followers of one faction of the Fourth International?
  8. Which Fourth International Leader became a minister in the Algerian government after the revolution in 1961, and who’s funeral in his native Greece was a state event?
  9.  How many monopolies did Militant want to nationalise in 1965, 1970,1980 and 1990?
  10.  Which Leninist organisation explained the need for separate women’s organisation within Leninist Parties in order to combat sexism within the revolutionary movement in 1978?
  11. Which Socialist Party threatened to take the Socialist Party (formerly Militant) to court, and why?
  12.  Which organisation fought hard in the 1980s to stop women, black, LGBT members of the Labour Party organising autonomously against sexism, racism & homophobia, claiming such organisation divided the workers Movement?
  13.  Which organisation once wrote We must call upon beings from other planets when they come to intervene, to collaborate with the inhabitants of the Earth to overcome misery. We must launch a call on them to use their resources to help us.” believing that socialism could arrive from another planet, and that a nuclear war might be an advantage for revolutionary Marxists?   (”
    Humanity will pass quickly through a nuclear war into a new human society – Socialism.”)
  14.  Which organisation discovered that their leader had become senile and their main theoretician schizophrenic, before they were both removed?
  15. Which group lost a libel action brought by ITN and lost around £1 million, bankrupted their magazine?
  16.  Fidel Castro was “First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba” for nearly 40 years. In July 2014 a British Trotskyist leader will, health permitting, break that record as the worlds longest standing Leninist Party General Secretary. What is his name and organisation?
  17. Which group stood against Labour in elections and got results ranging from 111 (0.24%) and 644 (2.1%)?
  18. What was the Marxist Daily Building Fund and what happened to all the money it raised?
  19. What is “The Hallas Foundation”?
  20. Why did the International Marxist Group initially not join the “Anti Internment League”, despite the AIL’s organisation of Britain’s biggest ever Irish Solidarity march in 1972? [EDIT: its been pointed out by a former member that the IMG were involved in the AIL. I will check about claims of initially abstaining]] And what slogan about the war in the six counties were their members supposed to chant on marches in Britain?
  21. Which group banned its members from talking to each other across branches and international groups via the internet in the 1990s?
  22. Name 57 left wing groups in Britain. (The group does not have to be alive any more. If a name has been used twice, it counts twice)

True or False?

  1. In 2013, a member of the Central Committee of the SWP  hacked into other CC members computers and began  leaking stories to the Facing Reality blog.
  2. In the late 1970s, it was possible to go on a left wing march against the cuts or racism and be offered two papers, “Gay Left” and “Straight Left”
  3. In a report by a police informant, Militant was described as “The most unbelievably boring and turgid newspaper I have ever read, never mind sold”
  4. A police raid on the Workers Revolutionary Party Derbyshire training centre found only used bullets, so no action was taken.
  5. The IS/SWP once had an opposition faction that called itself “The Right Opposition”
  6. In 1980s Liverpool, GMB stewards using taxis to deliver redundancy notices to the entire council workforce, were picketed by NALGO stewards and taken to court by the local NUT
  7. The SWP has over 7,000 members
  8. The leader of the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL) produces such brilliant poetry that it is published on the groups website and sometimes even in print
  9.  Everybody’s favourite Left-Trainspotter paper/website, the “Weekly Worker” used to be called the “Daily Worker”
  10.  In the 1980s it was possible to go on a march and be offered to buy two copies of “Newsline” produced by rival factions of the WRP.
  11. In the 1980s, tit-for-tat killings became the norm between the 3 main revolutionary socialist groups, which saw nearly 100 dead.
  12.  In the 1980s it was possible to go on a march and be offered two copies of “Brighton Labour Briefing” produced by rival factions of the Brighton’s Labour Left.
  13.  There are three daily papers run by left wing parties in Britain.
  14. A Trotskyist paper called “Workers Hamster” greeted the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan with the headline “Hail The Red Army in Afghanistan”
  15.  At Labour Party Young Socialists summer camp in the 1980s, supporters of the Militant Tendency organised an attack on the tents of the openly LGBT campers.
  16.  The CPB (M-L) ( founder John Buckle), with less than 100 members, currently organise rallies where they tell their membership how they “punch above our weight”
  17. The SWP in 1960s USA expelled lesbian and gay members because they were a security risk.
  18.  Occupy Marxism Festival was bigger than the real Marxism Festival in 2013
  19. Joan Lester, a former Labour Minister who became Baroness Lester of Eccles Cakes in 1997, was once a member of the Socialist Party of Great Britain.
  20. The Japanese section of the Fourth International expelled all its male members due to the high level of physical abuse of women members by male “comrades”
  21. John Lennon wanted to join the International Socialists (SWP), but didn’t like the thought of the subs he was ask for, so he joined the Fourth International International Marxist Group” instead.
  22. Surrey was the origin of two British left groups, the New Communist Party (AKA North Korea Juche International, UK section) and Spanner (a 1980s breakaway from the SPGB (AKA Small Party of Good Boys)

Which is the odd one out? And why?

1) Workers Power, 2) Socialist Resistance, 3) Anti-Capitalist Initiative, 4) Counterfire, 5) International Socialist Network, 6) Revolutionary Democratic Group, 7) Alliance for Workers Liberty, 8) Permanent Revolution, 9) Revolutionary Communist Party, 10) International Socialist Group, 11) Revolutionary Communist Group, 12) Red Action

1) British National Party, 2) The SWP, 3) UKIP, 4) Liberal-Democrats

1) Ted Grant, 2) Tony Cliff, 3) Gerry Healy, 4) Sean Matgamna

1) Globalise Resistance  2)Right to Work Campaign  3) Youth Fight for Jobs 4) Education Activists Network 5) Fast Food Rights

1) Costas  2) Starbucks  3) Firebox  4) Café Nero  5) Coffee Republic

1)The SWP telling people to pay their poll tax, 2) Militant  refusing to call for the withdrawal of Thatchers Falklands Task Force, 3) The SWP saying collect money for the miners & take it to the picket lines instead of working with the Miners Support Groups and collecting food, 4) The Militant calling 1980s Syria a Workers State (deformed),5)  Militant staying in The Mass party Of The Werking Class (AKA The Labour Party) quite as long as they did. 6) The procedures of the SWP Disputes Committee in 2012 7) The SWP standing Lindsey German for London Mayor under a “Left List” platform after getting “witch-hunted” out of “Respect”

[EDIT : ANSWERS ARE HERE]

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Remember to update your UNISON Membership details


Check out and update your personal and work details at https://www.unison.org.uk/my-unison/

I have members complaining that they never hear anything from UNISON but when you check we have out of date email addresses, addresses and phone numbers for them. 

You need your membership number. If you don't know your number ring UNISON direct 08000 857 857

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Nadolig Llawen 2021!

Merry Christmas everyone! 

(View on way up to to 2015 to Snowden, Yr Wyddfa, looking back on the Watkins Path. Now looking forward to Easter 2022 climb). 

Friday, December 24, 2021

Merry Communist Christmas!

 

This is my traditional Christmas Eve Video.  A little bit of Crimbo silliness that makes me smile at least.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you!

Hat tip Stroppybird!

Thursday, December 23, 2021

"Trade unions are more vital than ever - so why is the government attacking them?"

Hat tip Frances O'Grady - TUC General Secretary "PoliticsHome"

"As 2022 begins, a pandemic is raging, nearly a million workers are on zero-hours contracts, two million workers have no right to sick pay and five million earn less than the real living wage. And yet the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, is making imposing new red tape on unions his workplace priority – and quietly tabling new anti-union legislation in Parliament.

The proposals would impose a levy on trade unions and allow five-figure fines for breaching complex trade union laws.

That’s money from the pockets of care workers, nurses and supermarket staff.

All the while, union members are on the frontline line of the coronavirus pandemic, working in schools, hospitals, shops, in public transport and in the services we all rely on.

Millions have turned to unions to protect their jobs, defend their rights and keep their workplaces safe.

Their unions have worked hard to support them in turn. But now valuable union time and money will be diverted, as unions are forced to jump through yet more hoops.

Now is the time to be working with unions, not undermining them

Let’s be frank. These reforms are based on ideology rather than being about solving the problems working people face.

Political parties don't pay a levy for the Electoral Commission. Charities don't fund the Charity Commission. Yet unions face a whopping seven-figure bill to pay for their regulator, the Certification Officer.

The government's own figures show that this levy will send dozens of unions into the red. And there is little to stop the Certification Officer hiking the levy year after year. Ministers have even dropped a promised review clause aimed at protecting unions from over-zealous regulation.

Then there are the huge financial penalties which could hit unions – fines of up to £20,000 for statutory breaches – which address a problem that doesn’t exist.

In the last financial year, the Certification Officer dealt with just 34 complaints. That's just one for every 200,000 union members. And not one of these resulted in an enforcement order requiring a union to take action.

That’s because unions are accountable to their members through their democratic structures and have a strong track record of complying with their legal duties.

What’s more, these changes would allow non-members to make complaints to the Certification Officer about trade unions. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the work of unions being hindered by vexatious complaints from hostile employers or campaign groups, particularly during legitimate industrial disputes.

The curious timing of these measures is underlined by the fact that this legislation is a relic of another age. Ministers at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have dusted off long-forgotten measures from the Cameron government’s 2016 Trade Union Act that were not enacted.

It begs the question – why now? This isn’t the case of simply tying up loose ends. If it was, ministers would have dealt with another outstanding issue from the Trade Union Act 2016: boosting union members’ democratic participation by trialling safe and secure electronic balloting for more union votes, such as the election of general secretaries.

It is telling of the government’s real concerns that they can spend valuable parliamentary time on new anti-union rules.

But the long-promised employment bill, intended to tackle insecure work and promote flexible working in the wake of Brexit, is still nowhere to be seen.

It’s time this government got its priorities right. 

Now is the time to be working with unions, not undermining them. Around the world – from New Zealand to the US – governments are recognising the power of collective bargaining.

Next year, Parliament will debate and vote on these explicitly anti-union proposals. When that moment comes, MPs and peers should reject them wholesale – and instead join with unions and their members in delivering better pay and conditions for working people in every corner of the country".

 

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Bad Regulation = Bad Landlords

Hat tip "Nearly Legal" and check out this sobering report on the regulation of private sector renting by the National Audit Office.

There are 4.4 million privately rented "households" in England. Those who have bad experiences of such renting may "find it contributes to serious illness, financial issues or homelessness...The proportion of households in England living in privately rented accommodation has approximately doubled in the past 20 years, and the sector faces several challenges:

On average, private tenants spend more of their income on housing (32%), compared with those living in their own properties (18%) or social housing (27%).

The market is increasingly populated by low-income groups, benefit recipients and families, whose access to other housing options may be limited.

In around 29,000 instances in 2019-20, households were, or were at risk of being, made homeless following an eviction that was not their fault.

Many local authorities face funding pressures, which can constrain their ability to check properties proactively for non-compliance and therefore places greater reliance on tenants being aware of their rights and reporting problems".

As the NAO chart shows (p16) what this means is renters in the private sector can suffer harassment, live in dangerous properties, face financial exploitation, receive poor service, unaffordable rents and be completely insecure. Ironically to use a phrase loved by the Tories about Social Housing it is increasingly the "tenure of the last resort".

While there are many good landlords who offer and maintain quality homes for rent they are often under cut by bad landlords.

What we need is not only greater regulation but for this to result in a shift in the power relationship between landlords and tenants. To do that we also need effective and independent renter unions.


Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Introducing the Retirement Living Standards (& Future Christmas Dinners)


This is a really clever approach by the PLSA to encouraging people think about their pensions seriously Once you decide what lifestyle you want after retirement you can then think about what you have to do to achieve it. 

Do you want a "Minimum", "Moderate" or "Comfortable" retirement? 

Of course due to the current grossly inadequate state and employer pension provision many will be left with only a "minimum" retirement. 


and also a seasonal variation on what sort of Christmas dinner you could afford on the different pension standards. 


Monday, December 20, 2021

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Love E15: Help Needed - Can you lend a hand on Saturday 29th Jan 2022?


I am writing on behalf of Love E15 to invite you to our next volunteering event. We will be collecting donations of compost from Abbey Gardens, moving our 4 new street planters into location, and filling them with compost. We would love to see you there.

When? Saturday 29th January 2022 between 12pm-3pm

Where? Either meet outside Abbey Gardens at 12pm (to help with compost) and/or meet on the corner of Holbrook Road and Corporation Street at 2pm.

Kind regards,

Rebecca and Rosie (Love E15)

Follow us on Instagram @lovelondonE15

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Triple Jabbed but I have still caught Covid - be careful out there (But still get Jabbed)

Yesterday (Friday) I got "pinged" on my NHS Covid-19 "Track & Trace App". As did a colleague who I had lunch with last Saturday. I felt fine except I hadn't been sleeping that well since Wednesday. I had taken a Lateral Flow test on Thursday which was negative and I happily cycled to Ilford for a PCR test as recommended. When I got back I took another LFT which was also negative. So I was feeling fairly confidant that I would be in the clear. 

Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling like I have rather unpleasant "Man Flu"" and the PCR came back this afternoon as positive. I did a LFT as well, which this time was positive (which shows they work when you are infectious). 

This is a blow since I have had to cancel going over to see my Mum in North Wales for Christmas (for obviously the 2nd year running). 

While I had hoped that I would avoid getting Covid after being triple jabbed (my booster was on Nov 21) it is clear that vaccines do not offer 100% protection against infection but hopefully will prevent me from hospitalisation (or worse). 

"Track & Trace" only want my "contacts" details since Monday, so I suspect that I caught Covid at work on Monday when I represented someone in person as a trade union rep at a formal meeting. For various reasons it could not be held virtually. I had been super careful since.

So the message is - don't take anything for granted just because you are fully vaccinated but still encourage everyone to get jabbed. Being infected is one thing but if the hospitals get clogged up with cases then this could turn very serious. 

Check out the Newham Council list of vaccination sites for next week (above) and Sunday https://www.newham.gov.uk/downloads/file/3444/vaccine-schedule-12-7-21  

Friday, December 17, 2021

UNISON Regional Labour Link Committee - Leonie Copper AM & Abena Oppong-Asare MP guest speakers

 

Today I chaired our virtual Greater London UNISON Labour Link Committee (which represents UNISON members who have chosen to affiliate to the Labour Party in London).  

AS well as discussing budgets, work plans and campaigning for next years Council elections (all London seats are up election in May 2022) we had verbal reports from London Assembly Member, Leonie Cooper, a Parliamentary report from Abena Oppong-Asare MP and a report on Labour Party Conference by our senior delegate (and vice chair of this committee) Yvonne Green. 

Leonie gave a frank and far ranging presentation on the many issues facing the London Assembly. In particular the funding crisis facing Transport for London (TFL) which can be directly linked not only to Covid but the actions of the previous Mayor, a certain Boris Johnson. Some sort of deal needs to be reached since it would be a disaster if the Government decided to take over TFL. A compromise needs to be hammered out. 

There was a wide ranging Q&A. I welcomed Leonie on the move of GLA City Hall from London Bridge into the Peoples Republic of Newham (they are taking over the Crystal building in our Royal Docks. 

Abena gave another comprehensive report on her work in Parliament and as a dedicated constituency MP. She is also now the Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. 

In the Q&A I asked her and her Parliamentary colleagues for support in the forthcoming pay disputes in local government, health and others sectors (including my own). Abena made it clear she is already known as an active campaigner for working people and their issues but obviously would have to understand all the arguments beforehand on all the different issues. 

Yvonne gave a detailed and pretty positive report on the September Labour Party Conference in Brighton. It now seems like a million years ago since that conference. I will ask her if I can post her full report later. 

Thursday, December 16, 2021

"How not to handle a flexible working request"

Check out this article on how in King v Tesco our largest supermarket in the UK messed up a request by one of its employees for flexible working. It is an important but tricky subject so make sure you join a union (UNISON of course if you work in public services) and get advice from a local rep before you apply. It is an important (but imperfect) legal employment right. 

Hat tip Pure Employment Law

"Flexible working requests – the law

Before we look at some lessons to be learned around dealing with flexible working requests from a recent case, here’s a re-cap on the law:

Employees with at least 26 weeks’ service have a statutory right to make a request for flexible working. Employers should:

  • deal with a request in a reasonable manner (including meeting with the employee to discuss it);
  • notify the employee of their decision within three months (unless the parties agree an extension); and
  • only refuse a request on one of 8 grounds set out in the legislation.

Click here to see our previous article for more about flexible working requests.

If the procedure is not followed or if the employee is not happy, they can bring claims against their employer for breach of the Flexible Working Regulations, and if the claim succeeds, the Employment Tribunal can order the employer to reconsider the request, and/or compensate the employee in such amount as the Tribunal considers just and equitable – up to a maximum of 8 weeks’ pay (currently capped at £489 per week).

Check out the sad tale of King v Tesco (2017)

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Council houses named after Matchgirls Strike leader - Sarah Chapman

 
Hat tip picture Tower Hamlets Council and report Ali G and article by East London Advertiser (note campaign in Newham to protect the grave site of Sarah Chapman in Manor Park Cemetery. - https://www.johnslabourblog.org/2020/03/visiting-grave-of-matchgirl-strike.html)

"Members of Sarah Chapman's family attended the name unveiling, along with Bow West councillors Asma Begum and Val Whitehead

A housing development being built in Bow has been named in honour of one of the leaders of the Matchgirls Strike.

Nine council homes and a community facility are to be named Sarah Chapman House.

Sarah, who lived in the East End all her life, worked at the Bryant and May factory as a teenager and played a key role in the 1888 strike action over working conditions.

Around 1,400 girls and women marched out of the factory on July 5, according to the East End Women's Museum.

Sarah became a member of the strike committee, which met with Bryant and May directors and whose demands were agreed to.

She then became the first Trade Union Congress (TUC) representative of the Match Makers' Union.

Her name was put forward for the Bow West project by resident Colum McGinley.

Colum joined members of Sarah's family to reveal the name of the development, which will be complete next May.

Sarah's grandson Ken Dearman said he was thrilled there would be a "fitting memorial" to his grandmother.

Her great granddaughter Carol Watts added: “How pleased we are, as a family, that Sarah is being honoured for her contributions to the Matchgirls Strike with the naming of this new community facility and affordable housing."

The development will provide five three-bedroom, three two-bed and one one-bed council homes, as well as the community facility on the ground floor and cycle storage.

Work began last March after planning permission was granted in 2019.

Tower Hamlets mayor John Biggs said: “It’s fitting that we are naming these new council homes after Sarah Chapman to allow her name to live on.

"The Matchgirls Strike of 1888 was a poignant movement of strike action within Tower Hamlets and its important stories like this can be continued to be told.

“The delivery of these new council homes and community facility will benefit local residents in Bow West which I’m sure Sarah would be delighted about today.”

Cllr Danny Hassell, cabinet member for housing, added: “The story of Sarah Chapman will never be forgotten within this area of Tower Hamlets.

"The naming of this development acts as a reminder to the historic legacy she has left."


Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge, Chingford to Forest Gate Walk

Off message but on Sunday, Gill and I took the magic train from Wanstead Park station to Chingford (change at Walthamstow Queens Road then walk to nearby Walthamstow Central to catch the connection for Chingford). It only took just over 30 minutes but we were lucky with connection. 

We then had lunch at the Royal Forest Hotel next to Queen Elizabeth Hunting lodge then walked back to Forest Gate, largely along the the Epping Forest Centenary walk (see below). The full walk is Newham to Epping. 

A lovely walk despite the mud and occasional light drizzle. The map says 6.2 miles but it felt longer due to the mud. Gill had wellies and I thankfully had gaiter's over my Brasher boots. 

Epping Forest is an incredible green lung for East London. On this walk it is surrounded on both sides by housing and you have to cross some roads but you overwhelmingly walk through magnificent woods, heathland and lakes. 

Recommended if you want to work off some Xmas cheer this holiday (or give yourself an appetite for more indulgences). 



I will post further photos and comments on Facebook

Monday, December 13, 2021

Holocaust Memorial Day 2022 theme: #OneDay


 One Day – 27 January – is a day that we put aside every year to come together to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, in the hope that there may be One Day in the future with no genocide. We learn more about the past, we empathise with others today, and we take action for a better future.

‘You didn’t think about yesterday, and tomorrow may not happen, it was only today that you had to cope with and you got through it as best you could.” - Iby Knill, survivor of the Holocaust.

The theme can be interpreted in many different ways:

  • One Day in history
  • One Day when life changed
  • One Day at a time
  • One Day in the future
  • One Day as a snapshot

Holocaust Memorial Day provides an important opportunity for all residents to remember those who suffered and died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides. Join us as we reflect upon these atrocities and join together in demonstrating our solidarity in combating antisemitism, racism and hatred.

Date: Thursday 27 January 2022
Time: 9.30am-12pm
Venue: Old Town Hall Stratford

This year, we are honoured to be welcoming speakers Ella Gari-Ebner (Generation 2 Generation) and Eric Murangwa Eugene MBE (Ishami Foundation)

This is a FREE public event. All are welcome to attend. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis.

Register for your free place

Sunday, December 12, 2021

LAPFF Conference 2021: Day One

Day One of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum Annual (LAPFF) conference started with a welcome by our Chair, Cllr Doug McMurdo. 

First item was a blended panel on the Local Government Pension Scheme APPG (all Party Parliamentary Group) report on a "Just Transition"

With Chair, Clive Betts MP, Cllr Doug McMurdo, Sabrina Muller (Policy Analyst for Sustainable Finance, Paul Hunter (PIRC) and moderated by Cllr Glyn Caron (LAPFF Executive). 

The opening event is about the
Just Transition inquiry, with APPG Chair Clive Betts speaking about the findings & how investors can facilitate a #JustTransition through engagement. 

The need to take people along whilst tackling the #ClimateCrisis is essential. "We risk having no transition at all if it is not seen as just." Sabrina Muller of @GRI_LSE speaking about the overlooked factor of location when thinking about job creation & losses. It risks exacerbating existing #inequality between UK regions.

Paul Hunter with @smith_institute summarising the landmark study by the Local Authority Pension Funds APPG https://appglocalpensionfunds.org Investors are vital but can't do it all, government strategy is a must

Next was "How is Sainsbury Plc addressing Climate Change" with Mark Given (Chief Marketing Officer, Sainsbury Plc), Jo Harlow (Non executive director, Sainsbury Plc) moderated by Rachel Brothwood (LAPFF Executive). Who presented and took questions on how the 2nd largest retailor in the UK has a "Plan for Better". 

Then "Say on Climate" with a virtual presentation by Sir Chris Hohn (Founder of TCI Fund Management) moderated by Cllr Rob Chapman (LAPFF Executive). The no nonsense self made billionaire investor did not mince his words and made it clear that he expected companies to produce 5 year action plans on Climate change and not 2050 targets. He also told us asset owners to sack fund managers who fail on Climate change and ESG. 

Final event of day was "30 Years of LAPFF  Vision & Impact"" with myself and my fellow Vice Chair of LAPFF, Cllr Robert Chapman, moderated by Brian Bailey.  A film showing our work over the past 30 years & how to bring about the best returns for local authority pension funds. "Run by us, for us". There was some interesting reminiscences about our history which are probably best kept within the LAPFF family. 

Hat tip @LAPFF feed

Saturday, December 11, 2021

BBC Reality Check debunks five false vaccine claims

After responding to some bizarre and misleading comments on a post I have made about vaccination I thought this article and video by the BBC is really helpful.


While I can understand and respect peoples hesitancy I really don't think (and I accept that I have no medical training whatsoever) we are going to get out of this crisis without near universal vaccinations (home and abroad). 

Friday, December 10, 2021

"Reboot furlough to save jobs in sectors hit by Plan B" says TUC

"The TUC has called for Treasury support to protect jobs, and for the sick pay system to be fixed to reduce spread of Omicron, in response to today’s announcement of ‘plan B’ restrictions.

The union body highlights that when a work from home instruction was last in place in June 2021, nearly two million jobs were protected by furlough, including nearly half of in the jobs in hospitality that were eligible for furlough. [see table below for full data].

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“Requiring people to work from home over the busy Christmas period will hit jobs – unless ministers bring back furlough. Cleaners, receptionists, conference and banqueting staff and hospitality and retail workers will be short of work if people don’t come into offices.

“Ministers must reassure workers in hard-hit sectors like hospitality, leisure and travel that their livelihoods are secure.

“Furlough was the great success in the first response to the pandemic. The rise of the Omicron variant shows why the UK needs a permanent short-time working scheme – ready to go when a new crisis hits.

“If we’re serious about stopping Omicron, ministers must fix our broken sick pay system, so every worker gets a decent amount to live off if they are sick or have to self-isolate. That’s how we make sure people can follow the rules and stop the spread.”

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/reboot-furlough-save-jobs-sectors-hit-plan-b

rs hit by Plan B