WestHam CLP fundraising 4 conference 2018

I love going to Labour Party conferences and think that our West Ham Constituency Labour Party should send as many delegates as possible, so I fully support this fundraising attempt to pay for and send more delegates.

(I love this picture as well. Apart from Seyi being chopped in half)

Click here if you can help https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/westham-clp-fundraising-4-conference

Forest Gate North Labour selects Sasha, Anamul & Rachel

A great picture from the end of last night's Labour Party selection meeting, where local members voted overwhelmingly to return their existing Councillors, Rachel Tripp and Anamul Islam, as candidates for the local elections in May. The vacant position was filled by Sasha Das Gupta due to the standing down of our super ace Councillor, Seyi Akiwowo.

I chaired the meeting and well done to the successful candidates and good luck to those who missed out this time.  

Councillor Report 3.1.17 - "Could we become Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) Two?"

This is my latest written report (previous one 7 December 2017).

Council Issues
Meeting with Senior Council officers

13 December. I met again with other concerned backbench Councillors senior officers at Newham Dockside to discuss and examine reports on the way that the Council buys and manages commercial properties for investment purposes. The meeting was constructive and informative but I still have huge concerns about the governance arrangements and oversight. Newham is borrowing hundreds of millions of pounds to invest in property. We are still being refused sight of the Newham Council reports on the London Stadium disaster and the reasons for the £50-60 million pound losses. This is an executive decision not to release and not by officers.

Newham Council Investment & Accounts meeting
14 December. At this meeting while discussing the minutes of the previous joint Audit meeting the Director of Finance confirmed that the £40 million original loan to the London stadium is not being “written off” but swapped in some “debt for equity” exchange? Since the loan was recently declared in our annual accounts as “impaired” (currently worthless) I do not know what on earth that means? Nor what happens to the lost £4.4 million interest charge, the £5 million loan for investments in the Olympic South Park and the £12 million of "working capital”.

I was very shocked to hear that some Newham Schools are allowing private contractors to not enrol new starters into the Local Government Pension Scheme. This will penalise already low paid female school staff and is of course a disgrace and these schools should be named and shamed.

At the meeting there were members of the Newham Carbon Divestment campaign. I suggested that they should be allowed to make a presentation at the Newham Pension AGM.

Newham Cabinet Meeting. Could we become Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV) Two?
21 December I attended Cabinet as an observer and spoke to the Mayor about privatisation of Council services and also a proposal to set up some special vehicle to run all Newham’s property assets (we are talking potentially billions of pounds). I am astonished that this is even being considered before we learn the lessons on what went wrong with the London stadium special vehicle. This could be an even worse political mess than Haringey Council has found itself over its property development vehicle. I asked the Mayor if he would bring any such future plans back to a full Council meeting for approval but he did not agree and said it would go to Labour Group.

Fortunately Cllr’s Hussain and Clark managed to amend the proposal to just doing a review of existing arrangements and nothing else.

Review of Scrutiny arrangements
The Select Committee on Communities and Local Government has recently published a hard hitting report criticising many Councils for inadequate Scrutiny of Executive decisions. I have publicly commented on this report with and I am pleased that Scrutiny Chair, Cllr Rokhsana Fiaz, will be taking the recommendations to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Surgeries and case work
I have attended 2 surgeries per month in Vicarage Lane Community Centre and Brassett Point Residents Association room. Casework regarding Academies, ASB; parking ticket policy; disabled adaptations disrepair, speeding cars, Right to buy, insurance and forming a Tenants & Residents group. I was most unimpressed with repair failures in the Church Street block run by One Housing Group and I am trying to arrange an inspection. I have received a petition from residents which I will present at the next Full Council meeting.

Ward Issues

Ward meeting/Xmas Social
7 December I attended ward meeting and went on to enjoy the Xmas social. Many thanks to Lyn Brown MP for attending and the organisers for a great evening.

West Ham campaigning & petition on lack of social homes in Ford Showrooms development
We are waiting for the planning meeting. There is now a West Ham Labour ward petition at Change.org http://chn.ge/2iq4UKb. Please support this petition.

Durul Jannah Community Centre, E15 – Planning permission
19 December. I spoke in favour at a hearing for a change in planning permission for this centre. Officers are opposed but I think they have got it wrong over this issue. I was supported by Cllr Forhad Hussain and Cllr Mas Patel. Unfortunately due to a mistake with the paperwork the application had to put on hold but I hope this can be sorted out as quickly as possible.

Other Issues

Labour doorstep
9 December after Surgery I went door knocking & leaflet distribution in Stratford ward with a local Councillor and activists.

Councillor Candidate’s selection meeting postponed.
Apologies to ward members who had reserved 9/10 December for the chance to elect candidates for the local elections in May 2018. Due to a number of appeals outstanding for applicants who did not pass the initial interview the Regional Labour Party has postponed the selections. No new date yet.

Mayoral “trigger ballot” to be rerunThe Mayor, sent out a press release saying that he wants a rerun of his selection process as the Labour Candidate for Executive Mayor. I thought his release was extremely odd but it does appear that he concedes that the process was “rigged” and that it needs to be rerun. I strongly support it being redone but think that there is not enough time for a Mayoral “Trigger” and selecting Councillor candidates, so I believe that there needs to be an open selection process for our Mayoral candidate.

London Collective Investment Vehicle (CIV)
11 December I attended with UNISON colleagues for the public part of the business meeting. The CIV is planning to manage nearly all Local Government Pension funds in London (including Newham). However, the governance arrangements are nonsensical since there is no beneficiary representation.

Anti Academies Protest Hallsville School
23 December I attended a successful and well organised protest outside Hallsville School in Canning Town with parents, teachers, children and 4 other Newham Councillors (including are very own John Whitworth). I was quoted in the Newham Recorder that the Council must raise it game since schools are blaming it for “forcing” them to become academies due to lack of support.

UNISON
I am standing again for election as the Greater London UNISON Regional Finance Convenor (for the 10th year)

Workers Memorial Day 2018
Date for future is Saturday 28 April 2018 when West Ham Labour Party and local trade unions will be remembering all those killed at work or who have died of work related ill health at the Three Mills Green Memorial.

Living wages in Newham Schools
As a school governor I have sent in a question to the next Newham Governors Forum asking all schools to declare whether they pay a London Living wage to all their staff (including agency and contractors)

Donation in lieu of Christmas Cards
Once again I made a donation to a charity rather than send any Christmas cards. This year to the Magpie Trust which helps homeless families in Newham.

Congratulate Seyi Akiwowo
Finally, I think we should congratulate your ward chair (& Forest Gate Councillor) on her contribution to the UN about on-line hate and founding the campaigning group Glitchuk.

If any member wishes to contact me about this report to discuss any aspect please do not hesitate to do so.

Regards

John Gray
West Ham Ward Councillor

Social Media Hate Crime Interview with BBC News London

Fantastic video clip of Forest Gate Labour Councillor, Seyi Akiwowo, being interviewed by BBC news (after speaking at a United Nations conference no less!) exposing the inconsistency and hypocrisy of twitter and the other social media platforms towards online violence.

Seyi has helped set up Glitch UK "an organisation working to reduce online violence against women and girls (OVAWG) and online hate speech through advocacy, campaigning and training workshops"

Labour Party Sexual Harassment Policy

"The Labour Party has a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment and will take all complaints of this nature extremely seriously.

Should you experience any behaviour that you feel amounts to sexual harassment either towards yourself or another member we strongly encourage you to report it to us as soon as you can.

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination. It takes place when someone is subjected to unwelcome and unwanted sexual behaviour or other conduct related to their gender.

Harassment is defined by law in the Equality Act 2010 as ‘unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual’. In the case of sexual harassment the relevant protected characteristic is ‘sex’.

Behaviour that constitutes sexual harassment includes:

• Unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature, this may be either physical or verbal,
• Inappropriate or suggestive remarks or verbal sexual advances,
• Indecent comments, jokes or innuendos relating to a person’s looks or private life,
• Unwanted physical contact such as hugging, kissing or inappropriate touching,
• Requests for sexual favours,
• The display or circulation of pornography or indecent images.

Often, this kind of behaviour may be brushed off by the harasser as ‘banter’ or harmless flirting. It is important to remember that the impact the behaviour had on you is the most important factor, it is not so relevant whether the individual intended to cause offence, but rather that offence was caused by the conduct.

Sexual Harassment Procedure

We understand that reporting sexual harassment can be intimidating, so we aim to make the process as clear and straight forward as possible. If you choose to contact us, it will only be treated as a formal complaint if you make it clear that this is the route you would like to take. We are happy to offer informal advice about the possible action and outcomes open to you and will not force you to take any action you do not feel comfortable with.

In the first instance we recommend that you to speak to a the Head of Complaints. You can contact them on: 07595 432542. They will be able to talk over your concerns and offer advice about the best course of action. If you would prefer to contact us initially by email then you may email the Head of Complaints on: complaints@labour.org.uk.

Where we believe a criminal offence has taken place, we will advise you to report the incident to the police. If we have serious concerns about your safety, the Complaints Unit have the duty to contact the police, but we will do our best to let you know before doing so. If your complaint is subject to an ongoing police enquiry, we will not investigate until the police investigation has run its course.

If, after speaking to us, you decide to make a formal complaint; the process will be as follows:

• First, we will seek written statements from you the complainant and the respondent. At this point the respondent will be informed of the details of the complaint made against them. As part of this process each party will be encouraged to provide any relevant evidence and names of witnesses that support their statement. This process will form the preliminary investigation to establish the matters of fact from both sides.
• The statements from the complainant, respondent and any witnesses will then be provided to the sexual harassment panel of the National Executive Committee (NEC). This panel will be made up of 3 members of the NEC Disputes Panel.
• All statements will be anonymised before being put in front of the panel, so they will not know the names of the individuals involved in the case.
• If the party deems it necessary, at the point the complaint is referred to the panel of the NEC, an administrative suspension may be imposed on the respondent until the investigation is complete.
• Should the panel of the NEC decide the case requires further investigation, they will refer the case to the NCC. At this stage the complainant and respondent will be provided with copies of all statements and asked to attend separate interviews with a panel of the NCC.
• The NEC panel may make the decision that the complaint is better dealt with through an informal route rather than through an NCC hearing. Where this is the case, they will lay out their recommendations for the next steps to the Head of Complaints.
• The meetings with the NCC panel will be held at different times and the complainant and respondent will not be required to meet.
• Witnesses may also be invited to attend an interview with the NCC panel.
• Should either the complainant or respondent wish to submit requests for questions to be put to the other party as part of their interview, they will be invited to do so ahead of the meetings.
• After the initial interviews, the NCC panel may feel it is necessary to follow up on any points that were raised; this will usually be done by telephone.
• Once the panel is satisfied that it has all the information it needs, it will make a decision about the appropriate action that should be taken. The NCC’s decision will be reported to the Disputes panel of the NEC.

At no point will the complainant be required to confront the respondent face to face. All details of the complaint will be dealt with in the strictest confidence".

(Hat tip post by West Ham CLP Women's officer Seyi Akiwowo. 

https://westhamlabour.org/2017/11/29/sexual-harassment-policy

https://westhamlabour.org/2017/11/29/west-ham-clps-zero-tolerance-approach-to-sexual-harassment)

"Today is the day Labour must renew its determination to end online violence against women and girls"

(post from Labourlist on Saturday by my ward Councillor Seyi Akiwowo)

Earlier this year I received a wave of hateful online abuse and harassment after a video of me speaking at the European Parliament went viral. On one hand, the online world is merely a reflection of the state of our society; on the other hand the online world seems to be a comfortable place for those who know they cannot behave in such a way elsewhere.

My experience is sadly not uncommon and is an indication of how far society has to go to achieve true equality.

That’s why I founded Glitch! UK, an organisation aiming to end online hate speech and online violence against women and girls (OVAWG). Glitch believes that online violence of all forms is a vehicle to divide society and spread fear. Glitch means a temporary malfunction. This glitch of online abuse can of course be fixed and, when we look back on this period of time, we want to be able to say that the rise in online violence and hate speech was only a “glitch” in our history.

Through Glitch, we lobby social media companies to do more to stop online abuse. We have developed a set of recommendations for those firms and we are delivering training workshops for young people. In 2018 will be training online tech companies too.

Earlier this year Diane Abbott, shadow home secretary and Britain’s first black female MP, spoke out about the online abuse she receives on a daily basis. The abuse is so serious that her staff try not to let her out alone.  Sadly, Abbott is not the only MP to receive online abuse, Yvette Cooper, Jess Philips, Tulip Siddiq and David Lammy are only a few of the name names on this list.

In September Amnesty International provided more evidence of the problem. Abbott received almost half (45.14 per cent) of all abusive tweets in the run up to the election. Excluding her, black and Asian women MPs in Westminster received 35 per cent more abusive tweets than white women MPs. Online abuse cuts across party lines, however.

A week later MPs debated abuse and intimidation during the election campaign. Online abuse does not just stop with those in elected office. We have unfortunately seen a rise in online abuse and harassment among party members. Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) agreed to toughen up the party’s stance on internet abuse and published a new social media code of conduct.

This week Amnesty also used an Ipsos Mori poll to show how 23 per cent of women across eight countries said they had experienced online abuse or harassment, ranging from 16 per cent in Italy to a third in the US. Just over a fifth, 22 per cent, of women in Britain experienced online abuse and it is magnified for women from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The impact is real and victims report stress, anxiety or panic attacks as well as lower self-esteem as a result.

So how are we in Labour going to respond and act on his research? We need to immediately acknowledge that language matters and that hateful words can be used to mobiles against a group of people. Therefore, we must challenge the rhetoric of “oh it’s just words, ignore them”. Labour must have a clear process for reporting and investigation of abuse.

Today, on the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Labour should lead the way in treating online violence against women and girls in the same way as physical violence.

I urge the party to include educational training workshops as part of manifesto commitments to national education service and a digital economy.

We need training for young people so they can understand what online abuse means and how they can act as good citizens. This should be extended for those who work with young people so they can spot the signs – rather than just issuing bans on phones in schools.

We must train online tech companies and those developing apps and social media platforms. They must learn from the mistakes and glitches of current social media. There are current attempts to fix the online abuse glitch but new platforms should not have them in the first place.

Finally, but by no means least, Labour must demand that social media companies be more accountable and be more transparent with how they enforce their own rules.

Seyi Akiwowo is a councillor in Newham in East London and founder of GlitchUK.

#GlitchUK - Online violence & hate speech against women and girls

/ WHO WE ARE

Founded by Cllr Seyi Akiwowo, we are a organisation working to reduce online violence against women and girls (OVAWG) and online hate speech through advocacy, campaigning and training workshops.

// WHAT WE BELIEVE

When we look back on this period of time, we want to be able to say that the rise in OVAWG and online hate speech was only a “glitch” in our history. Glitch! believes that online violence of all forms is a vehicle for movements that aim to divide society and spread fear. OVAWG is a weapon used to silence women online, particularly women with an opinion, influential women and women in public office.  Online abuse takes many forms and we have seen a particular increase in OVAWG and online hate speech. We believe this has been a consequence of, and enabled by, a number of events:

• Rise of far right movements across Europe
• Rhetoric used during the UK EU Independence referendum and the 2016 US Presidential Election
• Social media companies are not adequately nor consistently following enforcing rules to ensure safety of all users.
• Underreporting of incidents to the police and robust commitment from the criminal justice system to prosecute

We believe the increase in OVAWG and online hate speech is a temporary malfunction that can be fixed. There are three important stands to our work…

1- Lobby social media companies to do more to adequately and consistently address online violence and online hate speech on their platforms.

2- Campaign to raising awareness of specific forms of online abuse and it’s impact and with partners.

3- Deliver workshops to helps cultivate the agency of users particularly young people and start conversations on how to be responsible online citizens.

// WHAT WE DO

Mobilising and working in partnership with other organisations, activists and survivors to amplify our voices, increase our impact and avoid duplication.

Lobbying decision and policy-makers to put pressure on social media companies to better self-regulate and to update UK laws.

Sign posting and providing information on rights, social media rules and how to report abuse.

Delivering interactive and informative training workshops in schools and to onlinetech developers.

// HOW YOU CAN HELP

There’s a lot of discussions and movement on online abuse given recent events so the time to make sustainable and inclusive impact is now Would you like to be a Glitch! UK Supporter? We have five ways you can become one:

1. HELP SPREAD THE WORD ONLINE

We want to build an inclusive movement to end online violence against women and girls, online hate speech and repair this glitch. Follow us online and share Glitch!UK with your Facebook friends and your Twitter followers.

You can also sign and share a pledge on social media and encourage at least three of your friends to do the same:

“I pledge never to commitment, condone, or remain silent about online violence against women and online hate speech in all its form #GlitchUK”

“I pledge to join the movement to end online violence against women and online hate speech in my lifetime #GlitchUK”

You can also share these statements on social media encourage at least three of your friends to the same:

“In decades from now when we look back on this period of time, I want to be able to say that the rise in online violence against women and online hate speech was only a “glitch” in our history. #GlitchUK”

“Online violence against women and girls and online hate speech is a glitch in our online world and social media companies can and must fix it #GlitchUK”

2. CONNECT US TO SCHOOLS + YOUTH GROUPS

We’re now heading to where it matters most, with education and young people. We cannot afford for our generation and the next to become desensitised to online violence and online hate speech.

We delivering a number of pilot workshops to supplement citizenship, PHSRE and Humanity lessons as well as school assemblies. We will officially launch our “Glitch! Training Programme” in 2018 but in the meantime we want to work with as many young people, schools and youth groups as possible.  We are also looking to work with after school youth groups and young leader groups such as Youth Councillors and Young Advisors.

3. PARTNER WITH Glitch!UK

Our mission to fix this current glitch in our online world can only be achieved through collaboration and partnership. We do not what reinvent the wheel nor duplicate work. Over the last nine months we have developed an inclusive movement to both raise awareness of OVAWG and online hate speech and begin repairing this glitch. If you’re an individual or an organisation working to make the online world safer and would like to be part of this movement, we would love to work with you.

4. TELL US

Evidence strengthens our call for change. We would like to capture as many experiences of online abuse. You can share your experiences with us using the #GlitchUK hashtag or anonymously via our online form.

Do you also think social media companies can do more to deal with online abuse? We have written some recommendations on how social media companies can do more to address online violence. Tell us your thoughts and ideas.

5. DONATE

If you have skills or expertise to help Glitch!UK grow we would love to hear from you!

If you like what you’ve read and would like to help keep us going for another nine months you can make a financial donation via paypal. You could make a £1 pledge and encourage at least three of your friends to do the same.

A regular donation means you can give small amounts every month that make a huge different to our work. Monthly gifts give us a predictable income so we can commit to raising the profile of our campaign.

CONTACT US!

E: ukglitchonline@gmail.com // T: @_GlitchUK F: www.facebook.com/UKGlitch

Evening Canvass and offering support by local Councillors to Residents in Forest Gate following tragic murder.

Photo Collage from an evening door knock and street surgery last month in Forest Gate North, London by local ward Councillors (Rachel, Seyi & Anamul) and party activists. This was a sensitive matter since the area had experienced what is thought to be a gang related murder of a young boy only a few weeks previously.

Local residents were obviously still very upset about what had happened but were appreciative of the Councillors for coming out to speak to them. It is actually quite an uplifting experience that residents we spoke to were still shocked but on the whole very positive about the area (the estate itself appeared to be clean, well maintained and also well managed. Well done Swan Housing). 

Training for prospective Newham councillors - 5th & 12th October 2017

Have you applied to be a council candidate?

West Ham Labour Party are running short training sessions for members who have interviews to stand as Labour Party council candidates.

The sessions will be led by Cllrs Seyi Akiwowo and John Gray and will take place at the West Ham Labour Party offices, 306 Stratford High Street, London E15 1AJ

Sessions will take place on:


Thursday 5th October 6-7pm
Thursday 12th October 6-7pm
Thursday 12th October 7-8pm
No need to book a place - just turn up.

Contact: 

Seyi on seyi.akiwowo@gmail.com, 
John on john.gray2012@icloud.com, 

Mentioned in Parliament - Cllr Seyi Akiwowo ...fighting back against online abuse

A lovely tribute in a maiden speech to Parliament by new Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, to Newham's youngest Councillor, Seyi Akiwowo, "who has endured, fought back against and now campaigns against the lowest form of racial abuse..."

"Dozens pay their respects to war victims killed when a bomb hit their bus"

Hat tip Newham Recorder "Cllr and members of the public attending a vigil on Dames Road where a V1 flying bomb landed killing people on a bus outside the Holly Tree pub

Dozens gathered to pay their respects to Forest Gate’s war dead on the anniversary of the night a bomb hit a bus during the Second World War.

The event, organised by Forest Gate North Labour Party, was held at the site of the 1944 blast outside The Hollytree Pub in Dames Road.

It is thought around 20 people died in the explosion, although no reliable record exists because wartime press censorship stopped much detail being published in order to limit the information available to the enemy about attacks.

Cllr Seyi Akiwowo, one of the organisers of Thursday’s event, said: “The event was fantastic. It was put together at short notice and there was a good turnout. I’m glad we were able to pay our respects.”

In his speech at the vigil, Cllr Anam Islam said: “Now, just as then, the price we pay for liberty is eternal vigilance against racism and prejudice.”

West Ham MP Lyn Brown, who was unable to attend the event, told of its importance.

She said: “It is right and important that we commemorate those who perished or lost loved ones in the fight against fascism, and just as important that we remember the anti-fascist and anti-racist heritage of the East End with pride.

“Levels of racist, Islamophobic, and anti-Semitic hate crime have all risen over the past year, and it is important we draw on this past to bring us together and renew the fight against far-right ideology and its terrible effects. That aim will be easier to achieve if we have a more accurate narrative of what actually happened.”

Eyewitness Cyril Demarne is quoted in The Heroic Story of the Second World War Bomb Disposal Teams by James Owen as saying: “A trolley bus, crammed with home going workers, had caught the full blast and the whole area was a sickening sight.

“Dismembered bodies littered the roadway, others were splattered over the brickwork of the houses across the way and the wreckage of the trolley bus was simply too ghastly to describe.

“The lower deck seated passengers were all dead. Although many of the victims had been decapitated, they were still sitting down, as if waiting to have their fares collected.”

(the V1 flying Bomb landed just outside Newham but much of the bomb damage and deaths were inside modern Forest Gate. A 80 year old local resident who remembered being told about the attack pointed out to us the exact impact. The death toil was at least 38 and probably much more) 

West Ham General Election Wash Up

This picture is from Wednesday evening, when we had a West Ham Labour General Election "Wash Up". CLP Officers, Branch organisers and secretaries were invited to our headquarters in Stratford to talk about and debate, what went right with our election campaign, what could had been done better and preparing for the next General Election (which who really knows but could happen anytime soon).

It was a constructive and honest debate and as the Parliamentary agent for the election who chaired the meeting, I am pleased that everyone present contributed. A report on our findings will be sent out to the CLP. A working group on social media was agreed and will meet soon.

On the whole, most things went well in the election and of course, we won in West Ham with a massive increased majority for our MP, Lyn Brown with 77% of the vote. However, we need to get out more of  our 2,000 West Ham Labour members being active and out campaigning and door knocking in marginals.

This is a really exciting time to be involved in politics and I cannot wait for the next General Election and for the West Ham campaigning machine to play its part in electing a Labour government.

(selfie of us with our top CLP Women's Officer, Cllr Seyi Akiwowo)

Remembering local Nazi atrocity - V1 attack on Forest Gate 27 July 1944

Above is a picture collage from this evening's anniversary vigil to remember the victims of a Nazi Flying bomb attack on this day 27 July 1944 which killed horribly at least 38 East Enders (updated figure) at this very spot.

Forest Gate Councillor, Anamul Islam, read out the speech below, While Councillor Rachel Tripp read out a message of support form our West Ham MP, Lyn Brown.

We had leafleted the local area beforehand about the event and I was really pleased that a 80 year local resident, who remembered the atrocity turned up to point us out to the exact location of the attack and give us the copies of the newspaper reports in top left of college. Another resident offered help with the funding of a permanent memorial to the victims (what a good idea).

Many thanks to "E7 now and then" website for providing historical content and Councillor Seyi Akiwowo, for organising leaflets and publicity.

Cllr Islam "I would like to start in the first instance by thanking everyone for making the time to come to mark an important moment in our local history.

During WW2 Newham was one of the most badly damaged parts of London. The bombs came in two waves - the Blitz of 1940/1 and the V1 and V2 raids of 1944/5.

Forest Gate was less badly hit than other parts of Newham such as the dock area, but nonetheless we suffered almost 200 recorded direct hits during the Blitz and about 50 V1 or V2 rockets- but each one was far more lethal- killing at least 70 civilians in total.

This evening we remember the dead of one of the most horrific attacks- when a doodlebug struck the corner of Pevensey and Dames Roads, hitting a passing trolley bus. It was near Holly Tree pub- where we stand today- on 27 July 1944.

The bomb caused mayhem- just how much is unclear. There are no reliable contemporary accounts as the press at that time was heavily censored so as not to give too much information to the enemy.

The Stratford Express was the local paper at the time and was only able to report that a number of buildings close to a public house were damaged. The public house was not named.We know today it was the Holly Tree, where we stand near bye.

The account went on to name four passengers who were killed. It hinted that others were killed or wounded but did not give details. After the war official Air Raid papers named a further four people who were killed that night- almost certainly by the bomb.We know the names, therefore, of eight people killed but following the published memoirs of West Ham’s Chief Fire Officer, Cyril Demarne, we know that probably dozens more died that day as a result of a fascist terror attack. Fire Chief Demarne described the Dames Road bomb as ‘the most horrific thing I have ever witnessed’. His full memoire was published in 1980 by the Newham Bookshop.

It is doubtful that we will ever know the full scale of the death and casualty toll of this dreadful bombing. If there are any lessons to be learned it is that we should never ignore the rantings of seemingly mad fascists and racists, whether they wrap themselves in a black shirt or in the Union Jack. Now, just as then, the price we pay for liberty is eternal vigilance against racism and prejudice.

Let us never forget the dead of this awful bomb blast, or the lesson their destruction leave us.

We will now read out the names of those known to have been killed:

Gladys Blackburn, aged 39

Wendy Blackburn, aged 4

Abraham Ince, aged 76

Edith Tilley, aged 41

William Winter

Denis Barfield

Thomas Driscoll

Reginald Hillman

We will now have a minutes silence.

(note newspaper report that 34 bodies were recovered from bus and more victims died of injuries in hospital and this does not include those killed nearby in their homes)

"The police need to provide swift answers after the death of Rashan Charles" by Seyi Akiwowo a councillor in Newham, east London

After having a great time at the Afropunk London festival last weekend, I followed my usual ritual before going to bed on Saturday night: checking to see what I had missed on Instagram during the day. I came across the clip of CCTV footage that appeared to show a Metropolitan police officer attempting to restrain 20-year-old Rashan Charles from east London, who shortly afterwards took his last breath. I was stunned and confused. I closed the app with a heavy heart and said a prayer for Rashan and his family.

Angry protesters challenge police over death of Rashan Charles

 

Read more

When I saw the statement from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) the next morning, reporting that it had “obtained evidence which indicates an object was removed from [Rashan’s] throat at the scene”, I instantly thought of Edson Da Costa. Just four weeks ago, 25-year-old Edson, also from east London, died after contact with the police. The IPPC also said that “the pathologist removed a number of packages from Mr Da Costa’s throat”.

I am a local councillor in Newham and the deaths of two young black men in east London in a matter of weeks is a cause for concern, to put it mildly. At this stage there is a lot we still don’t know about both cases and we should wait for the independent investigation to be completed, but I’d like some questions to be answered.

Whatever the packages or objects that were removed from Rashan’s and Edson’s throats were, is there is a safe way to do this? Is there a protocol? Is there a different protocol at an airport if someone is suspected of smuggling something? Does and should the same protocol apply to officers on the beat?

Were the circumstances the same as those of Edson’s death? If so, have the Met been recently given sufficient training and guidance to properly and safely assess the danger a person is in and be able to remove objects from someone’s throat?

If these cases were drugs-related, is this symptomatic of a wider drugs problem in east London? If so, why are drugs still a problem in 2017? Since 2010 we’ve seen central government cuts to local authorities’ budgets on an unprecedented scale, year after year. This has resulted in cuts to non-statutory services such as youth and drug prevention services. We’ve also seen cuts to the public sector and police budget. Police officers are essentially being asked to do more with a lot less. Information on our rights when being stopped and searched by the police is readily available; this should include the searching or removal of objects swallowed.

Part of the anger following this death, expressed by some at a vigil on Monday, is the suspicion that excessive force was used because of the colour of his skin. We know that black men are more likely to be treated harshly by the criminal justice system, at the stages of arrest, charging, prosecution and imprisonment.

Would witness statements and accounts from arrests of non-black people in similar circumstances mirror how we saw Rashan being treated in the video?

Man dies after struggle in east London shop following police chase

 

Read more

These questions are by no means accusations. I regularly work with the police and have seen first hand how hard our local Safer Neighbourhood Team work to keep our community safe. We hold joint surgeries and the team are responsive to the concerns residents have. I see them out around the ward: they produce quarterly updates, they hold various safety sessions and they actively build relationships with our diverse community. I feel this is important to say as, like politicians, they are often negatively generalised.

In recent dealings with the police for online abuse I received, they were helpful and supportive. However, just like politicians, the police are accountable to the public. Additionally, not everyone has or has had a positive experience with the police. There is still a lot more the police need to do to rebuild trust with community groups, beginning by being more representative of the society they represent. This is why, instead of being able to quietly mourn the death of yet another young man from our community and paying respect to his family, many are angry and suspicious of the police and demand the media cover the case accurately and without bias.

In the UK, we believe in the principle of innocent until proven guilty and this extends to the police as well as Rashan Charles. The police, the Home Office, the Greater London Authority must respond quickly to deaths following contact with the police, working with community groups and leaders, giving as much information as possible as soon as they can. Otherwise, rumours will fill the vacuum in which myths are created and fictions believed – and that is not in anyone’s best interest".

Guardian  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/26/police-swift-answers-rashan-charles?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 

Latest Newham’s response to Grenfell Towers

This is the latest media release from Newham Council (see below).

 I am still waiting for copies of the fire risk assessments for high rise blocks in my ward (West Ham) from the Council.

 I have also asked who is checking the fire risk assessments for high rise blocks controlled by Housing Associations and privately owned/leasehold blocks in Newham.

 We also need to think about cladding on schools, commercial office blocks and also low rise accommodation.

 By coincidence, last month during the General Election campaign, I was part of a West Ham Labour Party Canvass team, who knocked on every door in Ferrier Point. It appeared to me at the time to be in good condition internally with nothing really obviously wrong. I did not of course have any detailed risk assessments or other technical information on the block.

 As someone who has direct experience of managing high rise blocks and is a member of IOSH (Institute of Safety & Health) , trained in checking risk assessments, I have also had conversations with the lead Council Executive advisor for Newham Housing, Cllr Terry Paul and other officers.

I understand that the London Fire Brigade are satisfied so far with the control measures put in place by the Council in the 3 blocks identified so far with cladding that has failed safety tests. I am satisfied with what I know so far, but once the immediate crisis is over, we need to find out what went wrong and who is accountable.

 Yesterday evening I was at a meeting of West Ham One Housing Group TRA, where we had a really constructive debate on Grenfell and its aftermath. Tenants are really worried about the safety of their homes.

 The one and only positive thing about this is the way that ordinary working class people across the country and beyond have rallied around the victims and their families.

 Check out this post here on Forest Gate North by local Councillor, Seyi Akiwowo, on Grenfell issues in her ward.

 (Newham media release 27/6/17)

"Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in West London, Newham Council is in the process of inspecting all tall buildings, prioritising those with cladding. There is no immediate risk to the safety of any of them that would lead to residents having to leave their homes.

 Last week, we sent a sample of the exterior cladding from Ferrier Point, Nicholls Point and Tanner Point for expert testing. Although the cladding failed the test over the weekend, the council has confirmed that the insulation material used in the cladding on your block was of higher quality to that used at Grenfell Tower as it is made of Rockwool which offers more fire protection.

 Because overall the samples of cladding failed the test, we have employed an external contractor who has been visiting all three blocks today to assess the removal of the cladding and how quickly this can be done.

This weekend, London Fire Brigade (LFB) along with Newham Council has carried out a full fire safety inspection of the three buildings and a sample of individual flats within the blocks. We have agreed a number of immediate actions which include:

· Extra security is in place in these three blocks 24 hours until further notice. This extra security will patrol the blocks every 20 minutes so they will be able to raise the alarm in the event of a fire
 · Clutter, including some personal possessions such as bicycles have been removed to safe storage.

All residents living in these blocks have been written to and visited wherever possible to outline the actions the council and LFB have taken. We have reassured the residents that these additional actions, along with safety measures that are already in place, including smoke alarms in every flat and high quality fire doors, means there is no immediate risk to safety and no need for people to leave their homes, unless otherwise notified.

 There are some additional matters we are addressing around the blocks, including vandalism, rough sleeping and issues such as smoking in stairwells and corridors. We have also reminded residents of the London Fire Brigade’s current safety advice following the Grenfell Tower fire.

Essential works will begin immediately to enhance fire safety with further upgrades taking place over the next few weeks, including dealing with the cladding.

We have thanked them for their patience and apologised for any inconvenience that future work may cause. We will keep them informed of all further developments.”

Campaigning in Forest Gate North & Ilford North 20 May 2017

Yesterday morning I started off campaigning in Forest Gate North with local Councillor, Anamul Islam and activists. It was also the first time that my wife, Gill, had actually knocked on doors and spoke to residents about supporting Labour.

It was the usual, rock solid and humbling Labour vote in Forest Gate.

The weather held out during the morning but on route to Ilford North to support marginal Labour Candidate, Wes Streeting,  there was a torrential downpour, which set the scene for the rest of the day.

West Ham Labour activists met up with our candidate, Lyn Brown, at the Ilford North HQ. Lyn had been out that morning with a number of different groups including West Ham Labour Women's Forum (see picture collage top left) who also turned up for afternoon Ilford North session led by the one and only, Cllr Seyi Akiwowo.

During the canvass in Ilford North the weather was on the whole a little wet but I think electors are impressed with canvassers who turn up to meet them and listen to their views regardless of the weather.

I got a shock while door knocking on at one home. I could see a dog's nose sticking out of a cat flap in a front door that Cllr Seyi had sent me to canvass. I thought nothing of it but when I knocked on the door the dog started barking violently and then stuck its whole head out of the cat flap! For a moment I thought it was coming out to get me and I jumped backward very quickly, much to the amusement of the team (see the wolf - bottom right).

Apart from that it was a largely positive canvass for Wes, with many residents saying they will support him due because he is a very good and active constituency MP.