Black History Month: Representation in East London

Hat tip to Ade for arranging and recording this fascinating discussion (and beyond Newham). 

Ade Adeyemi

@i_Ade_Adeyemi

#BlackHistoryMonth Black councillors across Newham celebrating and discussing representation in policy and politics across #EastLondon #WestHam #CustomHouse #CanningTown #Beckton #Plaistow Lots to celebrate, more to do! See the convo https://youtu.be/UsKZe0OIBi0?si=Govi3vIkOX4k9GFO

New Music for the Matchgirls

 

New Music for the Matchgirls

Hello All,

 

This year marks the 135th anniversary of the Matchgirls Strike! We thought you would be interested to hear of some new music inspired by the Matchgirls story. 

 

We are very excited to announce our upcoming project, 'Striking Sparks: The Story of the Matchgirls'. In partnership with East London Music Group, we will premiere 'A Fair Field' by Jonathan Pease, in an evening of music in the Great Hall of the People's Palace at QMUL, telling the story of the 1888 Matchgirls Strike.

We will be welcoming East London Community Band, Aldersbrook Community Choir, Poplar Singers, and Victoria Park Singers to join us, along with a new children's choir, in what promises to be an epic performance. Look out for more info about the project over the next few weeks, on both our and the ELMG social media channels. See attachment, and you can get your tickets at EVENTBRITE.

 

We are also delighted to be running a local schools poetry competition for the second year running. The winning entrants will read their poems at the concert.

Best regards, 

 

Sam and Graham

 

Samantha and Graham Johnson

Founding Trustees

The Matchgirls Memorial

matchgirls1888statue@gmail.com |  www.matchgirls1888.org  

Stratford & East London Skyline

Picture from the balcony of East Thames (now L&Q) Housing headquarters in Stratford, Newham, London before a UNISON branch meeting. A stunning view of the Stratford & East London skyline including the Olympic Stadium, docklands and all the recent residential development around the high street.

Alas, nearly all of it completely unaffordable for local residents.

Ford Workers strike to save pension scheme

Check out the Unite web site for details of the strike today by 2500 "white collar “workers to save their Final Salary scheme from being closed down to new entrants. The strikers are naturally worried that if Ford closes the scheme to new workers joining then it will mean that eventually the company will close the whole scheme to future accrual.

This fear is justified. It is unclear from reports why Ford is doing this apart from a claim that it is "unaffordable".  I assume they mean the deficit. Closing to scheme to new blood is one of the worse things you can do. It will do nothing to get rid of the deficit. It will be more expensive and just make things worse.

The deficit will remain and will have to be paid off eventually. But with the scheme becoming more and more "mature" (fewer and older workers) then the fund will have to be invested in low yielding assets such as cash and bonds and less in equities.  So the investment return in the long run will be less and the company will have to put more money into the scheme.

Ford is also planning to cut the pay of new entrants as well. Not good news for East London. 

Kids stabbing Kids

Two weeks ago I was in a traditional cafe in Tower Hamlets, East London meeting one of my trade union members who is off sick from work. While we were discussing his situation I was vaguely aware that some sort of disturbance had broken out in the street outside the cafe. Youths on push bikes seemed to be having some sort of a row. There was about 3 or 4 of them involved with some more hovering around.

I wasn't really paying attention until I heard some women I knew shouting at them to stop and to break it up. Then I saw one youth carrying what looked like a scaffolding pipe who also tore off his tee shirt and threw it on the floor then ran off. I went outside and found out that  one of the youths had been stabbed. On a street rubbish bin there was a blue tee shirt covered in blood with a small cut in its side.  I rang the Police who were quickly on the scene and sealed off the area. I left them my details if they needed to take a statement from me. I saw the victim being treated by a paramedic further up the Street. I understand that his injuries were serious but not life threatening.

What is wrong with our society? Why are our kids going around armed with knives in the middle of the day?  When I was young there were plenty of such stupid and pointless fights but the premeditated use of weapons amongst the young just by and large did not happen. 

This was not in any way a "golden age".  There was far more unreported horrific domestic and child abuse in those days. I also as a young man growing up in the relative backwater of North Wales actually saw more senseless violence and knife crime than I have ever seen socialising in East London, but this was largely immature males in pub and nightclub drink and drug fuelled stupidity.

The idea of 16-17 year olds on push bikes stabbing each other in the street in broad daylight over teenage petty macho nonsense just leaves me speechless. 

It was ironically not all doom and gloom. The local women who went out and challenged the youths and broke up the initial fight, the passerby who gave mouth to mouth resuscitation to the youth who had been stabbed, the number of people willing to speak to the Police and tell them what they saw. Don't get me wrong, this type of public violence is still very rare and exceptional and the evident shock that local people felt did show this.

But what is the answer? The picture above is of "Get a life and bin a Knife" bins but surely there needs to be more than that?

Newham London Run 2011

Yesterday I was marching in central London, today I was running (very slowly) around the Olympic Park in Stratford, Newham.  So another day, another photo collage. This 10k run started outside the Railway Tavern Hotel (one of the best pubs in Newham by far) and was set off by Cllr Paul Brickell, the Newham Council Executive Member for Olympics and Public Affairs.

We ran through Westfield Stratford City and the 2012 Olympic site.  Then along the Greenway and finished in Stratford Park (which is in my ward, West Ham).  Nearly 4000 runners took part.

The run really brings to home the huge size of the Olympic park and the massive regeneration that is going on.  This is great news for Newham and East London.

Cllr Forhad Hussain was I think the only other Newham Councillor taking part (UNISON member of course) he was also on the March yesterday.  He ran with his twin brother Fokrul and was supported by his "Team Hussain" nephew supporters. 

It took me 1 hour 11 minutes which is pretty slow but 7 minutes better I think than last year.  Next year I will try and break the 1 hour (and maybe even run the marathon that I was supposed to have done this year).

All in all a great event and I would encourage everyone to take part next year.  I'll post all the pictures on Facebook when I get a chance.

(double click to bring up picture detail.)

Fourth International: East London 2010

This music video so, so, so reminds of "Ed"...who use to try and sell a "newspaper" outside the Malmesbury Estate, Bow...early 1990's (and the rest). 

Who is probably now Head of HR in financial services somewhere in Canary Wharf.

Hat-tip thingy various FB comrades
:)

Boris “dumps” on East London

Last week I commented on Boris’s decision to allow Tory Council Hammersmith & Fulham to approve a major new housing scheme to be built without any social housing provision.

"Inside Housing" now reports from an unnamed “London Labour Party” source that if Boris intends to “dump” all new social housing in the east of London then he was “lining up for a fight”.

I don’t think the term “dumps” is particularly helpful, social housing has enough negative connotations as it is – but I think everyone takes the point. I think that I can guess who made the remarks.

Boris has made a specific manifesto commitment that he will enable 50,000 new social housing homes by 2011. The government has agreed to give him (or rather the Mayor) the funding. However, it is becoming clear that Tory boroughs don’t want social housing tenants not least because as with Lady Porter in Westminster, they tend not to vote Tory.

Another article quotes Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Ealing, Acton and Shepherd’s Bush, said: ‘[Mr] Johnson’s rejection of his own professional officers’ advice shows that party politics, rather than housing policy, are determining decisions at City Hall.

The government needs to think again and take back the powers given to the mayoral office over planning and investment. Boris is clearly incapable of standing up to the Tory boroughs.

If these homes are not to be built where they are needed in London Tory boroughs then you are likely to get them concentrated in Labour boroughs. The strongest Labour Boroughs are of course in East London. Apart from the political “gerrymandering” that is going on, East London will have enough with its own problems of trying to house people in need without being expected to house and support people that the richer boroughs want to “cleanse”.