Edward (Ted) Nolan - socialist, soldier, trade unionist and tenant activist. RIP comrade

 

I was saddened to hear of the death of Ted. He was a good age (87) and had battled ill heath for decades but I have lost a good comrade. Ted was "old school" East End. He lived in West Ham ward but if you asked him if he was local, he would be taken aback and say no, he was from Canning Town! (the next ward to West Ham)

At 18 he was conscripted into the Army and served as a Rifleman overseas during the Malayan Emergency. In the Army he learnt how to drive a Heavy Good Vehicle and when he was discharged began a career as a lorry driver, much of the time transporting dangerous industrial chemicals up and down the land. 

Being a lorry driver he became a member of the T&GWU union and became embroiled in a number of tough disputes with management to protect workers rights. There was no "ACAS conciliation procedure" in those days. 

He would tell me all about these disputes when he was acting as my "bodyguard" during my Councillor surgeries in the TRA room (following the stabbing of East Ham MP, Stephen Timms, all Newham Councillor surgeries are supposed to have someone nearby in case of  problems). 

As well as a trade unionist he was also an active tenants rep. Ted remained a Council tenant all his life and refused to exercise his "right to buy" his home. 

The top picture is my very favourite of Ted, making his point, at a coffee morning surgery with our West Ham MP, Lyn Brown in 2007 (and local Councillor at the time, Judith Garfield). 

Below is the award by Ed Balls MP in 2013 to Ted of a Labour Party "Certificate of Merit" marking his 40 years of service to the Party. Ted only turned up since we pretended that a friend of his would get be getting the award. He never, ever, wanted any "fuss or bother" for himself. 

Ted is being buried this Thursday and in accordance with his wishes, his family want a private funeral. I will be attending to say goodbye to Ted and the ward will be sending a wreath on behalf of all of us. 

21 floor "walkabout" Brassett Point

On Friday I went on a "walkabout" with residents and Newham Housing officers from the top to the bottom of Brassett Point in my ward.

It is always encouraging when you see residents who actively care about their homes and their environment. They have collected a petition, which 90 out of the 120 flats have signed, calling for improvements in communal repairs and stopping anti-social behaviour.

A number of actions were agreed and there will be follow up inspection later in the year.

The sister block nearby, David Lee Point (see picture left who also sent a resident representative) will be next.

By coincidence it was good to meet up with former colleagues from Tower Hamlets Council. I used to work with Agnes, now a local resident, (2nd from right above) when she was a Homeless Officer and Bob, a local caretaker (not in picture) we met on the walkabout who used to work with me on the Ranwell East (Roman Road) estate.

The longstanding Leather Gardens TRA rep, Ted Nolan (1st on left), was there as ever, to keep things moving along and all of us in order.

The residents will be handing in their petition at the next full Council meeting and are planning to send in a delegation to speak at the meeting. They are also going to set up a Facebook page for the block.

West Hammers play away at Palace

Picture collage from last Thursday's meeting of the West Ham Labour Party General Committee, which courtesy of our MP, Lyn Brown, took place at the Jubilee Room in the Palace of Westminster. Beforehand we went on a guided tour of Parliament, led by our Vice Chair, Julianne Marriott, (who is a qualified Blue badge guide) and members of Lyn's team.  This included a visit to the Chamber of the Commons itself (which was obviously not in session).

Veteran Party member, Ted Nolan, was not impressed with Parliament at all and wanted to know how much it cost to run and maintain.  I thought it best not to mention the £5.7 billion estimate to refurbish it.

Next was drinks and nibbles in the Jubilee Room (which MPs can book if they are successful in a ballot).

Lyn spoke first and read out a message from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn MP to West Ham "home of the first ever Labour MP Keir Hardie ". Keynote speaker was Labour London Mayoral candidate, Sadiq Khan, who spoke about his plans if elected - living rent, 50% affordable housing for new developments, build on land owned by Transport for London (they have a land bank equivalent to 16 times the size of Hyde Park); cutting fares and zero tolerance of hate crimes.

The Q&A that followed was as usual dominated by housing issues, in particular affordability. I asked about what he could do to improve the governance of Housing Associations in London, many of which (not all) are seen as unaccountable and unresponsive (and even worse e.g. those that refuse to recognise trade unions). Sadiq made it very clear that as Mayor he will not work with Housing Associations that act badly, especially if they do not meet his affordability targets.

After the speeches, we hovered up the food and wine and then a group of us continued solving all the problems in the world in the nearby "Westminster Arms".    

Edward Nolan - Certificate of Merit for 40 Years Labour Party Membership

Picture of Edward (Ted) Nolan receiving his Certificate of Merit from the Labour Party at last nights West Ham CLP fund raising dinner.

The award was presented to Ted and his wife by Ed Balls MP and our local MP Lyn Brown. It was signed by Party leader Ed Miliband and General Secretary Iain McNicol.

Ted has been a member of the Party for over 40 years. A former HGV driver and Transport & General Workers Union activist.

He has lived in Newham all his life apart from 2 years he spent as a Rifleman while on national service during the Malayan Emergency. As well as a tireless organiser for the Labour Party Ted has also spent much of his life as a respected champion of tenant's rights.

A true Labour Movement Hero.