Visit to outer Newham Estates

Picture of myself with Newham Council residents in our estate in Rainham.

After a meeting in the local housing office, we went for a "walkabout" with residents and with Laura who is a Newham housing manager.

We came across a number of issues which need addressing and we will sort out.

It was good to meet again former West Ham ward Newham Councillor, Ron Manley (and his much better half Jean) who is now a local resident and quite rightly, Trouble-maker-in-Chief.

Hat tip picture Laura

Labour Today in West Ham

Picture collage is from last Saturday's Labour doorstep in West Ham ward.

The "gang of three" on the left are West Hammers John Whitworth, Ron Manley and yours truly.

One proud resident had the West Ham Football Club motif on their wall (top right).

As well as door knocking we were delivering the latest newsletter "Labour Today". 

There was a debate with residents whether the emergency locksmith number illegally stick on everyone's letter plate in this street and elsewhere (bottom right) was a failed locksmith business venture or a "sophisticated new scam" (see Daily Mail) by burglar's to identify vulnerable properties.

I have phoned the number but it has been constantly engaged. 

I have been told that placing the stickers on doors is probably criminal damage but there is no evidence that this was part of any wider criminal conspiracy.  Surely this not mean that the Daily Mail was telling porkies? 

West Ham Labour doorstep - Tennyson Road, E15 #selfie

I came back last night from the UNISON National Delegate conference in Liverpool. No rest for the wicked and was out again this morning for a Labour mobile surgery with Cllr Ron Manley, John Whitworth and Julianne Marriot.

The surgery went well. Most residents we spoke to had no complaints and many compliments about Council services in this area. 

Some residents were concerned about street cleansing and late night anti-social behaviour (ASB) by youths in the nearby park. I will speak to the Council ASB unit and the Police Safer Neighbourhood team about what they are doing about this problem and offered to meet with residents.

The #selfie Picture was taken by Julianne's mobile. (I didn't admit at the time that I hadn't have a clue what a selfie pic was)

West Ham doorstep & Leaflet drop

Pictures in collage are from yesterday morning ward leaflet drop and street surgery 2 weeks earlier.

I was asked to go into one house to see rubbish dumped in a rear garden by a local landlord agency which I later reported. Apart from this eyesore the family liked living in the area but were private tenants with no security of tenure.

Each year their Landlord's agent comes back wanting more rent or they face eviction. This is just plain stupid and the only people who really benefit from this churn are the agents.

Good tenants want security of tenure and good landlords want good tenants. Landlords don't want the time and expense of evicting tenants who pay their rent on time and respect their property. Why can't we have sensible regulation of rents and tenancies like they do in most of Europe and even in parts of the USA?

Yesterday I came across this plaque on a wall in Redriffe Road, E15 dating from1884 which I had never noticed before.  This land use to belong to St Mary's Church in Rotherhithe, South London (or Surrey as that part of London use to be part) and had been purchased in trust for the poor of the parish in 1659. The excellent local history website Newham Story says that the land was leased in 1878 for 80 years to build homes (and maybe a pub). I wonder who is the freeholder now?

Soggy West Ham LabourDoorstep

Picture is from this morning's street surgery and doorstep in West Ham Ward, Newham, London. I had a traditional Councillor surgery in Vicarage Lane Community Centre beforehand.

During which I tried to help a constituent who is being forced to move due to the Tory Bedroom tax. S/he is a single parent in a 3 bedroom property with 2 young daughters who are now expected to share a bedroom, so s/he has to uproot them from friends and schools to move to a 2 bedroom.

When the children get older, will be be able to rehouse them in a 3-bedroom? Or will they have to share a bedroom until they leave home? Roll on General Election in 2015.

It began to rain a few minutes before we met up for the doorstep and continued off and on for the rest of the session. There were 4 of West Ham ward Labour Party finest,  Cllr Ron Manley, Secretary John Whitworth, Julieanne Marriot, Adam Tyndall (and of course me).

Things were a bit slow to start with lots of people out but eventually we picked up a new Labour Party member and lots of case work relating to recycling, parking, abandoned vehicles and I was even involved in trying to work out a land title problem between neighbours which was over 40 years old.

Hat tip pic Adam of Julieanne, John and John "on the knocker". 

Ham Park Village Residents & Make the Space a Place

This report is from what I thought was a pretty successful and constructive meeting tonight of Ham Park Village Residents Association at the Vicarage Lane Community Centre, E15.

Things in life never run that smoothly. There was two last minute scares about the meeting. Firstly, the centre thought it had been cancelled (it hadn't) then we were locked out since there was a problem with the key to open the centre but that was soon sorted out.

There were about 30 local residents present. Ham Park Village is to the west of the historic 1874 West Ham Park, which is the largest public park in Newham and run by a Charitable Trust funded by the City of London. There was a representative from the Park, the local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) Sergeant and Newham Council officers, as well as my West Ham ward colleague, Cllr Ron Manley.

 

The first part of the meeting dealt with local Policing issues in our ward, the Park and the Ham Village area. The SNT reported that the ward was 11th out of the 20 Newham wards in terms of crime reports and had average reports of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB). Despite being "average" there are a number of problems in the ward which impact on residents lives. Street drinkers, low level drug taking, prostitution and violence amongst young people. However, other statistics tell us that while there is problems it is still an area people like and want to stay and live.

 

There was some fiery questions to the Police and the West Ham Park representative but it was on the whole measured and reasoned yet at times passionate. There was a sort of general  agreement (apart from Park benches) at the end of this discussion and also a commitment to better tackle seasonable drink related ASB. 

 

The second part of the meeting was an excellent update and presentation by Newham Council officers. Firstly, on the proposed gates in (a small part) Aileen Walk which has gone out to public consultation. The money has been agreed and providing that the consultation is successful, it should go ahead!

 

Then the age old and controversial issue of "The Wall". Now, this is a low level wall in an unused green space in the village area which nobody quite knows why or when it was built. It serves no useful purpose and there is very significant amounts of ASB reported around "The Wall". The Council housing department own the land and while they have no current plans for it's use are prepared to lease it out to a Community Garden project. They may well want it back in the future to build on but have no plans at this moment and are willing to let it be used for a good purpose in the meanwhile.

 

So this plan is to encourage local residents to take responsibility for the area, get grants and permissions, then knock down the wall and build a Community Garden. To grow fruit, veg and roses. Very like the existing Newham Abbey Gardens and First Avenue Community Garden model. The presentation by various Council officers was very good and the idea was well received. Obviously there was issues and concerns raised but the overwhelming response was positive. We are hopefully at last doing something about "The Wall" and bringing together the local community.

 

This was a great meeting, I enjoyed it and learnt a lot as well. Many thanks to all involved. A Community Garden planning meeting will be held very soon. If anyone local wants to get involved they can email me for contact details of the Ham Village RA.

 

I did twitter during the meeting on hashtag #westhamlbn.

Out and about for Labour in West Ham

Today I took annual leave from work and campaigned for Ken and Labour in my ward, West Ham. In Newham there were a number of target wards in which we ran full GOTY (Get out the Vote) sessions with polling agents and "knock up" teams. In the rest of the borough we had smaller teams "working their ward" to maximise
turnout.

It was a great day. The rain held off (only a little bit of drizzle now and then - nothing like what we have had in recent weeks). Collage Picture of key West Ham Labour activists John Whitworth, Montrose Matty, Councillor Ron Manley and Freda Bourne (double click to bring up detail). I only heard one negative political comment all day from the hundreds we came in contact with (an attack on Ed Miliband coupled with a tease about "Red Ken").  The majority of "West Ham-mers" were genuinely open and enthusiastic about voting for Ken and Labour (although one person said she would normally vote Labour but she use to be a waitress and she once served him but he didn't give her a tip! I said I am sure that there must have been some sort of a misunderstanding).  The ward is a traditional Labour heartland (as is most of Newham) and the support for the Party amongst all parts of the community is genuinely humbling. Afterwards we went for a beer and a curry in the excellent Manus Palm Grove Restaurant in West Ham Lane.

The London Count does not start until tomorrow morning and the results not expected until late Friday.  I am sure that Labour will do well but turnout is key. Will Tory supporters do what Labour supporters do when they are "unhappy" with a Labour Government and sit on their hands and not vote???    

West Ham Ward Street Surgery (and getting the Vote Out for Ken)

After my offical surgery yesterday in the Rokeby Community Centre (where apparently Katie, the Duchess of Cambridge, made a very successful private visit to the centre last week and had lunch with staff and users) I went on a Street Surgery with fellow West Ham Councillor Ron Manley (left of centre picture) and top ward secretary John Whitworth (right).

We knocked on doors and introduced ourselves to local residents and asked if they had any issues that they wanted to speak to us about.  It may have been the blue skies and warm sunshine but we had a really good reception.  We obviously reminded everyone about the GLA election next year and the importance of getting rid of Johnson as the Coalition Tory London Mayor. 

The only clear "Against" I came across had a poor opinion of all politicians and spoke highly of Arthur Lewis (former Labour MP for the area until deselected in 1983) as a "man of the people...who you could stop in the street and talk to...".  I did not live in Newham at the time and understand that many who did, had a somewhat alternative view of Arthur.  However, Mr Against, also had let me say, an extremely poor opinion (expressed in fluent east end), of Mayor Johnson, so Ken may still be in with a chance. 

Other residents expressed concern about anti-social behaviour by local youths (a tiny, tiny minority of all young people) and rogue "Rachman" private sector landlords who do not care about the state of their properties and do nothing about the bad behaviour of some of their residents.  There are a number of initiatives that the Council and West Ham Police Safer Neighbourhood team are carrying out at the moment against ASB in this area which I expect to make a big difference.  While the Council's pioneering initiative to try and licence all private landlords is I think potentially brilliant.  Protecting tenants and their neighbours, encouraging good landlords and attacking the bad. Great stuff.

Across Newham yesterday and today there has been similar door knocking by Councillors and local Labour Party members.  We are also carrying out telephone surveys of West Ham residents. 

One other story I came across yesterday was from an Newham resident about how she was complaining bitterly about this rotten Tory Coalition government when her daughter interrupted her to say "Mum, you can't complain about this government...you don't bother to vote at the election last year"... and to be fair to Mum, she accepted this and just grinned somewhat sheepishly.   Lesson learnt.

Councillor Ron Manley: 25 Years Award

Picture is from last nights Newham Council Annual General meeting in the Old Town Hall in Stratford, E15.  Ron (2nd from right) is being presented with a picture of West Ham Church by Newham Mayor, Sir Robin Wales for serving the community as a Councillor for 25 years.

Ron is my fellow Labour Councillor in West Ham Ward (with Cllr Freda Bourne).  He is orginally from Liverpool, who spent 9 years in the British Army before settling down in Newham with his wife Jean. They recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversity. Ron and Jean live in the ward and are proud to be Council tenants.  

One Year on...West Ham Ward Election Declaration 7 May 2010

Tempus fugit. It's been a year to the day since I was elected with Freda and Ron as Labour Councillors for West Ham Ward in Newham, London.  The term actually began officially on May 10.  While in London (especially in the East) we defeated the Tories and wiped out the BNP, nationally of course, it was a disaster which we are now paying the price.

Newham Council Civic Reception to Honour 7 Rifles

On Thursday evening there was a Newham Council Civic reception in the historic Old Town Hall in Stratford to honour the soldiers who serve in our local Territorial Army infantry Battalion, The 7 Rifles. 

A number of whom over the years have volunteered to support their Regular Army Rifle Regiment counterparts on tours of duty. 

The Company headquarters are in actually my ward at the TA Centre, Portway, E15.  Not only that but my fellow ward Councillor, Freda Bourne,  has a son currently serving in Afghanistan and our third ward Councillor, Ron Manley (a former regular soldier) has a grandson who is due to go out in December.

Next year they are looking for 15 soldiers from West Ham to go to Afghanistan and join the Regular Army Battalion for a winter tour.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to talk to our soldiers about their experiences.  Some of them had brought their wives and partners to the reception. 

I spoke to a newly qualified London bus driver based in Newham who had been on 7 different military tours including Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Kenya and Cyprus. 

During the formal speeches Newham Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, thanked all of our service men and women who put themselves at risk on behalf of our country.  He pointed out that Newham Councillors represents all sections of the community and we are all very proud and supportive of 7 Rifles. 

Our local MP Lyn Brown was also there chatting to the soldiers and their partners.  I was particular impressed with the honesty and openness shown by some of these soldiers who had fought in recent conflicts and who had lost friends and comrades.  The Rifles Regiment as a whole I believe has had 52 men killed in action in Afghanistan. With Remembrance Day coming soon our thoughts are with their friends and families.

I was pleased to find out while in conversation with the Deputy Lieutenant of Newham, Colonel Mike Dudding, that in a former life he had been a trade union rep as well!

(pictured with Cllr Sharaf Mahmood and Cllr Firoza Nekiwala with members of 7 Rifles)

First day of London Blitz 70th anniversity: Abbey Road Depot

Last week I posted about the first day of the London Blitz in West Ham on 7 September 1940.  That day 5 civilians were killed in in their garden shelter's in Ranelagh Road, E15.

Yesterday I went on a ward "walkabout" with my fellow West Ham Councillors, Ron and Freda, together with senior Council officers. 

We passed this memorial to 13 "Air Raid Precaution and Fire Service" personal who were killed on the same day at the Abbey Road Depot by German bombing.

This depot was first opened by West Ham Counicl 1896 and is still used now as a depot by Newham Homes.

Nearby Turley Close, E15 is named after Wally Turley. Turley was a sub officer in the West Ham Fire Brigade who was killed that day.

taking pictures of me..taking pictures

I posted about my visit last month to the Friends of Abbey Garden summer fair and a photo collage here.

Later I found that on one of their websites there was by co-incidence a webcam picture (bottom) of me taking one of the photos I used in the collage of my fellow ward Councillor Ron Manley (in white on right top).

Well.. I thought this was a little bit interesting anyway.

Red Newham: 63 – Nil

Not forgetting for a moment that we were beaten nationally and are facing the awful prospect of a Tory/Liberal coalition government. I will congratulate Labour comrades in Newham and across London for some magnificent results.

In Newham as I have already posted here our two MPs were re-elected with massive and increased majorities and there was a swing from the Conservatives to Labour!

Our Labour Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, was elected on the first ballot with an equally huge majority and nearly 65,000 votes (68% of turnout).

While we also won all 60 Councillor seats in Newham Council with thumping majorities - defeating the last remaining Respect Councillor and seeing off the simply dreadful CPA by over 600 votes. The Tories came closest at Royal Docks ward but still lost by over 400 votes.

I was really pleased and very proud to be elected as a Labour Councillor with Ron Manley and Freda Bourne for West Ham ward. Freda came top with 3290 votes, Ron next with 3048 and I was the 3rd elected member with 2906. The 4th non-elected candidate was a Conservative who polled 886.  There was another 6 opposition candidates.

Arguable it was "65 - nil" since our London Assembly member John Biggs and our MEP Claude Moraes are both Labour as well. Check out Newham results here.

I will post further on the campaign and the ordeal of the Counts another time.

Congratulation to Barking and Dagenham comrades (and “Hope not Hate”) who wiped out all the BNP Councillors and also took all the Council seats (51 – nil). Special mention to UNISON NEC member and Lolly pop lady, Louise Couling, who DID defeat BNP Assembly member Barnbrook.

I was also ecstatic that Team Labour was elected in Tower Hamlets.   Rushanara Ali was elected MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, Respect were practically wiped out (only one seat left) and the utterly loathsome (and now exposed as cowardly) Mr Galloway, was soundly defeated by Jim Fitzpatrick in Limehouse and Poplar.

I understand that Labour will now control a majority of “London Councils”.

Finally Commiserations to all Labour Parliamentary and Council Candidates who were not elected. We must not be carried away with our relative local successes but must concentrate now on getting the National Party in shape, revitalised and re-organised in time for a probable general election coming some time soon.

West Ham Team Labour “on the knocker” in Royal Docks

My second campaign canvass on Bank Holiday Monday was with my fellow Labour candidates for West Ham ward while “on the knocker” in Royal Docks ward, East Ham.

See picture of Ron and Freda with the famous “Lyons Golden Syrup” sign behind them (Tate and Lyle factory). This took place in typical British May weather. Sunshine one moment followed rapidly by rain then more sunshine.

Royal Docks ward had a strong Tory challenge at a recent by-election. But I thought our voter ID reception yesterday was pretty good. Local residents appreciate the work of the Royal Docks councillors and nobody appears to have any appetite for the Tories - locally or nationally.

Your Labour Team in West Ham

Great to see Ted, Gerry, Victor, Rhoda and Louis as our local West Ham endorsers!

West Ham Labour: Working for You

Double click left to bring up detail.

Labour Party Council Candidates for West Ham Ward 2010 Election

It’s now official. Freda Bourne, Ron Manley and I are Labour Party Council candidates for West Ham Ward in Newham.

Sir Robin Wales is the Labour Party candidate for Mayor of Newham.

Lyn Brown will be nominated as our Labour Party Parliamentary candidate for West Ham Constituency next week.

Team Labour!  All working together for the People of Newham.

Lyn Brown MP – West Ham “T” Party

This morning I helped out at the latest “Community Development” meeting held by local Labour MP, Lyn Brown, at the Vicarage Lane Centre in Stratford.

These meetings (better known as “Tea Parties”) are organised by Lyn’s Parliamentary office and take place all over her constituency. She invites local residents to meet herself, local Councillors (today Ron Manley seen back of photo and Freda Bourne) and the ward Police Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT).

The purpose of these meetings is to informally discuss local problems, issues and possible solutions over tea and biscuits. These meetings I think have been hugely successful.

In London every single Council ward has a dedicated team of regular police and Community Support Officers. I think that these teams (which is a local and national Labour party initiative opposed by the Tories) are making a big difference to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour especially in urban areas.

I think about 70 people turned up this morning and I sat and chatted with people while they were waiting to see Lyn or the Councillors. One common problem that came up was about irresponsible landlords who were converting terrace houses into Houses in Multiple Occupations (HMO). These landlords carry out botched conversions, leave behind building rubble and fail to maintain the properties properly. Many of these rogue landlords also do nothing about the small minority of their residents who cause a nuisance and even misery to their neighbours.

Nowadays the Council can prosecute Landlords of HMOs who fail to manage their properties and even in extreme cases they can take over their management.

I’ll be interested to see some research on how effective this licensing has been.

One thing that I found striking was that on one table none of the residents knew each other even though they had all lived in the ward for many years. None of them had never met their local MP, Councillors or the SNT before today. So simply turning up and discussing problems with each other and their elected representatives was a good start I think.

Finally, on a negative note, many Newham Labour party members who also popped by to show their support, were stunned at the sacking of Newham UNISON Chair Michael Gavan by the Council. I’m speaking to the branch to find out what happens next and what can be done to help.