Posts

Save Our Buses and Mini-Holland

April 5, 2017 Mini Holland

As this blog has observed before, many of those who vociferously debate Mini-Holland in Waltham Forest remain unconvincing, largely because of their unfortunate habit of confusing anecdote and assertion with properly grounded research. However, there are exceptions, and one that stands out is the organisation Save Our Buses (SOB). SOB was formed in 1990, and has been campaigning pretty much ever since, along the way becoming an authoritative voice in the borough. What makes it stand out is the forensic nature of its approach, and the clarity of its briefings. Inevitably, over the past couple o... »

Waltham Forest Labour begins the selection process for the next council elections…and Momentum bottles it

March 15, 2017 Momentum, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

The closing date for applications to stand for Labour at the next council election has just passed, and fevered rumours are circulating about who has, and has not, put themselves forward. I understand that three sitting councillors have called it a day – Peter Barnett (most famous for his late night Facebook spat with Cllr. Dhedi), Angie Bean, and one time big-shot Johar Khan (who appears still to be suspended – what on earth did he do that it has taken so long to clear up?). Meanwhile, the Momentum push has spectacularly fizzled out. Private caucus followed private caucus, but despite e... »

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LBWF and Community Ward Forums: a further blow to local democracy

March 13, 2017 Cllr. Chris Robbins, The Conservatives in Waltham Forest, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

I have written previously about LBWF’s gradual strangulation of Community Ward Forums, and it would appear that this unfortunate trend is now reaching its logical end point, with, perhaps unexpectedly,  Conservative hands on the wind pipe. A motion presented by Conservative Councillors Siggers and James to the Council meeting in December 2016 sounded the death knell. It argued that though Community Ward Forums had been ‘very successful’ in providing support to ‘many community groups’, they had been ‘far less successful’ in reaching and engaging with ‘hard to reach groups’, whose needs well mig... »

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Waltham Forest and Islamist terrorism

March 8, 2017 Cllr. Chris Robbins, Prevent

This week, the Henry Jackson Society’s Hannah Stuart published a report entitled Islamist Terrorism: Analysis of Offences and Attacks in the UK (1998–2015) which contains profiles of all Islamism-inspired terrorism convictions and suicide attacks, ordered chronologically by date of arrest or incident. One finding is of considerable local interest: ‘Across…[1998 to 2015], East London was home to half (50%) of London-based offenders, while the three most common boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest – contained the offenders’ residence in 38% of all Londoner IROs [Islamism-related o... »

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Momentum in Waltham Forest: the promise and the reality UPDATED

January 30, 2017 Cllr. Saima Mahmud, Cllr. Shabana Dhedi/Qadir, Momentum, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

As is well known by now, Momentum promises a ‘new politics’, one characterised by, amongst other things, openness, transparency, and enhanced democratic participation. Since this blog has always supported such unarguably laudable values, it is worth asking whether the Momentum group here in Waltham Forest is walking the walk, that is living up to the aims of the organisation as a whole. Predictably, Momentum Waltham Forest communicates most extensively on Facebook, and so an obvious starting point is to look at what it has been posting. The bulk of the material revolves around calls to support... »

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Dave Hill on ‘Mini-Holland’ in Enfield

January 20, 2017 Mini Holland, Uncategorized

Writing for his blog, the Guardian‘s Dave Hill, who has his favourites but is sometimes moderately iconoclastic, surveys how ‘Mini-Holland’ is evolving in our neighbour, Enfield: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2017/jan/17/the-long-war-of-mini-holland-in-enfield One sentence jumps out: ‘Meeting Rogers [‘Clare Rogers, local resident and mainstay of a group called Better Streets for Enfield’] made a nice change from encountering cycling zealots on social media, whose sanctimony, viciousness and weird conspiracy theories – these from the ... »

STOP PRESS: Coghill replaces Robbins as Labour Group Leader

January 6, 2017 Cllr. Chris Robbins, Cllr. Clare Coghill, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest, Waltham Forest Labour Party

Labour councillors have just completed voting for their new Group Leader, and the results are as follows: Clare Coghill 30 Nadeem Ali 9 Gerry Lyons 1 Two of those eligible to vote did not attend (one was away, one sick) while another is currently suspended. It is said that Gerry Lyons’ single vote was cast by….Gerry Lyons. Amusement aside, however, it will be interesting to see what if any changes Cllr. Coghill now institutes. Will she act on her ‘little list’? Will there be a ‘new direction’? Or is she, as some have suggested, simply a more human face for t... »

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George Tomlinson Primary School, Leytonstone: the spectre of ‘academisation’ persists?

December 28, 2016 Academies

Earlier posts have reported on recent events at George Tomlinson Primary School in Leytonstone, and in particular noted the apprehension of some parents, teachers and onlookers that it is being prepared for ‘academisation’, perhaps by stealth. The development that first triggered such anxieties – the involvement of The Lime Academy Trust in the management of the school – has now come to an end, but as several correspondents have reminded me, this has by no means re-established a satisfactory status quo. What in part is fuelling the fire at this juncture is the governing body’s appointment of o... »

Waltham Forest’s Mini-Holland: an imminent exposé?

December 21, 2016 Mini Holland

I recently stumbled across this video about Mini-Holland (MH) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hEVPJm-cBM What is perhaps of more interest is the following statement that its creator has placed on Facebook: ‘This video is a response to the feedback from ENJOY WALTHAM FOREST in regards to MH. The feedback claims that residents are happy with the scheme. This is perversely misleading; the scheme has actually torn Walthamstow into two parts. The claims have now prompted other areas of the UK to follow suit and implement a MH. This video is here to highlight the feelings of local... »

Chris Robbins: in memoriam UPDATED

December 16, 2016 Cllr. Chris Robbins, LBWF

EduAction: www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2015/02/10/down-memory-lane-2-nrf-eduaction-and-an-open-letter-to-cllr-chris-robbins/ Town Hall ‘culture’: www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2015/03/09/the-independent-panel-report-it-has-been-impossible-to-find-any-individual-within-the-council-itself-who-understands-what-was-contracted-and-what-has-been-delivered-for-the-money Worknet www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2015/03/24/documenting-past-failures-9-the-lbwf-worknet-fiasco/ The Olympics www.walthamforestmatters.org.uk/2015/04/08/our-olympics-2-lbwf-and-leyton-market-the-council-wins-a... »