Newham Labour Movement Family meet up for TUC March

This is a picture of local trade union and Labour Party members meeting up outside Stratford Station on Saturday morning to go on the TUC March.

East Ham MP Stephen Timms, Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales and about 50 Councillors, trade union activists and local residents marched together against these Tory led government cuts and for an alternative economic policy.

Many more from Newham of course marched with their trade unions and affiliates or with friends and families.   I was by then already with my UNISON branch and London region at Embankment. 

The joint leafleting beforehand across Newham by Party members and union activists helped contribute in a small but symbolic way to the success of the March.  It encouraged many ordinary Newham residents to attend who would not have gone otherwise and showed that the Labour movement family when working together can deliver.

Picture Ali G.

Holocaust Memorial Day - Suitcase Kindertransport

This photograph is from the statue commentating the Suitcase Kindertransport in the aptly named Hope Square outside Liverpool Station in East London. 

Before the Second World War nearly 10,000 children (mostly Jewish but also many children of left wing opponents) were sent to the UK from Germany and saved from being murdered by the Nazi.  Many of them arrived in the UK via Liverpool Street Station.

On the 27th January it was Holocaust Memorial Day.  In many Newham schools they held workshops and ceremonial remembrance events.  In Essex Primary School in Manor Park, Ruth Barnet, who was actually one of these Suitcase Kindertransport children who fled to safety and who then went to this school, gave a speech to the school together with our Mayor, Sir Robin Wales. Check out also The Newham Mag (page 14)

The original tale of the Suitcase Kindertransport has been one of the top ten posts of the week on my blog for quite a while.

Update: Check out more photos of statue on Facebook here

Newham salutes its 7 Rifles local heros

Picture of Newham Council Mayor Sir Robin Wales and West Ham MP Lyn Brown at this Civic reception for our local TA Company last month.  From Mayors View - Page 7 of this months thenewhammag

London Labour Party Biennial Conference 2010 (Morning speeches)

On Saturday at the Old Town Hall in Stratford there was the 2010 London Labour Party Biennial conference. 

This is now the 2nd London Biennial conference that I have posted upon. Check out 2008 here. I was again a member of the UNISON affiliate trade union delegation.  However, before the meeting I was helping out with the distribution of flyer's to all delegates about the impending launch of a London Branch of the Labour Housing Group (which was sponsored by UNISON Labour Link).

Usual health warning on the accuracy of my hurried notes. London Labour Party Regional Director Ken Clark opened the conference.  The first speaker was the the borough host, Newham Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, who happily reminded all delegates to sniff and enjoy the "Tory free" air in Newham.  Even better, in next door Barking and Dagenham, they enjoy the air being totally fascist free after the May elections! (loud applause).

Robin points out the sheer inequity and political gerrymandering of the "cuts" which has meant Newham will suffer £71 in cuts while Coalition run Richmond upon Thames, will only suffer £5 million.

Next was GLA Labour Assembly and London Pary leader, Len Duvall. I'll concentrate on the interesting bits of his speech (to me).  He condemned the Henz 57 model of community and personality politics.  Where elections are decided not on the basis of transparent London issues but on what is happening elsewhere.  The London Labour Party does want to have local parties (Tower Hamlets) in special measures, its not that we don't like someone or their politics but we are genuinely worried about what would happen.

Len spoke about the importance of London Labour Councils, not being too managerial and technical.  We need to be political and show there is a difference between us and them.  Between Labour and Brian Coleman.  We are different.  We want to genuinely negotiate and consult meaningfully.  If we look at terms and conditions of staff we need to think very carefully and make sure that everyone knows there is a difference.

Finally, never forget that Boris is an "anti-politician" who can make people laugh.  But the Tories fear Ken.  Because they know that Ken at his best is so superb.

Next was Barking MP Margaret Hodge.  Not only were the BNP in Barking and Dagenham "smashed" in May but their local defeat has contributed to their national destruction. Since May their BNP group leader has emigrated to Australia; BNP Assembly member Richard Barnsbrook has been expelled from their Party; their national leader Nick Griffin has agreed to resign and the BNP is also facing bankruptcy (shame). But we cannot take things for granted - such as the growth of the EDL. 

In London in May we won control of 10 new councils and 200 new Labour councillors. But this was still the 2nd worse defeat nationally in our history.  The Coalition policies are based on ideology not deficit. They are doing this because they believe in a small state, and "private good; public bad". This is worse than Shirley Porter in Westminster who only affected 1000 residents.  This policy will try and create middle class ghettos cleaned of anyone working class.

Remember always that Boris is at heart an enthusiastic right wing slasher.

Karen Bucks MP was warmly welcomed not least when she announced that dispute Tory predictions she was still the Labour MP for Westminster North!  Karen asked whether London stopped the Tories getting an overall majority? What will happen to waiting lists when the budget for new build is slashed by 50%?  Housing benefit may be a issue that makes ears bleed but even Boris is aware that if the housing benefits cuts go ahead then 20,000 children could lose their homes.

Finally, Labour should accept that they did not built enough houses while in power but instead did spend billions on much needed refurbishment and decent homes. However, we should agree that we did not spend enough time and money on new building new homes.

Note the recent comments by Tories that they only lost Westminister and Hammersmith seats to Labour because there are "too many poor people" living in these boroughs.

(I'll hopefully post on rest of conference later UPDATE: here)

West Ham Church of All Saints Remembrance Sunday Service

This morning I attended the Remembrance Service in the 12th Century Church of All Saints in my ward, West Ham.

The Deputy Lieutenant of Newham, Colonel Mike Dudding, our Mayor Sir Robin Wales and West Ham MP Lyn Brown was present.  As well as veterans, parishioners, residents, 7 Rifles Territorial Army, Sea Cadets, Army Cadets, Councillors and Senior Council officers.

The Church is over a 1,000 years old and is the one of the oldest (or arguably the oldest) building in Newham and lies in in the heart of West Ham Ward.  It is extremely impressive and I would encourage everyone to visit it.  

The service was taken by the vicar, The Revd Stennett Kirby.  He made a particular point of arguing that since in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim tradition, widows and orphans should be honoured, so therefore the spouses and children of servicemen and women who have been killed in recent Wars should not suffer from the Cuts that the Coalition government is proposing  (No comment but check out this BBC link here).

Even though I am a lifelong atheist, as usual, I found the service and the ceremony profoundly moving. 

After the last post and the two minutes silence, Mr Alf Gittings, a member of the Royal Navel Association read out

" They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
  Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
  At the going down of the sun and in the morning
  We will remember them".

To which we all replied "We will remember them"

I did wonder during the service whether Beckton gas worker, Will Thorne, the founder of the GMB trade union and former West Ham Councillor, Mayor and MP, had ever attended a similar service in this very same Church?  I assume he did. During the First World War he had joined the West Ham Volunteer Force with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. His eldest son also joined the army and was killed in action at Ypres in 1917.

There were at least three other remembrance events in Newham today.  Check out my previous post about the 2007 West Ham All Saints service here and Thursday's East Ham Cenotaph ceremony here.

Remember, remember the fifth of November...(and other things)

"Remember, remember the fifth of November, The gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason, Should ever be forgot...".

This was the "traditional" introduction on the PA to tonight's Newham Mayor Guy Fawkes Night Firework display on Wanstead flats.  Click on College to bring up detail.

The venue was packed with local residents with lots of families - kids, parents, uncle and aunties and grandparents, all together and enjoying the occasion.  Thankfully the rain held off, it was quite warm and the sky was relatively clear.

The firework display and music was simply fantastic and a real special treat.  It was enthusiastically received by the crowd.

The explosions, bangs and bright lights did I must admit once again set me thinking about this location 70 years ago during the London Blitz.  When Wanstead flats was the site of massive anti-aircraft batteries, barrage balloon stations and search lights trying to defend East London against German bombers.  Every few minutes or so tonight you could see an aircraft fly (high) over the display.  Some of the fireworks resembled the "Ack-Ack" anti-aircraft tracer fire and the flares that would have been fired in anger from roughly the same spot during those terrible times.

Last week while waiting to attend the Civic Reception for our local Territorial Battalion, 7 Rifles, at the Old Town Hall, Stratford I had a look at the Newham special exhibition to remember the 70th Anniversary of the Blitz.  Local residents of the time were quoted as saying that the first they knew of the mass raid on 7 September 1940 was when they heard the guns in Wanstead flats open fire on the enemy.

My Scottish Grandfather served in London during the Second World War in a Edinburgh TA Royal Artillery anti-aircraft regiment.  We are not sure where he was based but the family think that it could  have been on Wanstead flats.  My father remembered as a child travelling down by train from Edinburgh with his Mum and little sister to visit my Grandfather and staying with a local London family in a terrace house overlooking a "park".  Who knows - it could even be the street or even house I live in now. Wouldn't it be great to find out?

Later during the war this part of Wanstead flats had a German prison of war camp built on it.  It has also been used ever since as a site for large fun fairs and circus.  During the 2012 Olympics the Police are proposing to temporally site a "briefing centre" at this spot. 

On the way out I bumped into Newham Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, who had during the event been wearing his chain of office and had spent most of the evening being asked by children to pose for a picture of them with him.

Labour's Abbas for Mayor: Uniting the East End

On Saturday Newham Labour  activists came to help our sister Party in Tower Hamlets canvass for Helal Abbas in the Chrisp Street Market area, E14.

I was with two teams of 10 members and supporters.  There was other teams led by Stephen Timms MP and the Newham Executive Mayor, Sir Robin Wales.

When we first arrived we had a little bit of a heckle from some very excited bloke who shouted at us (from across the road in the Somerfields Car Park) that we should "be ashamed to be voting Labour" due to the recession.  To which I responded that we were very proud to be Labour and that maybe he should just not vote for us then?   

Apart from that the canvass went really well and on route we "bumped" into the candidate Helal and local MP Jim Fitzpatrick, in the middle of the market (see picture).  All sections of the community  seemed aware of the forthcoming election and willing to come out on the day to support the Helal.

(Election is on 21 October - Campaign office is at 349 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2 9RA - 3 mins from Bethnal Green tube and is open for canvassing and leafleting from 10am-6.30pm every day until the election.  Or you can ring 0207 729 6682 or email abbas4mayor@gmail.com for further details).

Shape Newham's Future: Sunday 5 Sept 7-8.30pm

Newham Councillors & Mayor 2010: The Largest Labour Group in the Country

 I thought I would cheer up every one's Bank holiday by posting this picture from the AGM of Newham Council. 

The photo was taken in the historic Old Town Hall in Stratford. 

I hope this isn't seen as political boasting but:-

In the London Borough of Newham 60 out of the possible 60 elected Councillors are Labour Party candidates.

The directly elected Mayor, Sir Robin Wales is Labour. So are both MP's,  Stephen Timms (who has the largest majority in the country) and Lyn Brown.  The local directly elected London Assembly member, John Biggs, is Labour as is the directly elected Member for the European Parliament, Claude Moraes.

Is there something in the Newham - clear red water?