Camden News
Publications by New Journal Enterprises
spacer
  Home Archive Competition Jobs Tickets Accommodation Dating Contact us
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
spacer
Letters to the Editor
 
The perils of letting in the Tories

As we approach the council elections on May 4 and your letters pages become logjammed with candidates proclaiming the very best or the very worst of the borough, I have paused for a moments reflection.
Local Democracy is a precious thing – it allows us to determine our future, how our local services are run. It is so much more than the protest vote protrayed by the national media. I was born and brought up in the North of Ireland where it didn’t mean any of that – where whoever citizens voted for could not form a Government and citizens didn’t have a say over how local services were run.
Perhaps because of that, I passionately believe that local democracy matters – it is important who runs your public services. The parties in Camden have very different ideas about values and priorities. The values and priorities of Labour Camden are clear – excellence in public service comitted to tackling inequality. It is why I became a member of the Labour Party and it is what will guide us over the next four years.
Last week, I raised the record of the council – and we are proud of it, we are one of the top six councils in London – but I acknowledge that there is much more to do. I despair that the alternative is a Conservative party which hasn’t changed in Camden. They are fighting this election in the same way as at the general election last year. They have opposed becoming a fair trade borough (one member saying that free trade was better – even if it meant that child labour was used abroad! Do we want that person to be the Executive Member for Children in Camden?), their members last year called for a cut in the money given to council housing, the current candidate in Gospel Oak calls for the end of council houisng and their current manifesto calls committed to privitatisation of public services, irrespective of quality. This is a party of the extreme right, idealogically opposed to public service, to council houisng and to tackling inequality. The dividing lines are clear -– if residents don’t vote Labour but stay at home or have a protest vote, then there will be a Tory adminstration.
Cllr Raj Chada
Leader of Camden
Council
Town Hall
Judd Street, WC1


LABOUR will work with the police to get crime down further, building on the 20 per cent fall since 2001. We’re supporting the police’s roll-out of bobby-on-the-beat policing, which has made such a difference in like Somers Town and Cantelowes. Both Lib Dems and Tories voted against the Mayor’s budget to increase police numbers for beat policing.
I
f Labour is re-elected residents can expect more CCTV on streets and on estates. CCTV helped secure 2,312 arrests last year and proves the worth of our 170 plus cameras to Lib Dem Islington’s 40 odd.
We’ll be expanding our street warden patrols on estates and streets. We’ll provide a free graffiti removal service and increase the hours of the noise-patrol service so residents can sleep more easily.
We’re also introducing a controlled drinking zone across the borough, opposed by the Lib Dems, which tackles anti-social drinking.
Cllr Jake Sumner
Executive Member for Community Safety
Camden Council
Town Hall
Judd Street, WC1



We were horrified to read the comments of a Lib Dem candidate who has suggested in an election leaflet that an area like King’s Cross should have a legalised prostitution zone.
Over the years community activists have worked hand in to clear up the prostitution problems in the area.
The Lib Dem is quoted as saying that the controlled zone for prostitutes should not be in Islington due to it being “residential” and it should be moved in an area “not too far away”.
We can only assume that she is suggesting that such a zone should be dumped into somewhere close by like King’s Cross. We know that the community does not want this to happen in King’s Cross. We believe the Liberal Democrats suggestion is dangerous. We hope that the voters of King’s Cross will firmly reject this crackpot idea by supporting us on May 4.
Abdul Hai
Geethika Jayatilaka
Jonathan Simpson
Labour candidates
King’s Cross ward



What is more worrying? A 13th estate agent has opened in Highgate village or the news that Highgate Councillors John Thane and Maggie Cosin have never bothered to meet their Haringey counterparts? (Thirteenth estate agent a ‘mistake’, April 6 ).
A few years ago I moved to Leeds, a city which also suffered for many years from Labour town hall mismanagement. In 2004 the public decided enough was enough and Leeds is now run by a Conservative-led administration.
Spending on social services, education and road repairs have all increased, there are more police on the beat but council tax is under control.
Simon Baker
Oakwell Drive
Leeds, LS8



It’s a shame Labour’s councillors in Kentish Town didn’t attend the Police Consultative Committee meeting in January where Police Station closures were discussed (Please don’t knock the cops, April 13).
Now, three months on, they want us to believe that they have “checked” and there is no threat to Kentish Town Police Station.

If any of the Labour councillors for Kentish Town had bothered to go to that meeting, they would have heard that Borough Commander Mark Heath was unable to give me the assurance I asked for regarding the future of Kentish Town Police Station.
Internal emails discovered by Lib Dem campaigners between senior Met Police officers reveal that Kentish Town is indeed earmarked for possible closure.
The Lib Dems in Kentish Town remain the only party speaking up about this issue. When it comes to the crunch we will be leading the campaign to save our station.
As we learnt with Kentish Town Baths, with this Labour council, if you don’t speak up early, you don’t get heard!
Philip Thompson
Kentish Town Lib Dem candidate
Fortess Road , NW5



Your pie-charts suggest that there could be a swing to the Lib Dems in Camden similar to the one that took place in Islington in 2002
(Is it year of the Lib Dems? April 20).

But even you pie chart seems to show that if that was to happen, the very most that the Lib Dems could hope for in a Labour meltdown would be to gain 11 councillors. Even if that were the case the voters of Camden would find that they had a council run by an unholy alliance of Tories and Lib Dems.
This would almost certainly involve drastic cuts in the public services that matter to Camden residents, such as investment in the voluntary sector and anti-social behaviour initiatives.
A vote for any other party apart from Labour across the borough would only let the Conservative’s in. I strongly believe that nobody could really want that.
Jill Sutcliffe
Byron Court
Mecklenburgh Square , WC1



Ali Khan’s letter warning voters of the Lib Dem intentions regarding voluntary sector funding was spot on (Letters, April 20). Frank Dobson reminded us recently that the first thing the Lib Dems did upon getting power in Islington was to slash voluntary sector funding.
For the Irish in Islington this meant closure of their Irish Centre, the building then remained vacant for five years before Lib Dem Islington sold it off at a third of its market value. Had the Lib Dems taken for granted the Irish contribution to their borough down the years? Camden Labour strongly supports the voluntary sector and the Camden Irish Centre in Camden Square flourishes.
Cllrs Pat Callaghan,
Raj Chada,
Dermot Greene,
Dave Horan,
(Irish Labour Candidates)
Camden Labour Party
Camden Road, NW1



Claims in a letter from Ali Khan about Lib Dem intentions toward voluntary sector funding were downright untrue.
His claim that we make it clear we would scrap funding for the voluntary sector is sheer fantasy, if not downright libellous.
I have championed the voluntary sector in the face of the Labour council’s often high-handed treatment of community associations and initiated a call-in over unfair decisions on swingeing rent increases for their premises which is a matter of great concern to many of them.
Our manifesto states: “We will work within the Compact for Camden to build a stronger framework of confidence with community groups who have suffered from financial insecurity and uncertainty about their premises in recent years.”
Cllr Flick Rea
Deputy Leader Camden Liberal Democrats



*
If Camden Labour are so desperate that they called in the Prime Minister to come to their aid it looks to me as if they’ve lost the elections already.
May I wish who ever replaces them on May 4 the best of luck. Change is a healthy and necessary part of democracy.
Stewart Rayment
Hastings Street, WC1



I read with interest Paul Braithwaite’s letter and his most recent campaign leaflet (Letters, April 20).
He really does miss the point about crime. Labour’s commitments to use more CCTV and other measures like neighbourhood wardens and close working with the police to reduce crime are vital to local people.
Anyone doubting what would happen to crime rates under the Lib Dems should take a quick look at the Met’s website and compare crime levels in Camden Wards bordering Islington Wards and vice versa.
Sarah Hayward
Augustines Road, NW1



I read with interest Councillor Raj Chada putting his case to voters (Labour values public service, April 20). Bold promises of this kind we have heard before.
The Kentish Town swimming baths’ refurbishment was a promise at the last local election. Yet for a period of some six months, the community was left in serious doubt as to whether the baths would be saved at all. It is only recently that the executive have voted to try a salvage job, but nothing yet is guaranteed. Already there is talk of reducing the swimming facilities on that site considerably.
Why? Selling land to private developers seems the ambition of the day as far as Labour is concerned. When will it end? Hopefully with regime change this May.
Celine La Freniere
Solar House
Talacre Road, NW3



The late Dave Allen once said he had a soft spot for politicians – a bog in the west of Ireland.
As a long term non-voter, I would like to see candidates representing organisations like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, or Liberty, given that they are well known and we know what they stand for.
James Redmond
Mornington Court, NW1


• Not long ago Labour Councillor John Mills did his best to convince readers of the distance between Camden Labour and Tony Blair (Don’t judge us by the standards of Blair, February 16).
Now the same local party is only too happy to have Blair parachute into the borough to boost their flagging fortunes in the local elections (Gunslinger Blair rides into town, April 20).
This sort of turnaround smacks of real desperation, particularly now that Labour has a fight on its hands to hold onto Camden Council.
I believe the reason for this desperation is that Blair’s and New Labour’s policies are increasingly anathema to its traditional core working-class vote, and it is beginning to dawn on Mills and co what this will mean for the elections on May 4.
The vast majority of Camden councillors have little appreciation of the problems facing working-class people. For many of them, politics has become just another ‘career’ and not what it should be about – improving people’s lives. It’s is no wonder that the ‘solutions’ they offer have little effect, and often make matters worse. It’s time to vote for change.
Nuruzzaman ‘Mukul’ Hira
Respect candidate for St Pancras and Somers town
Chalton Street, NW1



I have lived in Camden for the last thirty years and have seen a steady improvement in the way in which the borough is run by Labour.
We have seen our streets become safer as more police are put on the beat with tougher action against those anti-social elements who disrupt our lives. Our schools are getting more money after years of being starved of funds.
We have a new leisure facility at Talacre and smaller projects across the borough. Yes, there is more to be done, particularly in provision of and repairs to housing but the spectre of the Tories or the Lib Dems running Camden fills me with horror.
Mick Farrant
Oak Village, NW5



Since the last local elections in 2002, Swain’s Lane, Fortess Road and now South End Green have been invaded by clones of national supermarket chains.
In South End Green and Fortess Road, the friendly local grocers report business down 30 to 50 per cent since Marks and Spencers and Sainsbury’s opened.
In these supermarkets you are greeted by an ocean of plastic packaging. Even the fruit and vegetables are clad in plastic rubbish which will be around for 100 times as long as the contents.
Huge lorries arrive day and night and park half on the pavement without penalty while the smaller vans supplying the local shops are ticketed if they so much as stop. And all given planning permission by a Labour council.
If you dislike these invaders as much as I do, you can do two things: one – shop in independent, locally owned shops, which is better for the planet and the local economy; two – vote Green on May 4.
Green councillors will use the planning system to protect local shops against invasion, take parking back under council control and listen to small businesses, not just large corporations, about parking policies.
Sian Berry
Candidate for Kentish Town
Camden Green Party
Fortess Road, NW5



Labour activists’ mixed reaction to Tony Blair’s visit is amusing but tells us nothing we didn’t know, and shouldn’t distract people from the fact that this election is about Camden Labour’s dismal track record.
The one link to the national picture is that in the last two council elections, Labour in Camden made much of its “new Labour flagship council” status, implying that its special relationship with the Labour government would help it deliver for residents.
The setbacks of the last few years have demolished this argument, whether we think of housing finance, licensing, planning or the myriad of matters on which this government becomes ever more prescriptive. A Conservative council will bring a more honest, businesslike relationship with central government, working together constructively where it makes sense
Cllr Andrew Marshall
(Con) Swiss Cottage ward



Camden does not exist in a vacuum. All government decisions impact on our lives. This is blatantly obvious with the war in Iraq and the occupation that has so far lasted three years and cost thousands of lives of people elsewhere in the world.
In 2003, Gordon Brown set aside £3.5 billion for the cost of the Iraq war, although the cost has gone well beyond this now. This could have paid for 1,248 new primary schools or 28 fully equipped new hospitals, or given every pensioner in Britain a much needed 10 per cent rise in their basic pension. The longer war lasts the more public services pay the cost.
Of course the cost of war cannot be counted purely in money. More terrible and damaging by far is the slaughter of soldiers and civilians, the destruction of property including irreplaceable art treasures, the disruption of lives of people, the breakdown of civilised living, the spread of disease and famine. These are the true cost of this immoral and illegal war.
Shuma Begum,
Gloria Lazenby and
Liz Wheatley on behalf of Camden Stop the War Coalition



Thank you Tony Blair, for putting the nail in the coffin of the incumbent Camden Labour administration. Blair’s visit only served to answer the question of why people in Camden are heading to the polls to vote ‘anything other than Labour’.
People on the doorstep hate Blair and feel let down by and sickened with the New Labour careerist councillors.
It is such a shame that Camden Respect wasn’t able to stand in more wards – and we apologise to those who want to vote Respect and can’t. In St Pancras and Somers Town we really have had such a fantastic response from all sectors of the community we hope to have a councillor walking into the Town Hall after May 4. And we are here to stay – and we will stand in future elections – and we will continue to get involved in our community fighting for local issues that affect us all.
Cathy Pound
Joint Secretary
Camden Respect
Castlehaven Road, NW1



In last week’s paper a Liberal Democrat candidate wrote a strange letter in which he attacked the Labour Party for wanting more CCTV across Camden (Letters, April 20).
I found this ironic in that a week ago, a Lib Dem councillor wrote that his party would introduce more CCTV if Camden residents elected them on May 4.
A Lib Dem election leaflet makes claims that there is a reduction of policing south of the Euston Road. I have checked this matter with the Borough Commander and nothing could be further than the case. The introduction of the Safer Neighbourhood policing teams, along with the local community tasking team will mean that we have the highest numbers of policing ever.
The Lib Dems have used this election campaign to scaremonger communities across Camden. I would urge people to vote for a political party that is not willing to lie so openly.
Abdul Miah
Whitfield Street, W1



Using Camden Council’s own website (www.camden.gov.uk), I was able to identify the abodes of most of our present councillors.
Of the 54 Camden councillors only 16 (less than 30 per cent) live in the ward that they represent (10-Lab, 3-Cons, 3-Lib Dem). More than 60 per cent of councillors do not live in their elected ward (23-Lab, 7-Cons, 4-Lib Dem) with greater than 35 per cent of these not living in an neighbouring ward (10-Lab, 1-Cons, 1-Lib Dem).
Interestingly, four wards (Frognal and Fitzjohn's, Gospel Oak, Cantelowes, and King’s Cross) have no councillors living in their boundaries, while three wards (Fortune Green, Kentish Town and Haverstock) have six or more councillors living within their boundaries.
A representative councillor needs to live in their ward and live in the conditions and problems of that ward.
Thus my advice for the elections is to ask if the person you are voting for actually lives in your ward, and if not, why not?
If they don’t live in your ward, why do they want to be your councillor?
William Nawrocki
Savernake Road, NW3

Visit Camdennewjournal.co.uk for the full list


The four parties contesting all 54 Camden seats present a choice between the Greens and three shades of Tory party.
The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and New Labour all support the economic agenda of privatisation, cutbacks and closures; they all take money from wealthy businessmen and big companies; and they all pay lip service to helping the poor and preventing climate chaos, while allowing the rich to get richer still.
In contrast, the Greens have attractive policies on peace, public services, small business and the environment, and a proven track record of action and integrity on these issues when elected. Disillusioned former Labour voters have the opportunity to turn local politics in Camden in a direction to match their principles – to the Greens.
Adrian Oliver
Chairman
Camden Green Party
and Highgate ward candidate
Lissenden Gardens, NW5



Camden Labour’s persistent denigration and misrepresentation of Lib Dem-controlled Islington is both tedious and unpersuasive.
Lib Dem Islington is, after all, in the independent Audit Commission’s judgement, the fastest improving council in London. It also just received the London Transport Borough of the Year award for its work in improving transport in its area, and particularly accessibility for the disabled.
Coupling better services with better value for money and better accountability through local area committees which give local people more say in decisions affecting their lives, it does not seem to me the Lib Dems have anything to be ashamed of in Islington.
There seems little doubt the Lib Dems will hold Islington in the May 4 elections.
The question evidently troubling Labour is: How likely are they to take control of Camden too?
Robin Young
Bedford Avenue, WC1



The reports in the local press that Camden Council is ‘sitting-on’ money obtained from developers are a gross distortion of our budgetary processes.
In fact, the council has excellent ratings from local government watchdogs for making the best use of our resources. And now opportunist Tory candidates have jumped on the bandwagon arguing that cash should be spent on their own pet projects.
A significant proportion of the funding we obtain from developers is earmarked for expenditure on schools, and will help support our bid for £165 million to the government to radically upgrade and modernise our school buildings and facilities.
The rest of the money will also be spent for the benefit of the community. We have always known that Tories are in favour of spending money on the few not the many – and they’ve proved it yet again.
Cllr Lucy Anderson
Kentish Town Ward and Executive Member for Schools


I can’t believe some of the letters in the New Journal from Labour councillors.
They must live in fantasy land. In my Camden, New Labour have cut back on care-homes, police, fire stations, community centres, home helps, law centres, wards in the Royal Free Hospital and have closed playing fields.
I am 65 and was talking to a gentleman of 85 years – we have both lived in this area all our lives. What’s improved in Camden in our life time? In our humble opinion nothing has changed. Are we two grumpy old men?
Patrick Cawley
Broomsleigh Street, NW6



I was pleased to note in the Camden Labour party manifesto it’s commitment to extend the opening hours of the Sharples Hall Street Library by one day.
It’s something that the users of the service of all ages will greatly appreciate.
Labelle Stewton
Regent’s Park Road, NW1



Where is climate change on local politicians’ radar? Most local councillors don’t appreciate the urgency of the climate change situation.
And we have a government and an opposition which talk of “a balance between the needs of the economy and the environment” in the face of severe warnings from their own chief scientist.
We are mistakenly reassured that climate change can’t be that serious, or “someone” would be doing more to stop it.
But our economy will suffer when there is environmental devastation. As citizens, we need to send a message to the local parties that tackling climate change through local buildings, road management and energy supplies is as important to us as safe lighting and street cleaning.
Suzy Edwards
Beacon House, NW6



Most parents in Camden would love to send their children to the local secondary school.
However, there are three problems: there aren’t enough places; the secondaries are mostly located at the edge of the borough so many pupils from outside Camden are more likely to get places at our schools than children from parts of this borough; and, our secondary schools, while comparing well against schools from Islington or Hackney, are not as good as many state schools elsewhere in the country.
Camden Conservatives recognise that we need two new local secondary schools – one in the north-west of the borough and a second south of the Euston Road.
We have some excellent people working in our local education authority and a Conservative Council will encourage them to be creative in their thinking. We will consider opening much smaller, neighbourhood secondary schools.
We will also concentrate on improving further the quality of our schools.
The Labour Party has taken its eye off the ball regarding our secondary schools. They are complacent after 35 years in control. The Conservatives are offering a positive alternative across all the services offered by Camden Council – not just on schools.
Cllr Andrew Mennear
(Con), Frognal and Fitzjohn's Ward



Labour have made a forlorn promise to drive drug dealers out of Camden Town. Camden Labour has failed to tackle the drugs problem in Camden, and Bloomsbury, with any measures that stand the test of time.
It’s approach to the problem in Bloomsbury has been nothing short of disgraceful. I care about my community. I want it to be a pleasant and safe place in which to live and work. That is why I shall be supporting the Conservatives on May 4.
Ralph Cutting
Address supplied



It is somewhat disingenuous of Piers Wauchope, leader of the Tory group, to suggest that my application to stand as a Tory candidate was rejected in favour of Kirsty Roberts.
As everyone involved knows very well Kirsty was not even a member of the Conservative association when she was selected, following the withdrawal of the earlier selected candidate. The usual idea of selecting members of the local party was quickly abandoned in favour of political opportunism, as soon as the opportunity arose. Transparency is not a characteristic that appeals to the local Tories.
The facts are simple. The Tories are running scared in Hampstead Town ward. They have a paper thin majority. They are very aware that the Lib Dems are catching them up and the last thing they need is an Independent taking away their votes. Hence their attempts to rubbish my candidature.
Brian Kettell
Independent Candidate
Hampstead Town Ward, NW3



I read Mukul Hira’s report in your paper (People before business, March 31). He thinks that the Labour council in Camden and the ward councillors for St Pancras and Somers Town have done nothing and only he and Respect could be the saviour of the masses.
Labour councillors have worked very hard for the people of this borough – and our ward – and I am not in any way ashamed of our record as good, hard working and effective ward councillors for St Pancras and Somers Town, available day and night for all constituents.
We fully recognise we have not achieved all we want to have for the area and the residents – but change and progress takes time and that is what we are working for. And also working for closer liaison, peace and comradeship within the multi-cultural community we serve.
Councillor Roger Robinson
(Lab) St Pancras and Somers Town




Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.
 
spacer














spacer


Theatre Music
Arts & Events Attractions
spacer
 
 


  up