An election beyond Brexit

The idea that the coming election will only be about Brexit is ludicrous.

What is there to say on the subject? The choice is clear - the Tories will implement the hard Brexit negotiated, which sees this country becoming a US satelite, goodbye NHS and welfare state.

Labour means a vote on a new Labour deal or remain. The Lib Dems will revoke Article 50 and the UK remains. What is there to talk about?

Beyond Brexit we have climate catastrophe beckoning, millions going to foodbanks, the homeless dying on the streets, schools struggling, the NHS creaking and crime on the rise - plenty to talk about there methinks

 

Published - Independent - 31/10/2019

 

 

Council must do more to tackle climate emergency

The peaceful direct actions of Extinction Rebellion are a result of exasperation with a collective failure on the part of decision makers to really address the climate crisis.

The letters, polite requests etc regarding the climate crisis have not brought the action required. So the protesters have taken to the streets, committing acts of civil disorder to try to get the politicians to act.

The politicians are beginning to act but are they moving quickly enough?

The influential report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change warned last year that there were 12 years to save the planet – taking measures to ensure that global warming does not go above 1.5 degrees.

Well warming has increased, some of it in the form of the hot air coming out of many politicians and business people’s mouths. But how much action? Scientists are saying the actions taken are nothing like what is required, with the planet heating up to levels that are set to go well over the 1.5 degrees.
 

In June, Cllr Jo Blackman and myself brought a climate emergency motion to Redbridge Council. It was duly passed, with the council now committed to a number of actions to address

These include a green audit of council services, measures to tackle air pollution, especially around schools, the cutting of plastic use and more energy efficiency in buildings.

Trees and wildflower planting were among the moves outlined to increase biodiversity.

So far, progress has been slow. A corporate panel is to be established to oversee the process. There are other Task and Finish groups looking at Nature and the Environment and Transport.

There are positive things happening like the roll out of the Local Implementation Plan, which seeks to bring Redbridge transport modes in line with the Mayor of London’s target of 80% of journeys being by foot, cycle or public transport by 2041.

However, the level of progress in no way matches what is required to meet the targets recommended by the IPCC report.

Some councillors get it, some council officers get it but there is still a long way to go. Funds need to be found to address the climate crisis. It is no good thinking that planting a few flowers and doing a bit more recycling is enough to solve the crisis.

There needs to be substantial change, council budgets need to be shifted to reflect this commitment. Dipping into the odd pot of available cash to plant a few more trees really won’t cut it.

Running local services has been made more and more difficult over the past nine years, with Redbridge Council suffering 60% in cuts from central government funding.  However, the council has proved resourceful and innovative in the way that the reduced funding pot has been used. Now, it will be called on again to spend the money in a different way to meet the demand of the climate crisis.

Redbridge students expressed their desire to see real action on climate at the recent extraordinary full council meeting.

Some councillors are committed to keeping up the pressure for change. But residents groups need to also keep up the pressure on the council to bring about these wholesale changes.

There has been so much energy expended on the Brexit that other far bigger threats like climate change, biodiversity destruction and pollution have been put on the back burner. This cannot continue, these climate challenges threaten our very existence on the earth – the magnitude is that great, so the time for minor fiddling while the planet burns has long since passed.

Spoils shared as West Ham continue to underperform

West Ham 1-1 Sheffield Utd

A draw was a fair result in this hard fought contest between West Ham and Sheffield United.

The game took some time to really take off, with the first shot on target, not coming till the 22nd minute, when Felipe Anderson whipped his shot just over from 20 yards.

Home keeper Roberto pulled off a point blank save from David McGoldrick, the first of a number of fine saves from the Spanish keeper.

West Ham finished a pretty non-descript first half, with a goal from Robert Snodgrass, coming through the middle to pick up a neatly placed pass from Andriy Yarmolenko.

The second half saw Anderson win possession break forward and lay the ball off to Yarmolenko, who saw his effort pushed away. Anderson picked up the rebound but saw his rasping shot saved by keeper Dean Henderson.

Sheffield United were rewarded for their pressure in the 69th minute, when a poor headed clearance from Issa Diop fell to Enda Stevens, who headed the ball on for substirute Lys Mousset to sweep home.

There were then a series of West Ham efforts from Aaron Cresswell, Declan Rice and the best a sliding effort from Robert Snodgrass, who hit the post.

The final effort was a 20 yard strike from Yarmolenko that went narrowly wide.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder felt his team deserved to be behind at half time but turned it round in the second half. "We didn't get hurt as much as we could have done. We crossed it, got round their full backs when we had to and took a few more risks,"said Wilder, who was pleased at the resolution and positive attitude shown by his players.

It was a disappointing result for West Ham, who continue to under deliver. Striker Sebastian Haller looks leaden footed and is failing to link effectively with the support players.

An indication of the failure to hurt the opposition can be seen from the corner count in this game. The home side having 10 corners to the visitors four - not one chance came from any of the corners.

Declan Rice''s progress also seems to halted, as he always looks to play the safe square pass, rather than move Stephen Gerrard like into the central midfield area to dominate and dictate play.

The West Ham ship seems to have hit choppy waters and needs to be put back on course.

Churches can lead the way on cleaner, greener living

Our Lady of Lourdes Church recently had an excellent mass dedicated to addressing climate change.

It was the mass dedicated each week to parents and children, with the latter taking lead parts in the proceedings.

So the homily was delivered by a young girl named Rebecca, who told how important it was for her to address the challenges being presented by climate change.

Children brought forward their pictures on climate and there was a petition for signing afterwards. The whole experience was most inspiring, people genuinely living their faith in the real world, working for social justice and change.

Our Lady of Lourdes has further plans for eco-groups and bringing about change.

The churches in Redbridge and beyond have been amongst the pioneers in many cases, addressing the climate crisis. Churches are involved in Transition Ilford.

Christchurch has done great things in working with the likes of Wild Wanstead on biodiversity projects. St Marys churchyard is a veritable natural paradise.

St Gabriels in Aldersbrook have also been making strides and want to do more going forward.

All are signed up to the Wanstead Enivronmental Charter to make the area cleaner and greener.

There is much more though that can be done by churches and other civil society organisations.

On travel, the churches can persuade their parishioners to not drive to church. Cycling and walking should be encouraged. An important way of promoting cycling would be to provide hangars, so that people know they have somewhere secure to put their cycles when they arrive. Car sharing would also cut emissions.

The council is looking for places to put electric charging points. Why don’t the churches and other organisations become sustainable energy hubs, providing cycle hangars and electric charging points?

More church ground’s could be given over to wildlife – especially if they have to provide less space for cars.

Green walls and green roofs are other sustainable additions that can be considered. Outside the churches, parishioners could play an active role in adopting tree pits, helping to ensure these become oases of wild flowers.

Tree planters also need some tender loving care.

The energy sector is one of the biggest generators of damaging emissions – 40% it is estimated in total. Churches and other civil society organisations could move to sustainable energy systems involving solar panels and heat pumps. Green roofs and insulation could also be considered.

Many of these schemes will result in financial savings as well, providing not only sustainable but cheaper energy in the long run.

Churches may also want to consider becoming recycling points, where people can bring their recyclable waste.

These are just a few ideas, there are many many more, which can help churches and other organisation continue to shine the light toward a more sustainable, cleaner, greener future.

Extinction Rebellion must not become anti-politics and anti-politicians

Extinction Rebellion are totally justified with their protests demanding radical change to save the planet. However, what the movement must not do is become anti-politics. We too often hear the cry that they are all the same, the politicians are not listening. This is wrong.

Maybe, PM Boris Johnson panders to that stereotype, dismissing the protesters as "crusties," whilst his pro-fracking, emission exporting government does little to address the challenges.

But what of others? The Labour Party has a bold Green New Deal in line with most of ER's demands. The Greens too and the SNP in Scotland have progressive ideas. 

Many councils across the land have declared climate emergencies and are radically changing the way things are done. Whilst progress may not be as rapid as some may hope, the impetus is there.

ER and others need to keep up the pressure for more rapid change but please don't lump all politicians together as useless.

They need to effect the changes to save the planet, afterall, who else will - the CEOs of the oil, gas and coal industries - i think not.

published in the Independent - 14/10/2019

The anti-politics, anti-democracy atmosphere promoted by some could have dangerous consequences

There is a certain attitude of anti-politics, anti-politicians about at the moment, no doubt partly fuelled by the Brexit furore.

Politicians have never been held in very high regard, at least not while they are still alive. The standing of Winston Churchill has grown inexorably, since his death, more than half a century ago.

The standing though of politicians in Churchill’s time was probably higher than it is today. The expenses scandal of a few years ago did irreparable damage to the reputation of politicians. A system devised, during Margaret Thatcher’s period in power, to ensure that politicians were paid more, only via devices like expenses, rather than the more visible - and headline grabbing - basic salary increases.

The system invited abuse and got it. At the time of the expenses scandal, the political class was in retreat, attacked on all sides in the media – in most cases, rightly so. However, the case was not made for the work that a politician does, the 24/7 nature of the role and that it should be properly re-numerated.

The lasting legacy of that period, never properly put to rest, is that all politicians are on the take. This is unfair, most politicians are diligent, hard working individuals, doing the job for the right reasons.

The failure of government to listen to huge numbers of people opposed to the Iraq War, then the austerity agenda of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition, making some of the poorest in society pay for the bankers excess during the financial crisis of 2008, all contributed to the democratic deficit.

This dissatisfaction then manifested itself in the Brexit vote of 2016. Called ostensibly to resolve divisions in the Conservative Party, it was sold as the answer to all of the problems of austerity and previous policies that helped grow the gap between rich and poor in our society.

The fact that the issue of the EU was not a matter of public concern at all in the years leading up to the referendum. Brexit was a crisis made and continued by the Conservative Party.

It has now reached the ridiculous stage of some of the same people who parroted phrases like taking back control and restoring sovereignty, threatening in government to defy the law of the land and stop Parliament fulfilling its democratic role.

So why is democracy so important, why did so many people suffer down the years to get the vote?

Put very simply, democracy gives everyone a say of some sort over how their lives are run. At local level, this means politicians, able to decide what happens in the area regarding people services and livelihoods but always accountable to the people.

Citizens can have a say over the policies that effect their daily lives. If the politicians are not doing what the people want they can kick them out at the next election. The same principle applies to MPs. Without these democratic structures, people would have no say at all.

The biggest players in the jungle, like multinational corporations could just do as they liked, there would be no hope of regulating or controlling them. The removal of democracy would result in a return to middle ages type society, with just the biggest gang (usually the king or queen’s) ruling absolutely, subjects not citizens, without any control from ordinary people over what they did. And guess what, what they did was very rarely for the common good of the people?

So it is this precious power to have a say in our own lives and destinies that is at stake when the democratic system gets trashed, as it seems to be so often today.

The system is not perfect, with the processes involved in getting elected via the different party structures, not always bringing forward truly representative individuals. Nor does it often bring forward the brightest and best in our society. However, at the moment it is the best we have.

It is also important to remember that functioning democracy is still in its infancy. There has only been universal suffrage for less than a century. The system often malfunctions.

There is a distinct information deficit, which means that the electorate is less educated and informed than it should be. All could quite easily be wiped away in an instant. It is frightening how close we could be to that moment at present, with a Prime Minister prepared to defy the law and stir the mob. A Prime Minister educated at Eaton and Oxbridge, who intends in the coming election to pretend to be on the people’s side against the elected Parliament.

What is needed is for more people to engage on the issues. People from all walks of life need to get involved in the political process. The drawn out Brexit process and climate crisis have contributed something here, awakening interest amongst younger generations in getting more involved in politics.

Comments like it makes no difference, they are all the same, I’ve never voted, contribute nothing to the well-being of our country. Those who promote such apathy, would do well the remember the old adage that all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.

Democracy is precious, a system that should give a say to all and that makes everyone accountable. A system that many people died for, it needs nurturing, not trashing on the altar of ignorance.

West Ham rue missed chances, as Crystal Palace grab all three points

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

This was a game where West Ham were made to pay by a robust Crystal Palace team for wasting so many chances 

If the home side had been more clinical, Palace would have been dead and buried by the fourth quarter.

Instead, the missed chances meant the South Londoners got back into the game and finished up taking all the points back across the river.

On the half hour, Sebastian Haller managed only to hit the Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guait, having collected an inch perfect cross from Andriy Yarmolenko.

The keeper then saved a Felipe Anderson header and saw a Manuel Lanzini shot skid past the post.

Another Anderson cross hit James McArthur and bounced back off the keeper.

Palace's main effort of the half was a James McCarthy shot from 20 yards that home keeper Roberto pushed round the post

West Ham's endeavour was rewarded in the second half, when a flowing move saw Haller this time put away the cross from Ryan Fredericks.

A few minutes later Palace were back level, when Declan Rice was judged to have handled a cross. Patrick Van Aanholt converted the penalty.

Palace appeared to be running down the clock, when on a break away, the cross came in from Andros Townsend with a  knock back from Van Aanholt dually converted by Jordan Ayew.

Home fans rawed approval as the goal was ruled out for offside, only to have their hopes dashed when VAR saw that decision reversed.

Surprisingly, West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini was not overly disappointed with the performance."We needed to create more and should have had a better result,""said Pellegrini.

Palace manager Roy Hodgson felt his team were good value for the win. "We didn't win because West Ham were bad but we were good," said Hodgson, who described the Premier League season as a marathon A race that he felt his side will need some reinforcements in the January transfer window to keep up the pace. "The Premier League gets stronger all the time," said Hodgson.

Tell London City Airport what you think about their expansion plans

The expansion proposals put forward by London City Airport (LCA) are unacceptable at a time of climate crisis.

The increased number of flights, equating to 100 per day, 40,000 annually, will lead to more emissions, noise pollution and damage to the climate.

Flying times are set to increase by half an hour at the end of each day, with the 24 hour no flying period that presently exists over the weekend being abandoned.

The whole aviation industry seems to regard itself as living in an exempt expansion bubble, with little regard for the consequences of its actions.

There are the proposals to expand London City Airport plus the plans to expand Heathrow airport with a third runway.

Yet the City Airport consultation paper tells us that even with the Heathrow expansion, UK major airports – except Stansted, will be up to capacity by the mid-2030s, so this they believe gives the mandate to expand even more.

There were 4 billion flights worldwide in 2017, a figure due to increase to 7.8 billion by 2036. This predict and provide approach – previously seen with serious environmental consequences on the roads – cannot continue. The planet cannot sustain such aviation growth.

Take the history of London City Airport – created originally primarily for business. There were strong restrictions on flights due to the airport operating in a built-up area. Over the years, the business flights have to a large degree flat lined, whilst the leisure flights have increased – the opposite of what was predicted at the outset.

The latest expansion seems intended to cater for ever more leisure flights – something never predicted when the airport opened back in 1987.

Meanwhile, the density of the population below flight paths has increased. So how does this justify more flights other than on the altar of profit for the company that owns the airport?

The people of Redbridge and neighbouring boroughs are rightly outraged by the planned expansion. A motion passed recently at the council opposing expansion. Why the Conservative Party abstained on the motion is a question they need to answer.

On Thursday (3/10), there is a meeting at Wanstead Library, with London City Airport, when Redbridge residents can have their say. This meeting was only obtained after local councillors and MP John Cryer insisted, previously LCA did not consider it needed to have one of its scheduled consultation meetings here. Yet residents of large parts of Redbridge, particularly Wanstead, will have their quality of life effected by these developments if they go ahead.

So please come along and make clear your views to Tim Halley, London City Airport Director of Infrastructure and Planning.

City Airport needs to think again, listen to what people are saying and realise that whilst they may need to make more money, that the environment, health and welfare of those of us living below these flight paths is more important.

• London City Airport meeting – 7pm at Wanstead Library on 3 October 2019

Published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 2/10/2019