Volunteering numbers are down post pandemic - join the Big Help Out

Volunteering has drastically reduced over recent years, spurring real concern amongst charitable organisations. A major cause of the reduction in volunteering and participating generally has been the COVID pandemic. Some seven million people volunteer at least once a month but this is a third down on pre-pandemic levels. Many people remain nervous about coming out and resuming life. Activism has become increasingly keyboard based - a sometimes isolated activity. There was a definite step change in life, during and after the pandemic and successive lockdowns. The mental health implications of the pandemic and how it was handled were underestimated. That is not to say that people are not volunteering due solely to the pandemic. The cost of living crisis is squeezing everyone, so providing less time for volunteering. Volunteering is crucial to keeping so much of civil society working. However, volunteering should never replace paid work The Conservative Parties idea of the Big Society seemed to be about replacing paid workers with volunteers - running facilities like libraries etc. Volunteering cannot become a form of exploitation. Perhaps one of the biggest unrecognised group of volunteers are those who provide free care for their grandchildren. This work when totted up amounts to millions of hours and billions of pounds provided totally free of charge. No mention of this in the recent Budget of proposals to provide better childcare provision. No recognition either in government plans to get over 50s back into work of the free care this group provides. So the volunteer sector is wide and varied. More recognition of this valuable service to society would be most welcome. One initiative to help get more people into volunteering is the Big Help Out. Commencing at the time of King Charles's Coronation in May, it is hoped more people will come out to volunteer - some with charities, others elsewhere. It is then hoped people will stay involved in the volunteer networks, beyond the Coronation. An excellent idea. Volunteering helps contribute to the common good of our society. It must be encouraged at all levels. The fine line is when volunteering turns into exploitation - fortunately this is not often the case but it is a balance that needs to be maintained.

Hysteria about small boats masks Britain's role in creating refugee crisis

There has been much hysteria stirred recently about the small boats carrying migrants arriving on Britain's southern shores. The government has inflamed the situation with much ill judged language, referring to invasions and floods. This language has a ripple effect, fuelling an anti-migrant attitude in many parts of the country. There have been far right led attacks on asylum seeker hostels. The tabloid media has played it's part in contributing to the toxic atmosphere. It was incredible in these troubled days to hear that immigration is the second most important issues among what are called the red wall seats in the north of England. What seems to be missed in all of the debate about the small boats is that this is about real human beings. It's not all some number crunching game. People have to be desperate to get into a boat and take their chances in the most busy shipping lane in the world. The government depiction of the asylum seeker beggars belief. Someone fleeing war or floods, with just the shirt on their back will not have all the requisite papers required to apply for asylum. There need to be processes established - which there have been for those coming from the Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.These facilities need to be widened. Great play is made of targeting traffickers. This obviously needs to be done but the traffickers network has developed as a symptom of the demand. What really needs addressing is the causes that are creating so many refugees worldwide. The wars and environmental disasters that cause people to flee their lands. The government was suggesting a seal on the number of asylum seekers accepted each year, maybe there should be a seal on the weaponry sold into conflict zones by British arms companies each year, thereby creating refugees? The cause of much environmental devastation are the development models in the rich North. Time to seriously address this devastation. And in terms of the present asylum situation, the huge backlog needs clearing. An amnesty may need to be called, thereby creating a new starting point. Asylum seekers should be allowed to work while in this country. Most want to contribute. The Illegal Migration Bill, which effectively abolishes asylum, offers only a bonus to the private security sector. More desperate people will be incarcerated for longer because there is nowhere to send them. It is no answer but simply presents a particularly inhumane face of this country to the world. The causes that create refugees are what need addressing and never forget every asylum seeker is a human being

Extending ULEZ is one small step towards cleaner air

There has been some controversy recently about the London Mayor's proposed extension of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to cover all London boroughs from August. The extension will also have an impact on neighbouring counties, where some drivers will be coming into the zone ULEZ imposes a £12.50 a daily charge on vehicles that don't comply with the stipulations. London Mayor Sadiq Khan deserves great credit for sticking to his principles, when it comes to cleaning up the air we breath. The capital's air has improved significantly over the past four years, yet London remains one of the most polluted areas in the country. A quarter of a million children suffer from asthma in London. Thousands die every year, with more and more serious illnesses, including cancer, Parkinsons and dementia among those link to unclean air. Some 65% of pollution is caused by motor vehicles. It has to stop, we are poisoning ourselves and our children, with this addiction to motor vehicles Critics of the extension of ULEZ argue that it hits some of the poorest hardest. At a time of a cost of living crisis, this should not be happening. There is value in these arguments but the answer is more generous scrappage schemes and better public transport. This can and must be provided. In the west of Redbridge ULEZ has been operational since last year, the extension will bring the rest of the borough under the cleaner air canopy.. Other developments to extend active travel need to happen quickly. More protected cycle lanes, controlled parking zones, school streets schemes and 20 mph speed limits. All of these applied across London boroughs will help progress toward the Mayor's target of 80% of travel to be by cycle, foot or public transport by 2041. The changes required mean substantial alterations in the way people live their lives. Tokenistic virtue signalling is not what is required now, as the crisis deepens. What is needed is a real modal change in how we all move about and co- exist in a healthy community together.

Join the Great British Spring Clean

The Keep Britain Tidy (#KeepBritainTidy), Great British Spring Clean (#GBSpringClean), launches next weekend with the aim of cleaning up Britain. Community groups, schools, businesses and many people across the land will be getting out there, picking up litter over the two week period (17/3/2023 to 2/4/2023). Our monthly litter pick around Wanstead (18/3/2023) will be one event people can join in to get involved. There are numerous people working across Wanstead trying to keep the place neat and tidy. Council cleansing teams and volunteer litter pickers all play a part. There are also the excellent volunteer litter picks on City of London Corporation land such as Wanstead Park and Flats. It is amazing just how much rubbish there is out there. People must see the bags stacked on the street in front of the Co-op awaiting collection. Then there is the skip on Christchurch Green. Some complain about the sight of the skip but if there wasn’t so much rubbish being deposited there would be no skip. Vision, who manage Christchurch Green for the council, tell of how the bins often get filled up with household waste. The Council also seeks to prosecute those caught fly tipping around the borough. It really is an infuriating, people who have no respect for the community they live in, behaving worse than animals. At times, the thought occurs as to where all this rubbish comes from – can people not produce less? This ofcourse is what we should all be doing. The introduction of the wheelie bins has seen recycling levels in the borough go up. The variety of stuff that can be recycled is increasing but the real aim must be to create less waste in the first place. The land and oceans around the world are saturated with plastic, Much of the planet is literally being choked. The outlawing of single use plastic in many places is a welcome development but it is not enough. We need to use less plastic. The supermarkets are slowly moving to more sustainable packaging but there are still glaring areas of waste. Why for example is so much milk and vegetables sold in plastic containers? We all need to adopt the re-use, reduce and recycle principles in our daily lives. Stop consuming so much then just chucking it aside. We also need to look across the board at waste produced. Why is there so much food waste? Can people not compost more of their vegetative waste – start a virtuous circle of compost production? The community composting initiatives started in Wanstead are going from strength to strength. There is much going on to save the planet, more and more people are getting involved but there needs to be a step change. There needs to be a fundamental change in the way we live, producing less waste, consuming less and generally living more sustainably on the earth. Why not make a start by joining one of the GBSC events – do your bit to make our area better. • Wanstead Village Litter pick starts from Woodbine Place at 10.05am on Saturday 18th March 2023

Don't betray the sacrifice of Sylvia Pankhurst and the suffragettes in winning the vote for everyone

The fantastic new musical adaptation, Sylvia, at the Old Vic, tells the story of the suffragettes struggle to get the vote. The production uses hip hop, soul rap and funk to tell the story of the Pankhurst family (Emmeline, Cristabel, Adela and Sylvia), their divisions and ultimate success in attaining the vote for women. Sylvia Pankhurst played a huge role in the suffrage struggle. The musical tells of the forced feeding of hunger striking women, whilst serving prison sentences. The forcing open of the mouth and feeding down of a rubber tube was truly barbaric. The police constantly beat up and abused the protesting women. An interesting little known fact is that a major proponent of this torture was King Edward VII. It is difficult to comprehend what was a reforming Liberal Government of the time - it brought in the pension, national insurance and trade councils - should behave in such a terrible way to more than half the population. Fortunately, the women won out, securing the full franchise in 1928, but what a long struggle. Sylvia Pankhurst played a key role but was also active in the Labour movement, working nationally and internationally for workers rights. She also ofcourse lived in Woodford for 30 years of her life, whilst much of her activism emanated from the East End. What the suffragettes struggle for the vote should teach us is how precious that right is. It is the one right that everyone has to have some say in how they are governed The power to kick out any administration, no matter what. Those that cannot be bothered to vote or pride themselves on refusing to take part insult the memory and sacrifice of those who struggled so hard to win that right. Some may think there is a lack of choice as to who to vote for but it was the right to have that choice which is so important. If the right were as insignificant as some suggest, why the struggle to win the vote in the first place. Also, why do so many once in power spend so much time trying to disenfranchise different groups in society We owe a huge debt to those who struggled across the world, many giving their lives to get the vote - all that is asked today is that we exercise that right. * Sylvia runs at the Old Vic till 6 Apri