People need to come together in the New Year for the common good

The hope for the New Year must be that people start coming back together in the UK.

The upheaval that has been the Brexit process has split the country apart. There was the debate between those who wanted to stay in the EU and those who wanted to leave.

There was always going to be a loser and winner. The final margin of victory for leave was so small (4%) that implementation of the will of the people was always going to leave a large number (48%) of the country dissatisfied.

If there is a second referendum, with the vote going the other way, there will be equal dissatisfaction on the leave side.

The Brexit debate also brought the racism present in society to the fore. Attitudes that many had thought went with the 1970s, resurfaced, with the referendum vote seemingly providing licence for some to be openly racist to fellow citizens and those coming in from other countries.

Whatever some might say the anti-migrant atmosphere that had been growing over the years leading up to the referendum was the major force driving Brexit.

The terrain was prepared largely by cowardly politicians unwilling to highlight the benefits of immigration to the country. Media also played its part, continually framing the debate in the negative terms of which party promised to reduce the number coming here by the most.

For a number of newspapers, simply economics dictated that anti-migrant (racist) headlines sold papers.

Another division that has grown due to the Brexit debate has been that between old and young. There has been a constant line advanced that old people voted to leave, betraying the young, who in the main voted to stay.

The actual evidence of these voting patterns seems a little flimsy.

The young versus old debate though is one that has been being forumulated in the media over a number of years. It goes that the older, baby boomer generation had it all – secure well paid jobs, houses and a clean environment. Because they had/have it the young people are being denied.

The construct is palpably wrong there are a few rich older and a few rich younger people. Equally, there are many more poor old and young people just striving to survive.

The division is an intergenerational one of class, between a few who have most (1%) and the many (99%) who have less.

It is the need to split this overall cake more fairly across the board that should be the focus, not setting one generation against the other.

Moving forward into the New Year, the country needs to come together between generations, races and creeds. We all have more in common and will prosper from coming together in community, rather than heading off into sealed off silos getting resentful toward others perceived as being on the other side. They are not we are all in it together and need to look out for each other at all times.   

published - Wanstead & Woodford Guardian - 27 & 29/12/2018

West Ham rue missed chances as Watford take all three points at the London Stadium

West Ham 0-2 Watford

West Ham were left wondering what might have been in this hard fought London derby.

The home team started with the attitude of a side who had just won four games on the trot and thought they only needed to turn up for this one to make it five.

Watford pressured, right across the pitch, getting their reward on the half hour when Fabian Balbuena pulled down Roberto Pereyra for a penalty. Troy Deeney converted.

West Ham came out brighter in the second half, with Michail Antonio hitting the post with a header from a Robert Snodgrass corner.

The usually clinical Javier Hernandez missed two clear chances right in front if goal, both times being set up by Antonio.

The best chance for West Ham came when a cross from substitute Grady Diangana was headed goalward by Snodgrass, who saw the deflected effort pushed out by Ben Foster. Then with the goal at his mercy Antonio somehow managed to head onto the bar.

But Watford were always dangerous, with Lukasz Fabianski pulling off point blank saves to foil Abdoulaye Doucoure and Deeney.

So with three minutes of normal time left, and Andy Carroll having just seen his header tipped over, Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu combined for the latter to finish with ease in the area.

West Ham manager Manuel Pelegrini felt his team were unlucky not to at least get a draw from the game.

The manager though was not too downbeat stating that if he'd been told he'd be on the present points total (24) at this stage of the season, after the four defeats at the start, he'd have been happy.

He was also optimistic that talismanic striker Marko Arnautovic would "soon" be back from injury.

Watford boss Javi Garcia underlined how his team had "scored. goals and created clear chances."

He felt they could have had more but for Fabianski's " two very good saves."

"Today, all the time we were very very organised," said Garcia, who felt his team had"solidarity and ambition."

He paid tribute to captain Deeney for his "commitment"and Pereyra for "always keeping a good level."

Make 2019 the year you only buy what you need

Christmas is a time of celebration, when friends and family come together (and sometimes fall out).  A time of joy.

It is often too a time of excess. Waste of all types from food to plastic and paper being produced on a huge scale.

So Christmas should also be a time for reflection on how we live, maybe with a view to making resolutions to live more environmentally sustainably in the New Year.

The challenge for us all going forward is to live more simply, treading more lightly on the earth. This means reversing much of the consumption based economic model that rules today.

It is estimated that 18 million tonnes of food end up in landfill in the UK each year. In the US, 40% of food produced goes to waste.

This is at a time when millions struggle to feed themselves, what a scandal.

At the very least this food should be being redirected to charitable causes like food banks. However, the real challenge is to stop over producing food. Why not just buy what we need, make sure we are not throwing food away?

It might mean shops stocking less but is that not better than throwing it away.

The plastics crisis has reached epidemic proportions. David Attenborough’s excellent Blue Planet series underlined the seriousness of the situation, with animals imbibing plastics, as well as getting tangled up in the stuff. The planet is literally choking.

We need to stop producing plastic and excess food , simply recycling is not enough.

There are signs of positive change.

One of the most encouraging developments have been moves made by many high streets to go plastic free. It is an ambition we should pursue in Wanstead as part of the new environmental charter initiative.

There are plenty of people out there keen to see Wanstead high street go plastic free but they need a response from business.  

The shops have a key role to play in making our environment a more environmentally sustainable place to live.

The supermarket Budgens has shown the way, with its shop in Camden aiming to go “virtually plastic free” within three years. Some 1700 products at the store have switched to plastic free packaging.

Imagine if our supermarkets in Wanstead took such a step, the people would no doubt flock to support such an initiative.

These type of moves need to be our resolutions going forward.

At present humankind is choking the earth, with its destructive way of life. The time has come to reverse this way of living, looking to a simpler more sustainable mode of existence that co-exists sustainably with those other creatures, with which we share the planet.

Published - Wanstead & Woodford Guardian - 20/12/2018

Performance related pay - councillors and MPs need to reflect the communities they represent

The role of a local councillor is a strange hybrid position, caught somewhere between the voluntary and employed sectors.

Since being elected as a Labour councillor for Wanstead Village in the London Borough of Redbridge last May, the myriad nature of the role has continued to fascinate and frustrate.

On the one hand we are treated as if employed full time in the council role. For example, councillors have to book time off, if they are going to be away and not on call for residents.

In many ways ofcourse it is a 24/7 role. Most would argue that is right, we are from the community, so must be ready to serve at all times – even when trying to catch the bus.

The public often don’t understand the role of the councillor. Some think councillors are paid huge amounts and are responsible for everything from the weather to bin collections.

It has been a dawning realisation that the role of councillor can amount to getting the blame for everything and the credit for nothing. Though how much this dynamic plays out can depend on individual councillor’s ability to communicate exactly what they are doing and why.

Council officers are the full time staff responsible for the running of the various functions of councils. The elected politicians should be representing the electorate, making the political decisions and setting the direction of travel accordingly.

The allowance paid to councillors demonstrates the hybrid nature of the role – somewhere between the voluntary and public sector. Allowances are basic but when the demands are taken into the account – if the councillor is doing the job properly, then they are not exorbitant.

While people should not be becoming councillors for the pay, too lower level has the effect of skewing the role toward the independently wealthy and those who have retired on a pension.

These two categories can give of their time, without concern about monetary return. However, younger people with full time jobs and families to support can struggle to juggle the pennies.

I stand in admiration of Cabinet members, who have challenging portfolios on the council, yet hold other jobs outside.

Remuneration of councils can be a thorny topic. Councillors increasing allowances is never going to be an easy sell to the public, especially at the present austere times, with a government determined to cut council services to the bone.

Some councils have thicker skins than others, increasing allowances, sometimes disproportionately for those higher up the tree. Though recent years have seen three rounds of 1% rises, with some councils cutting allowances.

In Redbridge, allowances have not increased for four years. The basic allowance for a councillor is £10,138 a year. There is another £16,000 for cabinet members. The leader gets £42,000 altogether.

That should be enough many would say but take into account the earlier arguments. The councillors I have met since being elected are all hard working individuals. But do we reflect the demographic of the people we represent? We do have a few young members in their 20s which is excellent but there are many over 50s fitting into the category of the independently wealthy and retired or semi-retired mode.

Where are the single parents living in the poorest parts of our borough? How do these people come through the system to serve as councillors?

A report by the London Councils earlier this year recommended a level of £11,045 for the basic allowance and £57,000 for the leader.

The Labour Party has done more than most to advance the representation of women. The imposition of all women short lists has played a major part in increasing that representation. But the analogy mentioned above can be extended here to.

A former Labour MP I know confessed how he regretted supporting the woman who eventually succeeded him in the seat, who was middle class, fairly well supported and able to give much time to the process of winning the position.

The individual he later felt he should have supported was a single working parent living in a sink estate. She represented an under-represented part of the population but lost out in the selection.

There certainly need to be further steps taken at local and national government levels if the Labour Party is to truly reflect the people we seek to represent.

More positive discrimination, new pay levels, care support and maybe a mentoring process could all be part of such an approach because at the moment in many ways the problem is not being addressed.

- published in Labour Briefing - December/ January 2019

 

 

Why is the pay gap between men and women still so wide?

Glasgow female workers strike highlights how pay inequality remains rampant, 50 years after the Equality Pay Act became law

Some 8,000 female workers recently went out on a 48-hour strike in Glasgow over equal pay.

The long running dispute between the GMB represented workers and Glasgow City Council (GCC) concerns the women being paid in some cases £3 an hour less than their male counterparts.

The strike involved more than 2,000 GMB members who provided round the clock home care for 87,000 service users, as well as cleaning and catering services for schools and amenities across the city.

The council adopted the Workforce Pay and Benefit Review (WPBR), implementing its job evaluation-based pay and grading system in 2006 with the intention of making sure men and women got equal pay for jobs of the same value. It is believed that up to 12,000 workers have longstanding claims going back to that time. The final bill for GCC is likely to cost millions to settle. 

In May 2017, the Court of Session ruled the WPBR discriminated against female workers.

The council decided it would not appeal the decision of the court and would commit to settling the outstanding equal pay claims and bringing in a new system. Last January, the council said that it wanted to settle the dispute by negotiations. But since then there has been little progress, resulting in the GMB and Unison moving to take industrial action. 

The Glasgow strike though is but part of a larger picture of pay inequality across the industrial terrain. Female staff at the BBC have complained about being paid substantially less than their male colleagues. Although, there has been some closing of the gender pay gap over the past 12 months, a large differential remains at the Corporation.

The looming question remains why 50 years after the famous women at Fords Dagenham plant struck for equal pay does the disparity continue. 

In the Fords case, the women originally went on strike over grading but managed to get a deal that saw their pay close to 92% of men’s pay from 85%. They did not secure the regrading until 1984, after another strike.

The Ford strike is widely seen as one of the spurs to the introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970. This stated that men and women were entitled to equal pay. 

It allowed claims for similar jobs, or jobs that were different but which the employer had rated as needing similar skill or effort and had put on the same grade.

Recent statistics from the Office for National Statistics shows the gender pay gap for median earnings at 17.9% for 2018, a reduction of 0.5% on the previous year. The gender pay gap for

full time employment is 8.6%. The gap between the two figures is due to over 5 million underpaid part time women employees, not being included amongst the full-time figures.

The disparity in pay though does seem to vary, according to age, with women earning just 1.3% less than men in the 22 to 29 age group, but the gap grows to 15.5% in the 50 to 59 age group.

The pay gap remains due to a number of factors including blatant discrimination, heavy representation of women in caring and a disproportionate representation in lower paid jobs like cleaning and catering.

Women are being effectively penalised for the greater role they play in bringing up families, which often forces them into low paid, part time work. 

There are moves being made to improve the situation such as the duty now placed on companies of 250 plus employees to publish details of gender pay but more is needed. 

The TUC has said that at the present rate of progress, it will take 55 years to reach pay parity across generations. “The government needs to crank up the pressure on employers. Companies shouldn't just be made to publish their gender pay gaps, they should be legally required to explain how they’ll close them. And bosses who flout the law should be fined," said Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC.

Stronger trade unions in the workplace would also help close the gender gap, giving women the back up needed to oppose discrimination and claim fair pay.

published by Unionline
Morning Star - 20/12/2018

Times they are a changing - hubs will bring council services under one roof

The election of a Labour Council in Redbridge in 2014 heralded a time of change for the borough.

Initially, much of the work undertaken involved dealing with a bad financial situation left behind by the previous Conservative administration, a state of affairs made steadily worse by more cuts imposed by central government.

Nearly 60% of Redbridge's funding has been cut by the government but the Labour Council did well in balancing the budget and coming up with new innovative ways of delivering services.

There were pluses as well, with structures, such as the new swimming pools and leisure service facilities coming on stream in Wanstead, Loxford and Mayfield.

The public liked what they saw, returning Labour to power with an increased majority at the elections in May.

Daniel Morgan Thomas, Jo Blackman and myself were the new councillors elected for Wanstead Village. We joined re-elected Wanstead Park councillors Sheila Bain and Paul Merry.

Moving forward the administration wants to build on its embryonic vision of the first term. In Wanstead, the pool and school facilities sited at Wanstead High School is coming to fruition over the next couple of years.

Wanstead Councillors are playing a lead role in promoting an Environmental Charter for Wanstead. This seeks to reduce carbon emissions, increase bio-diversity and clean up our living environment – including reducing plastic and pollution. Cycling, walking and the use of public transport will be promoted. Wanstead it is hoped will become an even greener place.

The council is also intending to create a community hub in Wanstead, sited around the library and Woodbine place site. There are to be five hubs in the borough, the others being at Gants Hill, Seven Kings, Ashton Playing Fields and Hainault.

The idea is to group community services together, so there can be libraries, children’s centres, police services and council services, including cleansing and enforcement teams, all situated in the one place. There maybe leisure facilities attached as well.

The plan is good, given that at present many of these services come from 50 different places situated all over the borough in often dilapidated and costly buildings.

The new hubs will bring all the services together in one place. It will also mean costs are reduced, so putting many of these services on a safer standing going forward.

At present the idea has been given the go ahead by Cabinet, with officers now exploring the options for the five sites. Before anything happens on the ground there will be consultation with residents on design and content.

In the light of our environmental commitment, we'd expect any hub to be zero carbon in operation.

The hubs idea, as long as it is implemented in a sensitive and consensual way, ensuring no reduction in the services provided, offers a real way forward.

There has already been some disinformation being put about concerning the hub process, about what will happen to the library and other buildings around the Woodbine site.

However, it is for the local people to decide what happens, making sure over the coming years that we get a hub for community services that works best for Wanstead.

When taken alongside the new pool and the green transformation envisaged with the Environmental Charter, these are exciting times for Wanstead.

We want to make Wanstead a greener, healthier and better place for us all to live.

*published in Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 13/12/2018
online - 15/12/2018

 

Third win in a row for West Ham as they beat Crystal Palace 3-2

West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace

West Ham recorded their third win in a row over the past week, with this hard fought contest against Crystal Palace.

Palace manager Roy Hodgson reflected that his side probably played better in the second half but lost. "We had good spells in the second half. We had our moments, they had theirs. They took their chances," said a rueful Hodgson.

Palace certainly keenly contested this game and were unlucky not to get someting from it.

The first goal came from a long free kick that was headed on by former West Ham defender James Tomkins. West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianksi failed to come for the ball, allowing James McArthur to nip in and score.

Palace could have had a second goal in injury time, as a thumping free kick from Luka Milivojevic came back off the crossbar.

West Ham came out with a new verve in the second half, which saw them quickly draw level via a Robert Snodgrass drive from just outside the box.

West Ham's Felipe Anderson then took over proceedings, first striking a free kick over the wall, that Hennessey could only push away to the incoming Javier Hernandez to force home.

Then, the Brazilian picked up an Hernandez pass on the left, which he expertly curled into the top corner beyond Hennessey.

Palace got one back in the 75th minute, when substitute Jeffrey Schlupp rose to head home a cross from Max Meyer.

West Ham boss Mauel Pellegrini was delighted to collect his third win in a week."We hope to change the style of this club.We hope to add as many points as we can and be near the top of the table," said Pellegrini, who complimented Snodgrass for working hard in attack and defence.

An unhappy Hodgson told how Tomkins was still angry about the foul given against him for the second goal and his complaints after the final whistle led to a booking. A booking that means he will be suspended for the next game.

published - Morning Star - 9/12/2018

The groups who make the area a greener place

There is an immense amount of goodwill and community spirit in Wanstead.

This can often be seen in a very public form, such as at the lighting up of the Christmas tree on George Green last Friday or the Wanstead Festival in September.

Maybe less obvious are those working away in quieter ways, almost behind the scenes.

Take the community gardeners, based at the Corner House, at the top of the Avenue (opposite the Co-op).

Marian Temple has been involved in the work for 15 years, with a number of other volunteers joining her along the way. The community gardeners maintain and develop the beds and shrubs around Wanstead and Snaresbrook Stations, along the high street and at the Corner House.

They prefer to plant perennials, rather than annual plants. These will then keep producing year after year.

The great work done by Marian and the other community gardeners costs very little in money terms, with much of the materials and plants they use being donated by the local community. Community gardening is a great example of what can be done where there is the goodwill.

Wild Wanstead is a more recent group, devoted to increasing the biodiversity of the area. Its first big venture was the planting of tree pits in some 40 roads around Wanstead. Unfortunately, the hot summer stopped the seeds fully bursting forth but next spring some of the fruits of their labour should become apparent.

The group are also looking to develop wild areas in places like Christchurch and George Green, as well as Nutter Lane. Wild Wanstead encourage people to develop their own biodiverse initiatives at home and on the streets. The group are keen to encourage the development of front and back gardens. They would also like to see people stop concreting over their gardens, pointing out the danger this does to the wildlife terrain and the cumulative effect of such actions in increasing flood risk in the area.

The Wren Group has been going for a number of years. Its members boast a vast array of knowledge of the local history and ecology of the area. There are the guided bird walks as well as historical ventures – like the one recently featured in this column, about World War II artefacts turning up on the Flats.

The Wren Group also do a lot of voluntary work in Wanstead Park and on the Flats. Much of the splendour of the Bluebell Wood in Wanstead Park is due to the all year round work done by their members.

A recent addition to the volunteer community army have been the litter pickers. The last litter pick was on 17 November, which saw eight people out on a Saturday morning picking up the detritus from around the high street and on the greens.

All of these ventures show the very vibrant community spirit that exists in Wanstead. We are hoping to enact the Environmental Charter in Wanstead, getting individuals, businesses, schools, civil society and the council all involved in making our area a more environmentally sustainable place.

Goodwill and community spirit will be key to getting these plans off the ground, so it is fantastic to see so much already going on that can be tapped into with this new venture.  

*For more information see: Community Gardeners- https://wansteadcommunitygardeners.wordpress.com/about/

Wild Wanstead - www.wildwanstead.org  

Wren Group – www.wrengroup.org.uk

Published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 6 & 9/12/2018

West Ham run out easy winners (3-1) over Cardiff City at the London Stadium

West Ham 3-1 Cardiff City

West Ham ran out easy winners of this game, though for much of the first half the visitors looked likely to get something from the game.

Cardiff's best chance came in the 34th minute, when referee Graham Scott awarded a penalty for an innocuous challenge by Marko Arnautovic. 

West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski saved the day, stopping the spot kick from Joe Ralls.

Fabianki made two further saves from Victor Camarasa.

For West Ham Arnautovic had a goal bound shot cleared off the line by a defender, whilst Angeli Ogbonna saw his goal bound header from a corner similarly cleared.
West Ham took charge in the second half, when three minutes in, Cardiff defenders failed to clear, allowing Robert Snodgrass, to put an inch perect chip through to substitute Lucas Perez to stroke home.

Five minutes later, Lucas struck again, this time put through by defender Arthur Masuaku.

The demolition was complete a few moments later when Michail Antonio headed home a Snodgrass corner.

Further efforts followed, with Ogbonna having a shot cleared off the line and substitute Grady Diangana breaking away to be foiled at the last moment by Cardiff keeper Neil Etheridge.

Cardiff did manage a consolation goal in the final minute, as Josh Murphy bundled the ball over the line amid a melee of players.

Goalkeeper Fabianski was clearly fouled but, as with much else on the evening referee Scott let it go.

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini thought it a strange game. "We started well but after that didn't make the space," said Pellegrini, who felt the penalty was unnecessary.

He also felt there was a foul and hand ball with the Cardiff goal.

published - Morning Star - 7/12/2018