Getting clean air means taking some tough choices

People want cleaner air and a better environment in which to bring up their children but some appear unwilling to make the sacrifices required to bring that situation about. The most obvious example of this contradiction is the attitude to car travel. In Wanstead, people cry out for cleaner air, more biodiversity and combatting climate change. Yet, many also seem to want virtually no limitation on their ability to drive everywhere. The car lobby is often loud. I remember years ago, when the Conservatives ran the council, they shut the gate on Overton Drive to stop through traffic. The move was perfectly logical and supposed to happen, following completion of the M11 Link Road - the traffic staying on the main arteries, rather than cutting through side roads. There was uproar, with petitions demanding the gate was opened. Angry area meetings took place. The council backed down. More recently, there was the introduction of Controlled Parking Zones (CPZ) across Wanstead, with limited stopping periods on the high street. Again, the drive everywhere lobby was out. This would be the end of life as we knew it, Wanstead would turn into a desert town. None of which ofcourse happened. A reduced scheme was introduced, more people could park to go to the shops, the high street prospered and residents now petition for CPZ schemes in their roads. The most recent opposition to car restrictions has come regarding the introduction of school streets schemes. These schemes stop people driving right up to the front door of schools for the period of drop off and pick up. A few hours a day. A small price to pay for the well being of our children's lungs and limbs. Some school street schemes have gone through, others not. Wanstead is a green and pleasant place, marred in part by road traffic. Beautiful walks such as along the River Roding are tainted by the roar of traffic and spread of pollution from the nearby A406. If we really do want to create a cleaner, greener area, there has to be change. We cannot go on driving everywhere, polluting and destroying people's health. There is a place for the car, for some this form of travel is an absolute necessity but not all. There is also the welcome development of electric cars. A number of active travel schemes have been introduced across London, with varying degrees of success. The car lobby has never been slow to mobilise to oppose any attempt to restrict their right of movement. Media too has been quick to amplify the loudest voices of opposition. Modal change though will mean more active travel, less. car and air travel, more walking, cycling and use of public transport alternatives. The other option is to continue poisoning ourselves and the planet to death.

Cut to overseas aid betrays inward looking Little Englander attitude

The government has rightly received much criticism for its mean-spirited cut to overseas aid. The cut of £4 billion reduced the amount going to poorer nations to 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) Previously, a commitment was made to pay 0.7% of GNI in aid – in line with the UN recommendations. The cut has been justified on the back of belt tightening due to the cost of the Covid pandemic. The £4 billion saved though is a drop in the ocean, against the £400 billion so far expended in dealing with Covid. At a time when the whole world is struggling to overcome the pandemic, it seems incredible to cut support to some of the poorest countries on earth. The idea that the cut needs to be made simply doesn’t stack up, especially when put against some of the wastefulness of this government. The billions expended on an inadequate track and trace system, the costly contracts for Personal Protective Equipment, not to mention the latest hit to the economy as a result of letting the Delta variant into the country in April. Unfortunately, the rationale for the cut to aid is more likely found in the Little Englander nationalist attitude that is so prevalent in the present government. The worse sort of dog whistle politics. Back in 2014/15, cutting aid together with leaving the EU and the negative attitude to migrants were the standpoints of UKIP. The previous Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron was so concerned about the threat of UKIP that he decided to assimilate many of their policies. An attitude taken to the next level by the present incumbent of Downing Street, Boris Johnson. This led down a path that began with the EU referendum and adopting anti-migrant policies leading onto cutting overseas aid. It is an ungenerous, small minded sort of nationalism, not seen in the UK for many a year. A drawing back into isolation from the world. President Donald Trump represented the same sort of divisive politics in the US. Fortunately, there has been an outcry against the cut to overseas aid, not least from Conservative backbench MPs. This has been supported by other parties and more widely in the country. What the Covid pandemic has shown is that we are one world, the sum of all our parts. An attack on one is an attack on all. Now is not the time to be backing away into some Little Englander silo - we must reach out and help others, as and when needed. It is not only the right moral thing to do but failure to do so might just one day see others not reaching out to help the UK at its most difficult times of need.

Planting communities

There has been much publicity recently about people growing their own food. A BBC Countryfile program featured planting communities, looking at the different ways food is being produced across the country. Some 4% of food in Britain comes from allotments and gardens. It cuts food miles, packaging, as well as contributing hugely to people’s mental health. Growing your own really is a win win all round. There is the produce itself, which tastes great but also the whole process of nurturing of the plants right up to the final harvest. For many having an allotment or being part of a community garden provides real value. There is the work in developing the plot, growing the crops and improving the soil. Many people put up their own sheds and green houses. They have water butts and raised beds. The whole thing becomes a circular process. Allotment holders and gardeners improve the biodiversity around them. Many allotments have ponds and wild areas. Then there are the people that you meet at the allotment. A whole community, with a shared interest in growing their own. Allotments and gardens have played a huge role in keeping people sane over the difficult months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Redbridge has a fantastic network of allotments running right across the borough – there is heavy demand, with most having waiting lists. I have had an allotment at Redbridge Lane West for the past 10 years. It has been a fantastic place to be – with good and bad years regarding the harvest. One year going back and forth with bags and bags of runner beans, another year the rust disease will hit and nothing grows. There has been some consternation recently amongst the 40 plot holders at the meadow site in Redbridge Lane West, caused by the plans of gas company Cadent to use the site in order to do work on the neighbouring gas works. Cadent have said they want to use the site for two years, meaning allotment holders would have to move off elsewhere. Not surprisingly, plot holders have been upset, facing the possibility of loss of their treasured plots – even, if later restored. Cadent, Redbridge Council and plot holders are in discussions at present, so hopefully, a resolution can be found that is agreeable to all involved. There are many other exciting possibilities developing across the borough, like Transition Ilford’s Forest Garden and the Growing Communities project at the Walled Garden in Ray Park. We need our growing spaces. Ideally, the spaces for growing our own vegetables will increase as part of local efforts to improve biodiversity, counter climate change and save the planet. Not forgetting, ofcourse, the contribution that such activities make to everyones mental and physical health.

Time to call out football racists

A friend was recently excited to get a ticket for the final game of West Ham’s season at the London Stadium. A rare event in these Covid times. He recalled how his young son said before the game started, how he hoped the crowd did not boo, when the players took the knee. Sadly, there was some booing. This trend has seemingly returned, as the fans have come back into stadiums. Some of the small attendances – 10,000 in the West Ham case – seem to believe they have to register their protest. Or put another way maybe they are just racists. The same thing has happened with the England games. TV pundit and former player Gary Lineker put it well when he said: “If you boo @England players for taking the knee, you’re part of the reason why players are taking the knee.” The response of this small minority of fans to this act of solidarity really is quite abhorrent. Fans come back into the stadiums, so does the racism – discuss? The taking of the knee was a football response to the Black Lives Matter movement that grew incredibly across the world following the terrible murder last year of George Floyd in America. Black footballers have for many years suffered terrible racist abuse, going back to the chanting and throwing of banana skins onto the field during the 1970s and 80s. The Black pioneers like West Ham’s Clyde Best, West Brom’s Cyril Regis, Brendan Batson and Laurie Cunningham had to deal with this abuse week in week out. Best had to be given police protection at one point due to a death threat. Things have improved over recent years but not as much as some like to think. The racist abuse, particularly online, against Black players like Marcus Rashford and Raheem Stirling has been horrendous. The dignified response of the Rashford and Stirling, among many others, should be applauded. Everyone needs to come together in society to drive out this vile racism. The taking of the knee is a dignified gesture of solidarity against racism. That racism needs to be called out, wherever it occurs. Fortunately, at football games, the majority of fans have reacted, by clapping to drown out the boos. The clubs have taken action to drive out racism. But there is a duty on all of us to call out racism wherever it is happening – in the football grounds, at work and on the streets. Virtue signalling simply will not do, it is not and never has been enough. This most recent example of racism at football matches is upsetting but also highlights how much needs to be done to build a truly inclusive society.

Cut the rubbish

The level of rubbish and plastic being created does not seem to be in anyway decreasing at the present time. Locally, as the lockdown restrictions eased more people came out into our open spaces to socialise. Unfortunately, too many brought rubbish with them that they then left deposited behind. Some of the things that people just dump are incredible. On one of our monthly litter picks there was a full set of china plates and cups left in the middle of George Green. The masks that have become essential wear over the period of the pandemic are liberally dumped on the ground, for others to pick up. What is it that makes people believe that they are so entitled that simply putting rubbish in the bin or taking it home is below them? No , dump it on the ground for someone else to pick up. At one point, Redbridge Council were taking more litter off Christchurch Green than Valentines Park. Note, the full time worker deployed simply to clear up after those who cannot deal with their own rubbish. Plastic is another particular problem. The planet is simply getting clogged up with plastic, being used and discarded on land and in the sea. There are efforts to cut single use plastic, as well as find alternatives but progress is slow. One initiative we can all take part in is Plastic Free July (https://plasticfreejuly.org/), which seeks to cut single use for that month. What is really needed to address the problems of litter and plastic (often one in the same) is to stop creating the stuff in the first place. Recycling is very good and should be encouraged but a step further is to not create the rubbish in the first place. The Cleaner Greener Wanstead initiative sought to address the joint problems of plastic waste and litter. An early initiative was to try to get shops in Wanstead High Street to not use single plastic. One Saturday, as part of a nationwide project, activists took the plastic back to a number of supermarkets, including the Co-op, Tesco and M&S. The stores listened attentively and promised to take the argument on board – some progress is being made at a national level but what about here? There is still a lot of single use plastic in Wanstead High Street- the thousands of plastic lids on take away coffee cups spring to mind. These have been difficult times with the pandemic darkening everyones lives over the past 14 months. Some of the initiatives begun pre-pandemic have stalled due to the crisis but now is time to redouble our efforts. We need to take real action to cut the amount of waste being created and when that is not possible, deal responsibly with the residue. There is only one planet and we all have a responsibility to look after it.