Residents First

Daily Mail on Andrew Slaughter "a lispy, slippery barrister"

Cllr Andrew Johnson writes

Despite having a senior shadow frontbench position within the Labour Opposition local MP, Andy Slaughter, has failed so far to make much of an impact at Westminster or on the national stage. The cynical amongst us would say that this can only be considered a good thing, and is hardly surprising given that he acts like he’s the Leader of the Council’s Opposition rather than as a Member of Parliament.

However, yesterday for once, Mr Slaughter did indeed get a mention in the national press for the role he played, or in this case didn’t play, in the Commons during a debate on no-win-no-fee arrangements for
legal representation.

For despite having been a lawyer himself, who specialised in personal-injury cases, Mr Slaughter chose to remain silent on the subject matter, despite clearly having an interest, and one would hope a certain degree of knowledge, on it.

This did not go unnoticed by the national press, with Quentin Letts of the Daily Mail observing:

“Alongside Mr Khan (Shadow Secretary of State and also a former lawyer) on the Labour front bench sat a man called Slaughter, a lispy, slippery barrister who specialises in personal-injury cases. Mr Slaughter (Hammersmith) did not say anything, for which we the nation will give thanks. But he looked quietly fed up by Mr (Kenneth) Clarke’s announcement.”

Did Mr Letts hear any of them declare a financial interest, present or past? Apparently not.

It’s clear that Slaughter simply isn’t interesting on speaking up about matters which don’t involve the opportunity of attacking H&F Council. Unless, of course, there was another reason for his silence...

Livingstone backs Uk Uncut's attack on Fortnums

Labour's candidate for Mayor of London has confirmed his support for UK Uncut despite their occupation of Fortnum & Mason on Saturday.

He tells the Ilford Recorder that "UK Uncut isn't violent" and that "direct action" is justified as "we should be getting big business to pay."

Yet UK Uncut have refused to condemn violence and in any case it would have been disingenuous of them to organise a hostile occupation of shops and then deny responsibility when protesters taking part engage in theft, vandalism and attacks on customers and staff.

UK Uncut decided to disrupt Fortnum & Mason on the grounds it is owned by Whittington Investments "which runs a devious tax avoidance scheme, stuffing money in Luxembourg and avoiding £10m a year in tax." What they failed to add was that 79.2% of Whittington Investment is owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation which gives all its income to charity, some £40 million last year.

Livingstone has already held a rally with a speaker from UK Uncut as part of building the "widest possible alliance."

Arnie rides Boris bike

   

 

BBC's false claim of Shepherd's Bush youth club closing

Cllr Harry Phibbs writes

On Tuesday night's BBC London news there was a report on the "Cuts impact of a Shepherds Bush family" about Zain Textiles in Uxbridge Road. The piece featured the business run by Ashraf Dada and said"a local youth club" was closing where his teenage son Mohamed-Zain Dada poetry workshop.

I missed the programme but was concerned to read it on the Shepherd's Bush Blog so I rang Zain Textiles and spoke to Ashraf Dada. He explained that the family live in Finchley which is where the youth club is and that before the broadcast Barnet Council had already agreed to give the youth club a reprieve. I asked if Mohamed-Zain might be interested in putting on some poetry workshops in Shepherd's Bush and he thought he might well be.

So far as the economy was concerned Ashraf agreed that the budget deficit needed to be cleared. His criticism of the Government was that it would have been better to have found further savings and to have avoided the VAT increase. It is a criticism I share.

But he was also optimistic that his business would "climb up again." He was also full of praise for the "great job" the Council was doing in providing cleaner streets and fighting crime "with extra police and Neighbourhood Watch." I asked if Westfield opening had been a problem for him. "No, it has greatly increased the amount of business we do," he replied.

UPDATE

Both the BBC and the Shepherd's Bush Blog have corrected this allegation.

Not so the Labour Party blog HFConwatch which persists in the slur. For good measure the same post endorsed a Johann Hari piece - which showed he did not understand the difference between the National Debt and the Budget Deficit. The Spectator's Coffee House blog patiently tried to explain it here.

Cllr Stephen Cowan's Facebook endorsement for UK Uncut

Cllr Harry Phibbs writes

As noted in an earlier post the attack on Fortnum & Mason by UK Uncut meant attacking the revenue to the Garfield Weston Foundation who donate huge sums to charity including groups in Hammersmith and Fulham.

Yet Cllr Stephen Cowan not only spoke at a rally alongside a speaker from UK Uncut for Ken Livingstone as part of the "widest possible alliance" for Ken Livingstone. He also publicly endorses UK Uncut under the Activities and Interests section of his Facebook page.

One of the groups funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation is W6 Youthworks.  They were given £20,000. The group is "a youth project set up by St Paul's Church in 2007 which supports socially excluded and disadvantaged young people in Hammersmith & Fulham encouraging them to develop into well-balanced, confident and secure young adults. By providing somewhere to go and something to do
for groups of young people. W6 Youthworks creates an alternative to the destructive environments that inner city youth often find themselves in."

It is based in Hammersmith Broadway, the ward Cllr Cowan represents. Let us hope he will now reflect on whether he should withdraw his support for UK Uncut.

UPDATE

Cllr Cowan has now deleted the reference from his Facebook page. Good for him.

57% back the Government spending cuts

On the day of the TUC march on Saturday, The Guardian carried an interesting ICM poll.

It asked:

From what you have seen or heard about the government's plans to reduce government spending, do you think they go...?

The response offered "too far" was backed by 35%, the response "they strike about the right balance" was backed by 28% while "Not far enough" was backed by 29%. So 57% feel the spending cuts are at the right level or should go further.

Even among Labour supporters 26% feel the cuts "don't go far enough" - while another 13% feel they "strike the right balance." So 39% of Labour's own supporters oppose their line that the cuts go too far.

There was mix on the march of those who took the official Labour line. ("What do we want?" "Cuts to eliminate budget deficit." "When do we want them?" "Over five  years or six  years not four years as currently planned.") While others felt no cuts were needed. Either way the marchers do not represent the majority.

Andrew Slaughter's "alliance" with UK Uncut

The Labour Party has a credibility problem due to its links with UK Uncut. That problem will grow as more shops are trashed. One response from the Labour blogosphere has been to pretend the problem doesn't exist.

On Labour List a blog defends Labour MPs supporting UK Uncut on the basis that the groups protest were peaceful. It is left ambiguous over whether the author still feels UK Uncut can be defended on that basis. Or whether he thinks it was understandable mistake when the Early Day Motion was signed. If  the former then he can scarcely make a simultaneous complaint that suggestions of Labour support for UK Uncut are a smear. If the latter that he should consider that the EDM was tabled on December 6. The violence at the UK Uncut Topshop occupations were reported by the BBC on December 4 here. Perhaps the Labour MPs missed those news reports - then let them withdraw their names from that EDM.

Another effort was made to suggest that Ken Livingstone was in the clear regards supporting UK Uncut even though his conference had a speaker from that group. Don't conferences often have speakers with different views? But this was a rally not a debate. This was about Red Ken embracing UK Uncut among others and welcoming them to his "big tent." Building the "widest possible alliances" as it stated.

When the Labour MP Tessa Jowell realised the company she was in she pulled out. That was to her credit.

Locally and nationally - Labour opposing the Council Tax freeze

This year's Council budget provided for a Council Tax freeze. Labour councillors voted against the budget -  while feeling to offer any amendments for an alternative budget. In the previous four years, where there has been an annual 3% cut, Labour denounced the budget - then abstained.

Nationally Labour are even more clear in opposing the Council Tax freeze. Last week it was confirmed that a Government initiative has led to every council in England announcing a council tax freeze or cut this year. The response was that another Labour Shadow Minister has attacked the move that will bring real help to hard-working families and pensioners. Lord Beecham, Labour’s Shadow Local Government Minister in the Lords, has claimed that "A freeze builds up financial trouble for the future." This follows recent Labour criticism of the freeze by Shadow Local Government Minister Chris Williamson, who labelled it "nothing more than a gimmick."

Lord Beecham’s comments are also incorrect. Despite the need to pay off Labour’s deficit, councils are being given almost an extra £3 billion of central funding over four years to support the freeze in 2011-12. This will stop council tax soaring next year after the one-year freeze. Compared to a 5 per cent rise (the last Government’s typical capping limit in recent years), a freeze will save an average family up to £72 a year on a Band D home. Over four years, this lower rate of council tax is worth up to £288.

Local Government Minister Bob Neill MP said:

“It is unsurprising that Labour, who more than doubled council tax and refused a council tax freeze in England during their time in office, are now slating an initiative that will bring families savings of up to almost £300 over the next four years.

“While the Government is striving to bring real help to hard-working families and pensioners, Labour is once again shown to be out of touch with the everyday concerns of local residents across the country”.

New vision for West Ken

 
See the proposals for the redevelopment of Earls Court and West Kensington on the www.myearlscourt.com website. The Have Your Say section gives residents the chance to debate the plans and offer ideas. A lot is not yet decided - such as the architectural design of the buildings.

Benefits of the proposed scheme are outlined by the developers as follows:

Hitting Fortnum & Mason means hitting H&F charities

Cllr Harry Phibbs writes

The local Labour MP Andrew Slaughter and Labour Group leader on the Council Cllr Stephen Cowan recently attended a rally for Ken Livingstone along with a representative of the group UK Uncut. This was the group that organised an occupation of Fortnum & Mason yesterday.

By hitting the revenue for that shop they hit the revenue for the Garfield Weston Foundation which makes a huge array of charitable donations - not least to our borough:

Townmead Youth Club £30,000

St Paul's Centre/W6 Youthworks £20,000

The Fulham Good Neighbour Service, £5,000.

The Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation, Fulham, £50,000.

The Shepherd's Bush Families Project £15,000 (which Labour claim to be so supportive of.)

The Bush Theatre  £20,000

The Askew Road Church  £10,000

I presume the former Labour council leader Stephen Burke, who used to write the Hf Conwatch blog, feels the donation of £50,000 to Counsel and Care was welcome. He was the Chief Executive when it was made.

So whose side are the Labour Party on? Are they on the side of UK Uncut and their local pet blog Guy Debord's Cat?

Or are they on the side of the Garfield Weston Foundation and H&F charities?