Co-operatives in Brent

As a co-operator, I am pleased to learn that two new Co-operative stores are coming forward.  One is opposite Brent Civic Centre in Olympic Way, Wembley, and the other in Queens Park just up the road from Kilburn Library. 

Unlike most supermarkets, the Co-operative has no shareholders and has a degree of democratic control.  Buying a certain level of goods there gives you voting rights and the ability to determine the policy of the organisation.  Hitherto, Co-operatives in our part of London have been outside the Borough boundaries.

You can learn more about Co-operatives at the Society's web site, and the Co-operative Party on the Co-operative Party web site. 

The Last Blockbuster

Reading this about the last Blockbuster reminds me of the many pieces I have read on public libraries that focus on some one's childhood nostalgia.  Obviously in the case of Blockbuster that has been insufficient to keep them going.

With libraries on the other hand there are plenty of reasons for the service to stay open, not least in terms of raising digital literacy, their use as arts venues, and their uses as social hubs for all sorts of other activities. 

Kilburn Baths

An interesting snippet of local history about Kilburn Baths.  Striking that communal baths were still being opened just before the War. 

Merger of Authorities in Northants

The Guardian reports on the coming merger of authorities in Northamptonshire, which is forced by the financial collapse.  The merger will make some savings, but also require one off costs in terms of redundancy payments and merging systems, which is what the Council's reserves can properly be used for.  Since Northants announcement that it would run out of cash, there have been news that both East Sussex and Torbay are going to stop all non essential spending.  The merger will not in itself solve the crisis as even a local Tory MP has noticed. 

This is a predictable crisis that requires central government to fundamentally reform local government finance across England. 

Public Libraries and Diversity

I often see volunteer libraries claiming that they do things that public libraries just don't do.  Before making such a claim, it is worth finding out a bit more about what UK library services do do.  You can do that by reading a recent Arts Council report on libraries and diversity. 

Beyond Incredulity

Jeremy Corbyn has told the BBC that "I don't share platforms with terrorists," and "I don't believe in killing people.  "I have attended memorial events for those that have died in the sadness of all of these conflicts, and that is my position."

I really find it hard to imagine how anyone could attend a PLO Conference without expecting some of the other people there to have had involvement in terrorist activity.  Similarly, the much publicised meetings with Gerry Adams and other people linked to the IRA.  Is Jeremy Corbyn the only person who does not believe that Gerry Adams has links to terrorists?

The whole atmosphere of this is starting to remind me of Darkness At Noon. 

Momentum Learns about Democracy

I don't normally do comments on the internal politics of the Labour Party on this site, but this piece from labourlist is interesting in revealing that Momentum is rather less monolithic than the twitter bots might make it appear. 

Similarly, Stephen Bush has an illuminating piece on why the Jewish community is so concerned about the possible escalation of what Jeremy Corbyn has referred to as "pockets" of anti-Semitism. 

Temporary Reprieve for Northants Libraries

One of the legal challenges to the library closures in Northants has been successful.  This may not be the great news that the campaigners in Northants no doubt hope for.  As I explained back in April, Northants just has run out of money.

There will now be a delay as the Council has to go through the decision making process again, but the disastrous budgetary situation remains, so I imagine any changes to the policy will be very limited.  The challenge was successful, judging by press reports, on the grounds that councillors had not considered the full impact.  Once they do consider them, they might in principle decide the same thing.

However a delay in the decision probably also means a delay in sending out redundancy notices, more staff consultation and so on, so the court case may have the effect of making the cuts somewhat deeper than they would have been.

Brent Borough of Culture

I have alluded to the award of Borough of Culture status for Brent, but there still appears to be very little detail on what will actually happen.  Brent Libraries, which is likely to be the lead part of the Council on this, have a strong reputation due to the Transformation Project, but so far the only detail is fairly thin. 

Cllr Muhammed Butt and the Kiln Theatre

I opined that the OurTricycle campaign had largely run out of steam, and I still think that is basically true, but it still managed a brief appearance in Private Eye this week.

The piece makes two points.  One is to suggest that there is some form of deception in fund raising for the theatre rebuilding without making a specific point about the name change.  I regard this as really odd, since I think the actual name of the Theatre is a very minor matter compared to the benefits of the rebuild and the potential regeneration benefits for Kilburn. 

The Play's the thing, as someone once said. 

Secondly, it comments on the apparent ignorance of Cllr Muhammed Butt about the name change.  It is said, through a FoI request, that the Council Leader only became aware of the change on 28 November 2017 despite the fact that the Board discussed it much earlier.  I can't help but be sceptical of this.  Cllr Muhammed Butt seems to have had a long and surprising record of ignorance and odd decisions over the Jewish Film Festival, the NHS in Brent, pub protection, Council Tax, Planning, school academies, Brent Council's procurement decisions, the closure of Youth Centres the rules of the Labour Party, efforts to exclude Labour councillors from the Group, whether Labour councillors are suspended and even whether members of the Labour Group he leads are alive. 

To come back to the Kiln, my view would be that however that decision was arrived at, it is now a done deal and there is no real point in trying to reverse it.  I think that anyone who wishes the Theatre and the Kilburn community well should just embrace the new season and enjoy the benefits of the new Kiln Theatre. 

Brent Central Political Parties and Antisemitism

The whole antisemitism story continues to develop in its dreary and depressing way, including a mention for Brent Central Labour Party on the front page of the Sunday Times and subsequent follow ups.  One does have to wonder about either the good faith or the the competence of these Labour Party officials who are apparently unable to identify long standing and active members.

Subsequently the Times had a story on Shahrar Ali, a familiar figure in the Green Party, who I understand no longer lives in Brent.  Shahrar Ali denies antisemitism.  He is quite a prominent figure having stood for local elections in Brent as well as Parliamentary elections and also national office within the Green Party itself. 

Harlesden Plaza Redevelopment

Brent Council is now asking for comments on the further development of Harlesden Town Centre.  As far as I know there is still no real funding for this.  The Harlesden Plaza is obviously a key landmark, but it is also in private ownership so I am not sure what would be the way forward for any vision that was developed. 

This question is crucial for public engagement as I remember well from the previous Highways scheme where people only really came on board once they became convinced that something would actually be delivered.

Details of the current Planning Documents are to found here. 

The Dire Position of Northants County Council

The Guardian and other papers carried more reports and analysis of the grim position of Northants CC now that it has pretty much run out of money.  This is a position that Brent has so far managed to avoid through taking a series of difficult decisions during the 2010-2014 period, which allowed cuts to the budget to be made in a more measured and less painful way.  Subsequently, my impression has been that the regime has got a good deal laxer, with for instance a fairly kneejerk reaction on fire safety. 

The problem now facing Northants is that after significant prevarication, it is being forced into making all its cuts at once.  That makes it far harder to manage the process rigorously.  It also means that finding alternative routes through other institutions becomes much tougher.

For instance, if Northants were to seek to have cushion either the closure of libraries by handing over to volunteers or (say) the moving of childrens centres from those libraries it would be much harder.  There is now a ticking clock to make the cuts happen within budget.  Any delays from legal action or delays in staff consultation will lead to extra costs and therefore even deeper costs.  Any one off payments necessary to the process will bite into a much lower level of reserves, and the reserves in Northants seem to be much lower than they have historically been.

The problems facing local government were predictable years ago, and have been made worse by Central government.  At some point many of the cuts being imposed will have to be reversed.

Schools and Sprinklers

This is an important story about sprinklers and schools in Brent from the Kilburn Times.  Apparently all the school fires in Brent in recent years have involved schools without sprinklers, which are not mandatory.

As I recall sprinklers were a mandatory feature of new schools built under the Building Schools for the Future programme, which Michael Gove abolished as overly bureaucratic.  He was supported in this by Sarah Teather.  Gove's replacement scheme, when it eventually appeared, did not require new schools to have sprinklers making a marginal saving in construction costs.  Now the LFB suggest that the sprinklers would actualy save significant sums in damage and possibly also help in terms of fire safety.

Seven Day Cafe at a Seven Day Library

Willesden Library Cafe is now opening seven days a week as hoped for.  It has also revamped its food offering.  I hope it thrives despite the recent set backs with the water supply.  Altogether it has been quite a saga. 

The Uniqueness of Roundwood Youth Club

Labour recently pledged to rebuild youth services if it comes back to power. It that happens, Roundwood Youth Club is likely to the centre of Youth services in Brent.

This partly because it is so new.  The current building was opened in late 2012, having been saved from central government cuts back in 2010.  Roundwood is the only survivor left after the cuts to youth services in Brent in 2015.  The widespread cuts to youth services around London have been blamed for the subsequent rise in knife crime. 

Staffless Libraries

A wheeze that seems to appeal to Library managers trying to avoid closing buildings rather than keeping library services is the staffless library.  An example has now been the subject of a complaint in Barnet. 

Staffless libraries seem generally to work by allowing access to people with library cards and pins (i.e. existing users), but excluding children.  I don't know how places like Barnet cope with the public safety implications of having an otherwise empty building without staff.  What do they do about vandalism or drug users or possible attacks/inappropriate behaviour by users?

Given the disproportionate impact on children this may indeed be a challengable policy.

Youth Services

Another reminder from Haringey that condemning your predecessor's schemes is the easy part.  Getting a new scheme together is difficult.  Haringey have recently decided not to go ahead with a "youth zone".  I don't know the details of the Haringey scheme but I suspect the main drivers of the decision to abandon it will be (a) the ongoing revenue cost (b) the fact that there is no real statutory duty to provide youth services.

If Haringey is like Brent, the opinions of the public would be that they want more youth services not less.

Update on Knotweed

I have long had an unfashionable interest in Japanese knotweed.  This invasive species has now been the subject of a landmark legal case which should worry every land owner.  This is one of those problems that rumbles along unnoticed until one day it doesn't.

IHRA and Censorship

One of the reasons given for opposing the standard wording of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including the illustrative examples, is the supposed threat to freedom of speech.  Opponents of the standard wording argue that thy would be inhibited from criticising Israel. 

I would argue that this is simply untrue.  A quick google shows up plenty of criticism of Israel and its government in all sorts of subject areas, and none of it appears to have been blocked by the definition.  Martin Francis meanwhile thinks he has found an example of Barnet Council trying to use the definition in this way.  The motion concerns the BDS movement and their use of Council facilities in Barnet.  Martin doesn't appear to find the proposed Boycott of a Boycott movement in any way ironic.

In the event the discussion appears to have kicked back to another Committee i.e. well into the long grass. 

I suspect this is because the wording of the motion is probably illegal.  It calls for the BDS campaign, or even individuals associated with it, to be banned from use of any Council facilities and shunned by society in general.  I think that case law going back to the 1980s probably doesn't allow this.  In particular, back then Haringey Council tried to stop its libraries from stocking Murdoch newspapers as the Wapping dispute was in full swing.  Haringey lost. 

The only way as I read it for any Council to refuse the use of facilities otherwise commercially available would be if they were being used for something illegal e.g. inciting racial hatred or violence.  Even then the Courts tend to set a very high standard of evidence before they convict of incitement. 

Martin should therefore rest easy.

Yet he might also want to reflect on the nature of boycotts and how divisive and damaging they can be even if people don't intend them to be so. 

How Much Weirder Can it Get?

The Times has a front page story today in which David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, apparently referred to Jeremy Corbyn in approving terms when he was elected back in 2015.  This whole story is getting rather out of hand.

Lessons for Brent Council from Northamptonshire

Recently the Guardian did a big feature on the horrific financial position of Northamptonshire County Council, which has essentially declared itself bankrupt.  The coverage points partly to political incompetence in kicking the can down the road and partly to the sizeable cuts that local government in general is suffering from.

This is what would have happened to Brent if it had taken Green Party advice and simply not managed its budget.  Instead we were able to manage a number of political choices.

Northamptonshire by contrast are being to force through slash and burn tactics just to make their budget add up.  Any delays, from a successful legal action for example, will have to be made up by cuts elsewhere in the budget.  The introduction of Commissioners and abolition of the Council in two years further underlines how refusing to take political decisions would simply have led to a propaganda victory for the Tories. 

Lack of Brexit Plans

Central government seems to have little clue about what its plans are for Brexit.  Even Dominic Raab's promise of "adequate food supplies" seems to be more a vague hope than plan.  There is some speculation that this is because either there are no plans as with David Davis' impact assessments or they are so terrifying that the voters might change their minds.  However, local authorities are publishing their own plans which in some cases do indeed sound scary. 

It would be interesting to what Brent Council is doing to assess Brent's own needs. 

Not in Dispute

Remarkably, given the huge amount of publicity that the subject has generated, it is only today that the Labour Party is advertising jobs in the Disputes unit that will deal with allegations.

Free School Waste

The Guardian reminds us of the sheer wastefulness of the government's free school programme.  Not least this is because the schools are being put into inappropriate buildings as has been the case in Brent.  When is the government going to admit defeat on this?

Labour Party Democracy vs Real Democracy

The Labour Party is currently thinking about a plan to make Council Leader elected by the Labour Party membership in some pilot areas, a move described by Newcastle's Nick Forbes as "probably illegal".  He may well be right on that, but it is also worth considering how undemocratic and unworkable it would be.

Under the current system appointments and decisions are made in public by publicly elected people on the basis of published documents prepared by professional staff.  They are trackable and the people making them are accountable to any member of the public.  Of course, there are cases where the practice falls short of the ideal, but there are safeguards to ensure some measure of accountability which cannot be circumvented.

The proposed system would be that half a million Labour members (perhaps 1% of the total electorate), and probably a lot less, would vote in the Council Leader.  No one outside the Labour Party membership would be allowed to know who was making that decision or why.  The Leader would be beholden to these people who would be under no obligation to know anything about the operations of local government.

In my experience even quite long standing Labour members can be quite ignorant about how local government works and what is and is not possible.  The recent example of regeneration in Haringay illustrates this rather starkly.  This probably won't impact certain decisions.  For instance any Council Leader who tried to implement an old style Militant mandate by Party members not to set a budget would just be removed from office by the Secretary of State.  Similarly populist moves like cancelling contracts without compensation would just result in losing legal actions.

The real unworkable aspect would be any effort at transformative reform such as (for example) Brent Civic Centre, changing the recycling set up or large scale regeneration projects.  These all take a long time to put together and involve complicated trade offs.  Any of them might be subject to a populist campaign to veto them which could be used to attack a Council Leader in the way that Claire Kober was attacked.  The result would be that Councils would effectively be unable to push such projects through, particularly if it meant working with partners (as typically happens in regeneration).  That means that Councils would not be able to deal with major problems such as large sub-standard housing estates.  Ironically, they would be forced into a position where they were just administering Tory cuts on behalf of central government _ precisely the opposite of what the Labour Left say they want to achieve.

You can get an idea of the frustrations that some Labour councillors feel about on this here.  

Water Problems at Willesden Green Library

The water supply problems at Willesden Library continue.  From conversation, I understand that the ground area flooded taking out the electrics on the bottom floor as well as crucially a pump to supply the building with water.  It is still not entirely clear what the source of the flooding is.

It must be very frustrating for both the tenants and the staff, who are having to cancel some events.

There is some hope of opening next week although this is still unclear.  Presumably once the building is operating again there will be various efforts to claim compensation.

Unfortunately, this is likely to lead to Brent being unable to replicate its rise in loans and visit usage for next year as Willesden is the busiest in terms of loans and the second busiest in terms of visits.  

UPDATE 31.07.18

The Library service have managed to open Willesden Library as of today (31.07.18)

Manor Park Road Site Returns for Appeal

The Kilburn Times reports on the appeal of the developers for overturning the Council Planning Committee decision at Manor Park Road.  The quotes in the Kilburn Times story express surprise at the appeal although at the time I thought it highly likely.  The decision itself seems to have been a highly marginal one. 

Volunteer Libraries Again

More detail on the difficulties of volunteer libraries can be found in a study by UCL.  The points made about the lack of diversity may be particularly relevant to Brent, and the fact that no one has managed to invent a long term funding model is ominous. 

Devon and Spun Off Libraries

Public Libraries News has published interesting information on outsourced libraries in Devon.  A comparison to Brent is not entirely fair, as Devon has people spread over a much bigger geographical area, and with a much less developed public transport network than North London.

Nonetheless a couple of comparisons strike me.

Devon has put all its libraries in a charitable trust.  This has actually created inefficiencies with new managerial posts being created to mirror what used to be done by the Council itself.  The Devon Libraries Unlimited now seems to have a management ratio of 1:2.  Brent Council by contrast from quite early on in the 2010 Labour administration restructured to reduce management layers going from a ratio of about 1:2.6 to much closer to the 1:6 ratio that was the local government standard. 

A second striking fact is that Devon is still boasting about "keeping libraries open" i.e. the physical buildings.  It doesn't mention any measures of usage, and I suspect that might because the usage figures don't look good (unlike Brent). 

Finally the savings that Devon identify sound more like rent seeking savings rather than actual ones.  Essentially charitable status allows for inventive tax avoidance. 

Swarminarayan School To Be Rebuilt on Northwick Park?

Some days ago, Nick Gibb the schools minister raised the possibility of a new Hindu free school being built on Northwick Park.  This follows the announced closure of the current private school in Stonebridge.  It raises several issues that Brent Council should be investigating:

• Have all the relevant sites been surveyed properly.  Building on Metropolitan Open Land (i.e. a park) is equivalent in planning terms to building on Green Belt.  If permitted at all it should only be a last resort.
• Will the new school be fully funded?
• Will the current closing private school make any contribution?
• What will happen to the old school site in Stonebridge?
• Why does this matter apparently have Ealing and Harrow representatives but no opinions from Brent MPs or Brent Council?

Vent Shaft in South Kilburn

The Brent Times is covering this vent shaft story from South Kilburn, quite rightly.  The site of the shaft was originally close to Queens Park station where Brent Council objected strongly.  The alternative site was then selected.  Given the controversy over HS2 in Camden, I am surprised this does not have a higher profile. 

Grotesque Delays with Universal Credit

Failures in universal credit are fixed into the system thanks to inadequate IT, according to the Guardian.  Although presented as a revelation, the problems were seen coming some years ago.  Minsters themselves admitted it was not going to work, but their response was simply to seek to blame others rather than effectively prevent the malfunction. 

It all rather reminds me of Brexit.

We all know it is not going to work.  We fail to swerve to avoid the disaster clearly visible down the road and the poorest people are the ones who are hit hardest. 

The one small comfort that I take from this is that Brent Council appears to be one of what is now only a minority of Councils operating a Local Welfare system.  This can be of huge importance in individual cases.  The government has been effectively trying to destroy this kind of local welfare support. 

I played some part in designing the Brent scheme at the same time as designing Brent's Council Tax Support arrangements, and I hope it can continue. 

Changes to Planting in Brent Parks

There has been some controversy over Brent's less invasive approach to parks management recently, the reduction in certain kinds of maintenance was prefigured some time ago.  The major change was to switch from the kind of water thirsty and high maintenance park you can see here:

Instead a style was chosen with fewer bedding plants and more slower growing herbaceous plants.  The intention was both to conserve water given the effects of climate change and minimise financial costs.  The planting was done with the advice of an expert from the Royal Horticultural Society, and can be seen at sites such as the entrance to Roundwood Park. 

The very long grass in the Kilburn Times report looks much less considered and more "let's just not cut the grass". 

Routemaster Buses

Somewhat late in the day here is Dave Hill on Boris Johnson's Routemaster buses.  His tone is quite moderate, but they still strike me as an ill considered vanity project.

More Brexit Slipperiness

Jacob Rees Mogg is now describing his preferred WTO terms Brexit as "all [the EU] are prepared to offer us."  That is yet another example of the dishonesty of his campaign, to try to make it appear that the EU is withholding from any arrangement rather than he and his colleagues pushing for a "hard Brexit".

The reality is that, having offered a completely contradictory set of promises, he and his colleagues are now trying to pass the blame for the damage they are about to cause on anyone other than themselves.

If we do just "crash out" not only will it be an economic disaster, but it might even (unless we get for instance an aviation deal) lead to a crisis in cross border traffic endangering things like food supplies. 

Hardly "taking control".

The Spread of Antisemitism

The recent news that Luciana Berger MP had been subject to death threats emphasises how important it is for the Labour Party to start treating antisemitism as seriously as it treats other forms of persecution.  Adopting the full IHRA definition is a very small step towards this, and is something that any reasonable organisation would do immediately.

Community Ownership from Rachel Reeves MP

Rachel Reeves MP has an interesting comment on a community ownership project in her own constituency here.  This is interesting from a Brent perspective in thinking of possible solutions to rebuilding the Sports Centre in Stonebridge.  That has attracted local demand for community involvement, and the Leeds development sounds as if it might provide a parallel. 

I have always been told that the terms on which it was built back in the 1980s force a degree of community involvement at this site.  Basically, if it went straightforwardly private Brent Council would have to pay a penalty lump sum in a similar way to the Roundwood Youth Club.

Any effort towards a wider community involvement needs to start as soon as possible before the Council is far in the redevelopment. 

Fire the Kiln

Despite a recent article in the CamdenNewJournal, the "Fire the Kiln" campaign appears to have died a natural death of which I am rather glad.  It simply isn't nice to publish leaflets calling for people to lose their jobs and at a time when the new theatre has just pulled off the remarkable feat of not only rebuilding the whole theatre and staying in business as a going concern but then to announcing what looks to be an interesting new season it is absurd. 

Tickets are now on sale for the theatre when it re-opens in September. 

Willesden Library Water Supply and Flooding

I have been told a little more about the Willesden Library water supplies.  Apparently they have failed repeatedly because a blocked drain in the area is causing surface flooding.  The water apparently has got to the pumps that supply the Library with water and hence the breakdown. 

During the planning process back in 2013, I specifically mentioned the flooding problem to officers and got a specific planning condition to take particular measures to seek to prevent surface flooding.  The new housing at the back of the site does indeed have some obvious SUDs type features designed to reduce flooding risk, but I take it the last couple of times they have been inadequate to meet the need.  The problem lies partly in the lie of the land sloping towards the High Road.  The area should also have been made better by the soft landscaping at the junction. 

I have also heard that there may also have been some drain blockages making the problems harder to deal with.  These kind of issues are likely to become more frequent as climate change makes torrential downpours more common.

Housing Realities and the Greens

I was interested to read a London Green perspective on the proposed abolition of Haringey's regeneration programme.  I don't know the details of the Haringey deal (which for all I know may not be a good one), but the Green article seems to indicate how they just don't even begin to comprehend the nature of the issues involved.

Firstly, they seem to think that you just declare what you want and some one gives it to you.  In real life you negotiate a deal.  That is, you offer something and the other party offers something in return.  In the case of regeneration projects that generally means a Council selling land, a property developer putting in capital to develop the land, and some mixture of social uses (affordable housing, social infrastructure) and property for sale to pay for it.  The biggest change to this picture in recent years is that the Tories have cut capital grants to make this all happen and to help deliver more of the social housing that Tory ministers claim they suddenly in favour of.

The Haringey case seems to have run up against another problem, the rule of law.  Once you enter into a contract you are bound by it.  This is fundamental to how our society works.  The developer (Lendlease) seem to be believe that they have gone past that point. If they are right, the Council's options are (a) break the contract and probably be sued, costing a huge amount of money (b) Negotiate itself out of the contract which would entail some compensation and reputational damage (c) Decide it is better to press ahead with the deal its got and hold the developer to account to deliver it as closely as possible.

The fact that the Greens just appear not to understand the basics of how things work suggests that they really aren't fit to provide any kind of constructive opposition to them.

The result of the Green approach may well be a drying up of new house building of any kind which is the last thing either the economy or society needs. 

Housing Priority

Red Brick Blog has expressed scepticism about the Tory record on housing with housing ministers lasting about one per year.  Theresa May and Sajid Javid have both assured people in public statements that in fact it is a huge priority for the Tories, although I am inclined to doubt this.

More worrying is the latest Tory minister, whose record in housing in local government was lamentable.  Kit Malthouse saw social tenants as essentially a burden when he was leader in Hammersmith, changing policies to force them to "volunteer" if they wanted to stay in their homes.  I doubt whether any Tory minister would force private home owners to volunteer.  Huffington Post suggests that his response to rough sleepers was to try to force them off the streets as part of a "hostile environment" type strategy.  He has also supported a reduction in genuinely affordable homes which has put our housing market where it is today.

Michael Fabricant and Sadiq Khan

Michael Fabricant is quite rightly in hot water over an image he retweeted about Sadiq Khan that was blatantly anti-Muslim.  His initial defence was to announce that he was a "socially liberal conservative" which he appeared to think made it all fine.

As well as being called out on his anti-Muslim bigotry, this illustrate the potential problem around  the Labour Party's alteration of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.  Suppose a similar picture were circulated about a Jewish politician; it would undoubtedly be seen as antisemitic.

However, if action were brought under Jennie Formby's preferred definition of antisemitism, one would need to prove antisemitic "intent".  That is practically impossible since how can you tell what some one is thinking at a particular time.  The result would be a cat and mouse game in which the offender could easily brush off any process by declaring their innocence.  It would indeed be what Luciana Berger calls a "get out of jail free card". 

Where to start?

I really don't know where to start on The Times story today.  It suggests that Labour officials used micro-targeted ads to mislead Jeremy Corbyn and his closest aides for only £5,000.  That suggests a very narrow circle of reference.

There are still a number of issues to do with the General Election that I have not seen a good explanation for, not least the huge increase in turnout.  I suspect whenever the next General Election occurs it will be a nasty shock for some one.

Isabel Hardman on Jeremy Hunt

Isabel Hardman has an interesting piece on Jeremy Hunt, the new Foreign Secretary.  It strikes me as rather generous.  It misses out the contradiction between the what he told the public to do and his own behaviour, and his remarkable confession that he didn't know what quasi-judicial meant (and didn't try to find out) when judging Rupert Murdoch's business dealings.  Not to mention his routinely evasive answers in Parliament. 

Willesden Library Closed Yet Again

It seems that Willesden Library is closed yet again today following yesterday's storms.  Brent Libraries really are going to have to solve this problem whatever it is. 

Still Making Allowances at Brent Council

I remarked the other day that a supplementary had been added to Brent's last full Council meeting expanding the Executive to ten posts from the previous eight.  This seems to have been nodded through. 

Allowances has been a contentious issue in the past.  Essentially, since 2014, Brent has followed a policy of increasing the basic allowance considerably whilst seeking to justify this by cutting the number of Special Responsibility posts.  This has decoupled the levels of allowance received from the amount of work actually done, and has not always been pursued consistently.  Thus, new posts on Scrutiny were created and allowances given to them, which I thought rather peculiar.

The second argument made, certainly in 2014, was that the overall allowance bill would be unchanged as the number of SRAs cut would pay for the increase in the basic level.  In terms of the Executive in 2014, it was argued that cutting the size of the Executive justified a rise in the levels of SRAs for the surviving eight members.  Some people repeated the argument to me in 2018, when Brent Council has raised the basic allowance again to among the highest basic allowance in London.  Now, we seem to be in a position where the basic allowance has risen at a much faster rate than the general pay rate of people working in local government, and the numbers of SRAs are also increasing. 

Presumably the justification for this is that councillors are thought to be doing more work even as the budget and the functions of the Council are diminished.  I can't say that I find this line of argument all that convincing.

Brexit Ineptitude

The sheer ineptitude of the Brexit negotiation is remarkable.  Despite having the precedent of David Davis' impact assessments behind them, the government has contrived to release its White Paper in such a way as to maximise the controversy about them. 

Incidentally I am amused to see that Jacob Rees Mogg has floated the idea of an humble address to get the Davis draft of the White Paper released.  This was the tactic used over the impact assessments.  Back then Rees Mogg appeared to back the release before backing off.  Now he wants to repeat with the saga with the White Paper, but it may well be that the draft White Paper in its David version may well be released anyway.  In which case, I shall be interested in seeing whether David ever had a real plan.

Brexit Posturing

With Johnson and Davis now gone from the Cabinet, I imagine that Theresa May will now face a gruelling period during which they seek to pretend that any further changes to the Brexit position are down to her weakness  rather than inherent weakness and incoherence of the whole project.  I am struck by the way both of them employ military metaphors and simply ignore the actual problems of customs, hard borders and so on. 

In my perhaps cynical view they are simply trying to avoid blame for securing us a worse deal outside the European Union than if we stayed in it.

Lawbreaking by the Leave Campaign

Carole Cadwallador has been doggedly pursuing the allegations of law breaking by the Leave campaign.  If proven these are some of the most widespread and consequential law breaches even made under UK election law.

Tracking Brent Council Performance

The July Brent Council Cabinet meeting next week seems to have quite a thin agenda once again.  More worryingly, the performance on waste collection looks to have slipped back significantly from a few years ago, which is a real expense as well as a concern in environmental terms.  There are hints in the reports of problems in other areas, including cultural services as the Council continues to struggle to contain the impact of central government cuts.

Is Brexit Unwinding?

David Davis' resignation is could be hugely significant for Brexit, possibly leading to a halt in the whole process.  I feel a little sorry for Suella Braverman.  She is a bit stuck in the middle and probably can't do anything right.

The key decision though has to be by Boris Johnson who finally has to decide to stay in which case his leadership hopes are probably dead, or go, in which case he will probably either support some one else's unsuccessful challenge to May or make his own.

Another Council Document Slips In

Once again Brent Council is using supplementary reports to push through significant documents.  At tonight's Council meeting, a document relating to the future size of the Council will be slipped through, probably with very little debate. 

This includes an increase in the size of the Cabinet, the abolition of some semi-defunct committees such as the Standards Committee and the Highways Committee.  It further contains detail on the size of wards, numbers of councillors overall and is preparatory to a review of ward boundaries that might easily see major changes.

Main Agenda
In the main body of the Agenda are changes to the Council Constitution, including an explanation that more decisions will be made by individual members of the Cabinet acting alone.  In these cases:

"However, there is no requirement to publish a report 5 days in advance of the decision being made as would be the case in respect of a decision due to be made at a meeting. Nor do the advance publication requirements apply if the decision to be taken is not a key decision." (3.9)

In terms of the time allowed for both members of the public and backbench councillors speaking time is being reduced.

Thus Brent Council moves further away from the level of transparency it has already got.

Summer Reading Challenge in Brent

I am glad to see that the Summer Reading Challenge is still being actively promoted in Brent Libraries.  I know that some Councils have cut funding for this, but that seems to me a terribly retrograde step, presumably just borne of financial desperation.

The Penny Finally Drops on Brexit

I wonder whether it is finally getting through to the Brexit enthusiasts, as apparently it finally is to Jacob Rees Mogg, that leaving the European Union does indeed offer us less control than being a member on the highly favourable terms that we have succeeded in negotiating over the past forty years. 

The deal that Theresa May is suggesting is indeed much worse than membership because we lose our place at the decision making table and become a "rule taker".  We would equally be a "rule taker" if we crashed out with no agreement as he has advocated.  The best option would obviously be to stay on as a member and seek to shape the European Union from within.

It was said that the Good Friday Agreement was Sunningdale for slow learners; perhaps the Brexit process could be EU Membership for slow learners. 

The signs, however, are that this is instead developing into a "stab in the back theory" that Brexit would have been marvellous if only there had not been a betrayal by Theresa May.  That view depends on ignoring the consensus view that all forms of Brexit hurt us economically by cutting us off from our main export markets. 

Traffic Light Times

An interesting if rather long piece on the planning of traffic signals in the Guardian.  In theory, Brent Council is now committed to the Road User Hierarchy putting pedestrians at the top and private cars last, but I am not always sure that it works that way in practice.  Certainly there are parts of Kensal Green, such as the traffic light by Furness Park or at the bottom of Tubbs Road, which seem to put cars first. 

May's Mistake on NHS Spending

It is fascinating to watch how Theresa May's commitment to spend more on the NHS has gone wrong already.  Firstly, she has failed to outbid Labour which is pledging more.  Secondly she has thrown away the advantage that the Tories have always had over Labour that Labour was always under greater pressure to show to pay for things because the voters did not trust Labour.  Thirdly, unlike Blair and Brown in 2002, she has decoupled the extra spend from the taxation needed to pay for it. 

That is shown in Gaby Hinsliff's Guardian column, which grudgingly refers to the extra spend, as if it were a mere by product and Philip Hammond was simply itching to raise taxes. 

More on Volunteer Libraries

The subject of volunteer libraries rumbles on in the media. The Guardian piece linked to repeats some of the usual myths.  There never was a "national" library service, it has always been a municipal duty accounting for by each library authority in different ways.  It also appears to believe that volunteer libraries are doing something different in terms of events.  If you look at a traditional library service such as Brent; events of all kinds have been a feature of what libraries do for many years. 

What really threatens the whole volunteer model is whether they can secure funding, and I suspect they cannot.  Local Councils are seeing rising costs pressures and declining incomes and simply can't carry on funding.  This is why Councils like Brent had to finally bite the bullet on their library services in the first place.  If volunteer libraries don't secure extra funding but just suck money from the public purse, they will end up hollowing out the public library services in ways that are familiar outside Brent. 

Brexit Weakening the UK

Yesterday's report that the US Defense Secretary is instructing us about our defence budget is a striking illustration of how Brexit is weakening the UK not only in terms of relations with the EU but also elsewhere.  Should we really have foreign politicians telling us our to draw up our own budget.

It is also a striking instance of how weak and divided the Cabinet has become.  It is widely assumed to be leaked by Williamson, probably with US connivance, and Theresa May seems unable to do anything about it.

Closure of Swarminarayan School

The proposed closure of the Swarminarayan school in Stonebridge is a reminder of how difficult this process can be for all concerned.  Among those may be Brent Council which may find itself having to deal with an influx of pupils as other authorities have done.  This is a side to the whole free schools movement that seldom gets mentioned.  Free schools often get art way through a set up, or close after opening, and the pupils are left to fend for themselves, and indeed increasingly under resourced Councils are left wondering how to pick up the pieces.

UPDATE 04.07.18

The Brent Times seems to have updated its story.  

Fund Raising by Volunteer Libraries

Public Libraries News has a short piece explaining that the fund raising by York's library mutual has been somewhat disappointing.  The number of donors is small, with some from the Mutual's own staff.

This seems to confirm the pattern in Brent where the amount of money privately raised appears to be be very small.  Most of the funding for the extant volunteer library groups, despite what they say, seems to come in the form of Council grants.

This does suggest that the vision of David Cameron that there was something called the "Big Society" that would make up for the massive cuts created by his government is simply wrong.  Even some people in local government fell for this idea by imagining that these voluntary groups might be able to access grants in ways that Councils could not.  Indeed, it seems that the Green Party fell for this line as well.

It really brings into question the whole long term sustainability of the "volunteer library" movement if effectively they are funded through one off Council grants.  One off grants are a lousy way to pay for things if you are incurring ongoing costs, like paying a member of staff.  Firstly, the member of staff does all their work under threat of a budgetary axe.  Secondly, if they are a genuine temporary member of staff, their expertise is lost at the end of the discrete project (which is something I have seen a number of times).  It would surely be far more sensible to simply give these grants to staff on the payroll as capital investment for the Libraries service. 

Four Hours in a Year

According to the FT, David Davis has met Mr Barnier for less than four hours of Brexit negotiation during this entire year.  That is just stunning.  I am starting to think it will be literally impossible to work through an agreement before the Article 50 deadline that Theresa May imposed on herself and us. 

Cooperative Party on the NHS March Today

Good to join the first outing of the London Cooperative Party's new banner at the NHS March today.  Theresa May's promises can't be relied on.

Arctic Henge and Fake History

The Guardian carried a piece on Arctic Henge in Iceland recently.  This kind of ersatz history actually has a long pedigree going back into the nineteeneth century and before when the Druidical movement (an essentially entirely artificial modern religion started building "henges" around Wales.  It is surely a curious thing that human beings feel constrained to create artificial histories.

At the same time, we also apparently want to edit to our actual history to remove aspects such as Cecil Rhodes who are no longer in favour. 

Momentum and Pragmentism

OnLondon reports that Haringey Council, having had an enormous political spat over regeneration, is now making rather more pragmatically guided decisions on regeneration.  This is related to safety concerns that have emerged.  I wonder whether its new councillors or any of their media cheerleaders will acknowledge the kind of dilemmas their predecessors faced. 

Inspiring Arts

A remarkably generous use of her prize to set up an artists in residence scheme has been announced by Andria Zafirakou.  The Alperton school teacher won the prize back in March.  In many ways she is going against the grain, with schools increasingly trying to cope with cost pressures by focusing on a core curriculum.  I hope it works out well and hooks up with Brent's own Borough of Culture and arts in libraries schemes. 

Moberly Sports Centre Finally Opens

Moberly Sports Centre is finally opening on Saturday in a ceremony with Lennox Lewis.  This project was mooted many years ago.  The Centre will now provide Brent with a third swimming pool, which is a long term objective of Brent Council.  The Centre will be accessible to Brent residents at reasonable rates as a result of a planning condition given back in 2014. 

You can join the Centre on its web site.

Eating at the Same Table in Willesden Library

Eating at the Same Table is the latest exhibition in the Willesden Art Gallery.  It is put on by a group of artists based at the former Willesden Police Station.  They are linked to Bold Tendencies, a CIC company trying to use Meanwhile spaces for art.    It complements the longer term art studios in Kensal Green and Sudbury. 

Evasive Action on Heathrow Airport

The Foreign Secretary's sudden urge to go to Afghanistan as the Commons voted on Heathrow underlines what a slippery customer he is.  At the same time he has written to councillors in Hillingdon saying he does not expect the third runway to be built.  That is one of the most senior ministers in the May government suggesting that its principal infrastructure policy will never happen. 

I wonder how long Johnson's leadership hopes can survive all these evasions.

Why are Councils Close to Collapse?

Local government is visibly getting closer to collapse across the country as Kensington, Northants and (probably) Somerset all show that they cannot perform their basic functions. 

The irony is that this a result that has been deliberately produced by a Conservative Government.

It used to be that the Conservative Party prided itself on quiet competence, but under Osborne/Cameron and subsequently under May a series of cuts have been deliberately organised hitting local government in particular.  Since local government is often the last resort in social care, homelessness, emergencies and so much else it is the first part of the government to crumble.

The fact that other institutions, like the NHS, charities and so on are all being pressured at the same time creates a perfect storm that means none of them can take up the slack.

The result is a kind of governmental nihilism.  The remarkable thing is that it is the preferred option of the Conservative policy, not merely an unfortunate by product.

A Horrible Development Near Willesden Junction

The Guardian has a long piece on a horrible development near Willesden Junction.  This combination of home and office really seems awful, and much worse than the "gated communities" that were allegedly growing a few years ago in terms of promoting social isolation. 

I wonder what the long term health and other disadvantages of this approach are?

Grenfell Chaos

Some idea of the chaos at Grenfell can be found here.  Kensington literally had no plan at how to respond so Ealing had to impose one.  This is not accidental but the result of ideology.  Tories really do believe in a Nick Ridley Council, which essentially does almost nothing.  All this in the name of cutting pennies off Council Tax.

The result is being shown up and will continue to be as Councils around the country simply collapse.

Labour Victory in Willesden Green

As expected Labour scored a victory in Willesden Green last night.  It represents a significant growth in Labour support since the elections of 2014. 

Housing and Fire Safety

I thought I would give an update on my understanding of the housing and fire safety situation in Brent as I understand it.  This also follows a report back from Cllr Butt at a meeting I attended which I thought left more questions than it answered.

The Council has written to central government and asked for funding for fire safety.  As predicted, the government said no, and so Brent is going ahead with poorly defined investment of up to £10 million.  To my surprise, Cllr Butt seemed to think this would not come from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as I suggested, but from general resources.  Thus, the burden would fall on the general taxpayers.

I find the insouciance with which Brent Council has just committed to an extra £10 million of spending remarkable.

It remains unclear whether, leaseholders will benefit from this, or whether they will be expected to pay a service charge in the way they would for (say) a new roof.

Windrush Anniversary in Willesden Library

On Saturday, Willesden Library will be hosting a special day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Windrush.  It lasts from noon until 4pm.

At the same time, there is a reminder about the problems that the Caribbean community continues to face with the announcement of extra funding to tackle educational underachievement.    Anecdotally, I know that this has been a concern in the black community for many years, but the causes are likely to be multiple and inter-related and therefore progress will not be instant.

NHS Evasion

One of the most disingenuous answers I have read for a long time can be found courtesy of Jeremy Hunt to a parliamentary question from Seema Malhotra MP.  He implies that the shift in NHS Hospital Trusts going into deficit from 5% in 2010 to a whopping 44% now is just some kind of monitoring tool because he wants to check on staff shortages.  Of course, it has led to the staff shortages and is a direct result of his government's decision not to fund the NHS properly.

Along side his attribution of extra funding for the NHS to a non-existent Brexit dividend, it seems that bare faced lying is becoming legitimized in British politics.

Brent Council's Silence on Budgets

Brent Council continues to appear to have no long term debate about its budget despite all the looming structural difficulties.  This continues to include pressures on the adult social care budget which it was recently confirmed would put 10% of English Councils in a Northants style position where they were unable to set a budget at all. 

Despite all this, the official list of Brent Council's forthcoming decisions strikes me as extraordinarily limited. 

DWP Services in Brent

This Parliamentary answer to Dawn Butler MP is of interest to all who follow Brent libraries of the use of the revenue and benefit service.  It may be recalled that the increasing use of online services is diminishing traditional face to face services.  I have covered this before here.

At that time I suggested that temporary spaces might be rented in Brent buildings such as libraries and it now appears from the minister's answer that this is being considered.  As with other forms of co-location, this allows for more flexibility in terms of partners and in terms of location.  Since the main objections to reducing the branches are that f2f may still be necessary and that some people find it very difficult to move around.  Using temporary arrangements allows for a wider range of locations covering a broader range of people.  It may, incidentally, help draw in a broader audience to Brent libraries which will help broaden the membership base of Brent Library service.

At least in theory therefore, it could be a win-win. 

Willesden Library Closed Again

Willesden Library is again closed today and for the same reason, there is no water supply.  Other Brent Libraries are open. 

UPDATE

As of Monday 18 June, Willesden Library has apparently reopened.

National Audit Office on Universal Credit

Universal Credit gives no evidence of value for money now and is unlikely to show any value for money in the future according to the National Audit Office.  Is that not one of the most damning verdicts on government failure imaginable?  Will anyone ever be held responsible for this debacle?

The Eerie Quiet of Brent Council

One of the things that make the current quiet of Brent Council so eerie is that there are actually many scary things on the near horizon. 

Firstly, there is whatever happens in the Brexit process, which even Boris Johnson concedes might lead to "meltdown" during which (as with Corporal Jones) his best advice is "Don't Panic".  Since one case being considered in Whitehall apparently includes the RAF airlifting emergency food supplies I really can't see what we could possibly be panicking about.

But there are also a range of things, the ultimate fate of business rate localisation, the local government settlement and the freedom of action the Council retains over its financial position which frankly no one appears to be talking about.

Even odder, I think, is that a Labour Council is putting out press releases such as this one.   This sounds as if it might have been dictated straight from Whitehall with no effort to point out that the problems of the Council are enormous, the policy described is a sticking plaster and that it is central government that has created these problems through its rigid Tory ideology.

The Brexit Mess

George Eaton has a good summary of the whole Brexit mess.  It also captures how the current government has contrived to make the UK's negotiating position as weak as possible.

Willesden Library Reopens

Willesden Library has now re-opened following the restoration of its water supply.  As far as I know, all its usual events and activities are reinstated.

Isolating Biodiversity

Chris Packham makes a good point in the increasing denuding of the British countryside's biodiversity.  I don't see the government's review of national parks as likely to do anything about this.  Creating these islands within a wider desert also diminishes the biodiversity within each "island" and may make the rarer species more vulnerable.  At the same time climate change puts huge pressure on certainly some species. 

Karen Buck MP Uncovers Housing Association Figures

Karen Buck MP, Labour MP for Westminster North, has again used her parliamentary position to do some important detective work on housing.  She has been chasing Housing Associations in North London.  These are often ignored, although they generally represent a much bigger chunk of the below market rate of London, and until recently they were regarded as public sector by the ONS.  As with Council housing they have been seriously squeezed financially by central government.

According to her figures Brent Housing Associations have seen more than £20 million of housing sold in 2013 to 2018.  This directly impacts the supply of cheaper housing available, and leads to more overcrowding and homelessness.  The natural tendency of this sell off is that, even if the money is ringfenced to replace the lost units, it will be used to sell off units in expensive areas and replace the units in cheaper areas.  In other words quite a big shifting of London's character is occurring. 

Moberly Sports Centre Opening

Passing by the Moberly Sports Centre recently it is obvious that it is close to opening this Summer as promised.  Brent residents will be able to use it at similar rates to Westminster residents, thanks to negotiations during the Planning process.

More detail can be found on its facebook page. 

Boycott (BDS) and Local Government Pensions

LocalGovernmentlawyer covers a recent court case on government guidance for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.  BDS is at the time of writing principally targeted at activities in some way related to Israel. Its proponents seem to feel that BDS will be more effective in changing Israel, or perhaps ending Israel, than engaging dialogue. 

Essentially, it seems to suggest that local authorities can only join in boycotts if they are backing national policy but not otherwise. 

EU Fantasies

Brexit supporting MPs appear to be trailing off into their own fantasies if Jacob Rees Mogg is anything to go by.  The whole decision to leave the European Union seems to have been presented to the public with no idea how to actually do it.  What amazes me is that none of the ministers concerned appears to have even engaged with the issues.  Indeed the extreme secrecy with which David Davis has treated his Brexit plans seems to extend to himself.  I am starting to think that he has lliterally no idea about the impact of anything.  For a government to be run this way is extraordinary.

Brent Council Cabinet Dietary Disorder

Brent Council Cabinet's next agenda is now published, and once again I am struck by the sheer thinness of the proposals.  There is a report on housing grants, a report on air quality and a planning document on shop fronts. 

Together with the tendency to put most reports through as last minute supplementaries, I really get the impression of an administration just terrified of debate of any kind.  Given that it has such a huge majority that is just plain weird.  It is also likely to maximise incompetence and the possibilities of loss of public trust.

Some may recall that Cllr Butt promised when he first became leader to be more democratic and open.  Promises that were soon shown to be hollow as Council officers were removed, scandals such as the Rosemary Clark case covered up and scrutiny powers eviscerated (even had members been inclined to exercise them).

Restraint and Public Money

I met some one who was upset that I had pointed out that Kensal Rise Library had received public money contrary to what some of its supporters have been quoted as saying.  They saw this as "vindictive".

I, on the other hand, just see it as accurate.

I actually think that Brent Council was really quite restrained in dealing with the Kensal Rise litigators.  That is partly because I think the Council was well aware that what would count would be the actual outcome of the case, not any bluster around it.  Hence we didn't go in for the kind of personal abuse that some of the litigants went for, and we even forwent the legal costs that we could have demanded from the primary litigant.

Subsequently of course that group has been given almost £100,000 of taxpayers' money.

Willesden Green Gardening

There is an interesting experiment in community gardening going on just behind Willesden Green Library Centre.  It is pioneered by members of the Willesden Green Town Team.  This is an encouraging and spontaneous use of the improved public realm around the Library.  Perhaps some on might want to make a Town Green application for it!

Ongoing Closure of Willesden Library

I am informed that the shutdown of Willesden Library seems set to continue for a while, which is a pity.  The building has been without a water supply since Wednesday 30 May, and I was told by a member of Library staff that it is unlikely to open before next week.

The Perils of Tokenism

I have recently been reading The Ottoman Endgame by Sean McMeekan.  In it there is a description of the Soviet negotiators going to negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.  On the way, one of the lead negotiators (Joffe) realised he had no "representative of the Russian peasantry" on the delegation.  They literally stopped in the street and asked a peasant to come with them to the Peace Conference.

The dialogue went as follows.  What are your politics? Socialist Revolutionary.  Left or Right? Left, of the Leftist.  Having secured this answer off they went with the peasant Stashkov as part of their delegation.

Some people in the Labour Party still use this method of selection today.

Brent Fails to Connect

I wonder how long the current Brent Connects regime will be maintained?  Both the area meetings and the subject forums seem to be not particularly effective in terms of engaging the population at large.  Of course, this is a very difficult thing to do since you need to learn quite a lot about the policy of a given policy area before you can intelligently comment on it.  Watching, for example, consultations on the Council Budget, is generally an education in how little the public know about how the Council is funded or works. 

Multiple Issues in the Grenfell Tower

The litany of different factors revealed in the Grenfell fire confirm my view that Brent is premature in just deciding to throw money at the issue.  In particular, a key thing appears to be ensuring compliance with existing rules, not just doing a big one off spend.  The other thing I would pick up on is that it is a number of things together that caused the disaster not just one form of cladding or any other single factor. 

Bob Blackman MP's Colourful Associations

The Muslim Council of Britain has recently complained about Bob Blackman MP claiming he more than once demonstrated prejudice against Muslims (which he denies). 

In fact Bob Blackman has a long history of working with peculiar people, dating back to when he was Leader of Brent Council in the 1990s.  As allies at that time, he had councillors who seemed to relish being given disproportionate perks as well as being involved in dubious defences of FGM as "cultural practices" and renaming Harlesden as "Paradise on Nirvana."  Both then and subsequently he was associated with a number of policies ignoring the long term issues of Brent Council.

More recently, he played a key part in shepherding Bertha Joseph into the Conservative Party, a coup I suspect he and his colleagues regretted the minute that they had to sit through her first speech as a Conservative Councillor in which she chose to describe herself as a "black witch".  They subsequently dumped her as a candidate in Kensal Green following her disgrace by the Standards Board.  Boris Johnson managed to get himself caught up in the scandal.  Despite her defeat in 2010 as an Independent, she reappeared as a Tory candidate in 2018, whereupon she was defeated in Brondesbury Park. 

Quiet Campaigning in Willesden Green

Last weekend the Labour Party was out in force to campaign in the delayed Willesden Green election.  The other parties don't appear to be giving it the same effort.  This surprises me a little.  I guess the Liberal Democrats and Tories see themselves as just paper candidates, but one of the Greens was selected as a parliamentary candidate in the 2017 General Election so I was expecting more of a challenge. 

I guess the knowledge by all three of the anti-Labour parties that they actively campaigned against local amenities in the shape of the Willesden Library has kind of taken the wind out their sails.  The negative impact of the temporary closure is itself proof of the value of the library.

Knowles House Development

It is worth keeping an eye on this development on the old Knowles House site in Kensal Green.  Cllr Margaret McClennan sounds to be all in favour.  I prefer to reserve judgement until I see the scheme.  The Harlesden/Kensal Green area has already seen this kind of housing in Harlesden High Street, Harrow Road NW10 and on Rucklidge Avenue so I am not sure that we want still more. 

The site itself could potentially be used for housing for people who actually live in the area and suffer from gross overcrowding, which I suspect would be a popular option with local voters.  Since the Council actually owns the land, it is not just a planning issue, but a direct choice by Brent Council as property owner. 

The site used to be a centre for dementia patients but has been vacant for several years. 

Bad News At Willesden Green Library

Willesden Green Library is being shut early today and not opening during the weekend.  The reason is an interruption to the water supply (which I assume can only be fixed with such drastic action).

Brent Planners Continue Mysterious Delay

Brent Planners continue their mysterious delay over the controversial proposal to develop Queens Parade in Willesden as student flats.  I have personally objected to this scheme as I suspect the "student" flats will be justified as substandard, and then be adopted later on (possibly surreptitiously) as hostel accommodation.  Such a move would help drag down Willesden High Road as it is becoming more of an effective shopping centre.

It is extremely odd that a decision is apparently being endlessly deferred.  This is quite contrary to Brent Council's normal practice.