Poppy Ride in Parliament

This is a picture of the IPT Poppy Ride this year at the stall where more than a hundred MPs and parliamentarians took part.  The IPT Poppy Ride 2018, in association with The Royal British Legion, sets out to raise funds and awareness for the Poppy Appeal in Parliament.  Each of the participants spends time and energy going round on a stationary bicycle as far as they can whilst not actually going anywhere.

It is not intended as a metaphor for Brexit.

For Dominic Raab's Information

The Institute for Government has come out with an infographic illustrating UK trade.  This will no doubt be helpful in the education of Dominic Raab.

Changing Your Age

There is Court case to allow people to change their self description of age to whatever time they choose.  I find this latest manifestation of the denial of reality completely beyond parody, and I do hope the Court has enough sense to throw the whole thing out.  The argument is that age is simply a measure of your physical well being.  Of course, the idea that younger people are healthier on the whole than older people is well known, but does that mean that younger people who are unhealthy will then be described as older than they are?  Aside from well being, isn't age also about the amount and the kind of lived experience you have.  For instance, it is often argued that younger people are automatically "digital natives" in a way older people are not.  Finally, you can identify some one's age in a way that you can't simply identify their religion (by their date of birth).

This whole idea of taking people as simple reflections of a particular aspect of their identity (being black say) and putting all sorts of assumptions and baggage on top of that seems to me to have started creating more problems than it solves.

The Lessons of Versailles Almost a Century Ago

I saw that Margaret Macmillan has a lengthy piece in the New Statesman on the poor decision making of 1919.  What is even sadder to reflect on is the way that today's politicians don't seem to get the reason Versailles was such a failure.  The punishing of the German economy on a massive scale stalled economic growth throughout Europe and since trade is reciprocal and mutually beneficial it was to the disadvantage of the Germans and everyone else.  Exactly the same zero sum approach is being taken today to the Brexit negotiations. 

Kiln Theatre Agreement

Just a reminder to the Our Tricycle, Your Kiln campaign that I regard as so quixotic: here from 2016 is Indhu Rubasingham explaining her thinking on the refurbishment of the Theatre.  I genuinely believe that she didn't mention the naming issue that so exercises them because she didn't see it as a major point.  Judging from the points that they raise in the comments, I think most of their supporters actually agree with what she is trying to do.

Perhaps they should attend the community open day on 17 November rather than standing outside the Theatre complaining about it. 

Environmental Costs of Brexit

Mary Creagh MP has published correspondence from Michael Gove confessing that Brexit does indeed damage environmental standards.  In this case it is because the staff enforcing those standards are being taken off that duty to work on Brexit.  Although he has sometimes argued the opposite, it is also because many of Michael Gove's colleagues want to use the demise of European regulations to strip away the environmental standards that they regard as "bureaucracy". 

For instance we could go back to Blackpool as it was in the 1980s will sewage washing up on the beach.  This might not advantage even economically as such a beach probably would not appeal to holiday makers, and in any case the direction of travel seems to be that we need more (or more effective) regulation rather than less. 

I have yet to discover any way in which Brexit actually makes the UK better.

Cooperation in Practice

The New Statesman has discovered Preston and touted it as an example of Labour in practice.  I fact a lot of this is related circulating in the Cooperative Party and the Cooperative network of Councils, of which Preston is a member.  Some people actually welcome Brexit in the belief that the kind of procurement policies followed in Preston will be easier, although of course everything that is going on in Preston at the moment is compliant with European Union rules which are a lot more flexible than some people seem to realise.

Brexit, and the extended stagflation that seems likely to follow, will actually limit the scope for imaginative local government as it will hit economic growth and hence UK finances as a whole.  It will therefore push the UK's procurement more in the direction of the Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) of the 1980s and 1990s and away from more modern values based approaches.  For some of the hard right supporters of Brexit, this is the main attraction, that it will force the UK into stripping away the regulations that they believe hold the economy back, but which many of us value.   

Another Boundary Review

As part of looking at Brent's current electoral boundary review, I discovered that there is scope for a process changing the boundaries of local authorities.  This is a problem in Kensal Green and to some extent other parts of the Borough, such as the southern edge of Kilburn, where properties bisect the Borough boundary. 

Casual Brexit

I am astonished at the continuing casualness with which government ministers deal with Brexit.  I doubt whether anyone has any real idea of what the consequences of this decision are going to be, but a serious period of stagflation, possible civil unrest and the break up of the UK all appear to be on the cards.  Yet ministers appear to be unable to agree things even among themselves let alone with anyone else.

Just as a reminder how close to the wire we now are here is Robert Peston's explanation. 

UPDATE

This morning a Survation poll saying that the public are now 54%/46% against Brexit.  Unless it is an outlier, that raises the interesting prospect of Theresa May taking us off the cliff into Brexit against the wishes of the majority and with disastrous consequences.  In which case, it might well finish the Conservative Party for good.

No Fireworks at the Kiln Theatre for 5 November

I see that the group protesting the Kiln Theatre's name change is organising a quiet candlelit vigil outside the Theatre tonight.  I really can't imagine why they don't just go in and watch the play, which I thought very good.  Among other things they might discover that it name checks parts of Brent more than any other production I have seen there.

The proposed "quiet" nature of the protest is apparently out of respect for "our" local author Zadie Smith.

As well as the concept of finding the name change so discombobulating, I also frankly don't recognise some of the comments I see posted on their site.  For instance one refers to: "Irish, Caribbean, African, Women’s theatre, LGBT theatre, reflected the changes that were re-defining the country".  Apart from the LGBT bit, that is pretty much a summary of what the current White Teeth production is about. 

Changing Brent's Boundaries

Tomorrow is the last day for suggesting new ward boundaries in Brent to the Local Government Commission for Boundaries in England (LGCBE).  This is quite different to the parliamentary process and relates only to local government wards.  It is triggered by the population growth which has now made the Borough seriously uneven in electoral equality.

Back in July, without perhaps realising quite what they were doing, the councillors agreed that the Borough should have no more than 57 councillors to represent it.  Only in the last couple of weeks have some councillors apparently realised that this whole process is guaranteed to drastically change all the wards in Brent.  There has therefore been a flurry of interest ending in the GP Committee on Wednesday deciding not make a submission as the matter was too controversal.

That makes Brent an unusual Borough.

The political parties, and anyone else, can still make their own contributions of course.

Petition Against Libraries Cuts

There is currently a petition against library cuts gathering signatures rapidly.  I have some reservations about this as I don't like ringfencing, that can easily lead to problems in other areas.  However, signing this petition would help to raise the profile of public libraries as a service that is being cut often savagely despite the many benefits that libraries such as Brent deliver. 

White Teeth at the Kiln Theatre

I went to see White Teeth at the Kiln Theatre on Wednesday and I thought it thoroughly vindicates the new auditorium.  I was seated right at the back, but the properly tiered seating allowed me as good as a view as anywhere in the Theatre.  Of course, the very high production standards are something that audiences at the venue have begun to take for granted.  This even includes the music which is not always at its strongest in theatrical productions.  The tone is quite fast paced and much more generally upbeat than the somewhat dark Holysh!t that preceded it, and a very strong emphasis on the local Kilburn setting. 

Altogether, if you can still get a ticket, to be recommended.

Fire Alert at Wembley Library

Quite recently, I was in Wembley Library when a fire alert was announced.  Although I go there quite often, this was the first time it had happened and reminded me of one of the more desperate arguments for denying the improved performance of Brent Library service. 

I also notice that there some work men rolling up the enormous poster that disfigures one side of the building.  I assume that this is necessary to do in order to help contain fires.

Osborne's Errors

George Osborne has made a rare admission of a mistake or two.  These include totally unrealistic immigration targets, a total failure to do anything other than slag off the European Union and a failure to defend any upside to immigration.  That is quite a collection of whoopsies.

He doesn't however apologise for his latest disaster the ongoing failure that is universal credit. 

That Corbyn Apartheid Meme

That Corbyn Apartheid meme that is so commonly circulated on twitter is somewhat undermined by the stories covered in the Telegraph and here. 

Gaumont State Cinema

I haven't posted any local history for a while so I thought I would explain some of the history of the enormous Gaumont State Cinema in Kilburn.  The earlier history is already summarised on the web.  Pictures are also available. 

It is now occupied by Ruach Ministries as a church, something I played a small part in as a member of the Planning Committee at the time.  So far it has not had the impact on the surrounding area we were hoping for at the time.  No doubt running a 4,000 seater church is a considerable challenge. 

Local Authorities and Commercial Revenue

CIFPA has issued a warning to local authorities about commercial lending, which I also warned about a few days ago.    Happily, Brent's vulnerability to commercial lending is limited.  However, the effort to generate revenue from advertising may well be subject to similar pressures in the event of an economic slowdown.  Companies tend to cut back on advertising as sales fall, so a slowdown might lead to falling revenue.

New Rules for Standing

An interesting proposal working through the system is to tighten up the rules for local councillors to serve.  Currently, any Councillor with a prison record of more than three months is ineligible. The proposal currently under consideration is for any councillor "any person who is subject to an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction, a Criminal Behaviour Order, a Sexual Risk Order or who is on the Sex Offenders’ Register, would no longer be able to stand for elected office in their community".

This would presumably affect serving councillors at the time that such a rule came into force, possibly leading to by elections.  It is unclear how far back these restrictions would go. In the case of Police Commissioners there is no limit, as Bob Ashford of Somerset discovered.  I thought he was given a hard time, so I do hope that whatever emerges from this proposal is carefully considered.

I always think it notable that people on other public authorities are often subject to greater restrictions than Members of Parliament invent for themselves.

The Folly of Illegal Budgets

A further note for those who gleefully propose that Councils should take measures, such as setting illegal budgets, that encourage the Government to send in Commissioners comes from Tower Hamlets, which has just emerged from a period of almost four years of commissioner authority. 

Tory Cabinet and Sheer Ignorance

We are told the Cabinet expressed "disbelief" over the blocks that would fall on trade without a Brexit Deal.  How is it possible for these Cabinet Ministers not be aware of what has been common currency for months? Still I suppose in a government where the Northern Ireland Secretary was unaware that Protestants and Catholics in that part of the world vote differently anything is possible.

Plastic Waste in Brent

China's decision to close its borders to the West's waste is making life harder for Councils as the UK waste industry has only limited capacity for recycling.  Naturally, this is one of many problems that will be made worse by Brexit. 

However, it should be eminently solvable.  Waste can be reduced from its current levels through a reduction in packaging and a reduction in food waste.  These should certainly be considered before doing something as drastic as cutting back plastic collections.  In West London, including Brent, potentially waste can be used for fuel in WLWA's Energy from Waste plant.  This now happens to all the waste that formerly went to landfill. 

Photos of Ealing Road Library 2018

I mentioned a while ago the upgrade of Ealing Road Library.  Above is a photo showing the actual forecourt and below a more full on image of the front.

These are relatively minor compared to the changes in Willesden Library, Kilburn Library and Wembley Library but they are still a significant improvement.

John Harris Retrospective on the Town Problem

John Harris has done a retrospective on Labour's Town Problem.  It is a reminder that Labour victory at the next General Election is by no means as obvious as some in the Labour Party like to assume.  As he points out the Labour vote has been threatened or overturned in traditional Labour areas such as Walsall, and the Party needs to overturn the Tory vote in no fewer than 64 seats even if it holds on to all the existing Labour seats.

Whereas he is right to talk about the feeling of neglect, it is not as complete as he tends to paint it.  These towns after all also benefited from the last Labour Government's record investments in education and Health.  He is also right to say that some towns, he mentions Stoke on Trent, do have genuine signs of hope. 

A Missed Opportunity for Labour

Yesterday's March for a new referendum seems to have been the second biggest demonstration of the last hundred years.  As such you would expect politicians to be falling over themselves to address it. However, despite his general love of such occasions Jeremy Corbyn didn't attend. In doing so he and the Labour Party are missing a crucial opportunity to seize the initiative, largely because of his own hostility to the EU.

The Liberal Democrats and the Co-operative Party are currently the only parties committed to a referendum, but it seems to be the only way to resolve what kind of Brexit if any people want.  The arguments and positions put forward by the Leave campaign and the government are so self-contradictory that the way out is to go back to the voters and ask what the priorities are.

Community Skips

Martin Francis has picked up on a new community skip initiative in northern Brent.  These have been tried in the past, but it looks to me that the officers may be trialling them more systematically this time, albeit only in the North of the Borough.  The first I was aware of were the Welsh Harp ones (I think) in circa 2005/6, and there was a very successful one in Kensal Green round Tubbs Road. 

I wonder whether the trial of this is designed as an alternative to running the tip in Abbey Road at the southern end of the Borough, which is one of the suggested budget savings currently before the Council.  I also wonder whether it might also be an excuse for getting rid of the bulky items policy which some Council officers have wanted to abolish for years, and which I reinstated as lead member in 2010. 

A New Co-op in South Kilburn?

As London gears up for what will hopefully be a big pro-European March I just thought I would share this from the newsletter of Karen Buck MP, our neighbour south of the border:

"Work has finally started on the Chippenham pub building, which we expect to open as a shop (possibly as a Co-Op). It is obviously a relief that this has happened as the building was both an eye-sore and dangerous (with window glass actually falling out onto the street at one point).

The reconstruction of the Carlton Tavern (owned by the same company!) is also finally underway, after it was illegally part-demolished in 2015, just days before English Heritage were going to list it as a historic building.

Whilst not every pub can, or should, be saved for its original purpose owners and developers cannot be allowed to get away with leaving buildings neglected and run down, or as happened acting illegally in the case of the Carlton."

I would certainly welcome a Co-op in the vicinity of South Kilburn, which is the bit of the Borough that most resembles a food desert.

Wembley Stadium Sale Falls Through

The proposed sale of Wembley Stadium has fallen through, which is probably for the best.  The are certainly doesn't need any more disruption than it has already.

Some Reason to be Thankful Despite Ongoing Budget Cuts

Whereas Theresa May has promised that austerity has ended, I doubt whether this will be apparent to most people.  The whole failed policy has left the public sector demoralised and denuded of capacity to deal with future problems.  The more so if, as seems quite possible, we are about to see another economic downturn for both Brexit and cyclical reasons. 

Indeed some of the local government trends may actually have made things worse.

Happily Brent has avoided getting into the commercial property market as some other councils have.  Thus, it will not run the risk of a fall in property values wiping out assets, or the departure of tenants suddenly leaving empty buildings as a drain on resources.  Instead, the Council perhaps more by luck than judgement, retains what income streams it has despite the poor state of the UK Economy.

Foreigners and the UK

A book I have been reading recently includes an anecdote of a new junior minister being appointed to the Foreign Office in the 1950s.  He said:"Prime Minister I think there has been a mistake.  I don't speak any foreign languages. I have never been to a foreign country except in time of war, and I don't like foreigners." To which Churchill replied: "Young man these are all advantages."

It seems to me at times that attitudes in our current government are not dissimilar to Churchill's.

Co-operative Party Backs Referendum on Terms of the Final Brexit Deal

I am recently back from the Co-operative Party Conference where Cllr Janice Long signed the Charter against Modern Slavery on behalf of Brent Council.  The Conference also committed the Co-operative Party to a referendum on the final Brexit deal.  Since the Co-operative Party is the third largest party in the House of commons, that should be a significant piece of news. 

As I write this, it still looks questionable whether any deal can in fact be reached as a result of the Northern Ireland position.  Dublin won't accept a harder border.  The DUP won't accept a divide between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and the only way to reconcile those positions is to for the whole of the UK to remain in the Customs Union, and probably the Single Market (which is also a position that the Co-operative Party is now committed to).  That is a position which appears to be unacceptable to at least a minority of Tory MPs despite their 2015 manifesto) and I imagine a large percentage of their membership. 

Corporate Plan for Brent

An item on today's Brent Council Cabinet agenda is the latest Corporate Plan.  Other than helping with some officer's infographic skills, it seems of very little use.

Reflections on Harlesden Town Centre

Current planning guidance envisages four obvious areas for redevelopment in Harlesden/Kensal Green.  They are Harlesden Plaza, the Manor Park Road development, the former ambulance station close to the main gate to Roundwood Park) and somewhere near Willesden Junction where (ominously) tall buildings will be allowed.  All this is part of trying to accommodate the huge increase in population between 2001 and 2011.

So far, I really don't get a sense that there is any real awareness about this in the community at large.

Of course, the ambulance station has been vacant for years.  I think more than a decade.  The Manor Park Road was subject to a development proposal opposed by some local councillors.  Willesden Junction may well have a broad range of difficulties due to legal title, working near railway lines and so on.

The most interesting is Harlesden Plaza.  I recall that during the Harlesden Town Charter process it was generally agreed that the Plaza would be the obvious choice as a central focus for Harlesden.  Any development there would probably take a lot of effort and imagination, not to mention the kind of fortitude needed whenever any major projects needs to be carried through.  One aspect that miught not occur to many people is that it really should be made as compatible as possible with the Harlesden Conservation Area.

A Failure of Understanding

The Labour Party has continually shot itself in the foot over antisemitism, and I have been reflecting why that is so.  The arguments that there is a vital "free speech" argument doesn't convince me the adoption of the IHRA definition was rapidly followed by the Conference motion on Palestine where no one appears to have been constrained by definition that the Labour Party had finally adopted.

I think the real difficulty lies in people who consider themselves as anti-racism campaigners as a key part of their identity having to come to terms with accusations that they are in fact articulating racist ideas in the shape of antisemitic tropes.

Part of this problem is the question of whether a binary choice of racist/non-racist is actually appropriate.

I would certainly argue that racism, and other forms of prejudice, tend to be on a spectrum.  Very few people will be entirely obsessed with hating a group of people, and very few people will be entirely free from any prejudice or assumptions whatsoever.  This contrasts with an idea which seems quite common among leftwing activists that there is a group of virtuous campaigners (themselves) and a group of KKK types, and no one in between.

Debate under that model becomes not an act of persuasion to suggest to some one that they a (perhaps unconscious) bias and that they need to correct it, but more an attempt to pin a label on them and then excommunicate them as a result.  The consequence tends to gladitorial combat rather than reasoned debate.

It also tends to emphasize intentionality with surprisingly little attention paid to institutionalised prejudice.

I can recall when the Macpherson Report first came out, and the difficulty many police found with the whole idea of institutionised racism.  They didn't intend to be racist and they found it hard to accept that the way the Met operated might be inherently biased against certain groups through the procedures it had or unconscious bias.  I suspect come Labour activists are going through a similar difficulty.

Black History Month

Black History Month is now in full swing, and celebrated in Brent primarily through Brent Libraries.  Other authorities, such as Tory held Wandsworth, have rebranded this event as "Diversity Month" attracting a number of critical comments.  Personally, I would have thought the whole concept of Black History Month is really quite broad already since it encompasses the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and black communities outside those core areas.  There is still probably a lingering idea as in Trevor -Roper's notorious quote that Africans have no history.  Indeed, such attitudes underlay the controversies over who built the ruins of Zimbabwe or shaped the famous Benin bronzes.  I think it would be quite complacent to imagine that such views have entirely disappeared. 

Ian Hislop at the British Museum

I didn't enjoy the British Museum exhibition Ian Hislop's I Object as much as I normally like British Musuem events. I suppose partly the celebrity marketing grates on me, and the sense that I was seeing something really modelling a TV or radio program rather than an exhibition in its own right.  It also seemed to have quite a thin sense of what dissent was, with most of it focusing on quite a binary sense of authority and dissent to authority rather than any wider context.

Childcare Costs

A short discussion on childcare costs shocks me by the disparity of the UK compared to other countries like Germany and Sweden.  I don't know if the author is right in their prescription, but it troubles me that Angela Rayner is only really talking in terms of pushing more money at the issue rather than trying to reform our system to bring the costs down. 

West London Orbital Connection

Some people in Brent have been arguing the value of a West London Orbital line for many years.  I recall Cllr Shafique Choudhary of Barnhill as a particular supporter and Brent Labour Group decided to approve the idea in principle back in 2011. 

Recent documents give an update on present status. 

Basically, still a very long way off.  For example the whole GRIP stages part generally takes years and has not yet begun.  "Details" like the nature of the rolling stock and the configuration of the platforms are still unformed, so don't expect anything soon.

A Frightening Warning on Climate Change

The IPCC have issued a frightening warning on climate change and its consequences.  The UK continues to ignore this and other problems whilst devoting endless time to Brexit, an illustration of the huge unaccounted for damage that the Brexit policy is doing quite apart from its more obvious negative impacts..

Council Tax Reduction Scheme in Brent

The review of Brent's Council Tax reduction scheme is part of the next Cabinet agenda, published on Friday.  Once again it is recommended to keep the scheme as originally designed.  This is a remarkable tribute to the scheme as adopted in 2013.

At the same time, the Budget proposals suggest that this is an area for further savings, which I take it would require a redesign.  The discussion in the Council papers does identify substantial savings but also a very big burden on the poorest residents.

Cutting Brent's Library Service

Following yesterday's post, I have gone through the documents to look at what the suggested options for library cuts are.  Four options are listed:

• Closure of all libraries on Sundays
• Substantial cuts to opening hours at weekends, evenings and at least one weekday.  This would probably be done by keeping Wembley and Willesden going, but having only four day opening at Ealing Road, Harlesden, Kilburn and Kingsbury.
• Closure of one branch entirely.
• Late opening of all libraries.

I suspect the third option is simply included because under Cllr Butt, Brent has adopted a practice of including "options" in an officer report that no one has any intention of following.  I am not sure why this is done.  It strikes me as a rather futile activity.  In particular closing a branch when all the branches bar one had substantial investment during the Libraries Transformation process seems an odd thing to do. 

The same meeting that considers this report will consider renewing the lease for Kingsbury library.  If the Council decides to do that and then decides to close it subsequently again that would look very odd.

Even to be thinking about these cuts sits rather oddly with the considerable largesse handing to those who want to operate privatised libraries as well as with the Borough of Culture plans. 

Cuts to Brent's libraries service also raise a political problem that it is a high profile service where Brent can genuinely claim to be one of the best in the UK.  There are few areas of the Council where Brent can make that claim.  I am not sure that the present leadership of the Council have the intellectual clarity to understand that argument.

 

Recommended Budget Savings

Among the recommended budget savings in the forthcoming Brent Council budget agenda are:

• Ending the remaining youth services at Roundwood Youth Centre and making it a purely educational resource.
• Reducing scrutiny committees again.
• Dimming street lights
• Closing the Abbey Road recycling centre
• Cutting adult social services
• closing all the childrens centres
• Drastic cutbacks to Council Tax support
• and part time opening at "some" Brent libraries.

I shall be particularly looking at the details of the proposed cuts to Brent libraries since they are likely to go against the ethos of Libraries Transformation Project, and undermine the impressive achievements of Brent Libraries.  I wonder how many of the library litigants will be concerned?

What Do Libraries Do?

I remarked that people don't seem always aware of the full uses of public libraries.  This often struck me during the consultations over the Libraries Transformation Project where one would meet people who began by saying "I don't use libraries but..."  This would be followed by a highly imaginative description of what that person imagined a standard library user to be like.

For a more accurate account it is worth reading Chris Paling's "Reading Allowed" which is a short account of working in a public library service somewhere outside London.  A copy of this book is also available from Willesden Green Library. 

Ground Shifts from under the Government Yet Again

Politics certainly has the ability to be unpredictable and the sheer scale of Theresa May u-turns yesterday was remarkable.  She hasn't admitted that austerity was a huge error but she appears to commit to more public spending from now on, which effectively means that she thinks Osborne's pursuit of a smaller state was a big error.

Even more startling is the commitment to more Council homes.  Selling off Council stock was a key part of the Tory election strategy from 1979 to the present day and she has just committed to more of them.  I wonder what Kit Malthouse, who thinks of Council tenants as second class people, thinks of that.

It is also notable for some of the things it did not say like addressing the collapse in social care, the growing financial crisis in local government, how the extremely restrictive immigration policies during her watch marry up with the Tory Conference theme of praising diversity, the onmgoing failure of Universal Credit and the holes in the UK's defence capabilities. 

It demonstrates how the underlying basis of politics is shifting and that a whole range of possibilities, including a second referendum, are possible.

The main limit of course is that national debt is much higher than it was in 2010 and all forms of Brexit will hit the economy, some of them very hard indeed.

Libraries and Private Computer Use

I pointed out some time ago that using public libraries for accessing confidential information was not without problems and I have recently had personal experience of this.  Sitting down at a PC in Willesden Library, I could see quite clearly that the previous person had failed to log out and his universal credit application was on open display. 

Libraries are reasonably enough designed to be public places, not least so that the staff can monitor peoples' safety.  They are just not set up to be used as benefits offices.  If the government wants them to be used in that way, they need to be adjusted to be more suited to privacy needs.

Planning Reflections from Martin Francis

Martin Francis has a piece on planning and views of Wembley Stadium on his blog.  It is critical of the Planning Committee for allowing the view of the arch to be eroded after various decisions.  However, the officers' reply that no rules have been broken is quite right, and has to be the approach taken.

Planning policy is a guide not a diktat, and it is perfectly reasonable to judge each case on its merits. 

Indeed to do otherwise would be "fettered discretion" and would effectively make all development in the stadium area impossible.

Therefore it is not so much that a rule has been broken, as that Martin disagrees with particular decisions.

I am no admirer of the way Brent's planning functions appear to have been bent in the last few years, but it is important to distinguish between legitimate, although perhaps questionable, decisions and unethical, illegal or illegitimate behaviour. 

New Dementia Garden

So much news has been depressing over the past couple of years that it is really nice to find a positive story once in a while, such as the new dementia garden opened in Brent.  Well done to Cllr Lia Evans-Colacicco for making it happen.

Modern Slavery

Incidentally it is good to see that Brent Council has chosen to take part in the Cooperative Party and Cooperative Wholesale Society campaign against modern slavery. 

Is Brent Managing Allotments Well?

Allotments have a chequered history in Brent, having been sold off whenever possible under the Tories in the 1990s and generally ignored, they subsequently once again became fashionable.  They now tie in very well with the public health agenda and a wider range of interests that people have in food growing.  I would argue that they can also have a role in creating an area of common interest for a community, binding people together across the usual dividing lines. 

When I was lead member for allotments, we became very concerned at the length of the waiting lists and the inefficiency of the administration.  We therefore passed a food growing strategy and had a dedicated officer assigned to making it happen.  We also updated the rents paid, which was more controversial.  In principle, it should be perfectly possible to set the rents at a level that allows the employment of some one to manage the allotments.  This would allow people to see themselves getting a service as a direct result of the charges made.  Without being followed up in this way, the rents will not be collected and some of the sites are much more likely to fall into disuse. 

This will leave everyone feeling unhappy, yet it appears to be the route that Brent Council is going down.  It is a pity that the Labour Group's away day yesterday was cut at such short notice as the Group really needs to put a long term strategy together. 

A Lack of Censorship at Labour Conference

I rather doubt that holding a debate on Palestine is quite the pressing issue that many delegates at the Labour Conference apparently feel it to be.  I would have thought, for example, that half a million people killed in Syria, eleven million displaced and the fate of those in Idlib was probably a more urgent subject if you really want to concentrate on the Middle East.

However, is there any evidence that anyone there was inhibited from expressing their views on Israel and Palestine by the recent adoption of the IHRA definition?  If not, perhaps we can acknowledge that the Summer of bitter resistance to the definition adoption has been something of a wasteful distraction from opposing the government's disastrous policies?

Government Wasting Time over Concealment

The Guardian carries a story here of the government gratuitously wasting time and money concealing our much its Minister for the North actually went to the North.  This seems all too common a fault in bureaucracies.  It is partly instinctive and partly to try to kill a story politically by destroying its timeliness.

Walking in Cities

Some interesting ideas on improving walking in cities in this long piece in the Guardian.  It is surprising how neglected this subject is despite pedestrians being recognised as at the top of the road user hierarchy, and being seen as crucial to neighbourhood success as far back Jane Jacobs' classic "The Life and Death of Great American Cities".  

Afterword on Kiln Theatre Renaming

With the success of the new season of plays at the Kiln Theatre looking fairly established, I thought I would reflect on the rebranding process.  There is an article with a short take on rebranding theatres here. 

To those who have never been part of a rebranding process the whole thing can seem a bit farcical, but it does often touch a nerve as the Kiln rebranding demonstrated.  I must admit that I am not quite sure what or whose nerves were being touched during that controversy.  The protesters seemed to be drawn just from one section of the community, and the reported comments seemed not always related to the theatre and sometimes unduly personal.  I did wonder whether there were wider anxieties than those being articulated at a work here.

By the way, for those interested in what makes up the Kilburn community Brent Council provides a short summary using 2011 census data. 

Kiln Theatre Facelift

One advantage that I hope will come from the Kiln Theatre rebranding is that hopefully even the laziest picture editors will drop using old photos of the Tricycle like this one:

And start using new photos, more like this:

Or even this:

Haringey Demonstrates Housing Solutions for Slow Learners

I suggested that when the NEC took its extraordinary stand on housing in Haringey that it might live to regret it, and it looks as if that suggestion is turning out to be true.  The case concerns some apparently unsafe buildings in the Broadwater Farm estate.  It shows that delivering local services is actually a more nuanced business than sloganising. 

Community Division in Preston

The Brent Times report on the latest development proposals at the former school annexe in Preston are a reminder that the community never has just one voice.  Brent Council appears to have got some sort of special deal with just one group in the community.  This leaves open questions around planning permission, ACV status and use of CIL money. 

Regeneration is More Complex than You Think

There is an interesting story about the redevelopment of the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark that has not had the attention it deserved.  It illustrates how complex the calculations around these things can be, as I have pointed out before.

The Aylesbury estate was notorious as one of the worst in Britain even back when Tony Blair was first elected in 1997. 

All these years on, it still is. 

Southwark, having failed to tackle the problem over so many years, now has yet another plan, but this one appears to be guaranteeing the profits of the private partner.  The Council has to accept not getting a return in the case of a house price crash (which seems not unlikely) and in any case makes a big loss on the redevelopment. 

Whether that is the best deal that they can get is a matter for Southwark, but it is reminder that you cannot just wave a wand and see redevelopment without risk.

Kiln Cinema Reopening

I see that, following the successful reopening of the theatre, the Kiln Cinema is reopening as well.  This will be from 27 September.  It is really good to see the Kiln getting back into operation after the inevitable dark period.  I look forward to the street café whenever that becomes available.

Homelessness and Enforcement

The Home Office has been caught out deporting EEA nationals against the law.  Their offence appears to have been to be homeless, and the government gives an assurance (contrary to previous practice) it now wants to make sure that all homeless people get accommodation. 

Of course, the previous Labour government had pretty much achieved this but the measures it put in place had been dismantled by Theresa May on becoming Home Secretary in 2010.  The example also illustrates how the immigration debate helps destroy our civil society in ways that the Home Office probably simply fails to predict.

Ann Black Departs

Ann Black is leaving the Labour NEC after many years.  During those years her regular reports on the NEC have earned her great respect, and the last of them is now published.  It paints a sad picture of a Labour Party spending too much time obsessing about its own procedures and internal rivalries and not enough on the big issues, especially our relationship with the European Union.

Cheating for School Places

I mentioned the Kiln's opening production Holysh!t before.  Reports in the Guardian seem to confirm that the issue of "cheating" is widespread, although I don't think it is confined to the middle classes.  One might wonder whether it is legitimate to put people under such pressure to make religious choices that they don't really want.

Cuts in Somerset County Council

Somerset County Council is another facing a round of severe cuts just to stave off a Northants style breakdown.  The surprise to me is that Tory councils seem to be falling apart first even the Labour areas have tended to be the ones with the worst cuts.  It may be that the Tories were the most eager to dig their own graves with Council Tax freezes.  Again perhaps the awareness and the knowledge that the government really didn't care about them made the Labour authorities more financially responsible at an earlier stage.  They were less prone to the illusion that the Tory central government simply would not allow services to collapse.

Grounds Maintenance

It is perhaps comforting to find that one part of Brent Council works as it is supposed to and that is the Housing Scrutiny Committee. 

One example was a free days ago when it was engaged in the unexciting topic of grounds maintenance.  The kind of things covered contract monitoring, helping vulnerable residents, ensuring quality control and so on may seem uninteresting but they can have a disproportionate impact on public perceptions.  I note that the Council still seems to deal with its Council Housing using a dedicated team rather than a wider team from the public Realm Contract.  I presume that is as a result of the accounting needs of the HRA regimen. 

Finally Borough of Culture details

Some detail on the London Borough of Culture activities is at last available via Brent Council's next Cabinet papers.  Promised projects are:

• Thoroughfare: A street party on Kilburn High Road on 12th July 2020.

• No Bass like Home. An affordable concert in Wembley Arena and a festival in Harlesden celebrating the reggae heritage of the area.

• Museum of all Brent Life: the 6 Council libraries and the 4 community libraries will work with an artist on site specific commissions.

• Seen and heard: a partnership with Quintain and the LSE to produce a policy framework for the creation and management of public spaces which welcome young people

• Brent Lives: a partnership with Vice to tell Brent stories

• Lost and found: a programme with Brent Schools

• The Anthem: a new composition to be performed throughout 2020

• Spacebook: an online platform to allow local people and community groups to book affordable creative spaces throughout 2020.

 

That does not sound like all that much, but I assume that other projects are being worked on. 

 

 

Brexit and Local Government

The coming negative threats coming for local government, including Brent, from Brexit have surveyed by Buzzfeed.  These includes threats to the supply of affordable housing, early years provision and a possible increase in hate crimes.

I still can't think of any countervailing advantages from Brexit.

Schools and Accountability

There is a weary predictability about future schools policy.  The reduction of local authority control that started back in the 1980s with local management of school has gone too far.  Hence this plea to increase management at a local level.  The pressing need for more local accountability was obvious years ago. 

Why do we have a political environment that appears to produce really bad policy and persist with it for so after it is apparent that it is bad policy?

Still Flogging the Kiln Theatre

The Camden New Journal is still flogging the Kiln Theatre rename story.  I have remarked before that, at best, I think this is a minor issue compared to getting a rebuilt and substantially improved theatre. 

One detail strikes me as particularly strange.  They keep on referring to Indhu Rubasingham as a "new" Artistic Director.  In fact she was appointed in 2012, and had her first production in that role later that year.  I thought that play, Red Velvet, took the whole institution in quite a different and interesting direction, and there been many more since. 

During the same period she was working hard to get the funding together to rebuild the theatre to improve the 1980s style disabled access, improve important basics like seating and toilets and theatre lighting and make it a more welcoming venue in general.  Her critics seem to just take it for granted that money was coming Brent's way. That really isn't the case.  Raising that much money and making sure it gets properly spent is a major job in itself.

At the same time, she had to keep her team going and active, which she did at least partly through what I thought was a very welcome and imaginative outreach programme specifically designed to  get to people without traditional theatre backgrounds.  Again, there are all kinds of barriers to achieving that sort of thing successfully. 

It must have left all the people responsible feeling pretty exhausted.

Do the name change protesters really just not get what a blessing to the area they seem to be trying to drive away?

Ealing Road Library Redevelopment

The Ealing Road library redevelopment I referred to some time ago is finished giving some much needed good quality public space to the Wembley Central area.  As far as I can see this has been given no publicity whatever by anyone, including Brent Council.

Why We Get the Wrong Politicians

It was interesting to read Jess Phillips MP on Isabel Hardman's book in the New Statesman.  My interest is not so much in Hardman's new book Why we get the Wrong Politicians as in some of Phillips's own observations.

She does not regard herself as part of the "political elite" despite being a MP.  If "political elite does not include MPs then who is in this (obviously extremely exclusive club).  Would anyone admit their membership?  There is a story about Nye Bevan being told political power resided in the District Council, only then to be told to go to the County Council, only then to be told to go to Parliament, only then to be told to the Cabinet.  Sadly, he didn't reveal whether he found power once he really was in the Cabinet. 

Another interesting point is that she believes that "A politician from a pit community or raised by a single parent is, pleasingly, no longer that uncommon." Actually, I think it used to be a lot more common.  I think if she compares the 1945 PLP to now she would find a much wider range of backgrounds.  If she is referring to regionalism, I suspect she would find the same thing. 

The third thing I notice is that she doesn't mention the much wider ethnic and gender spread of today's Parliament compared to that of yesteryear, although I am sure she must be very aware of the huge effort required to achieve that.

Altogether an odd piece I thought.

Boundary Carve Up

As duly reported in the Kilburn Times,the Boundary Commission are planning a dramatic carve up of Brent constituencies.  This would lead to no fewer than five constituencies in Brent.  It is a hangover from David Cameron who did a squalid deal with Nick Clegg to redraw the boundaries in return for electoral reform. Many Tory MPs are threatening not to vote the deal through in the Autumn because they are afraid of being removed from their seats.   By now the population figures on which the whole exercise is based are hopelessly out of date so that there is a good case for simply dumping them and starting all over again.   

Meanwhile a wholly separate process is underway for local boundaries.         

Shisha Cafe Award

Nice to hear that Brent Council's innovative work on Shisha Bars is up for an award.  This has been a problem in Brent for years and was first researched by the Brent Youth Parliament and ward working.  That was important to changing the Planning Policy.  Brent Council has now followed up with a programme of enforcement.  It has taken a long time to get here. 

Kiln Theatre Finally Reopens with New Season

Finally got to the reopened Kiln Theatre for its new production, Holysh!t, on Saturday and thereby got my first look at the new theatre. 

Kilburn High Road Entrance

The Kilburn High Road frontage is broader with a yet to be opened café sharing the frontage with the old entrance in what used to be the Forresters' Hall.  Behind that are the toilets as go up the corridor towards the auditorium.  The signage is somewhat confusing and I saw women trying to get into the male toilets and men into the womens'.

Auditorium

The actual auditorium has obviously been the focus of a lot of thought.  As promised the sightlines are much better with a fuller view of what seemed to me a wider stage.  More importantly the seats are more comfortable, numbered and accessible via an aisle either side.  That may not sound important, but it meant that the audience could get in and out before and during the interval much quicker and without all that standing there waiting to get past someone trying to pick up their bag or coat. 

The distinctly 1980s disabled access appears to have been replaced by more modern arrangements, and according to press reports, all the lighting and so on is now much more modern.  The bar and box office seem to be largely the same, although there is a very big homage now to the history of the theatre, similar to the feature on the Kiln Theatre web site. 

This may be intended to try to assuage the people still angry about the name change.  Personally, I think such people might do well to appreciate just how hard it is to achieve what the Kiln Theatre team have now achieved.

Holysh!t

Which brings us to Holysh!t the play, which is after all the real heart of any theatre.  It was a much darker play than I had imagined it would be, revolving around the cultural politics of identity, fairness and parental anxieties.  The whole play climaxes with a scene involving victim hierarchies which is all too accurate.  It may be that I particularly feel this after the Labour Party's torrid Summer dealing with antisemitism, which has been more than a little demoralising. 

However, the return of the theatre as a going concern should be an enormous benefit to Kilburn High Road.  The premises have a 24 hour licensing application, I believe, under consideration at the moment, and assuming that goes through it should be able to become even more effective. 

UPDATE 11.09.18

Whatsonstage has an interview by Indhu Rubasingham explaining her thinking in the rebuild project. 

Pigovian Levies and Brent Council

The Brent Times reports that Brent Council is still investing in fossil fuels "indirectly".  If you look at the story it seems to be based on an assumption, more bluntly a guess, rather than hard figures.  Yet, I am not sure how practicable it is do otherwise so long as Brent uses "pooled funds."  The funds will presumably follow an investment strategy for all their clients together, which is why the funds are "pooled".  If the Council want to disaggregate it will have to manage its own funds directly.


That said, I suspect this is one case where the market may be moving against companies that have bad pollution.  Sooner or later big extraction companies are going to face clean up bills.  Indeed in some jurisdictions there are already requirements such as bonds to put money aside for cleaning up once the extraction ceases.  There is also a some point in the future a likelihood that such companies will face a Pigovian levy to clean them up.  It may well be a lot smarter for an investor to get out before the regulators catch up with not just the local damage caused but also perhaps the longer term climate change damage.

Brexit Legislation

Seema Malhotra MP has uncovered that the sheer mechanics of Brexit seem to require an awful lot of extra legislation still.  I can't say that I am reassured by Andrea Leadsom's answer, which seems to be yet another attempt to paper over the cracks in the government's Brexit strategy.  Apart from anything else, it is remarkable that the government still doesn't know how many statutory instruments it needs, so the assurances that it will not need extra time don't really count for much.

There is a video available Seema of raising this issue in the Chamber. 

Drinking Fountains for Brent

One of the changes of the past few years which might actually be positive is the decision to allocate public health spending as a local government responsibility.  In principle, this could lead to a more responsive and prevention led approach to public health.  In practice, the funding was shortly after cynically cut.

One area where it would be used to good effect would be through the increased use of drinking fountains, which in turn would cut plastic use.  If Brent Council were under more imaginative leadership it would examine this idea. 

Ealing Road Library Remodelling

I am not quite sure why, but the remodelling of Ealing Road Library that I mentioned quite a while ago never actually happened.  I am told that it is still planned although it is unclear when. 

Little Free Libraries

The Guardian praises the little free libraries scheme in Leeds.  I think this actually shows one of the problems with the way libraries are reported.  Schemes like this and volunteer libraries are seen as heart warming stories by journalists, but the merits of a properly run public library service are overlooked. 

This is partly, I suspect because the journalists have little or no idea how modern libraries work and what they can do in promoting the arts, encouraging mental well being, acting as social centres, linking in with other services, promoting literacy, educating people and helping people access other services.

Labour Party and the IHRA Definition

The Labour Party NEC will be meeting today to discuss the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.  Hopefully is will re-adopt the accepted definition with all the examples that it has already been using since December 2016.  As Ann Black says, the whole thing has just got the Labour Party into a nasty confrontation with the Jewish community that is deeply damaging to our reputation.  I attended the very successful JLM conference on Sunday and there is no doubt of the depth of feeling on this issue.  It has drained the Labour Party's effectiveness all through the Summer and we should never have tried to revise it for all the reasons that Gordon Brown explained.  The full text of Gordon speech is now available. 

I gather that a range of people, many obviously anti-Labour, are urging the NEC to try to invent quibbles to keep the argument going.  I think these people do not have the Labour Movement's best interests at heart.

UPDATE 12.17pm

I notice that the usual assortment of people are out protesting on this return to the December 2016 policy.  The very phrase "Israel Lobby" as if all Jewish people were part of an organised conspiracy rather than just people concerned at racist discrimination against them well illustrates the way in which racism has so entered some of these peoples' thinking that they are not even aware of it.  We would never respond to concerns by, say, Sikhs as part of a "Sikh Lobby" organised by a foreign country.  

These people are inflicting damage on the Labour Party's reputation and the effects are already likely to last for years.

Cuts to Local Government and Civil Society

I fear John Tizard is being overoptimistic about the Tory government's views on Civil Society.  He is quite right that local government has a really important role in supporting civil society and that the budget cuts to Councils are making that role impossible. 

Yet the whole "Big Society" debacle actually demonstrates that the Tories really do have an engrained culture that local government simply has no value.  Part of that ideology, which is so embedded that it is not even articulated, are that the public sector in general is simply a burden on the private sector in the manner that right wing tropes such as "Tax Freedom Day" imply.  They assume that running public institutions needs no skill and very little money and that anyone working for the public sector is essentially a parasite.

Tzipi Livni and Jeremy Corbyn

It is difficult to keep up with all the stories coming out now quoting Jeremy Corbyn on Israel/Palestine issues, but this one caught my eye.  Extraordinarily, it quotes Jermey Corbyn as saying in 2009 that he had never heard of Tzipi Livni before.  As well as being Leader of the Opposition now, at the time of the quote she had been a Cabinet Minister in Israel for the previous eight years, and was serving as Israel's Foreign Minister at the time.  As such she was a key figure in any attempts to create a peace agreement.  How can it be claimed that Jeremy Corbyn was even interested in any peace process if he had never heard of her?

Kiln Theatre Reopening

Only a few days before the rebuilt Kiln Theatre reopens with its new season.  I am really looking forward to seeing how it is changed.