Labour gain Lambeth

[PacificOcean]

What where you lot thinking down there?

Labour manage to lose loads of councils but gain the one they royally fucked up when I lived there.

Tsk!

[rennie]

I don't vote (being foreign n all that) but am curious to hear the opinions of other Brixtonites. will things get better in Lambeth as a result?

[g force]

I voted Labour in my ward because the Lib Dems have presided over one of the worst councils in years, and the Greens had no chance of getting in. I'm not goign to judge them on previosu problems - they made plenty of pledges if they don't keep them, they'll lose my support next time around.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I don't vote (being foreign n all that) but am curious to hear the opinions of other Brixtonites. will things get better in Lambeth as a result?


Can't see it myself. Was Labour for years and all I remember was the fiasco over missing money (which obviously has happened recently anyway), people getting 3 years worth of council tax bills in the early 80s and loads of other shit that I can't remember as I'm losing my memory due to old age :o

Housing/council tax benefits systems were a shamble - but then I believe they still are

Probably won't be much change so :D







Ignore me, I'm talking out me arse again :o

[Donna Ferentes]

people getting 3 years worth of council tax bills in the early 80sCouncil tax didn't exist in the Eighties. Do you mean "rates"?

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Council tax didn't exist in the Eighties. Do you mean "rates"?


Yes, couldn't remember whether it was council tax, community charge or rates :o

[g force]

I think you made an interesting point thopugh - years of mismanagement and cock ups by Labour, Conservastives and Lib Dems have hampered the council's ability to provide services.

I don't expect much to change, but at least the Tory/LibDem control is over. And Fitchett has gone, so all in all, not bad.

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Just found this from Hansard

Miss Kate Hoey (Vauxhall): I very much agree with the hon. Member for Waveney (Mr. Porter), which shows that there can be--and is--cross-party consensus on this important issue.

As a member of the Select Committee on Social Security, whose report we are debating, I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise once again some of the

18 Jun 1996 : Column 722

important issues that the Committee uncovered in its investigations into housing benefit fraud. I am also pleased to be able to challenge again the whole attitude to fraud at national and local authority level.
This debate must put to bed for good any lingering doubt that anyone has ever had that attacking benefit fraud is somehow attacking the poor. It is quite clear that such an attitude was held in certain parts of the country by certain people, but that is no longer so. It is clear, certainly to Opposition Members, and generally on both sides of the House, that the people who suffer most from benefit fraud are those in greatest need.

I want to refer to the Select Committee's recommendation on the Data Protection Act 1984. It is important to point out that the evidence that members of the Committee took questioned whether the Act was working in the interests of people who were trying to root out fraud. We took evidence from Andrew Webster of the London boroughs fraud investigators group, who said:

"I have to say that I sometimes wonder who the Data Protection Act is actually protecting, because obviously the genuine honest claimant has nothing to fear. The genuine honest person in this country has nothing to fear. The only people who hide behind the Data Protection Act are the criminals."

I am not interested in protecting the civil liberties of large landlords who are perpetrating housing benefit fraud and I hope that the recommendation on the Data Protection Act is considered seriously.

The Association of Chief Police Officers told the Committee:

"There appears to be no clear authority for police to give Local Authority investigators details of previous criminal activity or other potentially useful intelligence."

It is absolutely certain that there is a need for co-operation between agencies. Indeed, one of the Committee's recommendations says:

"the Department of Social Security and the Data Protection Registrar should review the data protection legislation, and any law and practice on which data protection legislation is based . . . to ensure that the legislation does not constitute a barrier to counter-fraud work."

Data protection is fine, but it must not be allowed to get in the way of information on fraud coming forward.
Earlier, the Secretary of State challenged the Opposition's assessment that there is £2 billion-worth of fraud, and other hon. Members have said that the figure was an exaggeration. No one can say that the figure is an exaggeration, because no one knows the real extent of fraud in the benefit system. I wonder how many people in Haringey, when asked to put a figure on the extent of benefit fraud before the investigation began there some years ago, would have come near the figure that has emerged from the small pilot study.

I certainly do not have any hidden agenda on exaggerating the amount of fraud, because I happen to represent a borough whose name was, until recently, synonymous with fraud and corruption. I am proud to represent the area that includes the London borough of Lambeth. Indeed, I am even more proud now that the borough is starting to get its act together and beginning to adopt an approach that is in the interests of its residents.

[aurora green]

It doesn't seem to matter who gets in around these parts, we still get done over...
But I'm actually delighted with the result. A much needed change of power at the town hall. The unholy Lib dem/Tory alliance was really doing us no good at all.
And as for getting rid of that scumbag Fitchett, well it's just fantastic.

[Yossarian]

Was this the only Labour gain in the country? I'm glad those cursed Tories are gone...

[William of Walworth]

Keep us informed!

Has Clare 'Festival Banning Scumbag' Whelan lost her seat?

And elsewhere, has Shane won one?? Thee was an UNSOURCED and so far UNRELIABLE rumour elsewhere on Urban that he was up for a recount in his ward

[g force]

No the Parks Officer won Thurlow, with her husband 100-odd votes behind. Returned 3 Tories....idiots!

[tommers]

we got three tories in gipsy hill too.

the "gipsy hill action team" :D

I could only use one of my three votes on the ballot paper.

[William of Walworth]

No the Parks Officer won Thurlow, with her husband 100-odd votes behind. Returned 3 Tories....idiots!

Well, at least she won't be in charge of Parks any more ;)

[g force]

Very true! She still argue the toss though i'm sure. Is this all too late to effect the upcoming festies?

[William of Walworth]

Very true! She still argue the toss though i'm sure. Is this all too late to effect the upcoming festies?

Wait for the result in Shane's ward ;)

But (speculatively) I guess that it would be too late to reinstate the Urban Green one to June 17-18

Maybe?????? not impossible for later though :confused: .... I said that more in hope than expectation really.

[jpm]

And elsewhere, has Shane won one?? Thee was an UNSOURCED and so far UNRELIABLE rumour elsewhere on Urban that he was up for a recount in his ward

Looked at the count as if Kirsty McHugh (Lab) was top, Jim Dickson (Lab) second apparently a handful of votes ahead of Rebecca Thackray (Green) who was just in front of Shane Collins. So recount for second and third, likely to end up as written.

[Streathamite]

we got three tories in gipsy hill too.

the "gipsy hill action team" :D

I could only use one of my three votes on the ballot paper.
look on 2 bright sides;
1) thurlow and gipsy hill are not just the only wards with tory councillors; they're also the ONLY place the tories could ever do well in.
2) one of those tories is not only a decent bloke; he's also an urbanite.

[Donna Ferentes]

He's not a decent bloke.

[Streathamite]

oh really? know him personally do you?
HOW is he not a decent bloke?

[Donna Ferentes]

I've met him on here: on that basis I make my judgement.

[William of Walworth]

Looked at the count as if Kirsty McHugh (Lab) was top, Jim Dickson (Lab) second apparently a handful of votes ahead of Rebecca Thackray (Green) who was just in front of Shane Collins. So recount for second and third, likely to end up as written.

So close! But confirmation (or preferably, contradiction! ;) ) would be welcomed, thanks.

[jpm]

look on 2 bright sides;
1) thurlow and gipsy hill are not just the only wards with tory councillors; they're also the ONLY place the tories could ever do well in.


Dunno about that. Look at the results for Clapham Common - only 190 between Labour in first and Labour in nineth with the 3 Lib Dem, 3 Tory and the other Lab in between. Plus, vote for all three tories into four figures in Clapham Town (although thankfully all losers)

[Streathamite]

actually jpm- you have a point, given that that area is excruciatingly upwardly-mobile (damn! forgot about clapham!)

[jpm]

actually jpm- you have a point, given that that area is excruciatingly upwardly-mobile (damn! forgot about clapham!)

Too right. Which makes it a joy to realise that the Tories were so near and yet ... ended up losing seats in Lambeth!

[Kid_Eternity]

Just got this:

Press Release Contact: Ashok Viswanathan
TO NEWS/POLITICAL DESKS 0208 983 5430
IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Black Voters in Lambeth make history

While Labour was experiencing a political meltdown Black voters swam against the political tide last night to remove what some described as ‘one of the racist boroughs in the country’.

Black voters in the borough of Lambeth dealt a crushing blow to the Lib Dem-Tory controlled council by bucking the national trend and voting for a Labour controlled administration.

On a night of high drama, Lambeth went from one of the most unrepresentative councils in the country to one of the most representative- Increasing BME representation from 6% to 36%.

High profile issues such as the sacking of Black worker Alex Owalade, poor housing, local crime in the area and the administrations refusal to undertake further voter registration were all grievances that Black people felt the council refused to tackle.

Simon Woolley, Director of Operation Black Vote stated: In Lambeth and across the country Black people have something to cheer about. This result shows that when Black candidates who represent local people are put forward and when Black people go out and vote dramatic and historical events can happen. This is without doubt a new dawn in Black political participation and political representation, and is something that must be replicated with all the political parties right across the country.

ENDS.

Notes to the editor:
1. Operation Black Vote is a non-party political campaign.
2. The term ‘Black’ is a political term. It refers to African, Asian, Caribbean and other ethnic minorities.
3. The result in Lambeth will send shock waves across the political establishment. On an evening when Labour was experiencing political meltdown Black voters in Lambeth were removing an administration that had badly let them down.

[PacificOcean]

^^^Is this over that council worker who was sacked or have Lambeth been up to other stuff since I moved?

[tarannau]

To be fair, if it's the Tory I'm thinking about, he's far from above censure and I'm far from trusting of them.

The thing which got my goat was that the poster in question kept claiming that Gipsy Hill ward had one of the highest proportions of BME voters in the borough, using that stat to alleviate charges of racism amongst the Tories and to rubbish the OBV campaign.

The only problem was that the figures that he was using didn't seem to bear any relation to the Home Office National Neighbourhood statistics. Not even close - so far apart in fact that it was hard to put that down to an accident. Somewhat unsurprisingly, when repeatedly queried on those figures, the poster in question never even showed the courtesy to return to the thread, let alone explain the source of his remarkable figures and/or apologise. Despite the evasiveness on that particular thread, he remained suspiciously active on neigbouring threads.

You can see the whole sorry thread herehttp://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=151862&page=4&highlight=gipsy+hill

Just goes to show though doesn't it. Never trust a Tory...

:rolleyes:

[Streathamite]

E2A: @ PO
partly over alex, yes, but also over St agnes place, and the other housing fiascoes possibly

[pooka]

High profile issues such as the sacking of Black worker Alex Owalade,


Wasn't Alex Owalade sacked by the previous Labour administration?

[Donna Ferentes]

I was wondering that. But Lambeth Labour isn't slow to criticise other people for doing things they actually did.

[JTG]

Was this the only Labour gain in the country? I'm glad those cursed Tories are gone...

Labour also gained Enfield from the Tories, which was rather odd I thought.

[Tricky Skills]

Congratulations to the good people of Stockwell. We managed to boot out that buffoon Bottrall. Not only has he been umming and ahhing on Lambeth Education for years, but he has also taken for granted the support of people in SW8 recently.

See ya!

[PacificOcean]

Labour also gained Enfield from the Tories, which was rather odd I thought.

Enfield has been true blue since '82.

[William of Walworth]

Labour also gained Enfield from the Tories, which was rather odd I thought.

Thats wrong, not sure where you're getting that from. Still Tory AFAIK.

[JTG]

BBC telly were lying to me! :eek:

They flashed up that Enfield was a Labour gain. Honest they did...

[Gramsci]

Wasn't Alex Owalade sacked by the previous Labour administration?

Thats what I thought.Though some Labour councillors seemed to be getting chummy with Alex when they were put into opposition.Is OBV some front for the Labour party?

OBV press release seems to be saying it was Black voters who got the Lib Dems/Tories out.How do they work that one out?Voting is confidential.

[Gramsci]

results here

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/News/NoticeOfElections.htm

In Herne Hill Rebecca Thackray (Green) got 1359

Shane got 1298

Kirsty McHugh and Jim Dickson (Labour and reelected as Councillors) got 1343 and 1314

So Shane almost got in.

[JTG]

Thats what I thought.Though some Labour councillors seemed to be getting chummy with Alex when they were put into opposition.Is OBV some front for the Labour party?

OBV press release seems to be saying it was Black voters who got the Lib Dems/Tories out.How do they work that one out?Voting is confidential.

I don't know but I'm uneasy at their apparent racialising of politics. It's as bad as what Respect, the BNP and the CPA are up to. Black parties, Muslim parties, white parties... now it's 'Black voters have done this' despite nobody having any idea who voted which way.

[Gramsci]

Have to see what Labour will be like now they are back in power.Must say I was surprised.I think the schools issue wasnt doing the Lid/Dems much good.But then Labour closed schools when it was last in power.

A lot Labour Councillors will be new to power.I wonder how they will deal with the Clapham pool and Brixton Rec issue which also didnt do the Lib/Dems much good.

According to Labour party manifesto they will be handing out more ASBOS:eek: .So no dropping litter and swearing in the street:rolleyes:

[William of Walworth]

Annoyingly for us more thoughtful lefties, Gramsci, the ASBO thing seems to be a fairly popular policy ...

I even temporarily like it, in impatient/irrational moments, when I see yoblets destroying new trees in our little park for no reason ... :(

[Brixton Hatter]

Annoyingly for us more thoughtful lefties, Gramsci, the ASBO thing seems to be a fairly popular policy ...

I even temporarily like it, in impatient/irrational moments, when I see yoblets destroying new trees in our little park for no reason ... :(to be honest, i think the principle behind ASBOs is relatively sound. ASBOs weren't necessarily designed for "thoughtful lefties" or the middle classes imo...they're there for poor working people living in shitty areas who have their lives blighted by the fuckwittery of uncontrollable kids. if used properly they seem to have a positive effect.

[William of Walworth]

In no way can I disagree with that ....

[Brixton Hatter]

i kind of hate to agree with 'new' labour tho...:D

remember when they were bringing ASBOs in? under quite a bit of criticism they made such a fuss about them and how good they would be...time for them to put their money where their mouth is and see if they can work in lambeth. could they, for example, be used to stop the "skunkskunkskunk" geezers on the high street?

[stadin kundi]

A greener future for Lambeth?!?
Red-green majority in the council is a positive signal - I guess.
Well - in Finland the Greens have been even in the national government holding 10% of the seats in the parliament...

[Streathamite]

results here

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/News/NoticeOfElections.htm

In Herne Hill Rebecca Thackray (Green) got 1359

Shane got 1298

Kirsty McHugh and Jim Dickson (Labour and reelected as Councillors) got 1343 and 1314

So Shane almost got in.
SHIT! So fucking close....:(

[pooka]

Interesting report today from the Electoral Reform Society - "The Great Local Vote Swindle" (http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/publications/briefings/Local%20elections%2006.pdf)Here's what it says about Lambeth:

Lambeth

The local election result in Lambeth in 2006 was very
unusual. It was the one council anywhere in the
country that Labour gained. It was also gained
despite Labour’s vote actually falling a little since the
last borough election in 2002.

Labour managed this feat by careful targeting. Their
vote share fell sharply in several wards which were
either already safe for the party (such as Ferndale), or
where Labour stood little chance of winning (such as
Gipsy Hill or Bishop’s). Labour’s vote rose most
precisely where it could do the most good – in the
marginal wards the party stood to gain.

The Conservatives and Greens were particularly hard
done by. The Tories lost one seat despite their vote
increasing across the borough, and the Greens’
success with 15.3 per cent was rewarded with a single
seat in Herne Hill.

Lambeth’s recent elections have shown a considerable
degree of instability, swinging between comfortable
Labour majorities and hung councils. This has
encouraged a short term tactical approach to local
politics, focused on the next borough elections rather
than on sorting out the borough’s considerable long
term problems.

Despite the massive swings in seats,
the voters of Lambeth do not seem to change their
minds all that radically. A system that reflected this
would encourage better government in the borough.