Newsletter from Diane Abbott MP - April 2006
Posted by Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, at 09:21, Wed 3 May 2006:
Dear friends,
Thank you for your continued interest in my work as your representative in Parliament. I am working hard to ensure that Hackney North and Stoke Newington is continuously improving. This newsletter will hopefully give you an idea of some of the things I do on an everyday basis in order to achieve this. This is a great opportunity for us to discuss issues that matter to you. I look forward to hearing your views and comments.
Keep Hackney Labour in 2006!
Four years ago Labour went to the people of Hackney with a simple pledge to clean up the mess left by 6 years of hung council chaos, mismanagement, financial crises and service cuts. Voters overwhelmingly backed our plans and elected a strong Labour council and subsequently Jules Pipe as Hackney's first elected Mayor, to continue the job he began as Labour leader.
For the last month much of my time has been spent campaigning for the local elections and I have already met many of you on our local streets. I hope you will all turnout on the 4th May and make sure we keep Hackney Labour.
Hackney needs a Labour Mayor and Labour Council to continue to take Hackney on to the next phase of its improvement. Regular activity across the Constituency is happening every weekend morning. To help re-elect Jules Pipe and the Labour team for Hackney Council please contact Jamie Carswell on 07957 398431 or email: jamiecarswell@yahoo.co.uk. You may also contact Luke Akehurst on 07949 152562 to be put on the email circulation list.
Alternatively, if you have less time but would still like to help with leafleting your local street or estate please get in touch.
Campaigning to protect our children against pornography
In February I tabled a Commons Motion calling upon the government to scrap the voluntary code governing the display of such materials in sweet shops, supermarkets and newsagents in response to a request from a local newsagent in my Stoke Newington constituency. He has for 17 years campaigned on this issue and is supported by parents' groups as well as women's groups all over the UK. Not only am I pushing for the current voluntary codes of practice to be replaced with a statutory instrument to make sure obscene materials are kept well out of reach and sight of children, but I also want to link the matter to the issue of gender equality and harm to women.
Whilst I appreciate that 'lads mags' in themselves are not hard core pornographic publications some of the do contain literally hundreds of adverts for hard core porn. Therefore these magazines do make hard core porn available to children.
The National Federation of Retail Newsagent (the trade association representing retail newsagents) has recently published a fresh set of guidelines for its members relating to the display of 'lads mags' and tabloid newspapers. This new code of practice has been developed in response to growing public concern but remains a voluntary code. I will scrutinise closely whether this code is adhered to by newsagents and have tabled yet another Commons Motion calling on the House to ensure that if uptake is inadequate we shall push for a statutory instrument.
This month there was more encouraging news as Sainsbury's announced that owing to growing consumer pressure they will now conceal all lads mags behind 'modesty covers'. Sainsbury is the first UK retailer to make such a move and hopefully other retail giants will feel the pressure to follow suit.
I will continue to work closely with the Object pressure group to make sure the issue is given the attention it deserves. I think pornographic images, hard core or otherwise, displayed alongside 'normal' newspapers in sweet shops promote the impression in young children's minds that women are not equal to men in sexual relations.
Lobbying to save the Eastway Cycling Centre
Hackney has only just been named "best bike borough" so it is ironic, and a great shame, that we are now having to see the Eastway Cycling Circuit close down.
I have had a staggering number of letters from local people expressing their sadness at the imminent closure of the Cycling Centre. Unfortunately the circuit falls within the footprint of the Olympic Park and it has been deemed necessary to close it to make way for the construction site.
I recognise completely the importance of encouraging our children to be active and think that our local sport centres are crucial in this regard. This is just one of the reasons that I am so excited about the Olympics coming to Hackney. I am absolutely sure that on balance the benefits of hosting the Games will outweigh the costs quite significantly. For one, we will have plenty of access to sports facilities after the Olympics!
However, I share concerns that the circuit is being closed in September 2006 in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. I have been in contact with the Minister responsible as well as the London Development Agency (LDA) which has responsibility for assembling the land for the Olympic Park. The LDA needs access to the site at the earliest opportunity due to the presence of contamination and the significant amount of earth works required.
I have been putting pressure on the Minnister to ensure that alternative cycling facilities be made available and the LDA is now working with British Cycling to secure that cycling facilities will not be disrupted. The LDA is carrying out an extensive search for a suitable relocation site. A site in the Borough of Enfield has been identified (Rammey Marsh) which will accommodate all the disciplines currently found at Eastway. This can be ready before the closure of Eastway in September. Other sites are being considered but it is crucial that the site found is within reasonable distance for eastway users.
I will continue to monitor progress in this area and put pressure on the Department for Culture, media and Sport and the LDA to ensure Hackney cyclists will not lose out.
6 Ways to get in touch:
1. You can phone me on 20207 219 4426 2. Fax me on 0207 219 4964 3. Visit my web site www.dianeabbott.org.uk for up to date news stories about your local area. 4. Email me on glennc@parliament.uk 5. Write to me at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA 6. Come to see me at my advice surgery. Please call my casework team on 0207 219 4330 to make an appointment.
Comments
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Posted by Steven Allen, 15:58, Wed 3 May 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
Hmmm... is it only me that questions the timing of such a newsletter, especially considering there has been little if any communication from Ms Abbott until the local elections?
I, for one, will not be voting for Labour in the coming local elections after the shambles of the Stoke Newington Leisure Centre and the shameful state of schools in Hackney, which Ms Abbott even refuses to send her children to.
Is cycling all you've been focused on since the General Election for us that live in Hackney?
Oh dear.
Posted by Darrin Johansen, 11:08, Thu 4 May 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
No mention of our illegal invasion and raping of Iraq & Afghanistan as usual, or the war criminals that lead her party. Spin the positive!
Posted by Diane Abbott, 12:37, Thu 4 May 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
Dear Steven
Thank you very much for signing up to my newsletter and for your reply.
There seems to be a bit of confusion about the newsletter that you have just received. The newsletter service team sends me an email every time 25 people have signed up to the service. That is usually every 4 weeks, sometimes less. In order not to repeat news to people that have been signed up for months I therefore only write about the most recent things that I have been doing.
The timing of the newsletter therefore is not really down to me. However, if you are a Labour Party member you should have received regular reports from me detailing what I get up to on a monthly basis. You can view these on my web site at www.dianeabbott.org.uk . If you are a constituent you will also receive an annual report shortly.
Please do let me know of issues you would like me to take up in the future.
Best,
Diane
Posted by Roger Heathcote, 19:48, Thu 4 May 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
Well said Diane.. a snide and confrontational tone is hardly condusive to anything good coming out of this dialog is it?
Note to all: I personally am glad to have Diane as my MP even though I dislike and distrust her party for a multitude of resons. I can't bring myself to vote labour in the mayoral/council elections either, however I don't feel the need to childishly vent my cynical frustrations with unhelpful one liners on my MP's public forum. Anyone for constructive dialog?
So..
Diane, there are two local issues in particular that have pushed me (and many others) away from labour in this round of council elections. The Town Hall Office and the Broadway Market debacle.
The former seems to be a fait acompli and as much as people resent it I doubt it can or will be stopped, making it kind of incidental now :-(
The issue of Broadway Market is of pivotal importance though. It seems from the recent 'election addresses' booklet that Jules isn't interested.. this doesn't surprise me.. naturally he won't want to commit to doing anything because there's a good chance he'll win and therefore have to make an undignified U turn, or open the can of worms that is personal wealth, it's boundaries in society and the doctorine of absolute sanctity of personal property. This debate seems anathema to New labour and others with faith in the New markets and marketeers.
The fact is that new markets are rapidly destroying old markets and local councils don't want to question the rights or wrongs of allowing this for fear of scaring away the buyers and 'investors'. I can think of few better illustrations of this sorry state of affairs than Broadway Market where an individual from outside the borough can so blatantly affect the lifes and livelyhoods of it's indigenous people and business'. This is not good governance, and again not hugely surprising.. councils were never meant to fund themselves from their large propety portfolios and, being non-commercial entities in a ruthless market, they are ill equipped to manage them.. Rapid state liquidation of common property = oligarchs & poverty, see: Russia.
Of course, you can't halt the march of progress but the speed at which Hackney is marching into selling off it's peoples assets seems deeply unwise to me. The fact that while doing so it is _deliberately_ preferring the interests of rich private developers from outside the borough is absolutely indefensible.
Absolutely.
A Solution? I, not being possesed of much political subtlety, would simply institute a pernicious local tax or law to give preference to existing residents/business and have done with it. However I don't have to stalk the corridors of power like you do. I have faith you can come up with a more nuanced plan/policy/campaign that would meet with massive approval from your constituents.
While I appreciate this issue is not unique to our borough it's down to us to take the initiative and show the rest of the country that it can be addressed. We need representatives brave enough to break the silence and campaign for the interests of the people of Hackney.. not only the New generation of boutique patronising luxury apartment dwellers the council fawns over, but the people that live here now & make Hackney the most interesting borough in London!
Sadly the idea of the council house seems to have had it's day but that doesn't mean we should embrace the 'new' way and get into bed with some mercenary money men.. please Diane could you tell me what you and the council are doing to promote/finance co-operative housing/building?
On a wider note, this newsletter is a great idea and I hope we continue to hear from you on a relatively regular basis :-) Also, while I appreciate the idea is to keep us up to date on your work for the borough I would echo the sentiment of some other commentators and ask that you include some details of your work / positions on national/global issues, such as the "war on teror".
Yours sincerely,
Roger.
PS: With you on the porn, and the cycling.. Hope you're with me on opposing ID Cards, War & Unrestrained capital.
PPS: Mayoral elections.. bless Monty for fighting off the black shirts, and I'm all for scrapping 'Hackney Today' a la MAtt P but its gotta be Hettie for Mayor!!
*or get a blog on your site, I'll subscribe! (the software's free, ask your web-dev or gimme a shout)
Posted by Diane Abbott, 08:36, Wed 17 May 2006: (Is this post abusive?) #
I am sorry to hear that you felt unable to vote for Labour in the recent local elections. Labour in Hackney, as you will be aware, bucked the national trend at the elections this year and we did retain all of our councillors. I understand the concerns that some voters had in the run-up to the election but am pleased that, in the end, most people in Hackney were able to distinguish between the performance of our hard working local councillors and the recent national political wrangling.
I understand your concern about the cost of the new Town Hall, and I know that it is shared by many constituents. However, it is, as you point out a decision for the Mayor and one that he has already taken.
I also agree with you that we need planning policies in Hackney that protect localpeople and businesses against rapacious developers. I will certainly raise this matter with the Maytor as well as our planning Mininster. I am more than happy to include news about my stance on international issues in forthcoming updates. I can also assure you that I am opposed to the introduction of ID cards and have consistently voted against the Bill. I fear that ID cards risk creating a culture of suspicion towards black and ethnic minority. The Muslim Council of Britain, the Commission for Racial Equality, and other organisations representing ethnic minorities have also expressed similar concerns. The Bill proposes compulsory carrying and presentation of ID cards, and this will be detrimental to community relations as the number of stops on black, Asian and Muslim people will rise. You might remember that when a similar law regarding identity papers was introduced in France in the 1990s, there was a large increase in police requests for papers, and in particular requests for people of Algerian and Moroccan descent. It is very important that black and ethnic minority communities are not discriminated against in this way.
Moreover, I do not believe that ID cards will have any impact on crime and terrorism. All of those involved in 9/11 had either legitimate identification papers, or very compelling forgeries. Similarly, the perpetrators of the London bombings were all here legally. Charles Clarke himself has admitted identity cards would have done little to foil these terrorist attacks.
The Government has yet to make an adequate case for the introduction of ID cards and this is why, once again, I voted against the Bill in each of the ‘major votes’. I will continue to support this position in Parliament.
Best,
Diane