Unless local voting patterns shift more dramatically than even the most ambitious Kremlin-sponsored election tinkerers could imagine, the future mayor of Lewisham became clear earlier today – decided by a fraction more than 1 per cent of the total registered voters in the borough.
Members of the Lewisham Labour Party comfortably voted to put forward Damien Egan, currently the council’s cabinet member for Housing, as the party’s candidate for the mayoral election next May, which will run simultaneously to the local council elections. His nearest rival was Paul Bell, a councillor for Telegraph Hill and a Jeremy Corbyn supporter whose candidacy was endorsed by the local Momentum movement.
In the final run-off, after other lower-scoring candidates had been eliminated and their second preferences transferred, Egan registered 1,434 voters in his favour, compared to 911 for Bell. Such is the dominance of the Labour Party in Lewisham at the moment, that bookmakers – if they paid much attention to local politics – would probably refuse to take bets on the outcome of the mayoral election in 2018. Continue reading “Damien Egan confirmed as new (Labour candidate for) Lewisham mayor”
This may interest politics watchers and Lewisham residents with a long memory. The Guardian has carried an obituary for Roland Moyle, who became the Labour MP for the now defunct constituency of Lewisham North in 1966.
Moyle, who passed away in July aged 89, was a minister of state for Northern Ireland under Harold Wilson and a minister of state for the Department of Health under James Callaghan.
He worked as a Member of Parliament for the area for 17 years. After serving as a Greenwich councillor, he defeated Chris Chataway, the former athlete and then Conservative MP for Lewisham North MP in the general election of 1966, and was ousted by Colin Moynihan for the then new (or rather newly reformed) constituency of Lewisham East in 1983.
He took his cue to go into politics from his father, Arthur Moyle, who worked as the private parliamentary secretary to Clement Attlee.
A third of all Lewisham councillors missed more than one in every four of their scheduled council meetings, recent figures show.
Of Lewisham’s 54 councillors, 18 of them were present at less than 75 per cent of their meetings from November last year until the end of last month.
The worst attendance was jointly held by Downham ward’s David Britton, who defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party in 2012, and Roy Kennedy, a councillor for Crofton Park, who also serves as Lord Kennedy of Southwark in the House of Lords. Both attended only one in every three of their scheduled meetings. Neither responded to emails from Lewisham Lately. (Update 16.09.17: a resident of Mr Britton’s ward has informed me he has been away due to his wife suffering from terminal cancer).
Former Honor Oak Park resident Fiona Mozley (Credit: Hodder & Stoughton)Will this help Lewisham’s bid to be London borough of culture?
Fiona Mozley, 29, just announced as one of the short-listed authors for this year’s Man Booker Prize, was living with five friends in Honor Oak Park when she wrote her debut novel.
She gained inspiration for the book, Elmet, when travelling on the train from York to London and she wrote the first chapter before pulling into King’s Cross. Much of it was written as she commuted between London and York. She kept its existence secret from her flatmates at the time.
Described by one reviewer as “a wonder to behold”, the book is up against five other novels, including Autumn by Ali Smith.
Although the setting for the novel is Yorkshire, it was fuelled in SE23, where Mozley was based while working as an intern at a literary agency a few years ago.
Now based in York, she described her life at the time of the book’s inception in an interview with the Evening Standard in July when the longlist was announced:
“I was finding London life difficult – the strain of the capital was taking hold.
“I was living for the next pay cheque and at a loose end. I didn’t know what career I was going to have or where I was going to live in the next year.”
“I feel no one can say anything these days without bringing up politics, but this book does touch on a community left behind.
“It’s no coincidence that I started the book when living in London.”
The winner of the prize will be announced on October 17.
Both of the boys have autism and other special educational needs. Their care package included seven hours a week short break payments and 24 nights a year respite accommodation.
Both care packages were reduced on review – including the removal of the respite accommodation for the younger boy – without the mother having the chance to comment.
When will much anticipated new watering hole crackle into life?
On Lewisham High Street you can just make out the outline of the old Suttons Radio shop front
The launch party invites were being prepared back in June. The site, flanked by a betting shop and Poundworld on a busy stretch of Lewisham High Street, was a hive of activity.
And anticipation was rising for the latest South-east London branch of the Antic pub empire, at least in the Lewisham Lately household.
Farewell old Antic favourite at the Ravensbourne Arms, greetings new watering hole in temptingly easy-to-reach location.
Organisers criticise “shocking” cancellation and “high handed” London Labour Party
Parents were unable to discuss Lewisham’s schoolsThe London Labour Party abruptly cancelled an event organised by a local education network this week, depriving parents from hearing the views of nine mayoral hopefuls.
The event, a panel focussed solely on education, was due to take place tonight in Lewisham Town Hall. More than 100 parents were expected to attend the discussion, organised by Parent ENGage Lewisham, to exchange views about the future of the area’s schools. While the borough has some of the most highly ranked primary schools in the country, a number of its secondary schools are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Nine local politicians, most hoping to be on the ballot for the Lewisham mayoral elections, had confirmed their attendance, including two from the Liberal Democrat Party, the official Conservative Party mayoral candidate, a Green Party representative, and the five councillors shortlisted to be the Labour Party’s official candidate (unless voting patterns shift dramatically, the next Lewisham Mayor will almost certainly come from these five).
On Wednesday, however, the London Labour Party told organisers that no Labour candidate could attend. Permission to use the Civic Suite venue was also withdrawn, reportedly as no-one from the Labour Party would be present, and the event had to be cancelled. No Labour candidate had requested the cancellation, according to Ali Craft of the Labour Party, who contacted organisers to inform them of the decision.
Nicky Dixon, a parent of two Lewisham schoolchildren and one of the education campaigners behind the event, said: “We weren’t given a reason. Just informed, out of the blue. It was quite shocking that Labour London felt it appropriate to do so, in such a high handed way, without discussion, when it was a public parent meeting.”
“Many parents thought that it was an extremely important meeting, especially as it would have given them the opportunity to hear from all candidates.”
Matthew Thomas, a Lewisham resident, father of three children, as well as a secondary school teacher in Bexley, had agreed to chair the event and told Lewisham Lately that the cancellation came as “a huge disappointment”.
“I think we are owed a clear explanation,” he wrote in an email.
Ross Archer, announced as the official Conservative mayoral candidate in March, was due to attend. He described the cancellation as “shameless behaviour from a complacent and arrogant Labour Party. It shows they hold the residents of Lewisham in contempt.”
He added: “Lewisham’s secondary schools are rated among the worst in London… We need to have an open and honest discussion about how we can turn this around.”
The Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Lewisham Deptford, Bobby Dean, was also scheduled to take part. He told Lewisham Lately:
“It’s shocking that Labour have pulled the plug on this event at the very last moment. This was a community-driven democratic forum put together by hardworking and caring parents, who are rightly concerned about their children’s education in Lewisham.
“Our borough has been rated the worst in London for GCSE results. It seems that Labour are taking Lewisham for granted and it’s about time they are properly held to account.”
Paul Maslin, one of the five shortlisted Labour Party mayoral candidates, and the council’s current Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said on Twitter: “We were all prepared to go. But I understand and support the Party’s decision.”
Lewisham Lately contacted the London Labour Party for an explanation of the decision to cancel the event but did not receive a response.
A teenage schoolboy was stabbed in Lewisham yesterday afternoon. Back in the day, this would have made front page news in the local paper – particularly as police were involved in further altercations as they attempted to cordon off the area.
Not so in this era of hollowed-out local press coverage. Until now the only public information we had to go on was one Lewisham Police tweet as below.
Officers dealing with a stabbing victim were attacked by school children this evening in Clarendon rise whilst trying to maintain a cordon
I only knew marginally more as it was yards from where I live, my usual route home cordoned off with blue and white tape.
A stabbing I was told by police at the scene as forensic evidence was gathered at the top of Limes Grove. Not fatal they said, with one adding that it was “schoolchildren getting overexcited” as the end of term approached.
It happened after schools finished for the day. One local woman reportedly tended to the victim, still feeling a pulse when the medics arrived.
A helicopter landed at the scene, swooping over nearby rooftops before landing in Clarendon Rise, with one eyewitness identifying it as an air ambulance.
With no sign of any local news coverage more than a day on, I asked the Met for more information and they gave the following statement:
“Police were called at 15:57hrs on Thursday, 20 July by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to reports of a male stabbed in Clarendon Rise, SE13.
Officers and LAS attended and found a large crowd gathered and a boy – aged 14 – suffering a stab wound. The boy was taken to hospital, his injuries are described as not life-threatening. His next of kin were informed.
While officers initially attended to the victim, fights broke out involving some of those gathered; officers were also targeted. No reports of any injuries.
There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.
Any witnesses, or anyone with any information, can contact police in Lewisham via 101, or via Twitter @MetCC.
To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.”
Update, July 22:
Two arrests made, apparently, but not for the stabbing. Still no other obvious news reports.
Two female juveniles have been charged with assaulting police and obstruction following the incident at Clarendon rise on Thursday
“You might as well have spoken to people at the bus stop”
‘Build at greater density and greater pace’, says Lewisham mayor Steve Bullock
The London School of Economics held an event earlier this week exploring the shape of the city’s development.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan attended the “Good Growth by Design” evening as a speaker, before a panel discussion and question and answer session.
Topics ranged widely, from issues such as diversity within architecture firms (limited), to London’s rising skyline, the stretched resources of council planning departments and the crucial topic of affordable housing.
There was also an interesting insight into the planning process in Lewisham and the expertise of council members.
More detail emerges on how Lewisham’s Evelyn ward representative Jamie Milne earns his allowance
Earlier this week, we reported on serial skiver Jamie Milne, a Labour councillor for Evelyn whose increasingly rare appearances are but the latest in the ward’s strange pattern of absenteeism and scandal.
According to the latest figures, he attended council meetings marginally more than one in every two occasions for most of last year. But we didn’t know the half of it. Since that post, Lewisham Lately has delved a little deeper into his record and more has come to light. Continue reading “The astonishing gall of councillors in Lewisham’s most neglected ward”
The park needs TLC. Lewisham Council propose to re-landscape using Heritage Lottery Fund grant. Completely OTT, all that is required is upgrading of what is there already and maintenance. The Mansion House, on the other hand, is a whole new ball game.
Lewisham Lately 