GREENS IN THE PRESS

GREENS IN THE COUNCIL

Cleaning Up Streatham was the focus for Cllrs for the last full council meeting with this petition, a motion and a supporting public deputation. Labour voted against our motion and we are still waiting on a formal response to our petition, supported by 270 people. Many thanks to the hard work and organisation of residents who brought their issues to the meeting. 

In other council meetings, Nicole called for more council-owned homes at council rent in the New Homes Program, and questioned the impact that schools closing will have on local children. Scott challenged the distribution of development funds across the borough and voted for divestment from businesses with activities in occupied territories after speaking at a Unison demonstration. 

Both Scott and Nicole made suggestions for improvements to the way the council is run to an expert panel, appointed by the Local Government Association. Cllrs have also been challenging the decision made by the Interim Chief Exec to restrict their meetings with Corporate Directors and limit what motions they can bring before council.

Last week, Lambeth celebrated London Living Wage Week – an initiative that former Green Party Councillor Becca Thackray campaigned for.  We’re very proud that this essential commitment continues to be council policy.

LAMBETH-WIDE NEWS

Scott and Nicole have attended many events that impact their work across the whole borough, see the image gallery below for some highlights.

LOCAL NEWS

Cllrs continue to call on the council to help deliver a better deal for Streatham by pushing senior leaders to deliver the Strategic Vision for Streatham. To make it easy to deliver this vision, the INStreatham BID put together a series of ‘quick deliverables’ fully costed Street Manual. Contact Scott using the links below if you want to help lobby for our area and avoid losing more of our precious amenities to the same fate as our long term derelict and neglected old Police Station (pictured above).

The group organising against the Woodgate Tower development have been fundraising for a judicial review. Support their cause here. 

Cllrs attended regular meetings with Streatham Action Group, Friends of Streatham Cemetery, and volunteered for food bank shifts. A highlight was our visit to The Spires and the Lunch Club – it was great to see them sharing resources and ideas with other organisations such as Streatham Senior Connections to build community resilience. The Spires still need donations as do Lunch Club.

See our gallery below for images of these groups and more.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Locations for Phase 9 cycle hangars locations are here, find out if there is a new one in your area.

Sign up for free Trauma-informed Practice training workshops for community groups, dates across November and December are listed here.

Respond to Lambeth’s Night Time Strategy here and win 2 free tickets to the BFI Imax Cinema.

Active Spaces Fund grants up to £80,000 are available to improve sports spaces and inspire activity in our community. Find out how to apply here.

Free books for under-fives are being offered by Lambeth Council through a partnership with a foundation set up by Dolly Parton  Learn more about the scheme here.

Council Estate Surgeries take place across the South Housing estates at the below times:

• The 1st Wednesday of each month, 2-4pm at the Jubilee Hall, Tulse Hill SW2 2LY
• The 2nd Friday of each month, 10am – 1pm at Edmundsbury Community Hall, 171 Ferndale Rd, London SW9 8FQ
• The 3rd Thursday of each month, 10am-1pm at St Matthews Hall, SW2 1NH

Nicole and Scott could not do what they do without the help of members like you. Please get in touch with them to help support their work. For immediate updates, please click on the links below.

Best wishes – Nicole and Scott.

contact@lambeth.greenparty.org.uk 

The post Lambeth Green Cllr Autumn Update appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

At last night’s full council meeting, Green Party councillors’ questions went unanswered as they highlighted peoples’ concerns that so many residents’ and workers’ voices were not being heard across the borough.

The Capital Programme for 2024-2028 report was discussed and Cllr Ainslie, Leader of the Green Group of councillors on the council, asked if Streatham was getting its fair share of development money. He also pointed out the lack of detail on where the money is being spent, adding that the only location-specific projects were in the north and centre of the borough.

Cllr Scott Ainslie (Streatham St. Leonard’s ward) said: 

“It was beyond disappointing to get a non-answer to my follow-up question from the cabinet member for finance. Words were uttered, but they totally avoided answering the question I actually asked. And at the Cabinet meeting last week, I asked why Streatham St Leonard’s was second last on the list of wards in receipt of development money, receiving a mere £18,000 for a CPZ consultation, when 17 out of 25 wards had received over £100,000 and some had received millions of pounds! The leader of the council totally avoided the question, which was specifically about St Leonard’s ward. It is totally unacceptable.”

When discussing the changes to the council’s constitution, Cllr Nicole Griffiths (Streatham St. Leonard’s ward) asked why opposition councillors on the council, who represent over one-third of the electorate in Lambeth, were being blocked from meeting with corporate directors unless the interim chief executive is present. Cllr Griffiths also pointed out that it was not serving the 22% of people who voted Green at the last election to deny Lambeth’s second largest party a seat on the constitution working group.  

Cllr Nicole Griffiths (Streatham St. Leonard’s ward) said:

“I am becoming increasingly concerned that instead of values, including the Nolan principles, dictating the politics by which this administration operates, that politics are dictating the values. Thus, creating an administration determined to silence and ignore opposition whenever they can.” 

CONTACT

Green Group Lambeth

lambethgreenofficer@gmail.com

020 7926 9456

The post PRESS RELEASE: Greens demand more openness and accountability from Lambeth Council appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Our High Street is dirtier than ever, putting off visitors and shoppers from frequenting local businesses, causing knock-on acts of anti-social behaviour and environmental degradation.

We are paying higher levels of Council tax this year – yet local services are failing. People are quite rightly asking why Lambeth is not getting the basics right – keeping our streets clean, when charges paid to the council have risen.

Street cleaning and waste collection services are provided by SERCO – we urge the Council to hold them to account and ensure that our local area receives the services that we all pay for and deserve.

The post Sign our petition to Clean Up Petition appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Statement of Solidarity

Scott and Nicole were horrified by the recent far-right, racist demonstrations across the UK. We sent a letter of solidarity to community groups and faith leaders in Streatham St Leonard’s, read more here.

Green Success

After getting four Green MPs elected at the last election we know that our movement is growing. We also came second in 39 seats, 18 of which were in London and one of the narrowest margins was Streatham and Croydon North, where Scott stood.

With Labour in power at national, regional and local level, they now have no-one else to blame. Greens at all levels of government will continue to be that strong opposition to austerity and status quo thinking. People on the side of progressive politics are looking for a new party. We are already Lambeth’s second party with 22% of the vote across the borough. There has never been a better time to build our capacity locally and get more Greens elected.

You are key to our success. If you’d like to get involved in any of the campaigns our councillors are leading on, please get in touch with them directly or at the contact address below. Be part of our growing success in Lambeth and across the capital!

STOP PRESS: Last night, Hackney elected a new Green councillor – the first Green by-election win in London since 2008! If you want to help in a local up-coming by-election or want to find out about becoming a councillor yourself, please contact us.

Green Party Conference

Nicole, Scott and several other Lambeth Greens enjoyed the conference in Manchester 6th – 8th September – some of the highlights were…

Greens Organise

Partly in defiance of the far right riots and Labour turning its back on working class communities across the country, a new left-wing group of Green Party members established Greens Organise – in the same room the first TUC meeting was held in 1868. See if you can spot Lambeth Greens in the picture above!

Policy Passed

Greens become the first politcal party to recognise Israeli government conduct as ‘Apartheid’ and ‘genocide’ in Gaza and back Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS)

Rejoin EU

Greens back rejoining the EU as soon as the conditions are right.

High-Speed Rail

In an extremely close vote Greens change direction on HS2, but warn of closer scrutiny of spiralling costs and habitat destruction. Find full details of the party conference here.

Council work

Labour Ignore Greens Motion

July’s full council meeting saw a very full agenda of important issues presented, including committee reports, constitutional changes, IICSA and special urgency decisions. Scott and Nicole spoke on every report and motion, however the Greens motion on Accelerating Climate Action was voted down by Labour who, as usual, turned a deaf ear to opposition voices. Read our press release here and follow this link to watch the full proceedings and access minutes and reports.

Committees Discuss Housing

Nicole attended important meetings for both Overview and Scrutiny (OSC) and Housing Sub-Scrutiny Committees (HSSC) over July where she questioned the targets in the inadequate New Homes Program and heard from local residents about the realities of temporary accommodation. You can view the proceedings and the submissions following the links to the OSC and HSSC pages. 

Age-friendly consultation 

Lambeth published its Age-Friendly strategy for consultation in July, you can find the Green Group’s response here. 

Standing up for Child Abuse Survivors

Following news reports on Sky News and South London Press, Scott called into question the limits of Lambeth’s Redress Scheme aimed at settling claims out of court for victims of child abuse and asked why a former Lambeth social worker got away with systematically aiding and abetting paedophiles for so long.

Also, Scott continues to press the council to ensure that looked after children placed outside the borough are checked on regularly after the IICSA report highlighted ongoing concerns with such placements as late as 2016. 

Green Wins

Article 4 direction to limit HMOs in Streatham

We have received a number of complaints about ASB resulting from the concentration of HMOs in Streatham. We therefore welcome the decision to make an Article 4 direction to limit HMOs in the area. You can have your views heard by responding to the consultation here by 7 October 2024.

Accountability and Transparency

We have been fighting for more transparency and accountability within the council and welcome this step in the right direction. Lambeth has introduced an Outcomes Framework that will require directorates to report on their work quarterly.

Lambeth-wide News

Cost of Living Support

Lambeth has announced another £5.3m in cost of living support for the 24/25 financial year. Find out more here. 

Woodgate Call In

We made an exemplary call in to the Mayor of London on Lambeth’s planning decision on Woodgate tower, Streatham. We will report back on their response, here’s the link to our objection.

Brockwell park trees

The over-commercialisation of Brockwell park continues to concern councillors and residents. The Greens have called for a full investigation into the impacts of summer festivals on equal access to green spaces.

Clapham Park Development

This is one of the largest areas of redevelopment in Europe and, since the original Master Plan from 2008, the developer has continually sought to make ‘minor variations’. You may remember, Green campaigners tried to fight off the destruction of mature trees. 

Residents are trying to stop further overdevelopment of the site – which is more than was agreed to in the original application. If you would like to help in this campaign, please contact Scott.

Local News

Complaints about waste and the lack of street cleaning
Following the transition to fortnightly waste collections, residents have been reporting high levels of missed collections, fly tipping and unsatisfactory street cleaning. We have met with council officers and they are investigating these reports with the contractor. We aim to bring a group of residents to the next full council on 16 October to highlight these concerns. Please let us know if this is happening in your street.

Streatham station lifts

Scott met with Network Rail, GTR, BAM Nuttall, Rubax, Streatham Action Transport Group and local councillors on 11 July to agree a series of measures to ensure maintenance of lifts including resources, training and patrolling. We are glad to report the lifts are currently working.

Fernwood Avenue

Councillors alerted Lambeth officers to the poor road condition on Fernwood Avenue and are happy to report that the potholes have now been filled.

Nicole and Scott could not do what they do without the help of members like you. Please get in touch to help support their work. For immediate updates, please click on the links below.

Best wishes – Nicole and Scott.

contact@lambeth.greenparty.org.uk

The post Lambeth Green Party Summer Councillor Highlights appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Read our full response here.

The post Appeal against Woodgate Drive appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Council in denial

Lambeth Labour cannot face up to their lack of action on the climate, despite declaring an emergency five years ago.

Green councillors’ motion to Accelerate Local Climate Action has been ignored by a Lambeth Labour administration in denial of its failed response to the climate emergency. At Lambeth Town Hall’s full council meeting on Wednesday 17 July 2024, Greens denounced Labour for using its majority position to escape scrutiny and accountability at the expense of residents’ concerns. 

Cllr Scott Ainslie, Streatham St Leonard’s ward said:

“Lambeth labour cannot bear scrutiny. They do not like opposition councillors shining a spotlight on their lack of progress. They are totally in denial about the single biggest existential threat facing us. Council heard two public deputations tonight on the climate crisis, the people of Lambeth want to talk about the council’s lack of climate action. What is particularly frustrating is that they talk the talk – but need to do much more to prove they can walk the walk.”

Cllr Nicole Griffiths, Streatham St Leonard’s ward said:

“Lambeth residents have told us that climate action is important to them, but by ignoring our motion this evening, the Labour administration is sending us all a clear message that the climate crisis is low on their agenda. The commitment to reach net zero across the borough and its own operations by 2030 will not be reached unless they act much more boldly and with much greater haste.”

The post PRESS RELEASE appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Lambeth Labour to suppress free-speech

Friday 12 July 2024

The Labour-led council in Lambeth will change its constitution to prohibit motions on foreign and international affairs and give the Labour Chief Whip the final say on which public Deputations are heard at its Full Council meeting on Wednesday 17th of July.

The Green Party Group Leader, Cllr for Streatham St Leonard’s ward, Scott Ainslie states:

“Our borough has a proud track record of speaking out against oppression, and tolerating and accepting diverse opinions. We need the people of Lambeth to help us defend our democracy and free-speech and speak up to help us protect our fundamental rights from this authoritarian move by Labour. When the national government fails to speak out about situations affecting Lambeth’s residents, either directly or indirectly, let local leadership show the way. This is yet another example of a Labour council with a one-party state mentality, we are only going to see more of this dismissive and arrogant attitude following the general election.”

“Lambeth has one of the most diverse and international populations in the UK, with residents from many different countries across the globe and a proud history of speaking up on issues like Apartheid, for which we have an international profile: when Nelson Mandela was freed one of the first places he came to was Brixton – he said “The masses of the people in this country were in the forefront of our struggle. I am looking forward to going to Brixton to thank them for their help.’” 

Cllr Nicole Griffiths, Streatham St. Leonard’s ward adds:

“There have been many motions over the years from both Green and Labour on human rights issues such as Gaza, Ukraine, Reparations and Apartheid. Elected councillors rightfully represent their constituents with motions such as these that confirm awareness, support and solidarity for situations and causes that impact their everyday lives. The same applies to Deputations – it is not for the Labour Chief Whip to decide who does or doesn’t get heard in the Chamber.”

Please sign this petition to protect the right of elected members to freely speak on all matters that we care about. 

The post PRESS RELEASE appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

The Green Group welcomes the opportunity to consult on the draft Age-Friendly Action Plan and efforts on behalf of the council to transform Lambeth into “a place that enables people to age well and live a good later life”. However, some of the domains within the plan require additional actions to ensure the best possible outcomes for older residents. 

According to Age UK “only 3% of UK housing is accessible to people with restricted mobility”. Councillors have spoken to older residents who are limited in their daily activities by stairs on council-owned estates, or who have had to reject permanent housing offers due to a lack of a walk-in shower. 

Additionally, large numbers of people over 60 regularly report feeling cold in their homes, turning off their heating due to running costs and cutting back on other essentials to pay energy bills. The Action Plan needs to go further to ensure ageing residents have secure, accessible and warm homes that they can afford. 

Overall, the Greens support any transport policies that promote alternative modes of transport over private vehicle use. Public transport is an important mode for older people to maintain independence and engage in the community. However, two thirds of older people cannot reach a hospital within 30 minutes using public transport. Lambeth needs to ensure community transport is equipped to fill any gaps in services and that there are no barriers to access, including working with TfL to install more toilets at transport assets in the borough.

Additionally, all planning processes should incorporate age-friendly principles and engage with residents who are most-affected. Councillors hear from older constituents regularly that they value safe places to meet, organise and engage socially, such as the Woodlawns Centre in Streatham. Resources should be allocated to improving and increasing the number of these types of facilities to benefit and enrich our communities.

Digital exclusion is a major issue faced by many older people in Lambeth. According to the Centre for Better Aging, “only half of people in the UK over the age of 75 have (digital) skills and 43% of internet users aged 65 and over are limited in the activities they carry out while online.” Many of the communication strategies in the plan rely on digital distribution. Lambeth needs to ensure that there are adequate offline information sources and that person-to-person advice is available for those who need it. 

The age-friendly communication domain should also seek to develop a resource for free financial guidance for older people. This should include pension credit uptake information as mentioned in the draft action plan, but be expanded to cover other topics. This may include scam awareness, cost-of-living resources, scrutinising financial products and digital banking training.

Finally, the council needs to increase its focus on anti-ageism in the local community. Only one of the draft outcomes on the plan addresses this point, and minimally. The plan references the World Health Organisation’s Age-friendly Cities Framework, but excludes “respect” from its domains. This is a crucial ingredient in the social inclusion of older people in Lambeth.

Older people contribute more unpaid care labour than any other age group. This might take the form of formal volunteering but may also be child care or shopping for a neighbour. They also experience the highest levels of “belonging and satisfaction with their local areas” and spend money on local businesses. Lambeth needs to acknowledge the role of older people in our borough and reverse negative stereotypes of them as being “burdensome” or “a drain” on services. Age-friendly policy must be based on respect for ageing and the experiences and contributions of older people in order to be truly inclusive.

Therefore, the Greens recommend including the following actions in the plan:

• Prioritise retrofit of council-owned properties to improve energy efficiency standards to EPC-B.
• To ensure all council-owned properties meet the accessibility requirements of the estate residents.
• To explore and promote alternative housing options including intergenerational cohabitation.
• Support and social workers should be trained and enabled to recognise issues of cold, damp and mould in homes and initiate referrals to repairs and maintenance services. 

• Ensure that alternative transport services are available where national providers fail to meet the needs of older residents.
• Explore and implement innovative community transport schemes, such as community car schemes, group transport, and shopmobility. 
• Ensure that information on all transport services and schedules is easily accessible to those without use of a smartphone or the internet. 
• Working with TfL to install more toilets at transport assets in the borough.
• Maintaining pedestrian areas and cycleways to improve accessibility and safety of all users. 
• Expanding pedestrianisation and traffic-calming measures.

• Reduce the age cut-off for the Active Lambeth concession for older residents to 60 years. 
• All parklets and rest spaces should have accessibility considerations such as shelter and lighting.
• The Planning Officer appointed as the Age Friendly representative has appropriate training and regular and meaningful interaction with age-friendly stakeholders and forums. 
• More meeting spaces and community centres should be made available for residents.
• Prevent the closure of the Lambeth Walk Medical Practice and ensure health services are accessible to local residents.
• All digital communications, consultations, engagement and service provision are supported by offline literature with sufficient distribution resources.
• Resist over-adoption of apps for service use (such as libraries, leisure and parking) and keep digital services streamlined and in one place wherever possible.
• Ensure person-to-person advice is available to those who need it, including by telephone.
• Offer free financial guidance, including community seminars, targeted at older residents to help address poverty, the cost-of-living crisis and raise awareness of scams and dubious financial products. 
• Adding “respect” back into Lambeth’s draft plan domains and investing in campaigns to acknowledge and promote the contribution of older people in our borough.

Councillor Scott Ainslie & Councillor Nicole Griffiths

Streatham St Leonard’s Ward

The post Green Group Response to Age-Friendly Lambeth Strategy appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

Crowdfunder Link

Crowdfunder Link

Pete Elliott
Green Party Candidate
Dulwich and west Norwood

Pete is an active local campaigner on issues facing Dulwich and West Norwood. He’s championed residents of Central Hill and other estates facing demolition. As a Lambeth councillor he helped get London’s first Climate Emergency motion passed, campaigned to ban glyphosate weedkiller, pressed for divestment from fossil fuels and for better air pollution monitoring in the borough.

Pete is an engineer and project manager who spent 22 years in the military. Through this he’s seen how money is wasted. He’s appalled at the savagery and inhumanity of the Palestine conflict. He supports the Green Party’s call for fair treatment of migrants and refugees, unlike the other major parties.

Pete says “The Tories have no chance. Labour will win big, but they need Green MPs to hold them to account. Vote Green to press for real meaningful change.”

Crowdfunder Link

Scott Ainslie
Green Party Candidate
Streatham and Croydon North

Scott has lived here for 27 years, brought up a family, and been a longstanding community champion, a councillor in Streatham, and a former Member of the European Parliament.

Scott fights for justice – from victims of abuse and homeless families, to estate demolitions and the war in Gaza.

As your MP, Scott will stand up to the creeping privatisation of the NHS and other public services and make sure we all share in a fairer future.

Scott says:

“Labour have driven Lambeth Council deep into debt and bankrupted Croydon Council! They are not to be trusted.”

“We need a strong constituency MP to serve the magnificently diverse areas of Streatham, Norbury, Thornton Heath, and Upper Norwood.”

Contact via Southwark Green Party

Catherine Dawkins
Green Party Candidate
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Catherine has been a local resident and campaigner for the best part of 10 years, demanding real change and making sure other parties lift their game and work smarter and harder for our community.

Greens work with local people and we aren’t whipped so can really represent the views of residents rather than toe the party line. 

Catherine says: “Voting Green is never a wasted vote. More crosses in the ballot box shows visible and vital support for Green policies.”

The post Lambeth Green Party Candidates for the 2024 General Election appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.

The Green Party has revealed that their Lambeth Leader Scott Ainslie will be the Green parliamentary candidate in the new seat of Streatham and Croydon North. 

Scott has been serving as a Green Party councillor in Lambeth for ten years, and was also recently elected as one of the last serving London MEPs in the European Parliament [1].

The party had a vote share of 22% in the most recent local Lambeth elections in 2022, and Scott is currently polling in second place in this brand new constituency according to the latest General Election poll of polls published by Electoral Calculus [2].

A Streatham resident for over twenty-seven years, Scott has also been involved in a wide array of local campaigns, being one of the founding members of Streatham Action Transport Group whilst serving on the wider Streatham Action committee. He has also occupied vulnerable council resident’s homes to prevent bailiffs from evicting them, founded Sustainable Streatham and Hands Off Our Common to prevent Streatham Common being occupied by a temporary ice-rink to accommodate the Tesco development, and also acted as an ally to survivors of child abuse in Lambeth’s care homes [3]. 

He also successfully worked cross-party to pass a landmark motion on colonial enslavement [4]. This led to the Green Party becoming the first British political party to commit to reparatory justice and helped to lead towards the establishment of the first ever all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan Reparations.

Scott Ainslie said: “All the other parties have had their chances and failed to end child poverty, to insulate people’s homes so they do not have to choose between heating and eating, to protect and invest in our public services, to protect our food crops and planet. It’s time they moved over and gave the Green Party a chance.

We understand, at our core, that there must be equality and justice for all, and that economic, racial, social, gender and climate justice are all structurally entangled.

I have two daughters and my concerns for their future have always been a driving force behind my campaigns for climate action. 

My mum also brought my sister and I up in a council tower block. The lived experience of this has never left us. It is this humblest of starts in life which drives my quest for a fairer, more equitable country for all.”

For more information contact: Pete Johnson, 07712 826548.

Notes:

[1] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/197696/SCOTT_AINSLIE/history/9

[2] https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html – Type in a postcode it gives the predicted votes for that seat

[3] https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2021/12/cllr-scott-ainslie-tells-cabinet-that-lambeth-is-only-listening-to-people-they-want-to-hear-as-part-of-historic-child-sex-abuse-inquiry/

[4] https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2020/07/15/greens-lead-on-first-successful-motion-to-demand-government-reparations-for-slavery/

The post PRESS RELEASE: Scott Ainslie, Long Serving Activist and Politician, Selected for Green Party Breakthrough in Streatham and Croydon North appeared first on Lambeth Green Party.