Chingford & Woodford Green Labour Party

Election results spell doom for Duncan Smith

deditorshepherd — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:02:49 +0000

From our resident psephologist
The full results of last week’s London elections reveal that Iain Duncan Smith will face a desperate stuggle to win the proposed new Chingford and Edmonton seat. The results in the wards that will make up the seat are:

LABOUR 10,753 (45.6%)
TORY 7,091 (30.1%)
LIB DEM 889 (3.8%)

In parliament, Duncan Smith voted for David Cameron’s plans for constituency boundaries, but when the proposals for Chingford & Edmonton were published he was overcome with Murdochesque selective amnesia.

Last week’s results confirm that Labour is in a commanding position to win the new constituency by a convincing margin.

Duncan Smith may be thinking about standing in the new Wanstead and Woodford seat instead. The former Wanstead & Woodford constituency was historically one of the safest Tory seats in the country. However, the detailed results here show that Labour is in position to have its first ever MP for Wanstead and Woodford

LABOUR 9604 (38.4%)
TORY 9184 (36.7%)
LIB DEM (5.8%)

Alternatively Duncan Smith may have wondered if he could move to Ilford North, another Tory seat. This would be unlikely to work well, as the results here are

LABOUR 10709 (50%)
TORY 6700 (31.3%)
LIB DEM 578 (2.7%)

Overall, the ward results confirm the virtual disapperance of support for the Lib Dems. In Redbridge, there is now a clear prospect of the first ever Labour majority on the Council, after Labour won 15 out of 21 wards last week.

So, will Duncan Smith vote for the new boundaries in parliament, or will this particular turkey vote against Xmas?

Opportunities in Highams Park

deditorshepherd — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:21:48 +0000

The Queen’s Speech (aka The Tory –Led coalition legislative programme) contained little to help get the country out of the current recession by failing to focus on jobs and growth.
In Highams Park there are two large sites waiting for something to happen.

Two large opportunities for jobs and growth. One is in the picture to the left and next to Tescos. The other is the old Focus site.

We shall keep our eyes open on progress!

Labour progress and Tory disarray

deditorshepherd — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:49:51 +0000

Locally Jeanette Arnold retains her seat on the GLA, but Ken Livingston, despite a great campaign focussing on policies, loses out to the personality of Boris Johnson.

On a cold day Labour voters turned out, but those that swing elections (the undecided?) stayed at home. or voted for Boris the funny man!

Up and down the country Labour won Local Council seats (843 overall) and turned down refereda on local Mayors. Only Bristol seemed to want their own version of Boris!

Ed Milliband was pleased, but not triumphant. There is still a long way to go until the next General Election.

As we know the next General Election is not until 2015, so we have time to consolidate, time to build. Locally we have the opportunity to build membership, rebuild our finances and increase our vote. And their will be some Boundary Changes.

And while we are doing this the public may be distracted by the Boris and Dave contest for the heart of the Tory Party, as we hear mutterings that the Tory’s are not Conservative enough!

If the Tory-led Government’s attack on schools building, the nhs, public sector jobs, the Granny and pasty taxes, the increasing waiting times for nhs treatment, the reduction in tax from 50p to 45p, the loss of jobs ….
s not enough then just wait and see what the competition for the leadership of the Tory Party will bring!

South Chingford Community Library opened 14th April

deditorshepherd — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:39:05 +0000

We are delighted to welcome the library.
First community library was opened on Saturday 14 April 2012 in Waltham Forest. South Chingford.
The Community library was a task taken on by community members after the closure of South Chingford Library due to the effect of the Tory-led Government’s policies on Council’s finances.

Labour Party members of Chingford and Woodford Green joined with many others to campaign for a replacement facility and won the argument with the Council. A volunteers campaign was also launched successfully.

The Labour Council supported this community effort.
We thank the Labour Council for its continuing community support in Chingford.

Stop to take aways

deditorshepherd — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:23:42 +0000

It is good to hear that the Council’s planners are calling a halt to the ever increasing number of Take Away food outlets. This applies to Highams Park as well as other parts of Waltham Forest.
In Highams Park the numbers of Take-Aways has led to increased trade waste which attracts some fly tipping and makes our shopping area untidy.

We hope this will lead to more tidy parking too as those that stop to take away slow down the through traffic, particularly in Winchester Road near the shops.
But we wait with baited breath to see how the opening of Tesco’s affects local traffic. The increased parking should help, but we have our doubts.

London elections – focus is on the achievements

deditorshepherd — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:14:27 +0000

Look at what Ken has done for London: Introduced the congestion charge, improved bus services, the oyster card, and bringing the Olympics to London.
What has Boris achieved? Advertising for Barclays Banks on bicycles, being late home when the riots hit London.
Remember Boris belongs to the party that cut Education Maintenance allowances, the 50p income tax and paid for it by the ‘Granny tax’ on pensioners. He belongs to the party that encouraged motorists to fill up their tanks and Jerrycans. His party , having already cut local authority expenditure and thus local charity grants – is now messing up charitable giving by those who can afford it.

Blast from the Past – Lord Tebbit warns Cameron

deditorshepherd — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:13:48 +0000

Norman Tebbit, MP for Chingford from 1974 – 1992, writes in the Times today (2 April)

‘After another week of hasty, ill-thought-through policy initiatives and calls to hoard petrol, many Conservatives are questioning this style of government by chums. Those doubts now extend to whether Mr Cameron still has the intellectual quality, grit and determination to lead the country though difficult times.’

The week before found the press turning on Cameron and his chum Chancellor Osborne over the cut in taxes for the rich, funded by the ‘Granny Tax’ on pensioners, and adding VAT to hot sausage rolls and pasties.

So is Norman’s advice to Dave Cameron that he ‘should get on his bike?’

Fuel for thought?

deditorshepherd — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:32:09 +0000

Cars were seen queueing at a local Chingford Fuel station following the Tory-led Governments announcements about fuel shortages.
Instead of urging both sides in the Petrol Tanker drivers dispute, Government Ministers have urged motorists to fill up and put extra petrol in jerrycans in their garages. They seemed to have missed that storage of any more than a gallon on unlicensed premises is illegal.

Added to that the PR Prime Minister urges drivers to fill up earlier than usual.

Still the Chancellor should be pleased with the extra revenue of fuel tax and vat filling the treasury just before the end of the last quarter!

Budget 2012 – state pensioners support the rich!

deditorshepherd — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:33:27 +0000

Few can forget the look on the faces of the coalition front bench as they refused to acknowledge who of them would benefit for the cut in the 50p rate of income tax.

The Tory led coalition have robbed state pensioners to pay for this increased income for those earning over £150,000 per annum. The age related pension allowance is frozen. So everyone receiving this allowance will from now on – year in year out – subsidise those earning over £150,000 per year.

The only group in the most recent Yougov opinion poll that shows a Tory lead is pensioners. So this is their reward!

So as David Cameron has said – we are all in it together! We are all here to support the rich!

Letter from Greta no 5

deditorshepherd — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:22:47 +0000

In which we hear that this is not a throw away society
I am now settling into some form of routine here. I have joined a nearby gym and this is my first activity each day. For the grand sum of round about £6 per month, I can partake of the activities of the gym – some 8 times cheaper than I pay in England. The equipment, like all (except of course those things in tourist hotels) in Cuba is old and well preserved but perfectly adequate and effective. It is based in the basement of a local Hebrew centre about 4 blocks from my house

My course at the University does not start till 13 January but I have to do the preparation work which I undertake with my co-tutor on some days and on others I do my own research and preparation.

I am still waiting for my Cuban identity card so while I am waiting, the only way to get on the internet for research purposes is to pay for limited time at a hotel in the city. Once I get my identity card I will be treated as a resident, but as an extranjero (expat), I, unlike the Cubans, will be able to buy an internet access for my computer which will be usable anywhere on the island. So I eagerly await the ownership of an identity card for which I have already done all the registration, including the giving of my thumb-print to be displayed on the card. How different circumstances make different accords eh? A strong objector to the identity card in UK, I am eager for this one.

I like to walk and by walking I am getting to know the city very well and also encountering interesting new aspects. On my return visit to Revolution Square, (I was there in 2009) I found a new image, that of Camilo one of the old revolutionaries who has recently died, and therefore joined the old one of Che. The little squares of gardens provide interesting art-work as well as being havens of greenery, while café life abounds inside and out. At any time of day you really can listen to music and dance if you want to.