Council Rides Roughshod over Meeting Rights

I was shocked and dismayed to learn that my political comrade, Martin Francis, and others, were prevented from attending a meeting of full Council on 28 February 2011.

By what authority may the Council exclude members of the public, nay, rate paying locals, from its proceedings? The Council recruited the police in its design under the pretext that admittance to the gallery was by ticket alone.

By what authority may the Council, exceptionally, institute ticketed entry? Who took this decision and why were seats left unoccupied?

Brent Council heaps injury upon its already injurious local cuts programme by this affront to the peaceable access to its Chamber by local residents. Or would the Council’s answer to criticisms of its impossible plan to spend £100m on a new civic centre, say, be to do away with the chamber altogether?

Transparency of decision-making and democratic accountability is non-negotiable, perhaps more especially when politically inconvenient for the Council. Brent’s misconduct must not go unchallenged or uncorrected.

Picture of Martin Francis prevented from entering the Chamber taken by Savva Papasavvas. More on Wembley Matters.

Demonstrate against cuts on Monday

NO CUTS! NO CLOSURES! NO REDUNDANCIES!

DEFEND OUR SERVICES!

Lobby Brent Council's budget fixing meeting 

MONDAY 28th FEBRUARY

Bring your placards and banners, bring your friends and your neighbours.

Be on the steps of Brent Town Hall

Forty Lane, Wembley HA9 9HD

From 6 pm.

TELL BRENT COUNCIL TO RESIST THE CONDEM CUTS!

Spread the word. 

Please forward this link to everyone who will be affected by cuts to libraries, the Law Centre, Charteris Sports Centre, Voluntary services, children's centres, services for children with special needs, services for the elderly, services for people with disabilities &/or learning difficulties, parks, council workers who will lose their jobs, council workers who will have their pay cut, council workers whose working conditions will get worse, people with mental health problems whose services are being cut and rents are going up, young people whose youth centres are being closed or cut, people with allotments, people who need to bury their relatives ..........

Alan will fight for our local services in Kenton by-election

Alan Mathison, our Kenton by-election candidate

Brent Green Party has selected Alan Mathison to fight the Kenton by-election. Alan, now retired, has spent most of his working life in universities and housing management. He has been a governor of three schools. He stood for the Greens in Kenton in last year's local election and received substantial support.

Alan said:

"The Green Party is the only party nationally who are questioning the whole strategy of deficit reduction through cuts. Locally the Labour Party are implementing the cuts imposed by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition and failing to protect the most vulnerable in the process. We are opposed to these cuts and are actively supporting Brent Fightback's efforts at coordinating opposition across sectors and involving both trades unions and users of public services.

Nationally we favour increased taxation of the very rich and heavy taxes on bank profits and bonuses. We want investment in the creation of socially useful green jobs through the provision of training opportunities and projects that would provide insulation for all homes, low-cost sustainable housing and public transport, and renewable energy production. Translated into local action this would help provide jobs at a time of rapidly rising unemployment."

Alan is scathing about his opponents in the by-election:

"The Labour Party's assurance that it would protect the most vulnerable from cuts has proved hollow. The Brent Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have the colossal cheek to start campaigning against the cuts locally when it is their government that has demanded them.

All three parties voted for the £100m over the top Civic Centre vanity project which is a slap in the face for local people when they see their services being slashed and charges raised. If we want all our libraries kept open and this means not building the Civic Centre, well so be it. Let's not build it!"

Reflecting on Kenton, where he moved eleven years ago, Alan said:

"I enjoy living in Kenton, it is a great place to live, but looking around you can see that it has been neglected by Brent Council. If elected my priorities would be to tackle Kenton's flooding problems, find ways of relocating the John Billam children's playground to a safer and more accessible site, seek to end the traffic chaos on Drayton Avenue and put an end to the dangerous speeding on Woodcock Hill. Kenton would be a much safer and pleasanter place to live if these issues were tackled."

Work starts on new £100m Civic Centre as vital services are slashed