editor
hiraethified
I'd rather find an independent source.
Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood and LTN schemes - improvements for pedestrians and cyclists
- Thread starter teuchter
- Start date
you didn’t say this though.
Jeanette Moo
Active Member
No difference. Would your employer hire you in the first place if they knew you had made these comments?
It's not like saying you prefer burger King burgers and then go and work for McDonald'sa year later. Its racist remarks.
Jeanette Moo
Active Member
... Given the scenario we are talking about I didn't think it needed pointing out.
However, here have a point in the point scoring competition that you seem so keen on.
One point to house pedantic.
Brian Taylor
Active Member
His twitter account seems to have gone and I think the comments had been deleted anyways, here's a link London Cycling Campaign condemns employee’s racist tweets – but stops short of sacking him
Not sure how complete the screenshots are, but that's all there is.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Cllr Brigg put the screenshots of the tweets on bottom of his letter to the Council. Its on my post 3743.
BigTom
Well-Known Member
I was wondering about this and whether it was a contractual thing but reading around it looks like "bringing a company into disrepute" does not need to be in a contract or staff handbook to be a gross misconduct offence, it's implied in any contract of employment on a basis of "mutual trust" that an employee would not do things that would bring their employer into disrepute.
I don't think it matters if what they said was before they were employed, there can be no question that his tweets have brought LCC into disrepute and I reckon this should be gross misconduct and immediately sackable without concern for employment tribunal.
Of course they may have taken advice from an actual employment solicitor or HR firm to decide on their actions and been told that they didn't have the contractual basis for saying this was gross misconduct in which case I'll stand corrected but I think they could have straight sacked him here for gross misconduct.
BigTom
Well-Known Member
for clarity, I never thought you were defending the remarks or the LCC's actions.
If it's not gross misconduct then the LCC simply cannot have sacked him regardless of whether they wanted to or not, and I think there's a good question whether actions you did before you were employed by an organisation, which then bring that organisation into disrepute, would be considered gross misconduct.
If LCC took advice from an employment solicitor who told them that they could be open to a tribunal claim if they sacked him, then the lack of sacking doesn't say anything about LCCs internal attitude to racism.
Another thing though is that he made those tweets in Feb 2019, 2 years ago. If he's less than 2 years into employment then they could have sacked him anyway even if that wasn't considered gross misconduct legally. As long as they are not being fired for a protected characteristic or if they were whistleblowing, LCC would be fine afaik.
editor
hiraethified
Yes, but I was interested in seeing the entire discussion and finding out who else was part of it.
Brian Taylor
Active Member
Think it's gone. The versions i've seen online are all screenshots.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
He has his twitter closed to public view now.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Been reading the comments at end of the Brixton Buzz article.
I think reason his twitter was looked over is because of way he used social media to have a go at anyone who opposed LTNs or raised issues about them.
One lesson LCC could learn from this is to put staff and leading activists in learning programme about how to use Twitter , FB and social media.
I think reason his twitter was looked over is because of way he used social media to have a go at anyone who opposed LTNs or raised issues about them.
One lesson LCC could learn from this is to put staff and leading activists in learning programme about how to use Twitter , FB and social media.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
There is a lot of whataboutery on past few pages. Rather depressing stuff about employment rights.
Im not at all keen on people being sacked for things they have done out of work time. And I don't think he should have been forced to leave. People imo can learn from mistakes.
Thing is LTNs wre imposed on local population without the consultation that should have happened.
Groups like LCC do have the ear of local Councils. Most locals dont. Lambeth should not have imposed LTNs in the way it has.
Cllr Holland said while back its a "Culture War" . That need not have happened.
I see the comments on the Brixton Buzz article ( and elsewhere) are putting the line that it is middle class white people pushing these LTNs. That Lambeth Council are comfortable talking to these kind of people. That it fits in with this Labour Councils gentrifying agenda. Simon said publicly on twitter what these middle class greens think in private.
Some of this is based on fact. This right wing New Labour Council is pursuing policies that aid gentrification. To just dismiss these criticisms as right wing will not work.
I do not think LCC is racist as a whole.
I do think that Lambeth has been politically inept
Im not at all keen on people being sacked for things they have done out of work time. And I don't think he should have been forced to leave. People imo can learn from mistakes.
Thing is LTNs wre imposed on local population without the consultation that should have happened.
Groups like LCC do have the ear of local Councils. Most locals dont. Lambeth should not have imposed LTNs in the way it has.
Cllr Holland said while back its a "Culture War" . That need not have happened.
I see the comments on the Brixton Buzz article ( and elsewhere) are putting the line that it is middle class white people pushing these LTNs. That Lambeth Council are comfortable talking to these kind of people. That it fits in with this Labour Councils gentrifying agenda. Simon said publicly on twitter what these middle class greens think in private.
Some of this is based on fact. This right wing New Labour Council is pursuing policies that aid gentrification. To just dismiss these criticisms as right wing will not work.
I do not think LCC is racist as a whole.
I do think that Lambeth has been politically inept
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Rushy
basically a scrotum
As I read it (although I'm not exactly au fait with Twitter) it wasn't so much a discussion between posters but a post complaining publicly about something that had happened to him that day and only copying in the police. It looked to me like the comments went largely unnoticed and received no likes and one reply.
FWIW I've read a fair few of his more recent posts and I didn't get the impression that there is any theme of racial intolerance running through them. But I think he generally treated with contempt anyone who did not show him and his opinions the respect that he feels he deserves - regardless of race. He is not unique in that regard and so seemed to get in some nasty public spats. I can see how when there is a matter of race involved it could be hard to differentiate from racism.
I also noticed that his main Twitter bio (like so many of the LTN activists, he had more than one account) used to say Chair of Lambeth Cyclists but a couple of months ago he removed the mention and replaced it with "views are my own". So I wonder whether there was already some question about his posting behaviour getting in the way of his job. It certainly struck me as unprofessional and I had wondered why a seemingly respectable group would want to be associated with it (not to mention a council). I am guessing that the way it panned out was pretty much inevitable and the "racist tweets" merely sped that up.
The fact is that he is a propagandist with a very narrow agenda. And there is nothing wrong with that - he represents a particular viewpoint. If he wants to spend his time lecturing and ranting online that's OK too. What's not fine is the council choosing to allow him to become so influential. And allowing themselves to be convinced by the polar rhetoric. And sucking up the idea that he is so fond of - that there will be opposition but it will all be unreasonable and can be ignored - something to steamroller.
Someone posted a video of Clare Holland saying of her closest advisers something along the lines of 'I realised that I needed them because they are the ones who are pushing me'. Well, yup. That's very obvious.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
It seems to me that there's potential for overstatement of one individual's influence on the council and what they do. Lambeth is not the only borough choosing to implement stuff and I don't believe the objections they are receiving are unique. If you trawl through the multiple members of multiple groups who might be involved in lobbying, supporting or advising multiple local authorities and you find a few who have made very ill advised and/or racist comments on twitter then I'm not sure what you can really take away from that. I'm not saying the comments are ok or unimportant but would question how significant they are in the wider argument about LTNs. Gramsci pointed out earlier that the story had been 'ignored' by the guardian etc and he may have a point there to some extent. Maybe they would have covered it if the tweets were from a racist cabbie protesting LTNs. Either way ... Perhaps it should be reported and discussed but is it actually an 'LTN story'.
editor
hiraethified
Some of those anti-LTN lot are seriously unhinged. This one has decided that everyone involved in the London Cycling Campaign is racist, and Brixton Buzz is racist too for not knowing about some two-year old tweets posted by Simon Still - someone we’d never even heard of until very recently.
Lambeth councillors, LCC, LTN activists, Brixton Buzz can’t claim they didn’t know about Still’s tweets. He was one of the most vocal, bullying, aggressive and self promoting AND posted this on his social media. Did all of the above simultaneously fall asleep at the wheel whilst the race hate was being published ?
Maybe that’s why it’s taking a while before they figure out how to comment without incriminating themselves in the platform they all gave him.
Certainly there is deafening silence from people who always supported him.
And he continued targeting black owned Brixton business until freedom of information requests exposed it. Again the above safe havens for this racist didn’t expose or stop him. Shame on you.
Lambeth London Cycling Campaign member resigns after publishing racist tweets
Simon Still, a Lambeth-based London Cycling Campaign (LCC) adviser who helped introduce the controversial low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), has now resigned after posting racist tweets accusing bl…www.brixtonbuzz.com
Is it that surprising that this hasn't been picked up by other national media?
It's a local issue and the racist tweets don't have an effect on whether LTNs work or not.
Telegraph & TalkRadio are looking to use this for their own agenda and that's pretty distasteful (as is suddenly caring about minorities because you've been slightly inconvenienced as Cristo's recent tweets show).
teuchter
je suis teuchter
Not that it'll likely change many people's minds but
www.theguardian.com
Low-traffic schemes benefit most-deprived Londoners, study finds
Data dispels myth that low-traffic neighbourhoods are disproportionately found in privileged areas
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
As if anything so sensible as facts and data will dissuade the loons.Not that it'll likely change many people's minds but
Low-traffic schemes benefit most-deprived Londoners, study finds
Data dispels myth that low-traffic neighbourhoods are disproportionately found in privileged areas
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
Guardian have given a lot of coverage of the LTNs.
So no its not just a local issue.
Person was also employee of LCC. Which is a well-known organisation.
editor
hiraethified
I mean the Simon Still angle is a local issue. He was an employee of the LCC and chair of the Lambeth branch but not senior in the LCC so of local interest.
Personally if I agreed with The Telegraph, TalkRadio & Nigel Farage on something I'd change my mind
.
editor
hiraethified
It is a bit surprising that is has picked up so little attention, although I'd never heard of him until last week.
I just did a search for him and found out that he was writer for Brixton Blog and has a pointless parody Twitter account.
Edit - adding in 'Lambeth Cyclists' came up with this A London Cycling Campaign employee is suspended over 'racist' Tweets following spat with drivers
snowy_again
Slush
They’re not happy with you on the One Lambeth fb!
editor
hiraethified
I'm sure there's some entirely reasonable people in OneLambeth but as a group they can make no claim to represent the community when they instantly silence dissent and censor any broader discourse. And they certainly can't claim to hold any kind of higher moral ground after seeing some of the stuff that gets posted there.
Gramsci
Well-Known Member
I mean the Simon Still angle is a local issue. He was an employee of the LCC and chair of the Lambeth branch but not senior in the LCC so of local interest.
Personally if I agreed with The Telegraph, TalkRadio & Nigel Farage on something I'd change my mind
Nigel Farage hasn't anything to do with this.
snowy_again
Slush
Given that Farage has said the Reform UK Party is going to target councils who implement better provision for pedestrians and people who cycle, there’s some relevance.
or there's this guy: Brian For Mayor: Brian Rose - Your Next Mayor of London
cuppa tee
Well-Known Member
think this gentleman has been ruled out of running for mayor.
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