Brixton news, rumours and general chat

[Southlondon]

Lambeth council have been accused a number of times of corruption in terms of handing contracts to their preferred providers rather than through fair tender. I personally have experience of this but I cannot post this on public message board - not as someone who was hoping for a contract but as someone who suffered due to the fall out of this.
Not carrying out proper consultation or making consultation inaccessible is corrupt in my books. Hiding evidence of alternatives, even ignoring this, having your housing officers support projects when they're supposed to be neutral, having hidden and vested interests in developments - this is all corrupt.
Unfortunately our election system doesn't offer a way out with no alternative but voting for others who also support the status quo.

That’s not evidence of corruption, and if anyone dies find evidence they should pass it to the police or make it public. I totally agree they are not working with their residents interests at the fore, and I can only foresee a looming disaster with their property development arm, but that doesn’t equal corruption

 

[nagapie]

That’s not evidence of corruption, and if anyone dies find evidence they should pass it to the police or make it public. I totally agree they are not working with their residents interests at the fore, and I can only foresee a looming disaster with their property development arm, but that doesn’t equal corruption

I don't agree with your definition of corruption. Nor do I see how expecting the little people without a power base, money for legal representation, etc can challenge this.
I have recently written to Bell Addy-Rebeiro about corruption in a particular department; bet it goes nowhere.
Your trust in our systems is misguided, they have been shown not to work in the favour of people over and over again. Cressingham have given it the best fight anyone could ask for, and still they're losing.

 

[BusLanes]

Whether it is corruption or not, a big part of it is that the opposition doesn't have the numbers to make real challenges. 5 Greens and 1 Tory in the council, even if they work together and are amazingly effective, can be easily ignored. Don't get me wrong, they'd still probably push this stuff through, but if there were a lot more opposition councilors then at least they'd have to work for it a bit harder. Although presumably a few of you were around pre 2014 when there were a lot more and remember that things were not necessarily much better!

The lack of local newspapers doesn't help either even though Buzz does a good job of raising housing issues and other council issues. But the old style proper newspapers that used to have a few local reporters nosing about would be good as well. I sometimes read stories from elsewhere in London or UK where the local papers still are able to send council reporters along to every public meeting and then run stories on papers that thousands of people read everyday and feel a bit jealous.

 

[teuchter]

You are willfully ignoring the whole history of how this has played out and the alternatives Lambeth could have chosen and met their targets.

No I'm not. I'm not commenting on the history of the project and the alternatives that could have been pursued. I'm commenting on the simplistic explanations that are being offered, of the motivations behind what has happened.

 

[nagapie]

No I'm not. I'm not commenting on the history of the project and the alternatives that could have been pursued. I'm commenting on the simplistic explanations that are being offered, of the motivations behind what has happened.

You said my explanations were simplistic and offered others. Yet I have pointed out that those other explanations and problems were solved by the residents themselves coming up with an alternative proposal, which was then rejected by the council. So if the solutions to your issues were solvable, why has the council refused them? The history of how this has played out is entirely relevant to this argument.

 

[teuchter]

You said my explanations were simplistic and offered others. Yet I have pointed out that those other explanations and problems were solved by the residents themselves coming up with an alternative proposal, which was then rejected by the council. So if the solutions to your issues were solvable, why has the council refused them? The history of how this has played out is entirely relevant to this argument.

There's any number of reasons why the council might reject alternative proposals. Incompetence, organisational inertia, laziness, lack of expertise, failure of information to be shared. There's also the possibility that there are reasons that the alternative proposals don't work, or they don't fully work, or would work but only with some compromises, for reasons the council has failed to communicate. Or maybe there's a complicated mix of all of these things quite possibly including some level of corruption. There is no reason to jump to the conclusion that it can all just be explained away by corruption plain and simple, all just a result of individuals' desire for personal financial gain.

If that simplistic explanation is the one that's put out there, then what are people supposed to do with it? No-one's going to get anywhere by writing to their councillor to tell them that they and the whole system is corrupt. On the other hand, if those interested in trying to affect the outcome can be focused on things like processes that have not been followed, information that has not been shared, consultations that have been misrepresented, and things like this, then there is some hope of something useful happening. You can hassle your local councillor to provide answers to specific questions, or provide information that is not being made available.

 

[nagapie]

if those interested in trying to affect the outcome can be focused on things like processes that have not been followed, information that has not been shared, consultations that have been misrepresented, and things like this, then there is some hope of something useful happening. You can hassle your local councillor to provide answers to specific questions, or provide information that is not being made available.

This is exactly what the Save Cressingham campaign has done. Still losing.

 

[teuchter]

This is exactly what the Save Cressingham campaign has done.

I know.

 

[nagapie]

I know.

And I bet if you asked a load of them they'd tell you they are fighting greed and corruption. That's what it comes down to at the end.

 

[editor]

Brixton news Adblock Lambeth campaign group battle huge digital advertising screen on Brixton Road

 

[cuppa tee]

Brixton news Adblock Lambeth campaign group battle huge digital advertising screen on Brixton Road

....that’s the site of the Dracula billboard that created a bit of a buzz globally a couple of years back....

 

[Rushy]

Did anyone break the glass?

 

[Ms T]

A young lad stabbed in Brockwell Park this afternoon, right by the lido entrance. We were there about five minutes after the incident - right as the police and paramedics arrived, shortly followed by an air ambulance. According to the young bloke I spoke to who was a witness, the victim was attacked by a gang of five. I heard someone say he was only 15.

 

[Ms T]

Updates as teen rushed to hospital after stabbing in South London park

Multiple police units descended on Brockwell Park in Brixton

www.mylondon.news

So literally five minutes before we got there. I’m selfishly glad we didn’t witness it or have to administer first aid. I can’t stop thinking about the poor lad. His hands were covered in blood.

 

[editor]

 

[Gramsci]

My experience as one of those local residents who does read reports and ask questions is that I'm regarded as one of the usual suspects. One Labour Cllr regularly uses line that anyone who asks questions is not "representative" of the local community.

I do agree with teuchter that its not helpful to accuse Lambeth officers / Cllrs of corruption. I've heard people accuse them of taking back handers etc. Funnily enough I don't. I try to ask questions after listening to them and reading the relevant Council reports.

They often find that more annoying than simply saying they are corrupt.

Part of reason I don't use they are all corrupt line is imo they , despite cuts, can make some political choices.

It would also be easy for the Labour Group to relax the strict discipline on back bench Cllrs ( those not in Cabinet) so they can take up issues of their constituents.

I also think the Cabinet system should be abandoned and replaced with committee system again.

Cabinet way of running things has led to over centralisation of power in Labour group. With back bench Cllrs being tightly controlled by small group around the leadership.

 

[editor]

Local update:

Police Notes to the Lambeth Safer Neighbourhood Board
There will increased police presence in the following areas today: Clapham Town, Brandon estate, Brockwell park, Wandsworth Road, Cooks Road, Dulwich Road junction with Norwood Road.
Officers from the Taskforce, Violence Suppression Taskforce and Traffic officers will be deployed due to an increase in violent offences within AS over the weeken

 

[Gramsci]

That’s not evidence of corruption, and if anyone dies find evidence they should pass it to the police or make it public. I totally agree they are not working with their residents interests at the fore, and I can only foresee a looming disaster with their property development arm, but that doesn’t equal corruption

I have mixed feelings about criticising this Labour Council for its SPV Homes for Lambeth.

What people do not realise is that a lot of Labour Councils have gone down this route ( and they are not all as right wing Progress as this one). Main reason being is that it gets around right to buy.

I really do not know what alternative Labour Councils have. If they build purely Council housing right to buy kicks in and makes it financially unfeasible for Councils to build. The big discount tenant gets makes long term financial planning impossible.

What is needed imo is end of RTB. Starting with any new builds Councils do.

 

[Gramsci]

Sadly these are not conspiracy theories, the corruption is real and the sooner it is spoken about for what it is, the sooner it will be addressed instead of pretending that such things do not exist in a white Western country.
Also Cressingham provided Lambeth with an alternative that provided them with housing and budget opportunities, which they refused to accept, doesn't exactly make you feel like they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Really you are talking about things that have been tried and failed because at the root of all of this is simply naked greed and prejudice.

I think I understand what you are getting at.

Its corruption is sense that local democracy has been debased.

I would rather the term local democracy has been degraded.

Slight tangent. Im half way through Grace Blakeley "Stolen. How to save the world from financialisation". Post WW2 the new Welfare state built mass Council Housing and such things as Brixton Recreation Centre. Since the Thatcher revolution the private sector has regained dominance. New Labour accepted this and made its mission to work with the private sector rather than confront it. It was slightly better that the Conservatives.

A building like the Brixton Rec would have no chance of being built now.

The Hondo example you use is a good one. The New Labour Cllrs planning officers saw the deal they made with Hondo as the best they could get given the circumstances. Its TINA.

Opposition was in this context Utopian.

This shows how degraded ( corrupted used in sense of being degraded) democracy has become. Its not a conspiracy theory its the present reality.

When someone came along with a ( reformist) alternative ( Corbyn) they had to be destroyed so that business could go back to normal.

None of my Cllrs ever supported Corbyn and what he represented.

So some of your posts are accurate. Local people engage with local democracy and find that whatever they do they do not get any where.

I think end of Corbyn does not mean the resentment and powerlessness people feel will go away..

My opinion of this Council is that senior Labour Cllrs see themselves as managers of the local economy working with larger business like Hondo or big developers. Local residents are secondary. Its top down. They actually see themselves as socially liberal and doing their best. Its not a surprise the Fabian and Progress wings of party support Starmer.

 

[happyshopper]

Accusing Labour councillors of corruption might make you feel better but, in practice, it let’s them off the hook. The terrifying thing isn’t that they are corrupt; it’s that they believe in what they are doing.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Don't know if I shared this before but an old school poster from near where I grew up

 

[CH1]

Following slightly from Gramsci 'strain of thought on disclosure and corruption, and having been referred to the Millenium Pharmacy by the NHS for my Covid Jab, I decided to look them up on Companies House - where they are listed as Twin Ventures International Limited. Millenium's website shows they have three branches - all in Lambeth.

I was surprised to see no mention of this on Companies House - probably because the company files Unaudited Filleted accounts.

What you may say. How come?

Well actually its all down to government's efforts to cut down on red tape and unleash the power of the market - starting with Tony Balir I may add.

Here are the current accounting and reporting rules:

Small businesses can either prepare abridged accounts, or prepare full accounts and then choose to fillet them for Companies House. Under the new regime, you’re a small business if you fall into two of these categories:

• Your turnover is no more than £10.2 million
• Your balance sheet total is no more than £5.1 million
• Your average number of employees is no more than 50

Rule for smaller companies with a turnover of £632,000 or less are even lees onerous.

Just for the record here are the latest accounts for the Millenium Pharmacy. I defy anyone to find anything in there saying its a chain of three pharmacy shops in Lambeth

TWIN VENTURES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

TWIN VENTURES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

 

[editor]

An old loco in Brixton

A 55 year old Class 73 locomotive rests awhile on a bridge over Pope’s Road, Brixton

We’re not the trainspotting types, but this elderly Class 73 locomotive (‘Alison’) caught our eye when we saw it apparently broken down on one of the rail bridges in Pope’s …

www.brixtonbuzz.com

 

[CH1]

An old loco in Brixton

A 55 year old Class 73 locomotive rests awhile on a bridge over Pope’s Road, Brixton

We’re not the trainspotting types, but this elderly Class 73 locomotive (‘Alison’) caught our eye when we saw it apparently broken down on one of the rail bridges in Pope’s …

www.brixtonbuzz.com

Its odd how GB Railfreight has kept going under its original name/logo more or less. Founded by GB Railways inmmediately after rail privatisation in the 1990s, this freight carrier was taken over by First Group in 2003.
The rationale seemed to be that First Group wanted GB Rail's East Anglian routes.
As it happens East Anglia was then allocated to National Express, so First had wasted their money.
In 2010 First Group sold GB Railfreight to Private Equity who kept the logo, such as it is.
First also lost the First Capital Connect Thameslink franchise to Govia amongst other things.

Not to get too excited - GB Railfreght does have a much larger competitor - DB Cargo UK with nearly twice as many locomotives. Don't mention the war, and don't mention Brexit!

 

[felonius monk]

Following slightly from Gramsci 'strain of thought on disclosure and corruption, and having been referred to the Millenium Pharmacy by the NHS for my Covid Jab, I decided to look them up on Companies House - where they are listed as Twin Ventures International Limited. Millenium's website shows they have three branches - all in Lambeth.

I was surprised to see no mention of this on Companies House - probably because the company files Unaudited Filleted accounts.

What you may say. How come?

Well actually its all down to government's efforts to cut down on red tape and unleash the power of the market - starting with Tony Balir I may add.

Here are the current accounting and reporting rules:

Small businesses can either prepare abridged accounts, or prepare full accounts and then choose to fillet them for Companies House. Under the new regime, you’re a small business if you fall into two of these categories:

• Your turnover is no more than £10.2 million
• Your balance sheet total is no more than £5.1 million
• Your average number of employees is no more than 50

Rule for smaller companies with a turnover of £632,000 or less are even lees onerous.

Just for the record here are the latest accounts for the Millenium Pharmacy. I defy anyone to find anything in there saying its a chain of three pharmacy shops in Lambeth

TWIN VENTURES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

TWIN VENTURES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

That's true of larger companies as well not just small companies with Unaudited Accounts with exemptions. There's no obligation to say how many outlets that they have or where- sometimes it appears in the overall summary but not consistently. UK Company filing requirements are extremely lax.

 

[BusLanes]

Well it could be worse, you could be Southwark Labour's now ex Cabinet member for housing who quit after South London Press discovered he ran a private Twitter account that attacked community groups and published the story today.

Or yesterday's more on point revelation that Croydon Labour suspended their former council leader and their former cabinet member for finance after a local government association investigation into financial mismanagement.

 

[CH1]

That's true of larger companies as well not just small companies with Unaudited Accounts with exemptions. There's no obligation to say how many outlets that they have or where- sometimes it appears in the overall summary but not consistently. UK Company filing requirements are extremely lax.

I take comfort from the fact that unlike Alliance Boots they are at least registered in the UK and not Zug in Switzerland.
It's quite possible Millenium Pharmacies may pay more tax to the UK than Boots.

 

[CH1]

Well it could be worse, you could be Southwark Labour's now ex Cabinet member for housing who quit after South London Press discovered he ran a private Twitter account that attacked community groups and published the story today.

Or yesterday's more on point revelation that Croydon Labour suspended their former council leader and their former cabinet member for finance after a local government association investigation into financial mismanagement.

Regarding Croydon - what is happening to the officers? Or were they simply misled by two wilful councillors?
Regarding Southwark - they are something else. After all when Lambeth Cllrs like Ed Davie and Matthew Bennett want to slag off members of the publc, including tenants, they don't normally hide their light under a bushell - never mind opening a fake anonymous Twitter account.

I found this newspaper cutting from the Southwark part of Brixton rather charming. Imagine being shopped by your own MP!

 

[teuchter]

Its odd how GB Railfreight has kept going under its original name/logo more or less. Founded by GB Railways inmmediately after rail privatisation in the 1990s, this freight carrier was taken over by First Group in 2003.
The rationale seemed to be that First Group wanted GB Rail's East Anglian routes.
As it happens East Anglia was then allocated to National Express, so First had wasted their money.
In 2010 First Group sold GB Railfreight to Private Equity who kept the logo, such as it is.

In between all that, it was also owned for some years by the Channel Tunnel operators Eurotunnel. It is indeed surprising how the branding has survived through it all. Somewhere recently I saw some drawings done when they were setting up the company, with the first version of the livery. Pretty much done in crayons on the back of an envelope. It's stood the test of time though!

 

[BusLanes]

Not sure about the officers, CH1. I usually spend a bit of time in Croydon but haven't due to lockdown so I'm not getting the local gossip I once did (not that I was getting a lot of that tbf).

Re Piers and Coyne, well they haven't got on for a long time. I may be misremembering, but Piers may have/may still live near Coyne and so they have long butted heads in local Labour/etc. Southwark Labour sounds like it has had a pretty intense 4 years of conflict between the various camps, so I bet there is no love lost