Lambeth Democracy campaign demands a 'democratic reform of Lambeth Council'
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CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
Looks like a united front against Lambeth Labour.
That said it seems a bit odd that the Carnegie Trust are there (in the form of the ex Labour councillors).
I thought the Carnegie Trust and the Defend the 10 and the Friends of Carnegie all had different views.
I don't know whether to rejoice at living in Lambeth where the Greens and Lib Dems haven't even tried to have an electoral pact (as in London Borough of Richmond and the Merseyside borough of Knowsley).
It would be easier for the voter if there had been a united front to save libraries and save estates under regeneration.
What is the point of having a meeting to discuss the Judea People's Front vs the People's Front of Judea?
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
It would have been a good idea to sort these things out before nominations closed.
Now the election is underway even dying can't remove a person's name from the ballot paper!
(There are special rules in the unlikely event that a dead person is elected).
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Apparently there's an "understanding" with regard to target wards. Both parties only have a handful, so it's fairly easy to avoid stepping on each others' toes.
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
I went to this meeting. It was really a (local) press briefing about the campaign members issues. Unfortunately I had to leave about 5.10 pm due to a hacking cough, but up until that point they were only discussing Cressingham Gardens, Libraries (Defend the Ten also the Carnegie situation) and also the way Lambeth Council is run (cabinet system leading to top-down management and ignoring the voters).
I have a load of hand-out stuff which I could scan, if it would be helpful. But bear in mind this meeting was targeted at the 3 local journalists who turned up (one of whom looked like Alan Slingsby of Brixton Blog).
Up to the point where I left the meeting no-one suggested voting for any particular person or party.
By the way Rachel was not there, nor were Fred Taggart or Carol Boucher who had been on the guest list as it were, and we were assured had got well fed up with the way Lambeth Council were interacting with the Carnegie Trust.
CH1
"Red Guard"(NLYL)
Crossed your post. Greens have given Rachel a clear run - though not co-ordinated as far as I know.Carnegie Trust wasn't there. Taggart and Boucher both quit the CCT last month.
As for a united front, there is one. It's called the Green Party.
It looks like Lib Dems are targeting Streatham Hill, Streatham Wells, Oval and Thurlow Park. Which seems to not tread on Green toes.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
The idea for the meeting was to give journos some idea of the breadth of the democratic deficit in Lambeth, as perceived by different campaigners. There was also an interesting contribution by a member of the small audience regarding the lack of accountability of social services with regard to social care for disabled people and their carers, and the complete ineffectiveness of the cabinet member responsible for them, and the councillor who is the "disability and carers champion" (whatever the fuck that means). I - feeling quite sad - had to tell the press that my late wife came up against much the same shit 20 yrs ago, when trying to navigate Lambeth Social Services on my behalf. We eventually worked out it was better to disengage with them, than to keep banging our heads against a brick wall that on the one hand would award a "care package", but on the other would only sporadically provide the actual care.
4 journos. Young Welsh woman down the front, who arrived at about 4.20pm, was from the SLP, and yes, that was Alan Slingsby, and the long-haired fella to his right was Jerry from "News from Crystal Palace".
Wasn't that kind of meeting.
I've heard about Taggart and Boucher being legendarily pissed off from Herne Hill ward Labour Branch members. When you've got a loyalist ex-councillor going on record - as Taggart did in the Guardian - expressing his lack of faith in the Lambeth Labour administration, you know that something has gone wrong.
