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AGS London News
Newsletter available Posted Thu 25 Mar 2010, 10:29am GMT Read the February edition of the London Eye AGS Newsletter (243k PDF).
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The Gravy Train Posted Sun 24 Jan 2010, 4:02pm GMT The leader of Kensington and Chelsea, Merrick Cockell, not satisfied with being London's best-paid borough leader (£66,478), grabs an extra £21,492 as chair of the London Councils umbrella group. This Tory member of the board of the Tory Party also gets £14,000 as a member of the Audit Commission.
Questions have also been raised about his expenses and his use of Kensington and Chelsea's ceremonial cars (a Bentley and a Jaguar) supposedly only for the use of the Mayor and his deputy. He claimed in the local press that 'six times a year the Mayor kindly gives me a lift.'
The Taxpayers Alliance activist Don Cameron claimed that Cockell made 11 solo rides including a return trip to Heathrow where he was catching a flight to New York to attend a conference as chair of London Councils. This was not Kensington and Chelsea Council business, yet he still put the trip -- including first class flights, luxury hotel accommodation, more limos and entertaining -- as Kensington and Chelsea expenses. This included a meal for two costing £115 at the Four Seasons restaurant. We don't even know who his guest was.
It is calculated that Cockell claimed £13,407.33 in expenses last year of which only £3,217 was declared on the council website. A dossier has been sent to the District Auditor Kash Pandya by the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Kensington.
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Feargus O'Connor Posted Sat 7 Nov 2009, 12:27pm GMT On 31 October 2009 Stan Newens delivered a eulogy to the Chartist and campaigner Feargus O'Connor at his graveside in Kensal Green Cemetery. Read the full text.
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Kelso Cochrane Memorial Event, 3 May 2009 Posted Wed 22 Jul 2009, 12:45pm GMT In the early hours of Sunday 17 May 1959 Kelso Cochrane was making his way back to North Kensington from hospital. Kelso, a carpenter, had injured his hand at work and was going back to his girlfriend's house. When he reached the corner of Southam St and Golborne Road Notting Hill in West London he was set upon by a group of white youths and murdered. Some youths were arrested but released and no one was ever charged.
Kelso Cochran's funeral became a rallying point of opposition to racism and fascism and a platform for black and white unity. Hundreds lined Ladbroke Grove to see and follow the hearse to Kensal Green Cemetery. The grave is inscribed "From the Trades Council and his West Indian Friends".
On Saturday 16 May this year it was the 50th anniversary of Kelso Cochrane's murder. Many showed their unity by turning out for the memorial event by Kelso‘s graveside in Kensal Green Cemetery, reaffirming the unity of black and white against the poison of racism.
AGS members took a leading role in organising the memorial event,which was attended by community activists, anti-racist campaigners, trade unionists and supporters from numerous organisations across London. It was also possible, by asking members of the Antiguan community in London to make enquiries via their own families back on the island where Kelso Cochrane came from, to locate surviving members of Kelso Cochrane's family living in the UK and invite them to attend.
AGS Chairman Mike Davies was one of the speakers at the event, which was also sponsored by Southall Monitoring Project, Searchlight magazine and the local Trades Councils and trade union branches.
The murder followed on from the previous year's "Race Riots" and happened at a time when Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the fascists, was standing for parliament in the area's parliamentary constituency of North Kensington.
The fascists who, prewar, had targeted the Jewish community had not dropped their anti-Semitism but latched on to more recognisable victims: the West Indian immigrants who had started to come to Britain in numbers in the mid-fifties. Prior to this West Indians in Britain had been in numbers in the armed forces fighting to defeat Hitler and Fascism.
It seems that the riots were sparked off by a domestic dispute which was seized on by the fascists and exploited around the questions of jobs, housing and inter-marriage. The story was taken up by the national media and crowds of local people came onto the streets to see what was happening. There was an attempt by fascists moving into the mainly passive crowds to stir up race-hate and spread the disturbance. Opposition was slowly building up against the fascists. The local Communist Party held a poster parade around the area, the theme being "There is only one race -- the human race".
The 1959 election was a bitter disappointment for Mosley and his followers expecting to get a breakthrough. The fascists got 2800 votes, claiming they had been cheated. Mosley then went off to Paris in a sulk and never returned to Britain to live.
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Government Cheats Posted Mon 6 Jul 2009, 9:32am GMT The Euro elections have been disastrous for the Labour government. Not only has it been tainted by the expenses scandal but being the government it is mainly blamed for the present crisis of capitalism. The election successes of the BNP and in Wales for the Tories are down to the New Labour leadership's Big Business polices. In reality Labour's members have been leaving in droves and their core supporters not voting. This drop in their share of the vote gave victories to their opponents. Not any magic increase in the Tory or BNP vote. The Liberals and Tories support the same policies as New Labour: the rush to privatise what belongs to the British People such as the Post Office and the Health Service.
This government's attitude to us ordinary people can be judged by its TV advert attacking what it calls Benefit Cheats. This is a laugh when MPs, it seems, make mistakes -- not commit crimes -- with their expenses claims.
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Political Carelessness Posted Thu 25 Jun 2009, 3:44pm GMT To lose one deputy mayor is unfortunate, to lose two careless, to lose three is downright incompetent.
Is Boris Johnson‘s mayoral stitching coming undone? Boris does seem to be losing it. Or are the London Tories riddled with crime, oops, I mean mistakes like their parliamentary counterparts? How can individuals more concerned with lining their pockets with expenses claims be any good for the future of London? Boris himself is no shining example -- he has claimed £4,300 for taxi fares. What happened to his bike he was happy to flaunt in front of us? It's a bit like Cameron riding a bike and having his limousine following behind with his bits and pieces.
Boris is now busy closing down progressive London events. The latest to feel the pinch is the London Gay Pride march whose funding has been delayed, and Peter Tatchell has been axed from the invitation list to the official launch at City Hall.
Behind Boris's buffooning and disciplining wayward aides he is more concerned with looking after the interests of business over Londoners.
Now he's looking for another deputy -- I note from the news Prince Charles is very good with expenses!
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London Miscellany Posted Sun 1 Mar 2009, 7:22pm GMT *** We have seen the spectacle of leading bankers appearing before a parliamentary committee and apologising for their banks behaviour in lending money they could not recover to secure short term profits through personal bonuses. This was calculated deception and the type of action that would have people like you and me in court for fraud.
*** In London Boris Johnson the mayor continues to unpick anything progressive put in place by the previous mayor Ken Livingstone. He has dropped the 50% affordable housing for every new development for some target we know will never be achieved.
*** Boris, friend of the workers, cancelled all London transport because of the weather and when workers couldn't reach their jobs Boris docked their wages.
*** Boris is now in trouble for swearing at Keith Vaz over whether he tipped off David Cameron about the impending arrest of a Tory MP. One might hope that is the worst he would do but his real aim is to make London safe for big business at the expense of Londoners.
*** The Echoes of Spain book launch was a great success with the Spanish School Hall full with about 120 people. We sold over £300 worth of the books. Sam Lesser at 95 was on top form entertaining the audience in English and Spanish with his experiences.
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Lambeth UNISON Raises Over £2000 in Solidarity with Gaza Posted Sun 1 Mar 2009, 6:34pm GMT The Lambeth Branch of UNISON, the second largest trade union in the UK, has raised over £2000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians through a fundraising drive throughout the Borough's workplaces. Nationally, UNISON has committed to send a donation of £10,000 to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Lambeth Branch activists collected a further £2020.43 for MAP's Emergency Appeal for Gaza through a series of collections amongst Lambeth's workers.
In the wake of recent Israeli military action, MAP has set up an emergency task force team to provide medical supplies and expertise throughout Gaza, as well as ensuring that the central blood bank has sufficient capacity and can provide emergency shelter. Palestinian medical sources say at least 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and 5,500 injured as a result of Israel's latest military offensive. The United Nations states that some 50,800 people are now homeless and 400,000 are without running water. Staff in Gaza report that many more people could die as medical resources run out.
Lambeth UNISON voted at its January Branch Committee to condemn the recent slaughter of Palestinians and the ongoing occupation by Israel. Calling for "an immediate end to the slaughter of defenceless people and the [ongoing] siege of Gaza", the Branch concluded that "Israel is a terrorist and apartheid state" and advocated academic, economic and cultural boycotts of Israel in an effort to delegitimise the Occupation of Palestine, and build international and domestic pressure against the state.
Lambeth UNISON International Officer Gurmeet Khurana stated: "It's great to see Lambeth's workers demonstrating their solidarity with the people of Gaza. To raise over £2000 is fantastic and many more people donated online through the publicity produced by the branch. Thanks to all members and Branch activists who worked to raise awareness and provide material support for the Palestinian people. However, all trade unionists must continue to raise this issue in our branches and with our members and step-up solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine."
Jon Rogers, Branch Secretary, added: "The trade union movement in Britain can play a crucial role in putting pressure on the British Government as well as the Israeli state to end the occupation of Palestine. Lambeth UNISON is proud to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine and we will continue to support those in Britain and around the world who are working to bring equality, democracy and peace for all in the Middle East. We encourage branches in UNISON and other unions to do the same."
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Johnson backtracks on cycle tracks Posted Wed 3 Dec 2008, 6:11pm GMT Londoners it seems don't see eye to eye with their new mayor Boris Johnson. A recent opinion poll in the Evening Standard, his erstwhile flag-bearer, asked: has Boris got London moving?
The majority said no! Roger Giffin of the National Cyclists Organisation pointed out that Boris might say he supports cycling but his possible lowering of the congestion charges and his increases in public transport fares will do no favours for cyclists. It will bring more cars onto our streets.
He has now announced that the improvement to cycle lanes will be halted and that the policy to charge petrol guzzling "Chelsea Tractors" will be dropped and the deal with Venezuela worth £7million cancelled – these will increase pollution and limit the money available for improvements.
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Kensal Green Cemetery walk Posted Sun 20 Jul 2008, 6:11pm GMT The AGS is organising a walk around Kensal Green Cemetery (Harrow Road, W9) on Sunday 14 September 2008 at 12.30pm. The tour will take about 1½ to 2 hours with a break. The tour will be taken by Eddie Adams and is based on the book Grave Matters and will visit famous and interesting graves in this cemetery.
The walk will start from the main entrance which is 2 minutes from the junction of Ladbroke Grove and Harrow Road.
The book Grave Matters will be available at a concessionary price of £3.00. We are charging £5 for the walk which will go to the AGS. Please bring a drink and a sandwich for the break.
Please email samstjohn2003@yahoo.co.uk to book.
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North London AGS meeting Posted Sun 20 Jul 2008, 6:10pm GMT The North London AGS meets regularly at the Lucas Arms on Grays Inn Road. There have been recent meetings on the growing police state, China and the Labour Party. The next meeting has Bruce Kent speaking. All welcome.
*THE NUCLEAR THREAT* * *SPEAKER BRUCE KENT (Leading CND campaigner)
2pm Sunday 5 October 2008
Lucas Arms, 245A Grays Inn Road, London WC1
ALL WELCOME
Please contact Eddie for information and for details of joining (or to send material to include in the London column): samstjohn2003@yahoo.co.uk
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