Replacing barrier lock on Archibald Road

From this month's edition of The Bulletin published by the Residents' Association. In the picture: Cllr Brian Eagling, Residents' Association (left) and yours truly (right).

Dirt on Gubbins Lane

 

From this month's edition of The Bulletin published by the Residents' Association.

Cleaning up Harold Park

From this month's edition of The Bulletin.

The Leaders of Tomorrow

From this month's edition of The Bulletin. Click image to enlarge.

My thoughts on the Gooshays by-election result

On page 10 of this week's Romford Recorder, I review last month's by-election and offer some friendly advice to our newly elected UKIP councillor...

(click image to enlarge)

Vote #DarrenWise4Gooshays - "It's time for change"

In the last of my articles reviewing all the candidates for tomorrow’s by-election in Gooshays, you’re going read why I believe Darren Wise is the best person to represent Harold Hill, and why you should get people to vote for him and the Harold Wood, Hill and Park Residents’ Association.

Unlike all the other candidates, Darren - who isn’t a councillor - helps local residents all year round when they need help.

One of Darren’s bigger achievements happened in August 2011 when the council wanted to install a telephone mast on a green area outside peoples’ homes. When residents objected, Darren took their case to Havering Town Hall and won. None of the other parties were even involved.

Unlike all the other candidates, Darren has powerful allies in the council chamber in the form of the Residents’ Association (RA) group. This group is the main opposition to the Conservatives, the latter of which has ignored Harold Hill since they came to office. The Labour group is small and ineffective. And if other parties like the BNP or UKIP got in, they would be isolated even further.

That is why strategically it makes sense to vote for Darren (click images to enlarge):

 

And unlike all the other candidates, Darren has never been afraid to speak his mind and reflect the will of the residents. This is because the other candidates have what is called a party whip.

This basically means your councillor may not be able to help you because they are bound by what their party tells them to do. This is what a vote for Labour, the BNP or the Conservatives would bring.

In Darren’s case, this will never happen because the RA group does not have a party whip, and is therefore exclusively accountable to residents only – no-one else.

I am proud to be part of Darren’s campaign team. I chose to join the RA simply because they put principle before party.

George Osborne struggling
through the Budget

Today we heard George Osborne announce in the Budget that the economy is still in dire straits and it’s not getting any better. We also heard Ed Miliband criticise Osborne as if his party is completely blameless for the mess we’re in.

Both Labour and Conservative parties have let the country down because they don’t have the national interest at heart.

At Havering council, the RA group proposed an alternative budget which would have given more money to support voluntary groups, local businesses and also introduced free parking for residents at council-owned car parks.

Ed Miliband's unconvincing
alternative

Instead, the Conservatives introduced parking charges at Hilldene shopping centre. All Conservative councillors voted against the RA proposals because – like David Cameron and his cabinet of millionaires – the Tories in Havering are detached from ordinary people’s lives.

They also voted against the RA’s proposal to cut their allowances, which would have saved council tax payers £200,000.

Darren has been working tirelessly for the people of Harold Hill all year round, not just at election time.

People are sick of the promises that party politicians make. Scandal after scandal involving greedy MPs, corrupt police and ruthless media barons in each other’s pockets has ensured a generation of people disgusted by the political system.

Darren Wise and the Harold Wood, Hill and Park Residents’ Association bring a new kind of politics – one of cooperation, independent thinking and serving the needs of local people.

Please use your vote wisely (get it?) and vote Darren Wise as your new Havering ward councillor.

It’s time to give Harold Hill a new hope - It’s time for change!

This concludes my review of all the candidates standing in the 2013 Gooshays by-election.

I will be at Havering Town Hall from 9.30pm on Thursday 21st to tweet you the results. I will also be counting so don’t expect many (if any) tweets initially. Follow me on Twitter @HaveringMeh.

If you live in Harold Hill (Gooshays ward) and your name is on the electoral register, you should have received a polling card telling you where your local polling station is.

If not, call the council on 01708 432444.

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm, so please get out there and cast your ballot!

After the winner is announced, I will be writing a full analysis of the result, explaining what it means politically.

#Gooshays2013 – Lawrence James Webb, UKIP Local Residents

Lawrence James Webb,
Gooshays candidate

Will the UK Independence Party (UKIP) see its first councillor walk through the doors of Havering Town Hall tomorrow?

You never know. Still, I’m predicting the ward will be a tremor in the wider UKIP aftershock, the impact of which has rocked the national political landscape in recent times.

In the Eastleigh by-election last month, the party came second, beating the Conservatives and Labour. In 2011, it took control of its first council in Ramsey Town, Cambridgeshire winning 9 out of 17 seats. 5 UKIP Lords have passed through the second chamber, and for 7 months in 2008, the party had one MP (who defected from the Conservatives and subsequently defected again to become an independent).

Lawrence James Webb is the candidate for Gooshays. Last year he drew criticism from mental health charities for using the word “retard” on Twitter.

In recent years he has stood to try and get elected in Gooshays and the London Assembly. Here is UKIP's literature for tomorrow's by-election (click to enlarge):

Lawrence won 3% of the vote in the 2008 by-election, with Bryan George Woolerton increasing that to 6% in 2010. Will the percentage increase again this time round?

Lawrence won 3% of the vote in 2008 (click to enlarge image)

In 2010 UKIP's result increased (click to enlarge image)

In the 2012 London Assembly elections for Havering and Redbridge constituency, Lawrence came 3rd with 7% of the vote beating the Liberal Democrats to 5th place.



Lawrence came 3rd in the 2012 London Assembly elections
(click to enlarge image)

Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, is – by any definition of the word – charismatic. He has been characterised numerous times as someone you would enjoy having a pint down the pub with.

UKIP’s policies and frankness about mass immigration and the EU speak to a section of the population who feel disconnected from the so-called metropolitan London-centric media chattering classes.

Outside media-land and the Westminster bubble, many people feel the world is changing too fast and they’re being left behind.

Our wages are either frozen, reduced or non existent. We watch the news in horror as the Eurozone continues to implode on itself (see what almost happened in Cyprus this week!). And on top of that, we face the prospect of wages being undercut and services being stretched as an unknown number of Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants become eligible to work in the UK.

People perceive UKIP’s fiery rhetoric and simple solutions as the answer to all these problems.

Earlier this month, I went to a Fabian society meeting in Romford to listen to ex-BBC journalist and political activist Polly Billington speak about her experience as a politician. Among them she said people who vote for UKIP “just want to world to stop so they can get off”. In other words, the rise of UKIP is inextricably linked to the ever-growing public disillusionment with politics and politicians generally.

There is a lot at stake for Lawrence tomorrow evening. In theory, he should win a higher percentage than in 2010 due to all these issues currently being at the forefront of people’s minds.

Having said that, I don’t believe voting for UKIP would solve any of these problems at a local level.

While Nigel Farage’s party may come across as radical and anti-establishment, a UKIP Havering councillor would not be part of the council’s main opposition Residents Association (the candidate being Darren Wise) who – as a group – can reign in the Conservatives.

UKIP would also continue the tired old tradition of putting party central diktats over the wishes of ordinary residents.

Our final candidate on the list is Darren Wise standing for Harold Wood, Hill and Park Residents’ Association…