I recently received this excellent letter from a resident concerned about proposed cuts to the London Fire Brigade. This Saturday (April 20), I will join dozens of volunteers in taking its message to people in the affected neighbourhoods of Battersea.

Dear councillor

I read today a letter in the Wandsworth Guardian by
Richard Tracey AM, the letter implied that Wandsworth was would not be
affected by the planned cuts to London Fire Brigade. The area of North
Wandsworth where I live will be greatly affected by these planned
cuts.

Any fires in the north of the borough are regularly attended by
fire appliances that are due to be cut under LSP5. Battersea Fire
Station only has one firefighting appliance left since the cuts in the
early 1990s. This one fire engine depends wholly on back-up from
Chelsea, Clapham and Westminster Fire Stations. Clapham often send all
three of their appliances across into Battersea, as do Chelsea and
Westminster. Clapham and Westminster are due to close and Chelsea
downgraded to one fire engine as part of LSP5.

There have been many fires in North Wandsworth, some recently where
these fire engines have been totally relied on for quintessential back-
up, sometimes meaning the difference between life and death at certain
incidents. So I hardly think any scaremongering is baseless.

A recent fire in my street in the heart of Battersea had to have five fire
appliances attend, to deal with it speedily and safely, of those five
appliances, four are due to be cut. This type of incident in this area
is not a rare occurrence, but happens with frightening regularity.

As a resident I have asked which appliances will attend after these cuts
and how long it will take. The common answer to this is stated in LSP5
itself, the average attendance times for Wandsworth Borough as a whole
will change little as a result of the cuts. The average attendance
time for the 1st attending and 2nd attending appliance will get worse
and increase by only 10 and 19 seconds respectively. But this is a
borough wide average and does not illustrate how far Battersea’s one
and only fire engine will have to travel into Clapham in the future.
Conversely appliances from Lambeth or Brixton or Wandsworth etc will
have a long way to travel to reach Battersea. Details of local
attendance times are not available.

The RBKC and Westminster Councils have both voted unanimously against
the cuts in their boroughs. They know it is bad for them, and with
less fire engines north of the river and the fact that Clapham will no
longer attend in Battersea, it will be down to the appliances north of
the river to cover a much larger area including Battersea. Chelsea
fire station as a result of LSP5 will have lost eleven neighbouring
fire appliances in the last seven years, and of course it borders
Battersea!

I hope that some of you, in the North of the Borough in particular
will consider opposing these cuts.

Thank you from a concerned Battersea Resident

Private Eye, March 22

South London Press, February 20

Wandsworth Guardian, February 28. The Guardian also ran an article ‘New council map shows “forced” Wandsworth migration’ on March 7, based on a map I found in the appendix of a council report.

Daily Mirror, March 5 & March 6 ran the results of an excellent GMB investigation inspired by figures uncovered by Cllr Tony Belton. See Great Tory Housing Shame and Ex-Council Housing Racket.

Wandsworth Guardian, March 21, leads with comments David Cameron’s Big Society guru made about Battersea’s Winstanley Estate

New research shows Wandsworth sets rents at less than half the government guideline in the year before local elections and more than double the guideline in the first year after local elections.

This shocking finding came from analysis I commissioned of rent data from the past 20 years – and follows the council’s decision to increase rents by 2.7% in 2013/14. Wandsworth council already charges the highest rents in Britain and by the end of this year benefit cuts will seriously affect many families in social housing.

Data reveals that year before an election Wandsworth charges 44% of the government’s suggested guideline rent, on average; but the year after each election rents leap by 246% of the guideline.

The figures can be revealed after a political row in the most recent Town Hall Housing Committee. At the January 23 meeting, Labour councillor Tony Belton produced a list of rent increases for the past 20 years and stated that rents were clearly set to match political priorities, not financial ones.

Councillor Paul Ellis, the Tory cabinet member for Housing, said this was not the case. He cited the rent increase of £5.26 a week in the 2006/7 election year and added that the Tories came within a handful of votes of winning in Latchmere, the ward councillor Belton’s was contesting.

I was frustrated by this cynical, if inept, political stunt and told the committee I would ask a researcher to look objectively at the data and report back.

The findings are clear-cut, and pretty stunning.

Using the council’s own figures dating back to 1991/2, the analyst – who works for a blue-chip company and is professionally qualified – looked at the relationship between the rents recommended by the government and the rents set by Wandsworth.

The analyst concluded: “There is a clear link between the election cycle and the ratio of actual versus proposed change in rent”.

The year before an election, Wandsworth charges less than half of the guideline, on average; after each election the rents leaps to more than double the guideline.

The lowest increase in rents comes in the pre-election year of every cycle for more than 20 years. The maximum increase comes in the year after an election in all but one case. The council did not respond when I circulated these figures among senior officers.

There are, of course, many local and national factors that can affect the level of rent set (in committee one such factor was mentioned: the government asked councils to split out service charges from rents in 2010). It is likely many other councils act in the same way.

Whatever the causes, there are serious problems with this pattern of rent-setting, which could introduce:

* Cynicism: Rents can only be spent on housing, so these patterns could give the appearance that the council is playing politics with tenants’ own money

* Uncertainty: Big swings in rent charges make it difficult for some of the most deprived families in the borough to manage their household budgets. 2010′s pre-election rent cut on average put £57 back in tenants’ pockets – but they then had to fork out an extra £407 for the following year’s increase plus an extra £433 this year.

* Financial risk: Wandsworth now has full control its Housing finance, but had to borrow vast sums as part of this process. If the council were to decide on £100,000 in political rent-cuts today it would hit the bottom line of the 30-year business plan by more than £5m.

I voted for the forthcoming 2.7pc rent rise, despite the impact on working families, as it is necessary to secure the long-term viability of Wandsworth’s housing plan. All residents need to know that this stability will not be threatened by the sort of wild swings we have seen in the past – which range from a 31% rent reduction below guideline to a 549% rent increase above it.

Wandsworth council should remove any chance to play politics with council housing by agreeing a long-term plan to charge residents stable affordable rents.

HISTORY OF WANDSWORTH RENT INCREASES (AND GOVERNMENT GUIDELINE INCREASES)
SOURCE: WANDSWORTH COUNCIL

At Ben-Gurion airport, Tel Aviv. Ready for a few days travelling in Israel and Palestine http://t.co/NDDrCxl7—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 01, 2013

Hospitable welcome at hotel in Ramallah. Looking forward to dinner with Nabil Sha'ath, Yasser Arafat's foreign minister http://t.co/ikVptd6g—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 01, 2013

Downbeat but charming lecture from Nabil Sha'ath. Have to admit I didn't know there were 450,000 Palestinians in Chile! http://t.co/SisfGNr8—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 01, 2013

The view from our Ramallah hotel. On to Jerusalem today, with lunch in Arata at a house demolished twice in a year. http://t.co/7doccoxg—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

Depressing visit to Anata, a town of 25,000 people 4km from Jerusalem, to meet Salim, who has had his home demolished six times since 1998—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

14 other homes in Anata, which is next to an Israeli military base & bisected by the Separation Barrier, got demolition notices this week—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

Salim believes the system is unfair: "It cost me $15,000 to apply 3 times to build. I didn't get a permit, but I got a demolition order"—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

Amazing Sabbath in Jerusalem, seeing the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall http://t.co/S8VxjmHL—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

"Get out of your house, you have 15 minutes" Salim explains the process of home demolition on the West Bank http://t.co/J1AR1rEi—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

Visited Ma'ale Adumim, extraordinary illegal settlement for 35,000, with Olympic swimming pools & perfect view of 'E1' m.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec…—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 02, 2013

The view from Ramallah this morning. Next stop: Bethlehem http://t.co/6bkbcrHM—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 03, 2013

Councillor @Tony_Belton presents Daoud I Zatari, Mayor of Hebron, with the Wandsworth Borough coat of arms http://t.co/Ewdm0JIh—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 03, 2013

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, this morning. http://t.co/K4KjhrRh—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 03, 2013

The beautiful but deserted old city of Hebron where 400 Israeli settlers & 1,600 soldiers keep out 250,000 Palestinians http://t.co/KzKhVCU6—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 03, 2013

At Jerusalem 'City Hall' to meet Meir Margalit of the Meretz Party: "We are leftist a in a religious right-wing city" http://t.co/DDKXJquW—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 04, 2013

Cllr Margalit says "clear example of discrimination" in Jerusalem spending. Palestinian areas have 39pc of population but get 11pc of budget—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 04, 2013

Councillor Margalit "Palestinians may be in the majority in Jerusalem by 2020. If they vote, there will be a Palestinian Mayor of this City"—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 04, 2013

Etiquette help required! Came across this in Bethlehem – do I boycott or support? #BoycottStar&Bucks #BoycottStarbucks http://t.co/MDNdDFhc—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 04, 2013

Many thanks to British Consul General Sir Vincent Fean for cold drinks & an expert briefing in his East Jerusalem HQ http://t.co/HViB1GSe—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 04, 2013

1949 truce was signed in this UN building with a green pen, hence the 'green line' border between Israel & Palestine http://t.co/NLXXUKWs—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 05, 2013

This Wall has replaced the Green Line. 85pc of it runs on Palestinian land, to connect 400,000 settlers with Israel. http://t.co/szRvlhuC—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 05, 2013

In Bethlehem we heard how the Wall is designed to take land as much as provide security. This section is extraordinary: http://t.co/u6QYZzSJ—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 05, 2013

Visited the Am'ari refugee camp today. Tragic to see 10,000 people in less than a square km unrwa.org/etemplate.php?… http://t.co/hQvAMrwq—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 05, 2013

Earlier this week, in a village just outside Jerusalem, I met Salim. His house has been demolished 6 times so far: simonhoggblogs.com/2013/02/06/mee…—
Simon Hogg (@CllrSimonHogg) February 08, 2013

The trip was not made on behalf of Wandsworth Council or the Labour Party and all costs were met out of my own pocket.

Homeless in Anata: Salim shows recently received demolition orders

“Get out of your house, you have 15 minutes.” Salim is describing the process of home demolition in the occupied West Bank.

He is something of an expert: his house in Anata has been demolished six times since 1998. Each time, he rebuilds it as a “political act of resistance”.

Anata is home to 25,000 Palestinians (and is the biblical home of the prophet Jeremiah); it is less than four kilometres from the Old City of Jerusalem.

As we walk around Fidhdat Square, part of a small neighbourhood separated from the rest of Anata by the Separation Barrier, Salim points out empty houses, one without a roof.

Salim shows Simon Hogg around Fidhdat Square in Anata

The homes fall into ‘Zone C’ of the occupied West Bank and are therefore under full Israeli administrative control. Fidhdat Square is hemmed in on the far side by one of Israel’s largest military bases.

“It cost me $15,000 to apply three times to build. I didn’t get a permit, but I did get a demolition order,” explains Salim.

“They push us to build without permission so they can demolish. Your life savings are also demolished this way.”

Salim introduces Ziad, one of the 14 villagers to receive ‘demolition notices’ in the past few days. Through an interpreter Ziad says: “In 2003 they built a wall. The wall took us away from the village of Anata. We have suffered and we will continue to suffer. I want to live like anyone else in the world.”

Homeless in Anata: Salim and Ziad

More than 26,000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed since 1967, according to the Israeli committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), a local human rights organisation.

ICAHD has helped Salim and nearly 200 people like him to rebuild their homes, with help from volunteers from around the world. On a hillside overlooking East Jerusalem Jeff Halper of ICAHD sketches out the problem by gesturing at the Palestinian streets below and joking: “Everything you can see has a demolition order!”

He says Israel issues fewer than 20 building permits a year for the 230,000 Palestinian population living in often overcrowded conditions on the slopes below. The system is painfully slow, expensive and arbitary. Costs run from $20,000 to $60,000 per house for permission and utility connect before construction can even begin.

Halper estimates 20,000 families have taken matters into their own hands and built without permission.

Jeff Halpert of ICAHD

Government demolitions are unexpected and swift. Halper says the first thing many Palestinian women do in the morning is “look out of the window for bulldozers and police.” ICAHD’s work now includes analysis and lobbying alongside their direct activism.

In Anata, Salim is determined to continue his resistance, but Ziad sounds less optimistic: “In these 14 houses there are 71 people, 36 children. [The Israelis] are the strong and we are the weak. What can we do to them?”

Simon outside one of the less fortunate shops in Beeston

It would have escaped your notice at the time, but you’ve probably been to Beeston, writes Matt Beestonia. If you’ve ever taken a train up North from St Pancras you would have – albeit briefly – stopped in Beeston before chugging down the track onto Nottingham a couple of miles away.

It’s doubtful that you noticed anything special – and from the train window, you’d be right. But if you were to alight and make your way north into the centre of town, you’d see that we were rather different than your usual suburban town.

A bit of background first: Beeston is a town of around 20,000 that sits on the banks of the Trent, nestled next to the University of Nottingham campus and Wollaton Hall, and as such has a burgeoning middle class as post-graduates find it’s leafy environs a more comfortable place than the inner city areas prefered by undergraduates.

It’s famous for having the head office of Boots; being the birthplace of Sir Paul Smith, home to director Shane Meadows; and rather bizarrely, the last home of soul legend Edwin Starr before his death in 2003. It’s a mix of Labour, Lib Dem and Tory wards, and is in the constituency of Broxtowe, with our MP the infamous neo-Edwina Currie, Health Minister Anna Soubry. Oh, and Gandhi once visited here.

What sets it aside, however is not these quirks, but something much more immediate and noticable. In the last decade, the town has had imposed on it a series of changes that would normally take a century. A huge Tesco has arrived, taking up a huge chunk of town. A tram system is being built, with demolition orders being thrown about with capricious abandon. And our town square, that presently is all-but derelict, has just been subject to planning squabbles and fights between the developers and the council, finally seems to have a plan submitted that will bring it into the 21^st Century. We’ve also just had news that HS2, if it gets the go-ahead, will have a station here.

Such a huge swathe of changes could easily break a town, but something rather wonderful happened. The town decided that they were going to have a say in things.

The ‘Bee Man’ sculpture on Beeston’s High Road

The Tesco is a good starting point. Despite campaigns to stop it, Tesco pushed on relentlessly and using it’s legal might, managed to get consent to build. But careful, nuanced campaigning forced them into a series of compromises. Instead of an ugly metal box, a rather prettier timber clad building was built. They were also encouraged to build a car park that could be used by shoppers heading elsewhere, and open up paths to the main strip of shops.

Rather wonderfully, all this has had the effect of enhancing the town: more people use the wealth of independent shops, including three non-chain butchers, two bakers and a greengrocer/fishmonger that has been ran by the same family for over a century.

The imposition of the tram has also caused huge controversy. It’s route takes it down a narrow, long road famous for it’s wealth of independent shops, restaurants and pubs. It was recently announced that the road would have to be closed for 18 months, effectively imposing a death sentence on the street.

Yet the indefatigable nature of Beestonians rose up again, demanded a rethink, and forced NET, the company behind the tram, to reconsider and develop a compromise that minimised the damage done, and compensate for any losses.

An artist’s impression of the new Beeston tram

Is this ‘people-power’ something unique to my town? I certainly didn’t see it growing up in the eighties when my home , a town three miles from Beeston called Stapleford, was ripped apart by idiotic, short-sighted development schemes. That town is now all but a ghost town, a strip of bookies, pound shops and units for let. Are Beestonian’s special?

I recently held a public meeting with the parties responsible for the changes in our town, in particular the Square, and despite sub-zero temperatures, the school hall I had booked quickly filled up with people eager to get their opinions across. People really cared: demanding more transparency, asking why so much focus in development was on retail rather than the prevailing trend of entertainment and services. They were passionate, demanding and would not allow the panel to slip into corporate-speak. The panel, after 90 minutes of explaining their position, looked distinctly ruffled afterwards.

Would this happen in your town? I hope it would. The public have been subject to decades of their town centres being homogenised and stripped of their individuality, but now feel enough is enough. Effective resistance against chains is growing and protestors have become increasingly sophisticated in resisting the new vast neighbourhood supermarket.

Retail is changing: people are increasingly vexed by chains and going back to independents. This also has the useful of effect of keeping money in the town, going into the back pockets of local owners rather than shareholders with no link to the neighbourhood.

As the internet and superstores suck the life out of High Streets, now is the time to get organised and make a plan. Every town needs a careful, sophisticated vision of how to preserve what is unique, encourage diversity and reallocate land for things that are in demand, such as housing.

It’s time to reclaim the civic space, take back our towns, and make our streets sing again.

• Many thanks to Matt Beestonia for this guest post. Matt blogs at Beestonia and tweets here. As a teenager, I spent quite a lot of time in Beeston town centre and on a recent visit I realised there were some useful lessons for here in Wandsworth – where the interests of local people can too often be put behind the interests of property developers and large chains can edge out independent shops.
  

Latchmere’s Labour councillors are proud of their achievements since 2010 and are determined to build on this work.

Tony, Wendy and Simon are putting themselves forward to take on the Tories at the 2014 elections and continue their service on Wandsworth council.

The final decision will rest with local Labour members and with the voters of Wandsworth – and Latchmere’s Labour councillors are keen to finish the job of saving York Gardens Library, helping to guide the £100m estate regeneration and growing the number of local community gardens.

Councillor Tony Belton said, “In my 30 years representing Latchmere, the next few look like being the most exciting. I relish the prospect of taking part in the regeneration of the estates. The Council’s promised £50+ million spend could and should transform the life prospects of all those who live in what is currently the most deprived area of the Borough. We must however make sure that, unlike the riverside, it retains its current diverse community as well as becoming a better place in which to work, live and play.”

Councillor Simon Hogg said: “The community campaign to save York Gardens Library was one of the most fantastic things I have been involved with – I want to continue as part of the Labour team to ensure this library always gives local children access to books, computers and free homework clubs.”

Councillor Wendy Speck said: “I am passionate about education – worked as a headteacher and am now chair of governors at Chesterton School. Every child matters, and I love the opportunity to support the next generation I get from school visits and sitting on the council’s Education Committee.”

Thank you Mr Mayor, this motion relates to a series of government measures that affect people who need support to afford to live in Wandsworth.

So the debate is about the sort of place we want to live.

We could start with the views of two residents – neither one a known Socialist: the Director of Housing and the Director of Finance.

In paper 12-689 they conclude these measures will affect thousands of residents and will lead to an increase in arrears, evictions and homelessness, and the reforms will cost the council more than £7m a year in unpaid rent.

So it’s an important debate – and I hope a reasoned one. Residents deserve more than ‘no cuts at all’ versus ‘something must be done’.

So while I think this policy is badly intentioned and will have awful consequences, I’m happy to begin with three straight statements:

Housing Benefit has got out of control; I agree with the principle of a benefit cap; and I think there is too much fraud in the current system.

To take these in turn:

1. Housing Benefit is out of control

It is sinful that £20bn a year is paid to landlords, money that could be much better spent building homes.

Remember that Housing Benefit itself was a short-term sticking plaster for lack of affordable home-building under governments of both Parties.

So now we have ripped off that sticking plaster. More than 500 3- and 4-bedroom houses are left exposed. The landlords of these properties, not being charities, will over time most likely return them to market rents or sell up. This will force people from our community, and crucially dozens of family-sized properties will be taken out of the affordable stock forever.

So what steps has the council taken to negotiate with these landlords? Are we reaching out to residents, or simply waiting for them to come to us?

2. The benefits cap

I don’t think one family should consistently live a better life on benefits than the neighbouring family that works every hour God sends.

But any cap set nationally needs a serious London weighting.

A search in Battersea for 2-bed flats under the new Housing Benefit cap of £290 a week today turned up no properties.

The Universal Credit cap of £500 a week for a family including housing costs is reasonable in Plymouth, but not Putney.

The most obvious impact of caps at these levels are to exclude low-income families from certain parts of London. Why not set the caps at Wandsworth averages?

3. There is too much fraud in the system

There is, I’m co-operating with the Housing dept on a case at present.

But this paper contained no anti-fraud measures at all. This is a policy that targets legitimately claimed benefits – in the depths of the recession.

These reforms will end the situation where the children who live in a Housing Association home in my road can grow up chatting to the doctor and the accountants who live in the neighbouring properties.

We want to make social housing truly something people aspire to, not qualify for, but these reforms will only intensify poverty on our estates.

Government should move housing subsidy from landlords towards bricks and mortar and we should focus relentlessly on housing delivery and training and job opportunities for local people. A housing stimulus is a good way out of recession, and a good job is the only way out of poverty.

However you vote tonight, I would encourage all members to investigate these issues in their own wards. There are people out there who will need your support and protection. Thank you.

1 Helped to save York Gardens Library, again

Harriet Harman MP celebrates with local mums in York Gardens Library

Local Labour councillors are proud to have led the community campaign that saved York Gardens Library last year. But to keep the library open we now need to:

• Raise £70,000 in room hire each year – please book a room if you have a birthday party or special occasion
• Make sure local children use the computers, the free homework club and GCSE Success tutoring

I was very impressed on recent visits to the library to see dozens of children from the local estates benefit from the free Maths and English tutoring supplied by GCSE Success. One local mother I invited to the House of Commons had a chance to explain how these volunteer tutors had given her daughter the chance to following her dream of becoming a lawyer.

Visit www.saveyorkgardens.com for more information.

Unfortunately, this year we failed to stop York Gardens Adventure Playground being demolished, having previously stopped Wandsworth charging children £2.50 to use adventure playgrounds.

IN 2013 WE WILL work with parents and the council to ensure a top-class new playground for York Gardens is in place for the spring.

2 Worked hard on the £60m estate regeneration for Winstanley and York Road

Councillors Tony Belton, Wendy Speck and Simon Hogg on the Winstanley Estate

The Kinghan report into last summer’s riots concluded that the Winstanley Estate is in the worst 1 per cent of places in the country to grow up as a child. We are pleased that Wandsworth has agreed to make a huge investment to regenerate the York Road and Winstanley Estates. We stood for election in 2010 on a promise to improve our estates and we will stand again in 2014 on the same promise. Labour will ensure residents’ interests are put first in the regeneration, meaning:

• Full consultation with the community
• Construction jobs for local people
• All social housing to be replaced, with residents guaranteed a chance to return
• Estates should be given mix of housing types and tenures
• No overall loss of play space or parks

IN 2013 WE WILL continue this work and link it to the £1m Big Lottery Funding that will help renew our community as well as the buildings we live in.

3 Supported Battersea’s community gardens

‘Dig for the Dodd’ at the Doddington Estate roof garden

Labour councillors have supported the growth of community gardens all over Battersea this year: from securing £5,000 in funding for the Doddington Estate Roof Garden, to helping in the Falcon Estate garden and working to set up a Kambala Estate community garden. More information at Facebook.com/doddingtongarden.

IN 2013 WE WILL dig deep to help the brand new Kambala garden come into bloom. Contact green-fingered councillor Wendy Speck (wspeck@wandsworth.gov.uk) to get involved.

4 Led the fight to save our local police stations

Earlier this year, Battersea Labour Party used a freedom of information request to uncover the disturbing fact that Lavender Hill Police station has “in principle approval for disposal in 2012/13″. Not only did Tory councillors refuse to join the campaign to save the police station, they accused us of ‘scaremongering’ (see video above).

By December, the Evening Standard reported that almost half of London’s police stations were to close to the public. Wandsworth’s top policeman recently predicted: “The front counters at Battersea, Tooting and Putney High Street [police stations] would close”.

Tony, Wendy and I know what a crucial role Lavender Hill Police station played in finally ending the riots at Clapham Junction last year and we will do everything we can to keep it open.

IN 2013 WE WILL ask every Wandsworth councillor to choose between supporting the police station cuts and supporting community campaigns to save our police stations.

5 Backed local businesses and job-seekers

Councillor Simon Hogg (left) with local businessman Levi Roots at the Big Local consultation, which attracted 400 local residents to discuss the future of Latchmere

2012 was a very tough year to run a business in Battersea – and unemployment continued to rise. We stood up for local businesses that were flooded and facing high business rates and worked to help stallholders set up in markets and employ local youths.

We strongly supported Wandsworth’s new jobs brokerage scheme that will match local candidates to the job opportunities coming up in Nine Elms. We also backed the W.O.W  Enterprise Club which helps lone parents set up their own businesses.

Local businessman Neset Sabir (left): “Councillor Simon Hogg helped me when my basement flooded and when my mopeds were stolen. I trust him.”

6 Action on parking: Made bailiffs return a car to Clark Lawrence Court that had been wrongly towed away…

…secured the release of a clamped vehicle by challenging the council’s contractor and supported a council crack-down on Blue Badge fraud that has caught 441 cheats.

IN 2013 WE WILL support a freeze in the cost of a residents’ parking permit, as we did in 2012

7 Action on housing: Got the council to repair entryphones at Pennethorne House and Culvert Road, the pavement at Ashley Crescent, the map at McDermott Close…

Councillor Wendy Speck on a visit to discuss local issues on the Kambala Estate

…a leak in Holcroft House, a broken door in Dungeness House, negotiated a payment extension for Inkster House residents who faced a 200 per cent increase in service charges. We also pushed the council to agree empty homes should from now on pay fair Council Tax and spoke out on the housing crisis facing young people facing high rents and mortgage deposits.

IN 2013 WE WILL help constituents made homeless by the housing benefit cap and prepare for the effects of the next round of housing benefit cuts.

8 Celebrated the Overground arriving at Clapham Junction

Martin Linton on Platform 2 at Clapham Junction: the long wait for an Overground train is over!

Thanks to tireless work by former Battersea MP Martin Linton, local people can now take the Overground Line from the new Platform 2 at Clapham Junction to Clapham High St (8 mins), Peckham (15 mins), Surrey Quays (24 mins), Whitechapel (33 mins).

The wonderful new line that opened in December links up to Canada Water (for Jubilee line services to Canary Wharf and Stratford), Clapham High Street (for Northern Line services to the City and the West End), Highbury & Islington (for Victoria Line and National Rail services) and Shoreditch High Street (for the City).

IN 2013 WE WILL continue to lobby for improvements to Clapham Junction, surely the worst-designed major station in Britain.

9 Opposed over-development

Model of the Nine Elms development, from Battersea Power Station up to Vauxhall

Too often Wandsworth council puts the interests of property developers over the interests of residents. Another legacy of Martin Linton’s time as Battersea MP was stopping the construction of 42-storey towers at Clapham Junction and the Ram Brewery site.

This year Tony, Wendy and I met architects, planners and members of the public to:

• Discuss the public benefit of developments on the Prince’s Head pub site on Falcon Road, the Peabody Estate and the Travis Perkins site on Battersea Park Road.

• Ensure the council respects its own policies: only 1,422 of the first 9,141 homes approved in Nine Elms were affordable (and full-price two-bed flats will cost £1.5m!).

• Stop developers behaving antisocially during construction: we were recently appalled by reports that concrete was being laid at 3am on the Battersea Reach site, with the council’s full knowledge! This Christmas morning I was woken at 7am by construction work from another site.

And a few of the other issues we tackled in 2012…

Councillor Simon Hogg listens to ideas for improving the local area

…Arson attacks in Fairchild Close… Planned extension for Falcon Road Mosque… Council cutting lollipop ladies… Big Local Lottery funding… Bed Bugs in Penge House… New windows for Sporle Court… Gun crime in York Gardens, Falcon Road and Pennethorne Square… Need for more CCTV on Maysoule Road… Lack of teenagers’ facilities on Battersea Fields Estate… Discussion with former Health Secretary Andy Burnham about the future shape of the NHS… Public appeal for PlayStation equipment at the STORM youth club…

Local Labour volunteer Will Martindale presents PlayStation3 games and controllers to STORM youth club: The computer equipment was donated by local families

Margaret Hodge meets Senia and Una Dedic, Battersea Sure Start, 2004

The women had not seen each other for 8 years, but there was an immediate connection when they saw met at the House of Commons. Senia Dedic, a mother from the Falcon Estate, greeted Margaret Hodge MP like an old friend and pulled out a large photograph.

As I know from canvassing with Margaret Hodge during the 2010 General election, she often asks after your family. Back then, she had discussions with thousands of residents to defeat a challenge in Barking from BNP leader Nick Griffin. Asking after Senia’s family, Margaret soon uncovered a special story.

Senia had come to the House of Commons with her teenage daughter Una on a trip I helped to organise for 50 Battersea residents, including local mothers, pensioners and a group of teenagers from the Doddington Estate.

Senia explained to Margaret Hodge that in 2004 as a government minister she had visited Battersea Sure Start, at the Katherine Low Settlement. There she met Senia and her daughter, eight-year-old Una and this photograph was taken.

Margaret Hodge meets Senia and Una Dedic, Battersea Sure Start, 2004

Senia was inspired by the way Sure Start brought local families together. She decided to form ‘Women of Wandsworth’, the WOW Moms, a group of mothers from Wandsworth who co-operate to educate and entertain their children and teach them the importance of community.

Most WoW members – men are allowed! – are single mothers with no support, and in most cases they are from overseas or other parts of the UK and don’t have family support in Battersea.

WoW now holds regular workshops to share knowledge of healthy eating, how to improve living space, English language skills and help with training and jobs. In the past year WoW Mums volunteers could be found at Trinity Hospice, in community gardens across Battersea and at several Jubilee Street Parties.

WoW is not afraid of political involvement. Their lobbying of Tory and Labour councilors was crucial in saving York Gardens Library – and their work as volunteers helps to keep the library open.

As well as the wonderful Lavender Bridge Club for pensioners, the library now offers homework clubs for children plus free GCSE tutoring in maths and English.

Margaret Hodge found it remarkable that these women of Wandsworth, who came together to support each other, find so much time and energy to support their local community.

Senia is also a school governor and active in her local residents association – and an inspiration to local women.

And what of Una, her daughter? Well, Margaret was delighted that she had grown into such a successful young woman.

She heard that Una got the grades she needs to go to college and follow her studies to be a lawyer – thanks to the free volunteer-led GCSE tutoring at York Gardens Library. Senia said that Una, like many local children, has a brighter future thanks to Sure Start and thanks to the local Library that Wow Moms helped to save.

Senia, Una and the Women of Wandsworth show what we can achieve when we work together.

Here is a photograph of the lovely moment when Margaret Hodge mentions Una in her speech and Senia holds up the original 2004 photograph.

Margaret Hodge with Senia and Una Dedic in the House of Commons

And one final photograph of some wonderful Women of Wandsworth…

Senia and Una Dedic with WoW Moms Syeda Islam and Sandra Munoz