Dozens brave blizzards to enjoy community coffee morning

Despite the atrocious weather, dozens of local residents made it along to our community coffee morning today at St Anselm's Church Hall.

It was great chance for all three local councillors; Lorna, Mark and Steve; to catch up with some familiar and some new faces.

We were delighted to be joined by London Assembly Member Val Shawcross, who listened to residents' concerns about the Mayor of London's plans to close police stations and fire stations. Lots of people signed Lambeth's petition calling on the Mayor to restore 100 police officers to our borough.

Brook Drive spared years of construction lorry misery

At a public meeting on Wednesday, attended by Councillor Mark Harrison, developers of the Elephant & Castle Leisure Centre site confirmed that they were no longer planning to send construction traffic down Brook Drive during the three year development.

Residents had been horrified to learn that dozens of lorries a day were to be routed down Brook Drive - a narrow residential street with parking on both sides, width restrictions, and Victorian housing which has suffered serious problems with subsidence. The proposals would have caused serious disruption to Cycle Super Highway 7.

The developers have now relented and proposed other options, which mostly involve routing traffic down Oswin Street, over the border in Southwark.

London Assembly Member Val Shawcross has promised to explore further options with the developers and Transport for London to see what can be done to avoid construction traffic going down any residential streets in the area.

Vote tomorrow for a fairer London

Thursday 3 May is election day in London.

You have three votes in this election:

• For the Mayor of London - pink ballot paper. Labour's candidate is Ken Livingstone. Please use your first or second preference for Ken.
• For Lambeth's London Assembly Member - yellow ballot paper. Labour's candidate is Val Shawcross. Please vote for Val.
• For a party for the London Assembly - orange ballot paper. Please vote Labour.

You don't need your polling card to vote - you just need to give your name and address. 

Polls are open 7am to 10pm.

If you make a mistake on your ballot paper, return it and ask for another.

If you have a postal vote which you haven't yet posted back, you can take it to the polling station.

If you have any questions or want to volunteer to help Labour please call the Labour campaign hotline on 020 7787 0573.

Polling stations:

VBA 

Meeting Room 32, Old Lilian Baylis School, Lollard Street (western part)

For people who live on the Ethelred Estate, Ethelred Towers, Whitgift Estate, Parliament View, 216 Kennington Road, Hotspur Street.

VBB and VBC

Vauxhall Primary School, Vauxhall Street 

For people who live on the Vauxhall Gardens Estate, and anywhere between Black Prince Road and Kennington Lane.

VBD

Archbishop Sumner School, Reedworth Street

For people who live around Walcot Square, Wincott Street, Chester Way, Renfrew Road, and Cotton Gardens.

VBE

Durning Library, 167 Kennington Lane

For people who live on the Cottington Close Estate, Penwith Manor Estate, Kennings Way Estate, and around Cleaver Square, Methley Street and Stannary Street.

2012 Labour Calendar and Coffee Morning

Over the coming days volunteers will be delivering the 2012 Prince's Labour calendar. It has contact details for all your local Labour representatives.

Alongside you should receive an invitation to our annual coffee morning. This year it's being held on Saturday 4 February, at 11am at the usual venue of St Anselm's Church Hall. All residents are invited to enjoy a tea or coffee and a chat with their Labour representatives.

Councillors will be joined by Kate Hoey MP, London Assembly Member Val Shawcross, and Leader of the Council Steve Reed.

Val takes police petition to Vauxhall Gardens

On Saturday Lambeth's London Assembly Member Val Shawcross visited the Vauxhall Gardens Estate to collect signatures for London Labour's petition against Tory police cuts.

Val and her team are campaigning against Tory Mayor Boris Johnson's plan to cut 1800 police officers from London's streets.

The petition got an enthusiastic response from Vauxhall Gardens Estate residents, angry that the Tories are considering cutting the police so soon after this summer's riots

You can sign the petition here.
Pictured: Val with some of her team on Saturday, including Prince's Councillor Steve Morgan

Volunteers deliver leaflet to launch Val's campaign

Over the next couple of weeks Labour volunteers across Prince's ward will be delivering a leaflet which launches Val Shawcross' campaign to be reelected as London Assembly Member for Lambeth and Southwark.

Val has worked hard for this area ever since being first elected to City Hall in 2000. You can read about what Val has been up to on her website, which includes her annual report.

Val is highlighting Boris Johnson's terrible record as Mayor of London, including his plans to cut 1800 police officers, and his decision to raise bus fares by 56%.

If you could spare some time to deliver a few leaflets to your street or block, please get in touch.

Val and councillors push TfL to sort out flooding by Kennington tube

The recent frequent rain will have drawn many residents' attention to the flooding problem on Kennington Park Road, close to Kennington underground station.

Local councillors and Lambeth's London Assembly Member Val Shawcross have highlighted the problem to TfL and urged something to be done about it.

TfL believe there are serious underlying problems with the drainage in the area and are working with their contractors to identify a solution.

We'll be keeping up the pressure on TfL to find a long-term solution to this problem.

Unfare: Boris and Osborne's New Year fare rise

Lambeth's London Assembly Member Val Shawcross has condemned the decision by Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson and Conservative Chancellor George Osborne to inflict huge increases in bus, tube and rail fares on millions of Londoners. Since Boris Johnson was elected in 2008 the cost of a single bus ticket has risen by 44%. The combination of the rise in fares and the steep VAT rise will squeeze the standard of living in London.

Boris Johnson and George Osborne’s January fare hikes mean:
A single bus journey is up by 8% this month to £1.30 – this fare is now up 44% under Boris Johnson, from 90p when he was elected.

The Pay As You Go Oyster daily fare cap for tube travel in zones 1-2 reaches £8
A zone 1-2 monthly travelcard breaks through the £100 barrier for the first time.

A zone 1-2 annual travelcard reaches £1104, a 14% increase since 2008.

George Osborne and Boris Johnson cut funding for London’s transport system by £2.1 billion (21%) in 2010. Boris Johnson said he was ‘pleased’ with this decision and called it ‘a good settlement’ for London.

Last week Boris Johnson criticised rhetoric over bankers bonuses as worrying and said the top rate of tax could not continue forever, whilst remaining silent over steep VAT increases.

Boris Johnson’s decision to remove the western extension of the congestion zone in December 2010 cost London £50m-£70m in revenue. Londoners are paying higher fares as a result.

Val Shawcross AM said:
'At a time of great financial uncertainty and pressure on family budgets, the fare rises are completely unnecessary and add an additional burden on millions of Londoners.
'Last year Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson and Conservative Chancellor George Osborne made a cut of 21% or £2.1 billion to the London transport budget. That’s a £300 cut in transport investment for every Londoner.
'The consequences of Conservative transport cuts are clear; ordinary Londoners hit in the pocket by record fare rises in order to pay for Boris Johnson and George Osborne’s desire to cut public services. The huge hikes in tube, bus and rail fares show just how out of touch Johnson and Osborne are with the concerns of ordinary Londoners.'

2011 Community Coffee Morning announced!

Local Labour councillors have announced the third annual SE11 Community Coffee Morning, after successful events in 2008 and 2009.

Residents of Prince's ward are invited to a community coffee morning on Saturday 29 January, from 11am to 12:30pm, at St Anselm's Church Hall , Kennington Cross.

It will be a chance for residents to meet their neighbours and local councillors, and to discuss issues affecting the area. Kate Hoey MP, London Assembly Member Val Shawcross, and Leader of Lambeth Council Steve Reed will also be attending. (If you have an issue you which you want to discuss privately, it might be better to attend one of our surgeries.)

We hope to see many residents there!

Val Shawcross' annual report

Lambeth & Southwark is represented on the London Assembly by Val Shawcross.

Val has just released her annual report to constituents, which you can download here.

Visit Val's website for information and news relating to the work of the London Assembly and the Mayor - especially transport and policing issues.

Pictured: Val with Councillor Mark Harrison at the Sports Action Zone, Old Lilian Baylis School.

Report from Val Shawcross

Lambeth's London Assembly Member Val Shawcross has published her annual report

It contains details of Val's recent campaigning on the South London line, buses, and dangerous dogs.

Police raids to tackle dangerous dogs

Early morning raids across north Lambeth took place today as a large scale operation to tackle dangerous dogs was launched.

The operation, led by Lambeth Police and supported by the new MPS Status Dog Unit, the RSPCA and Lambeth Council, targeted individuals suspected of owning dangerous dogs, breeding prohibited breeds and organising dog fighting.

Officers seized 20 dogs, including a bitch and her six puppies, under the Dangerous Dogs Act. No arrests were made.

Inspector Allen Davis, from Lambeth borough, said:

"The operational activity by Lambeth Police is in response to huge community concerns relating to a minority of people, some of whom may be linked to gangs, who completely and utterly misuse potentially dangerous dogs in order to promote fear and intimidate others. We are fully committed to seizing dogs from such people and will be working with our partners in the Local Authority and RSPCA to promote responsible dog ownership."

Superintendent Clive Wakeley, who led the operation, said:

"The aim of the day was not only to seize dangerous dogs but target irresponsible dog owners and also to reassure the local community and show them that we are serious about making Lambeth a safer place."

The move follows the establishment of a specialist unit within the Met to tackle the problem. It followed representations from Labour London Assembly Member Val Shawcross, who was alerted to the serious problem in Kennington and Vauxhall at a meeting of the KOV Forum.

Fundraising Dinner

Stockwell Labour party have planned a fundraising dinner, taking place in Vauxhall on Tuesday 7 April 2009, 7.30pm for 8pm start.

Casa Madeira, 46b Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TL

Nearest station: Vauxhall

£30 including 3 course dinner and welcome drinks.

All proceeds to The Labour Party.

Stockwell Labour Party, in partnership with the Portuguese community are holding a fundraising dinner on 7 April. The dinner should be a great chance to get to know some of your neighbours and enjoy some tasty Portuguese food.

Stephen Twigg and Val Shawcross, the Labour Assembly Member for Lambeth & Southwark will be the guest speakers. There will be a raffle with rare political memorabilia to win, so it promises to be an entertaining evening. Stephen Twigg is the former MP for Enfield Southgate, who famously beat Michael Portillo in th 1997 General Election. He was an Education Minister until 2005, when he became Director of the Foreign Policy Centre think tank. He is currently the Parliamentary Candidate for Liverpool West Derby.

To book tickets contact Emma Francis via francisemma@hotmail.com

Pedestrian crossing needed for Durham Street

On Monday local Labour campaigner Mark Harrison invited Val Shawcross to Kennington Lane to show her the junction with Durham Street, which he believes desperately needs a pedestrian crossing.

At the junction traffic from both directions on Kennington Lane turns into Durham Street, as part of the Vauxhall gyratory system. Yet despite the heavy volume and high speed of the traffic there is no crossing to help pedestrians, who must risk their lives or avoid the junction altogether.

Val represents Lambeth on the Greater London Assembly, and is Chair of the Assembly's Transport Committee, responsible for scrutinising Transport for London. She immediately contacted TfL, who claim that there aren't enough accidents at the junction to warrant a crossing. Mark responded: 'many people avoid attempting to cross at this junction, as it is too difficult, and clearly dangerous. TfL must take the convenience and the safety of pedestrians into account, and do something to improve this junction.' After seeing the situation for herself, Val agreed to support Mark's campaign.

Boris' new year present to bus users

Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson has hit public transport users hard by massively increasing fares.

Labour's London Assembly transport spokesperson, Val Shawcross, slammed the decision. She said: "This unnecessary, above inflation fare hike is going to hit the pocket of every Londoner hard and makes a complete mockery of the Mayor's promise to provide value for money.

"Boris Johnson has given us no evidence whatsoever for his claim that there is a transport finance blackhole. What the evidence does point to is an increase in passenger numbers and revenue in TfL's coffers. If anything there should be a surplus this year, as there was in previous years. For Boris to blame his predecessor for this fare hike is nothing more than a cheap political shot.

"If the Mayor genuinely is concerned about the fares budget then he should have thought twice about abolishing the £25 higher charge for gas guzzlers and should reconsider his expensive plans to replace the bendy bus. It's strange to say the least that Boris is consulting about the future of the Western extension of the congestion charge but hasn't seen fit to consult Londoners on this fare hike which will hit all passengers hard. It just smacks of playing political games with London's transport network".

Example fare rises (from January 2009)

Single bus fare was: 90p
From January: £1
This 10% rise will affect around 1.3 million Londoners

Single Tube journey was: £2
From January: £2.20
A 10% rise

Pictured: a 59 bus at Waterloo (Oxyman, Wikimedia)

Labour Assembly member acts on dangerous dogs

Lambeth's Labour representative on the London Assembly, Val Shawcross, has pressed the London Mayor to act on the problem of aggressive dogs.

Val acted after hearing about serious problems with aggressive dogs in Kennington, raised at the KOV Forum meeting by local resident Alison Packer. In recent months both dogs and people have been attacked by aggressive dogs in parks in Kennington.

Val put forward a motion calling on the Mayor to work with the Metropolitan Police and London's borough councils to tackle the use of animals as weapons.

The Mayor agreed that action was needed. He revealed that the number of dogs seized by police this year has risen to 800, from only 180 in the year 2006/7. You can read more on the story in yesterday's Evening Standard.

Val has promised to keep up the pressure on the Mayor, the police, and the Council to deal with this growing problem, which is of concern to residents across Lambeth.

London Assembly Member promises support for young people

Val Shawcross met local Labour campaigner Mark Harrison at the old Lilian Baylis site on the Ethelred Estate. Mark told Val about the work Labour councillors in the area are doing to ensure the facilities that the community need are provided are on the site. 'Our estate really needs quality facilities for young people. The work that Streetgames have done on the site is fantastic, and needs to be continued and built upon', Mark explained. Val promised she would work to ensure that some of the £3.8 million that Ken Livingstone promised for youth facilities in Lambeth will help young people on the Ethelred Estate.