Monthly Archives: February 2019

Bridge ward monthly report 89

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Main political issues have been Brexit, extremes in weather, Trump being exposed by his former lawyer, and anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
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Nicola and I have started the new season of visiting people on doorsteps on Woolmer Road and Beauvale Road. 
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Two ward walks – a regular one and one with the Chief Exec of Nottingham City Homes.
Pleased to have helped out at an MP’s advice surgery at Contemporary Art Gallery for city centre residents.
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New housing: new council houses approved for the former Clifton Miners Welfare site; construction at the former Meadows Police station to start in early Summer; Chainey Place – new flats (a third phase) approved at Hicking site. Welcome to new residents who’ve moved into Riverway Gardens, Arkwright Walk and Blackstone Walk.
Meanwhile improvements to communal facilities at Mayfield Court.
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Parks:
A separate progress report is available.
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Permits 
New arrangements have created more residents spaces in th south-west and helped Bridgway consulting, whilst slowing down traffic on Riverside Way.
The pressure on parking on Wilford Crescent East has been relieved. 
Cllrs are now receiving requests for permits to be applied along Mundella Road.  
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Meadows Muslim Centre AGM heard progress is being made on tackling crime and that the Police facility at the London Road fire station is finally being used.
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Audit cttee did loads of important suff that was hard to turn into news – oh yes.

Interesting proposal from a former nuclear sub commander on the political control of targeting nuclear weapons.
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And the launch of Nottingham Labour’s new manifesto. And a pleasant visit to the Stonebridge City Farm (north of the city centre) which is campaigning to fund raise to survive.
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Some great films –  Green Book, Burning, Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse, A Private War, Can you ever forgive me?, Vice, If Beale Street could talk.
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Football wise, a great night out for Salop at Wolves where for while, we were leading having gone behind. 
Forest beat Derby and displayed some banners kinda highlighting the radical characters of the city’s history – nice.
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Finally, a loss of our former council leader and a key player in our radical history – Betty Higgins has died.

Meadows parks updates – February 2019

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Queens Walk Rec – the half muga is to be removed week commencing March 4th and external funding confirmed for a multi-use games area and for a keep fit sports equipment, with works to start week commencing March 18th.

Arkwright Walk Green – £9k of s106 money to finance a half-muga and a goal is secured.

Bandstand
The bandstand has been equipped to be able to support better events and will be opened in April.
The rails that allow the doors to slide needed more works than anticipated and the late discovery meant the weather was too damp once the rendering of the ceiling over the stage was scheduled to be done. 

Memorial works – the Roll of Honour memorial will be opened in late June. Construction of the foundations has begun.

Memorial Gardens – submission for up to £1m from Heritage Lottery Fund for renewal of Memorial and its Gardens has been approved by HLF approved for a fuller submission.

Paddling pool renewal – are worried that the fundamental fabric of the existing pool will fail and it will need a complete re-instatement; the first “blue sky” ideas are being worked on for perhaps 5 years time with perhaps a budget of £1 million – scope to do lots of new stuff, but keeping paddling on the Victoria Embankment Pavilions.
 
The city council wants the cricket pavilion to be used during the football season. 
Having sought to adopt a local football club as a partner for using the cricket pavilion for football in the winter, we decided just to rent out the pavilion this winter, and after holding discussions with at least 3 clubs, were surprised when none of them took up the offer. New efforts are being made. 

Flappable traffic regulation order signs are still to be implemented along traffic routes around the Victoria Embankment when events or on.

Distractions

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Astonishing to hear complaints about distractions from the important issues.
True – given the poverty both visible and hidden, and the attention it deserves, February was striking for
– its extreme weather (record lows in the USA, record highs in Britain),
– an extreme US President (racist, conman and cheat), 
– ongoing delays to make meaningful votes on Brexit in Parliament, oh and
– anti-Semitism in the Labour Party.
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We have lost Luciana Berger MP to the Labour party and seven others (who have been described as “no loss” cos they are protesting against anti-Semitism rather than being direct victims of it – go figure). 
How is anti-Semitism still hanging around?  Because too many people who are critical of Israeli gov’t policy can’t avoid describing the issue as pertaining to Jews in general (generous description) or believe in conspiracy theories that means they see others doing harm to Jeremy Corbyn (and making it worse in the meantime) or they are anti-Semitic and have shared tropes in the past (e.g. the Rothschilds) indicating as much (least generous); some even go on David Icke shows to make their point. 
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And people point out that Labour is the most progressive UK political party and we have done the most on racial equality (years of legislation and councils making a difference).
And it’s right how in the eighties, people like Ken Livingstone would be celebrated on how far we pushed the boat out.
We raised the standards. And that why people should work to maintain high standards rather than saying it’s an attack on Jeremy Corbyn. Cos how does that even work? That Jeremy needs us to tolerate anti-Semitism. He does not.
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So stop saying it’s a distraction.
Stop the what-about-ery.
Stop saying criticism of Israeli government actions is not allowed.
Stop hunting in packs against those who are protesting about anti-Semitism.
Stop being anti-Semitic.
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And if you want to avoid distractions, be very tight, accurate and focussed on what you want to protest about.
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Previous posts – Unreasonable social behaviour, HMD 2018, Are we the baddies?, Denial, Heather Heyer.

Torment and tariffs

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Jon Ashworth MP clearly struggled at lunchtime on BBC2 tv’s Daily Politics on lunchtime as he tried to set out Labour’s lines on Brexit and anti-Semitism. This after statements by Tom Watson and others, including Roy Hattersley. Yet he came through when he spoke about the visionary aspects of Labour’s policies (using gov’t to fix big problems), the bullying on social media and his personal distress over colleagues who had left the party.
The announcements to the Parliamentary Labour Party that the party would come out for the 2nd referendum and on the side of Remain, should its Lexit proposal not be passed in Parliament, felt like a distinct change, even if it was argued it was the conference policy all along.
Too late to stop people being burned off and one national poll showing 18% for The Independent Group, although I wonder really if that can be true – didn’t feel anything like that on the doorsteps on Wednesday.
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Shocking that Theresa May wants to push back the meaningful vote until March 12th because if the legal default being Hard Brexit stands, there will be less that 15 days to pass the legislation for all the tariffs to be levied.
Meanwhile, Japan’s trade deal with the EU means Japanese manufacturers here can look to either low tariff or no tariff business with the EU from home or tariffs on cars etc, manufactured here. We are of course told the loss of a car factory in Swindon is nothing to do with the EU.
Whatever, now Conservative Ministers are threatening to resign if Hard Brexit is not ruled out in Theresa May’s next speech to Parliament.
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Meanwhile another reason why one poll says Remain now has a 9% majority.