WALTHAM FOREST: Protest right clampdown claim (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

With a bit of luck the voices of some of the ruling clique at LBWF will be silenced after 6 May.

I am NOT a socialist but this makes me mad!
The illegal dvd sellers, the gamblers, the beggars, the black tent on the Town square green, all these have escaped the attention of the council for so long, but this they leap on!

This kind of bullying is typical of the current council. Remember when local resident Kevin Lord held up a banner NICE LIBRARY, WHERE'S ALL THE BOOKS? when Prince Charles came to visit. A Labour councillor complained to the police, who pounced on Mr Lord, aggressively searched him for weapons, and then told him to clear off or be arrested.

Nu Labour's idea of a lively town square is that hideous 'Big Screen' broadcasting stuff that nobody watches.

There are very few stalls in the town square, and they are put up by religious and political groups who hope to convert people to their faith or their political cause. I don't see any harm in that. They bother no one. At worst you'll be given a leaflet.

As usual it has to be asked, are the Liberal Democrats complicit in this attempt to stifle local campaigning?

Does this also mean that when the independent candidates for the council set up a stall in the square, the thought police will pounce?

Tom Thumb wrote:
This kind of bullying is typical of the current council. Remember when local resident Kevin Lord held up a banner NICE LIBRARY, WHERE'S ALL THE BOOKS? when Prince Charles came to visit. A Labour councillor complained to the police, who pounced on Mr Lord, aggressively searched him for weapons, and then told him to clear off or be arrested. Nu Labour's idea of a lively town square is that hideous 'Big Screen' broadcasting stuff that nobody watches. There are very few stalls in the town square, and they are put up by religious and political groups who hope to convert people to their faith or their political cause. I don't see any harm in that. They bother no one. At worst you'll be given a leaflet. As usual it has to be asked, are the Liberal Democrats complicit in this attempt to stifle local campaigning? Does this also mean that when the independent candidates for the council set up a stall in the square, the thought police will pounce?

I hope that any independent candidates (or those of other poltical complexion for that matter) do more than just sit on their backsides chatting to their existing pals and supporters in front of a tressel table in the Town Square. That's lazy tokenistic nonsense.

The candidates need to get out onto the doorsteps and actively talk to the real public to find out what they really think.

I hope when some of our Councillors, including the Leader of the Council, visited City Hall recently to campaign for more police for the borough (as reported on this site by Mhairi Macfarlane on 28th January and currently featuring prominently on the Council's website) they sought permission from More London Estate Management. The area surrounding City Hall is private land and demonstrations are not allowed there without permission. If they didn't, this smacks of hypocrisy.

newyear wrote:
I hope when some of our Councillors, including the Leader of the Council, visited City Hall recently to campaign for more police for the borough (as reported on this site by Mhairi Macfarlane on 28th January and currently featuring prominently on the Council's website) they sought permission from More London Estate Management. The area surrounding City Hall is private land and demonstrations are not allowed there without permission. If they didn't, this smacks of hypocrisy.

Why is it that bad things, like hypocrisy, bullying and corruption always 'smack'?

Does this mean that the fundamentalists of various faiths who promote their views outside the mall have all obtained permits? How much does it cost to bend the public's ear for an hour or two? Does amplification mean you need an entertainments licence? So many questions!
This recalls when a young filmmaker made a prizewinning documentary about the market a year or two ago: he had the courtesy to inform the Council that he would be going up and down with a video camera for a day or two, whereupon he was hit with a substantial charge for 'insurance'. No policy document was forthcoming, however.
There's a very mean-minded culture at work in our borough: it's up to all of us to clean out the stables at the next election.

2151 - my cat's comment as he walked across the key board. But I have to agree with him. This is a extremely dispiriting tale.

I hope this was the action of one over zealous official, trying to impress his superiors. If not, I think we're living in a mad house.

Wasnt there something on the national news about LBWF having a "Speakers Corner" in one of the parks? If its there use it or this was this all noise and no action?

Our Council seem not to be aware that they are public servants who should be interested in the views of local residents - asking for their input not trying to silence them. These strikes as another example of the Council’s self righteous attitude that is out of sink with local opinion and needs.

This Labour/Liberal Democrat Council is interested in one thing only, ENFORCEMENT, it's not interested in democracy, certainly not interested in freedom of speech, just "where can we squeeze the next pound from?". The idea of a Labour led Council stopping the Socialist party from campaigning is just too stupid for words.

I bet they exclude religious nutters like the UCKG from this law.

The clue is in the story 'asking shoppers to sign a petition calling for an enquiry into the council’s long-term mismanagement of finances' It is really becoming laughable the lengths this council will go to stop this info getting out. This truly is a 'rotten borough'.

sensibility wrote:
Wasnt there something on the national news about LBWF having a "Speakers Corner" in one of the parks? If its there use it or this was this all noise and no action?

This is supposed to be happening in Stoneydown Park, which is a long way from the High Street. Anyone standing on a soapbox there is likely to find themselves addressing an audience made up entirely of pigeons.

Techno2 wrote:

Tom Thumb wrote: This kind of bullying is typical of the current council. Remember when local resident Kevin Lord held up a banner NICE LIBRARY, WHERE'S ALL THE BOOKS? when Prince Charles came to visit. A Labour councillor complained to the police, who pounced on Mr Lord, aggressively searched him for weapons, and then told him to clear off or be arrested. Nu Labour's idea of a lively town square is that hideous 'Big Screen' broadcasting stuff that nobody watches. There are very few stalls in the town square, and they are put up by religious and political groups who hope to convert people to their faith or their political cause. I don't see any harm in that. They bother no one. At worst you'll be given a leaflet. As usual it has to be asked, are the Liberal Democrats complicit in this attempt to stifle local campaigning? Does this also mean that when the independent candidates for the council set up a stall in the square, the thought police will pounce?

I hope that any independent candidates (or those of other poltical complexion for that matter) do more than just sit on their backsides chatting to their existing pals and supporters in front of a tressel table in the Town Square. That's lazy tokenistic nonsense. The candidates need to get out onto the doorsteps and actively talk to the real public to find out what they really think.

I don't think having a stall in the square and knocking on doors are incompatible activities. It's surely what all the political parties do. Any independent candidates will want to alert the wider population to their existence. Not everybody reads the local paper, and I don't suppose the council's newspaper will be opening its pages to local residents who think this council stinks and plan to stand against it in the May elections.

basillio wrote:
2151 - my cat's comment as he walked across the key board. But I have to agree with him. This is a extremely dispiriting tale. I hope this was the action of one over zealous official, trying to impress his superiors. If not, I think we're living in a mad house.

This is the key question. Who has authorised this council official to bully the Socialist Party stallholders?

Was it the Leader of the council Chris Robbins? Was it Cllr Bob Belam, guardian of our public spaces? Does this attempt to suppress a local group have the backing of the local Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats?

I think we should be told.

I was told that the Council are trying to sell the Town Square to the owners of the Mall, and this is part of clearing the decks to that end: can anybody comment on this?

BTW the official was attended by police officers, who seemed unaware that breach of a bylaw was a civil matter, and nothing to do with them.
As with Cllr Loakes' use of eight police officers to help him enforce a planning notice (with maximum publicity), it seems that the police need to be wary about being used for political gestures in this borough.