David Cameron at Lewisham college. Photo: Conservative Central Office
David Cameron made a fleeting visit to south London this week to conduct a question and answer session with students and apprentices at Lewisham college,
Speaking in firmly pre-election mode, Mr Cameron said he wanted to emphasize to the youngsters the need for “change, energy, dynamism and leadership ” in the county. He was also quick to poke fun at his political adversary: “Gordon Brown says stick with me. Frankly, I think we are stuck with him. The whole country is stuck.” Students seemed largely taken aback by his ‘energetic nature and confidence.’
Mr Cameron spoke to the students on Monday about various issues, including education and their hopes for the future. During a short question and answer session, several students questioned his plans for the Education Maintenance Allowance, the grant which encourages school leavers to keep studying and from which many there had benefited. He responded positively, saying: “EMA, we’ve had a look at it, we think it’s worth keeping.”
Video: Conservative Central Office.
The Conservative party leader was keen to stress the issue that every vote counts and to demonstrate that young people do have a voice in society. One student asked: “If you do become PM, how will it benefit us?” He replied: “Once I’m elected I’m not going to waste peoples votes.”
Saying he is “fighting to win outright,” in the coming election, Mr Cameron challenged Mr Brown to debate issues in public. “Not a script. Not a lectern. Not surrounded by a bunch of hand-picked people, but proper, live, public meetings, where we can argue about the future of our country and then together decide it.”
Some reaction was favourable. Jack Parker, a sports apprentice, said: “He’s the first MP I’ve seen. He’s quite down-to-earth and not snobby. It made me consider voting.”
A grandmother with links to right-wing extremist organizations has been announced as the British National Party candidate in the Lewisham mayoral race.
Tess Culnane, who is in her seventies, has been described by her opponents as a ‘neo-Nazi granny’, and will represent the controversial far-right party in the upcoming election. Campaigning on a nationalist platform, she has said she plans to turn Lewisham into ‘a borough where British interests and people are put first’.
Ms Culnane, who said she intends to take a strong stance against crime, has previously insisted that she is ‘not a Nazi’ but ‘a true blue patriot’.
However, her history of association with more extreme right-wing organisations adds weight to opponents’ claims that BNP attempts at promoting a moderate image are deceptive.
Ms Culnane previously stood unsuccessfully as National Front candidate for Greenwich and Lewisham in 2008’s London Assembly elections, and has also run for that party in Yorkshire.
She has also been linked to the self-described ‘ultra nationalist’ British People’s Party, who describe her as a ‘veteran activist’ on their website, which features overtly Nazi imagery. An official blog of the BPP includes sections contesting the historical facts of the Holocaust, and describes immigration as a ‘vociferous cancer’.
Other local politicians have spoken out against the BNP’s campaign, including Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Chris Maines, who described the party as ‘vile’. Green Councilor Dean Walton, who is also running, said: “Racists aren’t welcome in a diverse and tolerant borough like Lewisham.”
Sir Steve Bullock, the incumbent Labour mayor, has expressed scepticism about the BNP’s electoral prospects. “The residents of Lewisham have too much sense to be taken in by the superficial makeover of the BNP,” he said. “It’s still a nasty, racist party with nothing to offer but division and hate.”
A human rights lawyer who was stabbed to death at his Lewisham home is suspected to have been murdered for his political views.
Police today issued an appeal for information about the killing of AbdelSalam Hussain, 56, who was found murdered at his home in Boone Street, Lee on Saturday.
At about 7.10 am, a neighbour noticed Mr. Abdel Salam’s front door was open and discovered his body just inside. He had been slashed across the face and stabbed in the leg. Emergency services were called but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as severe blood loss.
Mr. Abdel Salam, who was originally from Sudan before becoming a British national, worked for international human rights organisation Redress as the Sudan adviser, helping victims of torture.
He had also worked for the charities Human Rights Watch and Justice Africa, who have paid tribute to him and describe him as, “a guiding light of Sudan’s human rights movement”.
Colleagues said today they feared there was a political motive behind the attack. Lutz Orzette, 43, a project adviser at Redree, said: “He was very well known in the field of human rights. Some people think there is a political motive. There have been threats against a number of Sudanese human rights campaigners.”
Police say there is no intelligence the lawyer was targeted because of his human rights work but could not rule out the possibility. Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain, of the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and serious crime command said: “We have a number of lines of inquiry and we believe it is linked locally. “I am keen to trace Abdel Salam’s movements and appeal for anyone with information to come forward to assist my teal with this investigation.
Abdel Salam was a large man, who used two sticks to walk as he had some difficulty. He would travel by minicab or bus to take him to the charity where he worked in central London, and many people would have seen him on his route.”
DCI Allain added: “This was a brutal attack on a defenseless man, made more tragic, as Abdel Slam had devoted much of his life combating the abuse of human rights upon others.”
Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.
A popular New Cross café which has been shortlisted for a local business award is unsure how much longer it can remain in business.
Café Crema, located on New Cross Road, is in the running for the ‘Environmental’ category of Lewisham Council’s annual Business Awards.
Chris Boddington, who owns the café jointly with his wife, said he was happy to have made the shortlist. “I’m very pleased about it, and I believe you can win five grand, so that’d be handy,” he said.
However, the café cannot currently guarantee its long-term survival.
“At the moment our landlords, who are Goldsmiths College, could give us 3 months’ notice at any time. We don’t have a secure lease,” explained Boddington. “We’ve had a longer lease before, but because they’re undecided about the future of this building, they’re not giving us any definite answer.”
This precarious situation is partly due to questions about the safety of the building, part of a small row of dilapidated houses. The university, which owns a number of other buildings in central New Cross – including Deptford Town Hall – is also hoping to stimulate regeneration of the area.
According to its recently published ‘Masterplan,’ Goldsmiths wants to ‘create a permeable campus with visibility of key activities and functions integrated into the local community’.
These plans include the intention to ‘create active reuse for shops on New Cross Road, with student services and academic retail’. It remains unclear whether these plans include allowing Café Crema to continue trading in their current premises.
Boddington believes that Crema is well positioned to contribute to the area’s regeneration. He said: “I do like to think that we’re one of the more attractive aspects of New Cross – not that New Cross isn’t a lovely area. From what our customers tell us – obviously most of our customers are Goldsmiths students, and a fair amount of Goldsmiths staff – they seem to think that we’re quite important in this area. They would like us to continue.”
The ‘Environmental’ prize is intended to reward ‘the business that has gone to an exceptional length to make its practices sustainable and to help the local environment’. According to Boddington, sustainability is a vital part of Café Crema’s business model.
He said: “It’s just how we operate. We do a lot of recycling. The amount of rubbish we create is only about one carrier bag’s worth every day, so the vast majority of our waste is either recycled or composted.”
The awards scheme aims to give recognition to distinctive and well-loved businesses in the borough. Other categories include ‘Community Involvement’, ‘Best New Company’ and, for teenage entrepreneurs, ‘The Young Lewisham Apprentice’.
Congestion on the DLR Lewisham to Bank route will be eased by the introduction of the first three-car trains.
Extended platforms have now been completed on this section of the track. It will be the first section of the DLR to take advantage of 55 new carriages costing TFL £100million.
At the launch of the new trains on 3rd March, GLA transport adviser, Kulveer Ranger said: “We know the Bank to Lewisham branch is the most congested and heavily used and this will alleviate that demand and stress in rush hour.” He added: “This carriage feels a lot more airy, the doors have more glass, it’s a smoother journey, has better braking and, of course, more capacity.”
The expansion bodes well for Lewisham, with the Canary Wharf Group saying: “History shows that increased transport capacity in east London has stimulated regeneration, investment and new jobs, so today’s announcement is good news for all of the Docklands area.”
As well as benefiting the local community the expansion will also be a benefit for the Olympics, with the DLR expected to carry up to 500,000 people a day during the games, which is more than double the current weekday average.
Jonathan Fox, Director of the DLR, said at the launch of the new carriages : “Today marks another major milestone for DLR and its passengers as our network is further enhanced and improved. With the Stratford International extension set to open later this year, we are in great shape to meet passenger demand now and over the course of the next few years.”
Lewisham resident Francesca Waite, 20, agreed: “I think it is great. Summer is unbearable on a packed DLR train, so the new carriages will be a breath of fresh air.”
Despite the positive reaction of the majority, a poster on wharf.co.uk said: “the DLR has been severely congested for at least 8 years. At the moment, the majority of trains on the Bank – Lewisham branch are still two car. There only seems to be one three car train running. And lets not get started on the frequency of trains – during the rush hour the frequency of trains has actually decreased. Overall the DLR runs an extremely poor service and I fail to see why it is getting such praise.”
While at present only the Bank to Lewisham branch of the line has three car trains, the rest of the DLR network will be benefiting from the new trains over the coming year.
The Thames Barrier in East London was closed for the fifth time in three days on Tuesday morning to protect the capital from high tides, following extreme weather over the weekend.
There are now 20 flood watches in place across the Thames region. However, the government’s Environment Agency said the risk of flooding across England and Wales was easing, with the number of flood warnings expected to decrease.
Martin Moore, duty controller at the Thames Barrier, said: “This is the fifth time we have closed the Barrier in the past three days, which only serves to reinforce just what a vital asset it is in combating the risk of tidal flooding in the capital.”
He added: “We monitor the risk of flooding constantly, and the forecast levels require us to close the Thames Barrier to perform its role of preventing London from flooding.”
At this time of year high spring tides are normal, but heavy rainfall has resulted in large flows coming down the Thames as water drains off the land. This combined with surge activity in the North Sea has resulted in the Barrier’s closure to keep the tide from entering the capital and to maintain the river at a safe level.
The barrier reopened later on Tuesday although the agency said it would continue to monitor the weather levels and tides closely.
“This is the 119th time we have closed the Thames Barrier, and it serves as an important reminder to us all that living in the flood plain is never without risk,” said Mr. Moore.
The closure of the Barrier follows a week of strong storms across France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium, which have killed 51 people.
To find out the risk of flooding in your local area, The Environment Agency website has information on flooding. Alternatively call the agency floodline on 0845 9881188.
Barriers at Brockley station are causing dangerous overcrowding
Rail travellers have condemned new gates at Brockley train station which they say have caused overcrowding and an ’unpleasant atmosphere’ at busy times.
The station which was taken over by Transport for London in September 2009, had gates installed last year in the ticket office.
Users say the gates have been causing dangerous overcrowding at busy times.
Although the gates were put in place to catch those passengers attempting to travel for free, residents of Brockley say this was a pointless exercise because when the area becomes overcrowded, staff open the gates to let passengers through.
Passengers using the station are appealing for the gates to be open permanently in order to prevent the overcrowding.
Posters on Brockleycentral.blogspot.com “The Online Home For All Things Brockley” have voiced their concerns at the overcrowding.
One poster wrote “[this] is clearly ridiculous. The amount they save from fare dodgers would be negligible anyway compared to the lawsuit for someone falling down the stairs because of the overcrowding. The atmosphere is really unpleasant with all the pushing and shoving. It makes me dread using the train more than ever.”
Another wrote “The current situation is an absolute mess. If they can’t install a set of gates and a ticket office which are large enough to cope with the volume of people, then they shouldn’t force people through the gates/office. It’s as simple as that.”
In the long term Brockley station is due to be re-modeled, but rail users want TFL to come up with a short to medium long-term solution.
A TFL spokesperson said: “The gates at Brockley station were introduced by Southern, and we inherited this system in September 2009. Since then, no accidents have been reported at the station. However, our stations team is due to go on site at Brockley in the next few weeks to observe passenger flows and determine whether action is required there.”
A sink estate in Catford could finally be demolished now the council has bought the shopping centre on which it stands. Local residents have been campaigning for years and a recent Facebook group has increased support.
The estate, described as a ‘fortress to the outside world’ by Councillor Chris Maines, Leader of the local Liberal Democrats, could be knocked down following Lewisham Council’s purchase of the shopping centre for £11.52m.
Residents say Milford Towers in Catford, the scene of two horrific murders in recent years, is in disrepair, with broken lifts and graffiti marked walls. It also faces an continuing drug problem.
“Realistically, they have to demolish it” said Kevin Gradidge, a 47-year-old resident. “The whole place has got concrete cancer. You can see it’s crumbling.”
“By April this year this place is supposed to meet Decent Homes Standards but it doesn’t have double glazing and not all the properties have central heating”
The shopping centre was bought to speed up progress on the Catford Area Action Plan, which aims to redevelop the entire area.
Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock said: “The long-term plan is to demoilish and rebuild.”
“We’re hoping over the next year to put together plans with some real urgency behind them.”
He said: “It isn’t a slum. It’s a very badly designed piece of housing which was basically never designed to be public housing.
It has all the glamour and glitter of that other famous ballroom dance competition, but the Pink Jukebox Trophy has one discerning feature – it is strictly same-sex.
The internationally renowned event, which will take place at the Rivoli Ballroom in Lewisham next Saturday, is the only dance competition of its kind in Britain.
Jacky Logan, vice chair of the UK Same-Sex Dance Council and founder of the competition, said the event was an opportunity for same-sex couples to compete in ballroom dancing, something they can’t do in mainstream competitions.
“The Pink Jukebox Trophy is an annual opportunity for same-sex dancers to exhibit their talent and show how unique the style is within the wider ballroom and Latin dance world. It is an exciting and entertaining event and a chance to meet dancers from other countries who come from similar clubs all over the world.”
The Rivoli was a “natural venue to choose,” according to Ms Logan. “It is a well loved and respected dance hall, not only by UK dancers, but also for those from across Europe. The venue is a little small for our requirements these days but the idea of moving to a larger venue was muted, the vast majority said that they loved coming to London to compete because of the grandeur and atmosphere at the Rivoli Ballroom.”
Owner of the venue, Bill Mannox, describes the “period atmosphere and beautifully quirky décor” as the perfect location for the Pink Jukebox.
The competition itself was born out of the Pink Jukebox Club, a social ballroom and Latin dance venue for lesbians, gay men and their friends, which started in 1996. Since then the dance contest has grown from strength to strength.
The first competition involved two men from Holland who then encouraged some UK dancers to go to Amsterdam for the gay games in 1998. Now, approximately 70 per cent of participants come from outside the UK.
The international network is helped by the existence of the UKSSDC and the European Same-Sex Dance Association (ESSDA).
George Tzoulas and Michael Hall have competed in the contest since 2000 and were winners in the Men’s Latin Category in 2007. They describe the contest as “one of the major annual events in the same-sex dance calendar.”
Not only is the competition a chance for same-sex dancers of all levels to show off their skills, with its international appeal it’s also a good place to meet people.
Ms Logan said: “The numbers of participants have grown and so have the glittery costumes! My wife and I met originally through the first small competition in the UK before the Pink Jukebox was in existence. We fell in love over a Tango with the audience whooping and cheering! I love the crowd and the feel good factor of the Rivoli Ballroom. It is very special and I hope we can continue there in the future.”
