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Greenwich news and information

Labour celebrates electoral success in Greenwich

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Greenwich voters went to the polls yesterday in the General Election and Council Election and delivered a successful set of results for Labour.

Nick Raynsford was re-elected as the MP for Greenwich & Woolwich with 49.2% of the vote. Spencer Drury moved the Conservatives into second place, with the Liberal Democrat candidate coming third.

In the local elections, Labour candidates swept the board in the Peninsula and Greenwich West wards.

By the end of the night, Labour were up by four council seats, taking two from the Conservatives and wiping out the Lib Dems who were defending two seats in the Middle Park and Sutcliffe ward.

Polling Station

Andy Hewett answers your questions

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Andy Hewett is the Green Party candidate for Greenwich & Woolwich in the General Election. Here are his answers to questions put to him.

I’d like to know what the candidates would do about the Blackwall Tunnel closure, and what their views are on two-way traffic through one 1/2 of the tunnel.

Our transport priority will be investment in public transport and increasing citizens’ accessibility to walking and cycling. Traffic congestion is a consistent problem in Greenwich, and with some of the most polluted stretches of road in the country the people of Greenwich have for too long deserved better public transport.

Do you think that MP’s should be allowed to have extra jobs and consultancies while holding Parliamentary office?

No, MPs are elected to serve the people, not to serve themselves. If elected I would take no more than the average skilled workers’ wage.

Does your party support the Olympics in Greenwich Park given it would entail long closures of this vital amenity and potential damage to this World Heritage Site, not to mention the obscene cost, lack of
legacy and transport problems?

The Green Party produced a set of 6 principles in 2003, updated in 2006, by which the party will assess the sustainability of any sites used in the Olympics. My personal view is that the use of Greenwich Park for Olympic equestrian events does not fulfil these criteria, and will not be of beneift to the majority of the citizens of Greenwich. I have sent a letter to NOGOE outlining my reasons for this which they have posted on their website: http://www.nogoe2012.com/

What was the last book you read?
Aside from the Green Party Election Manifesto ‘Fair Is Worth Fighting For’, my previous light reading on the train was ‘Critique of the Gotha Programme’ by Karl Marx

Greenwich Hospital is appealing the decision to reject their redevelopment of Greenwich Market – do you support redevelopment of the market?
No, I outlined my views on this last year which you can find on our website

Do you support reform of the voting system?
Yes, the Green Party supports PR using the Additional Member System for Parliamentary elections and introducing fixed term Parliaments. We support the right to vote at 16. The House of Lords should be reformed to become a fully elected body chosen by PR, each member elected for one fixed term of ten years, with half the house elected every five years.

If elected, what would your priorities be?
Social and environmental justice. This includes reducing inequality, creating green jobs, defending public services, a living wage and decent pensions.

Spencer Drury answers your questions

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Spencer Drury is the Conservative candidate for Greenwich & Woolwich. Here’s his answers to some of your questions.

What do you think qualifies you to be MP for Greenwich and Woolwich?

The only qualification one needs to be MP for Greenwich and Woolwich is more votes than the other candidates. However, I hope that I can bring a different perspective to the role of MP through my involvement in the local community and knowledge of the different issues around south-east London.

I’d like to know what the candidates would do about the Blackwall Tunnel closure, and what their views are on two-way traffic through one 1/2 of the tunnel.

As I have said before I am disappointed that the contra-flow system has not been reinstated, but I understand this is because of a change in EU regulations. This puts a different perspective on the situation as Conservative policy is to bring a range of powers back into this country from a European level and clearly we should be able to make our own decisions about using a system which had not caused any accidents as far as I could see.

Would you like to comment on Greenwich Council’s announcement that it is to snoop on its own staff?

Ironically it was a local resident who passed the letter which has been put in the public domain to me and I sent it on to Dizzy (Phil Hendren) who is a friend of mine and used to live in Plumstead.

I think that the principle of the state creating bigger and bigger databases is one which scares me. It seems the relationship between the state and the individual has changed, with all the power in the hands of the government which can compare our data as an when it wishes. The relationship between the individual and the state has to be rebalanced so that the individual has more power. This is one of the reasons why I oppose the Labour policy of introducing ID cards.

What was the last book you read?

The last book I read was ‘The Return of Sherlock Holmes’ and I am currently picking my way through ‘Suggs and the City’ which I find very relaxing when my days are filled with electioneering.

Greenwich Hospital is appealing the decision to reject their redevelopment of Greenwich Market – do you support redevelopment of the market?

I think Greenwich Market needs refurbishment not redevelopment. This means smartening up what is already there (and is much loved by local residents and visitors) rather than demolishing chunks of it, putting up wood cladding on buildings and ripping up the cobbles. So no, I do not support the redevelopment plans that were bought forward, but I do think that the roof of the market needs replacing.

Would it be democratically acceptable for a Bristol based quango to force upon Greenwich a market redevelopment that is unwanted by the people or their elected representatives in the Council?

Linked to the previous answer, no. This is equally true for other planning applications which are overturned in Bristol having been rejected in Greenwich.

Joseph Lee answers your questions

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Liberal Democrat candidate for Greenwich & Woolwich, Joseph Lee, answers the questions submitted to him by Greenwich.co.uk readers.

If elected, what would your priorities be?

I would bring around real regeneration of Woolwich and stop Greenwich town centre turning into something almost unrecognizable to many people, the area is fast disintegrating. I will change the area which works for the residents of the area, not exclusively for tourists. The town centre is aimed too much for tourists and doesn’t reflect the needs and wants of local residents. As much as the local economy needs tourist money coming in, we need to strike a balance which works for local people. By doing this it will help bring new and original businesses to the area and not necessary businesses which strictly cater for tourists. Also I will be pushing for safer streets by providing more facilities for young people on their doorstep, to keep them occupied and aware from negative influences. Also to push for a higher level of policing throughout the constituency, this is a key issue when I am on the door step, people are becoming frustrated by a lack of police on the beat throughout the
constituency.

I’d like to know what the candidates would do about the Blackwall Tunnel closure, and what their views are on two-way traffic through one 1/2 of the tunnel.

I think it’s unacceptable that Nick Raynsford allowed Mayor Johnson to commence work on the Blackwall tunnel without giving people any alternative while the tunnel is out of operation. Though I agree the work needs to be done to improve the safety of the tunnel. I felt Raynsford gave in too easy to Mayor Johnson and didn’t lobby hard enough for a alternative.

Do you think that MP’s should be allowed to have extra jobs and consultancies while holding Parliamentary office?

100% no. It’s completely unacceptance for members of parliament to have extra jobs or consultancies while as MP. Being a member of parliament is a full time job which needs 100% commitment and I can’t understand how any members can carry out other extra jobs or consultancies without their own constituency work falling behind, I feel very strongly about this issue and as your member of parliament I confirm that I won’t hold any others jobs or consultancies while working for you.

Why are you the only candidate to have withheld your full address in the official statement of declared candidates?

It’s only a short term temporary property I live in at present as I am due to be moving any time now, the landlord has issues about me using the address which I have to respect. if elected, I will be moving into the constituency within 28 days.

Does your party support the Olympics in Greenwich Park given it would entail long closures of this vital amenity and potential damage to this World Heritage Site, not to mention the obscene cost, lack of legacy and transport problems?

Well, I feel the way same as many people throughout the constituency feel, they feel let down that the current MP took it upon himself to decide that the Olympics were good for the area without asking the residents of their opinion. It also sadden a lot of people that the leader of the council Chris Roberts didn’t attend the important council meeting decider to hold Olympic equestrian events in Greenwich Park. All in all, residents wasn’t given a choice about the games but as your MP I will vow to ensure the games are carried out with close scrutiny with everything the Olympic organizers do to ensure that the areas used are used with absolute minimal amount of short and long term damage, I will be very active in ensuring that the necessary closures are minimal we get the park back virtually how we gave it over. Finally, I want to see everyone constituent see the full benefits of the Olympics, not just residents close to where the games are being held but residents further afield in say Charlton or Blackheath.

What was the last book you read?

Unbowed – the memoirs of a Kenyan environmentalist and women’s rights campaigner Wangari Maathai who also won the nobel prize

Are you in favour of joining the Euro?

Though I am keen of keeping close ties to Europe, I am not in favour joining the euro.

Greenwich Hospital is appealing the decision to reject their redevelopment of Greenwich Market – do you support redevelopment of the market?

Greenwich Hospital have resubmitted plans to demolish the much loved market and surrounding areas and replace with a modern market, a shopping precinct and a 100 room plus hotel. The Liberal Democrats are against these plans and we are actively campaigning to protect Greenwich market and will be shortly issuing the council a petition. I will ensure that these plans are again thrown out and the market stays the way it is.

How would Greenwich be different in five years time if you, and a Liberal Democrat government, are elected?

Greenwich will be different for many reasons, the talented Liberal Democrat prospective councilors from all over the constituency will bring around a difference kind of politics, a type of politics where we value what people have to say, we will listen and act accordingly, there will be no disastrous decisions like the Olympics games coming to Greenwich, where no one was listened to and the council went ahead with the games without consulting residents prior, nor will we accept councilors who miss 35 out of 54 meetings in the past year like your council leader did, we will bring around positive change with a Lib Dem council which actually cares about the people and the decisions they will make on behalf of them. From a personal perspective, I will be a fully accountable MP who will always aim to be within reach of contact for all constituents, not someone who will be constantly doing various non constituency consultations as a form of extra income. I will be employed by the people of Greenwich and Woolwich to work for the people of Greenwich and Woolwich.

I promise to raise the standard of local primary and secondary schools in the area, so parents don’t have to send their kids out of the constituency to obtain a decent education. Most secondary age kids in Greenwich are having to travel to Lewisham, which is fundamentally unacceptance and I for one don’t stand for this any longer.

Nick Raynsford answers your questions

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I asked Greenwich.co.uk readers to send me their questions for the main parliamentary candidates. Nick Raynsford has answered your questions below…

If asked to list the achievements during your time as MP of which you are most proud, what would they be?

1 The transformation of public transport in the area in the last decade, with the Jubilee Line at North Greenwich, DLR extensions to both Greenwich and Woolwich town centres, a hugely improved river bus service, a much better bus network, and improved reliability of the trains – a world away from the lousy service provided by Connex in the late 1990s.

2 Helping to get the regeneration of the Greenwich Peninsula underway, with the new Greenwich Millennium Village, and the transformation of the Dome into the O2, now the most successful live music venue in the world.

3 Helping to attract high-quality higher education institutions to the borough, including Trinity Laban and Ravensbourne College, and the University of Greenwich’s move into the Old Royal Naval College.

Do you agree with Gordon Brown’s comment (2nd TV Leadership debate) that MP’s should have no extra jobs and consultancies while holding Parliamentary office?

I agree with the Labour Party manifesto commitment that in future all MPs will be required to seek and obtain approval for any outside paid appointments (as I have always done) and should not work for lobbying companies (as I have never done).

Do you think you were representing your constituents wishes by endorsing the move of John Roan school to a location in the blast zone of a gas holding works?

The proposed move of the John Roan School was backed by the governing body and the council and I tried to ensure the new site was as large as possible and was to be built to as high as possible a standard. Ultimately the council and the school decided not to take the new site due to delays in starting work because of the presence of the gasholder, a decision I respected. I am now working hard to ensure an early start is made on rebuilding and refurbishing the buildings on the school’s current sites.

Do you think that Britain wants another 5 years of Gordon Brown?

I am clear about what Britain does not want: a return to the destructive policies of the Thatcher era of the 1980s, which could well result from the election of a Conservative government.

Does your party support the Olympics in Greenwich Park given it would entail long closures of this vital amenity and potential damage to this World Heritage Site, not to mention the obscene cost, lack of legacy and transport problems?

Inaccurate and misleading stores put out by those such as Andrew Gilligan – who falsely claimed that the Olympic events could lead to the destruction of avenues of trees, or that the park could be closed for up to five years – have contributed to vocal opposition to the Olympic equestrian events by a small minority of local residents. As MP for the area, I have talked to a large number of local residents over the last few years, and found that most of them warmly welcome the fact that Greenwich will be hosting six Olympic events in 2012, including the equestrian events in Greenwich Park.

What was the last book you read?

Richard Reeves’ biography of John Stuart Mill, author of the classic Nineteenth Century treatise “On Liberty”

Are you representing your constituents by insisting that the plans for the Market be pushed through?
Would it be democratically acceptable for a Bristol based quango to force upon Greenwich a market redevelopment that is unwanted by the people or their elected representatives in the Council?

The decision has been a matter for Greenwich Council as the local planning authority, and now the Planning inspectorate. I chaired a consultative stakeholder group which considered options for improvements to the market over a two-year period. The scheme that was eventually proposed by Greenwich Hospital and recommended for approval by Greenwich Council’s planning officers would have safeguarded the long-term future of the Market. As councillors voted to reject the scheme it is now to be decided by an independent planning inspector, who is accountable to an elected politician, the Secretary of State.

I’d like to know what the candidates would do about the Blackwall Tunnel closure, and what their views are on two-way traffic through one 1/2 of the tunnel.

Although the work to make the Blackwall Tunnel safer needs to take place, Boris Johnson chose to do it just after he had cancelled plans to build the Thames gateway bridge, which would provide an alternative cross-river link. Doing the work without any alternative in place has caused massive and unnecessary dislocation and inconvenience.

Do you support reform of the voting system?

I support the Alternative Vote system which retains the constituency link – a very important feature of the current system – but also ensures that no candidate can be elected without securing broad support across their constituency.

How would Greenwich be different in five years time if you, and a Labour government, are elected?

In five years’ time, I hope to see Crossrail at an advanced stage of construction with the Woolwich station on its way to being opened (Only Labour has fully committed to Crossrail at Woolwich), the regeneration of Greenwich and Woolwich as a whole continuing apace, and everyone benefiting from the inward investment that a very successful hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games will bring.

General Election to be held May 6th

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The General Election will be held on May 6th after the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, asked the Queen to dissolve parliament.

The poll will coincide with Council elections which are also taking place in Greenwich a month from today.

The Greenwich & Woolwich constituency is currently held by Labour’s Nick Raynsford.

Leader of the Conservative group on Greenwich Council, Councillor Spencer Drury, will be standing on behalf of the Tories.

Local Lib Dems have selected 26 year old estate agent, Joseph Lee, as their candidate. Andy Hewett will be the Green Party’s candidate.

Onay Kasab is standing for the Trade Union & Socialist Coalition (TUSC) and Raden Wresniwiro will represent the English Democrats.

Spencer Drury on 2012, Schooling and the General Election: Interview Pt3

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This is part three of Adam Bienkov’s interview with Spencer Drury – Conservative candidate for the Greenwich & Woolwich parliamentary seat and leader of the Conservatives on Greenwich Council. Part one and part two were published on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

Olympics

Hosting the 2012 Olympics has a been a polarising issue in the borough, but the Greenwich Conservatives have so far been relatively quiet about it. Drury himself has mixed feelings about the Games.

He tells me that while the cross country equestrian events will be “fabulous for the park” and an “amazing event” he admits that “this is not the line that NOGOE would like to hear.”

However, he also thinks that the temporary stadium is a “sticking point”:

“The 20,000 seat stadium I have got serious questions about. I mean the fact that it’s a temporary stadium, I’m already thinking is that worthwhile? But where they’re planning on putting it will actually ruin the views down the park to Maritime Greenwich. I mean if you put a great big stadium in front of that then you’re ruining the very views that they seem to want. That seems to me to be self defeating.”

He also believes the Council have missed a big opportunity to capitalise on the Games.

“The Olympics have got tonnes of money and as far as I can work out Greenwich as an area is going to have no legacy from it. Well I mean I say no legacy, but there might be trees chopped down but no legacy from it in any positive physical way.”

So will the Games be good for Greenwich overall?

“Well if you could sort out the congestion as a legacy then I think that people in Greenwich would take the rough with the smooth but at the moment we are just getting the rough.   We’re just getting problems from it and we’re getting damage to a much valued park although I don’t think it will be as bad as NOGOE are making out. I really don’t feel that.”

Are NOGOE representative?

“I think they are representative of a certain group of people in Greenwich but when you go out knocking on doors, I mean I was out in Greenwich last weekend and not one person mentioned it to me. Not one person. Schools, bins and recycling are the things that come up. People are more concerneed about other things. I think that is why you won’t see political parties focusing on it in a major way because on the doorstep it is not the major issue that people are concerned about.”


Schools

I’m speaking to Drury after the announcement that the John Roan school will no longer be moved to the Peninsula. He is relieved:

“The plans to put the John Roan school on the peninsula were always ridiculous. They were planning to put a bigger school on a smaller site, five stories tall with a playground on the roof. It was madness.”

While pleased about this, he believes that it is symptomatic of a wider problem:

“The Council’s education policy is in chaos frankly. We’ve still got the worst GCSE results in London.  They’ve improved a lot but they’re still the worst in London. So our kids are leaving education at a substantial disadvantage to most other kids across London.  And that’a huge blow to us and a massive shame”

He supports the Conservative plans to create smaller “Free Schools” run by parents:

“Parental choice is absolutely vital in this and we know parental choice is already happening in Greenwich because so many hundreds of kids at eleven go out of the borough, whether to private or to Grammar schools.  But what’s interesting when you look at the figures is that they are not just going to the Grammar schools they are also going to Welling and other schools along the border with Bexley because they are better run than Greenwich schools frankly.”

The General Election

Drury is set to stand against Nick Raynsford in Greenwich later this year. I ask him if he knows him well. He tells me that while he sees him annually at the borough’s Remembrance Sunday event, he hardly ever comes across him otherwise:

“I think Clive Efford [Labour MP for Eltham] marked himself as a local MP who didn’t care about Westminster very much. Well I think that Nick Raynsford is the opposite to that. There is a local area. He’s aware that it exists, but Westminster is where his heart is.”

Like Efford, Drury has a close attachment to the area. Raised in Woolwich and a long standing councillor in Eltham, Drury still lives within the borough.

With boundary changes giving the Conservatives a real chance of winning Eltham, I ask him why he didn’t choose to stand in his home town again:

“I did [consider it] but it was for various personal reasons. My daughter had been in hospital for two months and then my wife became ill as well. It was in the run up to the selection for the parliamentary seat and I came pretty close to just packing it all in frankly. And ironically it was a letter from Chris Roberts asking if everything was okay that changed my mind.

“It made me think think that maybe politics isn’t just about doing silly stunts and playing silly games. That maybe there is a point to it”